Frantz Fanon

Only a short while ago did the world figure out how devastating colonialism was; to the land, and the people who inhabit it. We hear a lot of stereotypes about the natives of Africa pertaining to cleanliness and intelligence. Nervous Conditions a “coming of age” novel by Tsitsi Dangarembga challenges these stereotypes with the story of two young girls. Though, her family portrays the opposite of these stereotypes it doesn’t mean that it comes without problems. We see a lot of psychological…

As a communications major, English sixty-one has made me more than confident that my major is the right one for me. I say this because, I have made it clear to myself that I am not that bad at English. Though, I had no idea what I was coming into, not knowing if I would be successful. This English courses has taught me many wonderful tools. One thing it has taught me is how powerful the written word and language can be. I now know that my thoughts can be use to make a difference in how someone…

to Frantz Fanon’s famous book “The Wretched of the Earth”. The magistrate wants the natives to rise and revolt against the Empire. He says, “Shall I tell you what I sometimes wish? I wish that these barbarians would rise up and teach us a lesson so that we would learn to respect them.” And it is the fear of the uprising of the natives that is haunting the colonizers, the torture and violence which they have been practicing since ages, will be given back to them through decolonization. Fanon…

Human beings are a “subterranean-impaired bunch” according to ecologist David Wolfe in his book, Tales from the Underground. This means that we’re unable to see what is underneath us. This is opposed to plants which have a corresponding weight of roots below them. The mirrored root system that plants have, particularly for vegetables like carrots, allows them to define themselves beyond what meets the eye. Wolfe wrote his book to give insight into a world below ground, but it also illuminates a…

One day Alice Goffman receives a letter from an undergrad at Temple University describing how difficult the job market is for them. Goffman then thinks about if middle class students are having a hard time finding a job in 2015, then those with no college education/degree may also be suffering financially in the working class. Another negative aspect of society Goffman focuses on that follows her train of thought with economic inequality/hardship, is the current state of mass incarceration,…

There is an opposition between intellectuals, artists and religious characters. Yet another opposition that works between the parent generation and their children. The difference in class and education also plays a significant role among the migrants. However some educated characters have been assimilated into British culture while the uneducated or less educated are represented as deeply confused (p. 140-161). For example the character of Kaukab and Shamas well defines the binaries work in the…

Bonjour. Hola. Guten Tag. Ciao. Ola. Namaste. Salaam. Hello. Language is a key thing in culture, society, and day to day life. Its what we use to speak to cashiers when buying milk. It's how we greet our friends, or to express wonder or amazement. Some can form it into beautiful melodious forms, and perform it as singing or reciting poems. There are over 6,500 languages in the world, each of which are unique and diverse, and so are the people that speak them. Even though almost every country in…

United States. He emphasized the importance of ideology and political education, Malcolm stressed that the ideological struggle is just as important as the physical struggle during the civil rights movement. In Toward the African Revolution (1969), Frantz Fanon wrote, “Colonialism and its derivatives do not, as a matter of fact, constitute the present enemies of Africa. In a short time this continent will be liberated. For my part, the deeper I enter into the cultures and the political circles…

In Introduction to Africana Philosophy by Lewis R. Gordon, The question of who is who among the intellectuals and scholars resonated with me throughout the text. In the world of philosophy the question of Africana philosophy is considered philosophy in comparison to the hegemonic form of thought and philosophy. Gordon presented a common theme throughout the text of what does it mean to be human, which left me pondering on several questions, who are we, how did we get in this predicament, how did…

Karl Marx defined society as being broken up into the base and superstructure. Marx described the base in A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy as the means of “production” that “constitutes the economic structure of society”, while the superstructure is the “social, political and intellectual life” that makes up the “social consciousness.” Moreover, in Marx and Engels’ The Communist Manifesto, they elucidate on the development of capitalism and the need for a global revolution.…