HIST 3606 Final Exam Flashcards

Section A, Q1 (1/10): Define the term diaspora and expound upon its historical meaning

Although by definition, diaspora means scattering, wandering, and dispersion, the meaning has grown immensely abstract as it is associated with Jewish people’s pain from their Galut (exile) from their ancient homelands to wander the world.

Section A, Q1, (2/10): Further contextualize the concept of diaspora historically

The word does not necessarily equate discrimination or prejudice, however, it is not an easy word to use in the context of imperialist and colonial ambitions, especially referencing WWI and WWII, developing a need to “purge” the Jewish bloodline, leading to the holocaust.

Section A, Q1 (3/10): Finish discussing what happened to the Jewish diaspora

Today, after being dispersed around the world, with a center in the Middle East, Jewish Golah (communities) in the US and Europe have achieved immense success in every aspect of economic and political endeavor.

Section A, Q1 (4/10): Contextualize what happened to the African diaspora

Similarly, for Africans of the diaspora, the history of their exile from their homelands is inarguably rooted in imperialist and colonial ambitions.

Section A, Q1 (5/10): Begin the discussion on what happened to the African diaspora

Although Africans have traveled from their homelands for various reasons in times that predate colonialism, the mass displacement of Africans into the ‘New World’ was prompted by transatlantic chattel slavery.

Section A, Q1 (6/10): Continue discussing what happened to the African diaspora

With this, Africans were dispersed throughout the Americas and parts of Europe as chattel, while their enslavers strategized ways to deny them their humanity, customs, and cultures of their homeland.

Section A, Q1 (7/10): Begin ending the discussion about what happened to the African diaspora

The contemporary economic, political, and societal disposition of the African diaspora is the result of their Golah being systemically disenfranchised to hinder their progress and discourage them from holding positions of power within their “host” nations.

Section A, Q1 (8/10): Introduce a brief connection between the two diasporas

What relates these two diasporas is their strategies of imagined and real return to progress as exiles.

Section A, Q1 (9/10): Expound upon this connection between the two diasporas

This is seen in instances such as the establishment of the state of Israel, when many members of the Jewish diaspora began to physically “return” to a region historically associated with their ancient homelands and historically inserted themselves into the realm of great geopolitical influence.

Section A, Q1 (10/10): Finish the connection between the two diasporas

This is also seen in the practice of syncretic religions in which Africans of the diaspora were able to retain their African cosmology through the guise of Western religious rites and symbols and use it to organize, resist, heal themselves, and decolonize their thinking.

Section A, Q2 (1/14): Define the Hegelian Dialectic approach

The Hegelian Dialectic approach is a method of generating original ideas.

Section A, Q2 (2/14): Outline the first step of the Hegelian Dialectic approach

This approach begins with a thesis, which is an unambiguous and often controversial stance or proposition expressed in a single sentence.

Section A, Q2 (3/14): Outline the second step of the Hegelian Dialectic approach

The thesis is then required to be confronted by an antithesis, which is a tension or contradiction that comes from within the thesis and must be antagonistic to the thesis.

Section A, Q2 (4/14): Outline the third step of the Hegelian Dialectic approach

The ultimate resolution of the thesis and the antithesis comes in the form of the synthesis, which, born of years of analysis, finally brings forth a new view.

Section A, Q2 (5/14): Outline the final step of the Hegelian Dialectic approach.

This new view can then be brought forth into question as a new thesis, thus triggering the dialectic process from the beginning.

Section A, Q2 (6/14): Contextualize the importance of the Hegelian Dialectic approach

This process of asserting positions that are then questioned and ultimately changed to reflect updated knowledge is the bedrock of scholarship.

Section A, Q2 (7/14): Contextualize the “traditional” knowledge of Ancient Western Sudan

Certain revered historical theses of colonial nations were bound to be steeped in prejudice and pseudoscience, especially those used to subjugate specific peoples. Hence, when those being subjugated engaged in these dialectics, they would oppose and criticize these theses weaponized against them, forging a new way of thinking that aligns with the truth.

Section A, Q2 (8/14): State the first group contributing to the “traditional” knowledge of Ancient Western Sudan and what they contributed

Before 1600, Portuguese explorers preyed upon Africa’s abundant resources such as gold dust. They mythologized the realities they encountered, thus demonizing these lands and its peoples. Myths such as the presence of satyrs, gorgons, and fire erupting from hot soil and rivers were the theses asserted by these explorers in primary Western accounts.

Section A, Q2 (9/14): State the second group contributing to the “traditional” knowledge of Ancient Western Sudan and what they contributed

Later in 19th-century Europe, racist & ethnocentrist historians and philosophers such as G.W.F Hegel himself interpreted accounts such as these to mean that Africans were unintelligent and ahistorical.

Section A, Q2 (10/14): Contextualize the reality of the state of Ancient Western Sudan prior to the transatlantic slave trade

These myths of the land being inhospitable, according to such Western accounts, were demystified by the reality that serves as their antithesis.

Section A, Q2 (11/14): Assert the reality of Ancient Western Sudan with respect to its Golden Ages of the Empires

Preceding the trans-Atlantic slave trade, this area of ancient Western Sudan was dominated by the ancient empires of Dhar Tichitt, Ancient Ghana (lasting 700 years with its height being in the 11th century), and Ancient Mali (lasting 200 years with its height occurring in the early 14th century), Songhai (lasting 150 years with its height occurring in the 16th century), consecutively that emerged from trading routes on the far west side of the Savannah running alongside the Guinea Coast.

Section A, Q2 (12/14): Further explain the setting of Ancient Western Sudan with respect to its Golden Ages of the Empires

These kingdoms were consulates, with ministers, a system of law, clear revenue streams, and land divided into provinces or states.

Section A, Q2 (13/14): Explain the setting of Ancient Western Sudan with respect to the resources of the Africans of the region

They also engaged in trade in gold, horses, coats of mail, palm oil, pumpkins, cattle, and goats to advance their economy as well as robust systems of agribusiness.

Section A, Q2 (14/14): Conclude the discussion on the state of Ancient Western Sudan prior to the transatlantic slave trade

This all implies they were indeed civilized. Therefore, the original European theses were false and intentionally disparaging towards otherwise economically, politically, and socially thriving civilizations.

Section A, Q3 (1/9): Define the concept of Ubuntu

Within the African communal system, the overarching philosophy they operate under is known as “Ubuntu” or “I am because we are, and since we are, therefore I am” in which the structure of their society requires that they all rely on each other

Section A, Q3 (2/9): Expound upon the definition of Ubuntu

Furthermore, Ubuntu means that individuals of the community will always put the communal system first.

Section A, Q3 (3/9): Begin the application of Ubuntu on community life under the African communal system

An example of this is seen in their leadership, where a king with a cabinet is in charge of the compound and would call upon age graders for certain specialties when needed such as masonry and architecture

Section A, Q3 (4/9): Further contextualize Ubuntu and the communal system

This community reliance directly counters the economic and social philosophies of the West in which they privilege capitalist and self-reliant structures of society. Alternatively, African societal customs and rites, as seen in their modes of communal indoctrination, are inherently communal processes

Section A, Q3 (5/9): Begin the discussion of education on that level (bush schools)

The best example of this is the portion of the African indoctrination processes of the bush school, which is the African education system that begins with an elder coming into the compound and collecting children as young as 6 years old.

Section A, Q3 (6/9): Continue the discussion of education on that level (bush schools)

From there, the child is assessed in confinement to extract from the child what lies in their future.

Section A, Q3 (7/9): Finish the discussion of education on that level (bush schools)

The child could be many kinds of sacred scientists, such as a magician, an astrologer, a diviner, or a society doctor or a different kind of profession, such as a doctor, mason, or architect. This is because, according to this culture system, what you are supposed to be is already inside of your mind

Section A, Q3 (8/9): Connect the bush schools to the age grade system

This rite of passage is a real transition that forms part of the age grade system.

Section A, Q3 (9/9): Finish with another example of the age grade system

This system encapsulates other rites of passage such as both male and female circumcision, in which the child is placed in an unbearably painful position and if they cry out in pain, it embarrasses the family, and they are deemed unworthy.

Section A, Q4 (1/5): Begin the discussion of the Yoruba basic indoctrination process of the naming ceremony

Within Yoruban societies, a child born to a mother is to be christened within 3 months– this is their naming ceremony.

Section A, Q4 (2/5): Contextualize the importance of naming ceremonies

The naming of a child is of paramount importance across Africa, as each name has a detailed meaning. Depending on the African culture, one’s name may be associated with the events surrounding their birth, emotional warnings, their order of birth, the day they were born, their faith, the season they were born, or the ancestors whose death is somehow related to the birth of the child.

Section A, Q4 (3/5): Discuss the indoctrination process of markings

Another component of the indoctrination of the child into their community is scarification or Illa Abo– a traumatic ritual in which scars are put onto their face, chest, and hands that are representative of their heritage.

Section A, Q4 (4/5): Discuss the last of the indoctrination processes of understanding the Orisha on the child’s head

The next stage is to go through a Babalayo– a “holy man”-- who will initiate the “Esentaye” ritual in which their Orisha will be checked to see who is represented on the child’s head. Here, the Babalayo will also reveal what colors the child should and should never wear, their relationship with water and the sea, and what foods they should consume.

Section A, Q4 (5/5): Finish with contextualizing the state of all these indoctrination processes

These stages are all “open” in that they continue throughout the child’s life as they develop.

Section A, Q5 (1/9): Contextualize the Willie Lynch letter

The Willie Lynch letter is a written account of a speech in 1712 Virginia in which enslaver Willie Lynch from a plantation in the West Indies addresses a crowd of fellow enslavers for advice on “how to make a slave”.

Section A, Q5 (2/9): What is the context that Lynch begins his letter with? Read in between the lines of his exigence.

Lynch begins this speech by citing his techniques to Ancient Rome. The primary suggestion Lynch provides is rooted in psychologically dividing the enslaved population through the implementation of arbitrary hierarchies and torture methods as opposed to simply hanging the enslaved, which instead inspires uprisings, fires, runaways, and the “loss of valuable stock”.

Section A, Q5 (3/9): What is the first suggestion of Lynch? Read between the lines.

Lynch’s means of dividing the enslaved people included skin color, age, gender, and status on plantations. It is implied that this way, the empathy and community originally present among the enslaved people would erode, and their willingness to risk being hanged for their rebellions would diminish if they did not have a secure sense of self and community.

Section A, Q5 (4/9): What is Lynch’s next suggestion in the letter? Read between the lines.

Lynch continues to emphasize the need to “break” the enslaved people, especially the women and children, as this would “secure” this mentality’s longevity across generations. In “breaking” their will to resist, one would have complacent enslaved people who police each other’s rebellious behavior or break them at a young age to mitigate these inclinations early in life.

Section A, Q5 (5/9): Read in between the lines further of these suggestions so far

The central idea behind this is to psychologically implant the subjugation enacted by the enslavers into the minds of the enslaved people, thus minimizing the need for the enslavers to enforce it entirely by themselves.

Section A, Q5 (6/9): Contextualize the evolution of lynching to what it means across time and space

This colonial pursuit to violently inspire fear among the subjugated to discourage resistance via public executions, also known as lynching, has persisted post-emancipation. What once began as the hanging of Black bodies from trees visible to the masses evolved into a larger and more sinister mode of fatal intimidation.

Section A, Q5 (7/9): How did Willie Lynch inspire the modern state of lynching

The words of Willie Lynch that encouraged a “breaking of the African spirit” opened up the possibilities of what lynching can look like into any physical or social execution of Black people who have dared to step outside of a “slaves” place.

Section A, Q5 (8/9): Begin with discussing the first instance of a more evolved version of lynching

A more recent example of this in the post-emancipation Americas is the 1921 Tulsa massacre, in which the economically thriving Black neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was burned to the ground by white supremacists.

Section A, Q5 (9/9): End with the second instance of a more evolved version of lynching

Other examples that would be a combination of speculative (symbolically killing off) and operative lynchings are the murder or excommunication of many Black leaders who achieved progress in threatening the white establishment, such as Marcus Garvey (speculative), Fred Hampton (operative), Walter Rodney (operative), and Assata Shakur (speculative).

Section B, Q6 (1/9): Define the first of the 3 convenient categories to examine diaspora— dispersion

Dispersion refers to the involuntary or voluntary scattering of a people out of their homelands into different host nations.

Section B, Q6 (2/9): Give the first controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to dispersion

This is exemplified in the post-Windrush Caribbean migration into Britain, the U.S. and Canada in search of a better life. The choice to do this has been retrospectively labeled as a “trap” as their experiences in the host nations are often equal to or worse than their lives at home due to the systemic xenophobia and racism found throughout these nations.

Section B, Q6 (3/9): Give the second controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to dispersion

Another example of dispersion is the ongoing phenomenon of gentrification, especially within the U.S., in which predominantly Black neighborhoods in cosmopolitan areas are pushed out of homes that have been in their families for generations and are replaced with white people of a higher economic status.

Section B, Q6 (4/9): Define the second of the 3 convenient categories to examine diaspora— settlement

Settlement is the process of exiled peoples establishing a golah in their host nations. The individuals within this golah will then choose whether or not they will adopt any of the several dubious states of living in a host nation such as integration, accommodation, separation, nationalism, or immigration— often all of the above depending on the context.

Section B, Q6 (5/9): Give the first controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to settlement

An example of a settlement within the African diaspora is the African American community within the United States, who, throughout the centuries of post-emancipation have experienced every one of the dubious states of settlement from the separationist Black Power movement to the integrationist Civil Rights movement.

Section B, Q6 (6/9): Give the second controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to settlement

Another controversial example of settlement is the West African refugees in France coming from turbulent countries such as Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire who face extreme levels of xenophobia and racism from French natives. These settlers often experience forced integration through legal restrictions surrounding their religious practices and cultural wear.

Section B, Q6 (7/9): Define the third of the 3 convenient categories to examine diaspora— return

Return is the real or imagined journey back to one’s homeland.

Section B, Q6 (8/9): Give the first controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to return

Within the African diaspora, one controversial act of returning in a real sense was the “Back to Africa” movement, in which Panafricanists such as Marcus Garvey would advocate for members of the African diaspora to leave their host nations and re-establish themselves on the continent.

Section B, Q6 (9/9): Give the second controversial matter that creates conversation among the diaspora of the former century that applies to return

Another example of a controversial return to the continent occurred with the “founding” of Liberia in West Africa by the American Colonization Society (ACS). In an attempt to rid the United States of free Black people, in 1847 the ACS relocated thousands of free African Americans into a region in West Africa by coercing the existing people of this region to sell a strip of the land to them and later named it Liberia.

Section B, Q7 (1/6): Define ESP

The European or White Social Partner (ESP/WSP) refers to the dominant social partner in the undeclared social partnership between the Europeans and the Africans they brought to the West as chattel.

Section B, Q7 (2/6): Expound upon the definition with contextualizing their contributions

The white social partner provided investments to cover the factor inputs such as land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship while the Black social partner was linked to the labor and every other factor input.

Section B, Q7 (3/6): Discuss the problems with this partnership

It is critical to understand that this partnership was not a fair one, as there were no regulations put into place to equalize factors such as conduct, profit division, information disclosure, and hierarchical structures. Therefore, when clear imbalances were present, the injustices that arose went unchecked.

Section B, Q7 (4/6): Discuss the WSP’s motive

One such injustice lies in the basis of the WSP’s motive of controlling every aspect of the venture’s existence, thus upholding their status as dominant social partner. In the course of dominating the work of the enterprise, the white social partner also structures the social conditions under which both social partners exist. This can be regarded as the superstructure with the economic ventures being the base.

Section B, Q7 (5/6): Discuss the influence the motives of the WSP made over the experiences of the diaspora of the former century

One such social condition created by the WSPs maintaining dominance is the continued normalization of profiting off the bodies off Black people without compensating them fully or at all.

Section B, Q7 (6/6): Discuss the example of this influence of the motives

This is seen in the story of Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman whose immortal cells were taken from her cervical cancer tumor without her consent by her white doctors. These white doctors utilized these cells to develop numerous vaccines, treatments, and research materials– all immensely profitable ventures– while not compensating or informing Henrietta Lacks or her family about these exploits. Here, Henrietta exemplified the Black social partner who provides the resources and entire basis of this venture, while only the WSP actually reaps the benefits.

Section B, Q8 (1/): Acknowledge how the diaspora would superficially order the three men BTW, WEB, and Garvey, and refute it

Historically, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B DuBois, and Marcus Garvey have been pitted against each other as intellectual and practical opposites, when in reality, they could not have existed without each other’s contributions to Black intellectualism.

Section B, Q8 (2/): What makes these three men similar or united?

They are united in their exemplification of “the new negro”, which refers to those determined to bring leadership to the black Atlantic world by quarter 1 of the twentieth century. While these leaders were concerned with the economic interests of their specific domestic constituencies, they confronted these interests similarly in that they were all leaders in technology, where technology is education.

Section B, Q8 (3/): Begin with the first man, BTW

In Booker T. Washington’s emphasis on the “practical” skills needed to survive in American society, he forged a foundation for the members of the African diaspora trying to support themselves post-emancipation while still operating within the confines of de jure and de facto discrimination nationwide

Section B, Q8 (4/): What was BTW’s core philosophy

His life’s work reflects Fitzroy André Baptiste’s quote, “Never fool yourself into feeling that you have made it”.

Section B, Q8 (5/): Finish the discussion of BTW with how he acted as the base for the African diaspora

Booker T. Washington established centers of education that would equip Black people with skills that could not be taken away from them by white supremacists, opening the door for education– something once legally prohibited for Black people– to now be a viable pursuit and gateway to progress.

Section B, Q8 (6/): How did W.E.B utilize the work done by BTW?

W.E.B Dubois took advantage of such foundations laid for him by BTW in further pushing the limits of what Black education could be by securing a PhD from Harvard and proliferating ideas of Panafricanism and Black thought that would ultimately achieve the success of validating Black intellectualism.

Section B, Q8 (7/): End the dicussion of W.E.B with what he established for the African diaspora

Through the work of W.E.B. Dubois, Black Americans would be given a model of self-determination and mental freedom entirely independent from white academia and Eurocentric ideological restrictions.

Section B, Q8 (8/): How did Marcus Garvey utilize the work accomplished by W.E.B?

From here, Marcus Garvey used this new standard of Black intellectualism to empower international Black communities to outright reject white society and initiate both an imagined and physical return via his Back to Africa movement.

Section B, Q8 (9/): Finish the discussion about Garvey

With this, Garvey utilized his intellect and self-determination to mobilize thousands of Black people and compel them to unapologetically embrace Blackness in the face of white supremacy through new ideas of Black economic enterprise and removing oneself from white nations and society altogether.

Section B, Q9 (1/): Contextualize syncretism within the region

Afro-Caribbean religions have been a vehicle for syncretism, blending African, European, and indigenous elements to create new cultural expressions that are distinctly Afro-Caribbean yet still connected to their African roots.

Section B, Q9 (2/): Begin the discussion of Vodoun

One such uniquely Caribbean belief system, Vodoun, is a Haitian practice characterised by its pantheon of spirits, known as “lwa” or “loa,” who serve as intermediaries between humans and the Supreme Creator, Bondye.

Section B, Q9 (3/): How was Vodoun syncretic in nature?

The pantheon of spirits are often associated with Catholic saints, a syncretism that arose as a way for enslaved Africans to covertly practice their religion under the watchful eyes of colonial authorities.

Section B, Q9 (4/): What is Santería?

Another belief system is Santería, coming out of Cuba, that has its roots in the Yoruba religion of West Africa, particularly Orisha worship.

Section B, Q9 (5/): How does Santería uniquely worship the Orisha?

In Santería, Orishas are believed to be divine beings who govern various aspects of the natural and spiritual worlds. In Santería practices, the most powerful Orisha is Obatala, translating to the “King of the Great Enlightenment”. Each Orisha is associated with a Catholic saint as seen in Vodoun.

Section B, Q9 (6/): Continue the conversation of Orisha worship in the region

Other countries such as Trinidad also participate in the Yoruba Orisha worship tradition known historically as Shango which also utilizes the images of Catholic saints to pay tribute to Orisha deities.

Section B, Q9 (7/): Begin the discussion on Candomble

Outside of the Caribbean in Brazil, another syncretism is practiced called Candomble which takes its traditions primarily from the Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu peoples, with elements of Catholicism and indigenous practices.

Section B, Q9 (8/): Finish the discussion of Candomble

They worship spiritual entities such as the Orishas, the Voduns, which are deities from the Fon peoples, and the Nkisi which are spirits from Bantu traditions.

Section B, Q9 (9/): Finish the discussion with concluding how these religions aid syncretism in the region

Through the close geographic proximity of indigenous, European, and African peoples during the time of the trans-atlantic slave trade, these syncretisms arose that blended together these amalgamations of beliefs into one unique belief system practiced by the enslaved.

Section B, Q10 (1/): How did the African diaspora begin to be victimized?

Victimization of the African diaspora began with the race-specific and unprecedently torturous nature of chattel slavery.

Section B, Q10 (2/): Expound upon your assertion of how the victimization began

Chattel slavery was operationally and psychologically worse than any other historical event of enslavement. This is exemplified through the enslavers’ uniquely dehumanizing practices of tight-packing the enslaved as cargo in the hold of the ships, “seasoning” the enslaved once they arrive to the plantation, developing “breeding” plantations when legally no longer allowed to source the enslaved from Africa anymore, and many more.

Section B, Q10 (3/): How did this victimization become perpetual victimization?

This victimization persisted post emancipation through the disenfranchisement of predominantly Black spaces executed by the WSP, the continuous minimizing of slavery in education, and the lack of a major concerted academic pursuit of African epistemology to maintain members of the African diaspora’s heritage knowledge.

Section B, Q10 (4/): How did this victimization effect the entirety of the diaspora?

Even countries granted independence from the nations of their historical enslavers are victims of this as their “independence” were unable to be supported successfully after centuries of exporting goods and wealth out of the country through free labor.

Section B, Q10 (5/): How do we begin to approach reparatory justice?

Ultimately, to mitigate these persistent acts of subjugation against the African diaspora, we will need to see acts of reparatory justice not just monetarily, but in discussions surrounding the development of institutions and structures that can create a humane, good quality standard of living for the descendants of colonised peoples, ensuring the development of their ravaged societies.

Section B, Q10 (6/): Offer a community-dependent strategy that is an industrial possibility that can aid, in some level, Black independence.

This requires the establishment of lasting self-sufficience independent of colonial institutions as the African diaspora. Black people must begin to depend on Black people again, and the surplus of their industrial output can then be shared with the WSP.