ADW 112: African Diaspora and the World - Comprehensive Notes

African Diaspora and the World - Readings for ADW 112 - Spelman College, Spring 2021

Joseph Harris - Map of the African Diaspora

  • The map illustrates the principal sea routes of Arab, European, and American trade in African slaves up to 1873.

  • Destinations include slave debarkation and settlement areas, ports visited by African crewmen, and locations where slaves were taken on home leave or after the American War for Independence.

  • Overland routes in Africa supplied slaves to the northern, eastern, and western coasts for shipment to Arab, Muslim, Asian, and American areas.

  • The Treaty of 1873 legally abolished the East African trade, following earlier agreements abolishing the trade elsewhere in Africa.

  • Africans were also sent to Australia as convict labor from England, the West Indies, Mauritius, and South Africa during the 19th century.

  • The map does not include small, temporary movements of people prior to 1873, such as traders, missionaries, and soldiers.

Wolfgang J. Mommsen, Stig Forster, Ronald Robinson and German Historical Institute in London - Excerpt from Bismarck, Europe, and Africa: The Berlin Africa Conference 1884–1885 and The Onset of Partition

  • The Berlin Africa Conference (1884–1885) marks a critical point in international relations and European imperialism.

  • Before this, European expansion overseas was tied to European power politics.

  • The French seizure of Tunisia in 1881 and the English occupation of Egypt in 1882, followed by Germany acquiring colonial possessions, altered this situation.

  • The Egyptian question, due to Egypt's financial issues and European bondholder control, became an international concern.

  • Brazza's efforts for French control in West Africa and Leopold II of Belgium's attempts to establish a colony in the Congo basin heightened tensions.

  • Britain reacted to French advances by encouraging Portugal's claims and opposing Bismarck's moves in Angra Pequeña, leading to the international conference.

  • The Conference aimed to regulate procedures for claiming colonial territories.

  • Bismarck sought a colonial alliance with France against Britain's perceived intransigence.

  • The Conference was a major event in European international affairs, with the United States participating for the first time in a conference convened by a European power.

  • It affected the future of African peoples, who were not represented at the conference.

  • The Conference sought to extend international law to Africa, which had largely been outside it.

  • It legitimized European expansion in terms of international law but is seen by some as a pretext for colonial rule.

  • The Conference is viewed as a major landmark in imperialism, effectively giving European powers approval for partition.

Okwui Enwezor - “Yinka Shonibare” of Hedonism, Masquerade, Carnivalesque and Power A Conversation with Okwui Enwezor

  • Exploration of Imaginary Space: Shonibare's work explores the space between Africa and Europe, colonial and post-colonial discourse.

  • Interdependence of Africa and Europe: Shonibare emphasizes that Africa cannot be defined without Europe, criticizing the simplistic dichotomy between the “exotic other” and the “civilized European.”

  • Hybrid Culture: His practice evolved due to the idea of loyalty to one culture being unrealistic. He saw his art as a product of British colonization and a hybrid culture.

  • Geographical vs. Cultural Notion of Africa: Shonibare argues that the inherited notion of Africa is fundamentally geographical and alien to African culture, citing the dissimilarity between Egypt and Nigeria.

  • Use of “African” Fabric: Shonibare used Dutch wax printed cotton fabrics, related to Indonesian batik and industrially manufactured in Holland and Manchester, to challenge the idea of African authenticity.

  • Afrocentric Political Movements: In the 1970s, these movements reappropriated the fabric, making it a symbol of African culture and nationalism.

  • Modernist Discourse: Shonibare's concern was to challenge the idea of the grid in Western modernism, reintroducing supposedly nonart material to contaminate the “pure” space of high modernism.

  • Pattern as a Cultural Signifier: His interest was not just pattern as a stylistic effect but as a cultural signifier, questioning representation as a way of marginalizing people.

  • Complicity in His Work: He acknowledges a complicity in his work, simultaneously challenging the denial of his African background and celebrating his origin, aiming to remain in control of his own representation.

  • Use of Satire and Humor: Shonibare uses satire and humor to dissolve serious political issues, considering humor a fantastic way of taming them.

  • Collapse of Kitsch: Shonibare utilizes Victoriana to create mimicking of the establishment, collapsing African kitsch against European kitsch, leaving the audience wondering about the artist’s intentions.

  • Symbolic Beheading of Power: Shonibare's paintings and sculptures often feature aggressive elements, symbolically beheading power, signaling a critical relationship to authority.

  • Trauma and Blackness: He notes that his understanding of Blackness began when he stepped off the plane at Heathrow, and that he was not allowed to be a universal, anonymous artist due to external perceptions.

  • Confusion as a Strategy: He states that he saw value in creating confusion as a way of dealing with the demand to be a Black artist, a closer expression of where he is.

  • Mainstream vs. Identity Issues: He feels privileged to be invited to