What are the Eurocentric views?
Eurocentrism (also Eurocentricity or Western-centrism) is a worldview that is centred on Western civilisation or a biased view that favours it over non-Western civilisations.
Is Africa Eurocentric?
According to Oyewumi (1997), African philosophy tends to place emphasis on sameness with Eurocentric philosophy. African philosophers accept and identify so much with European philosophy, that they have created African versions of Eurocentric philosophy.
Did Africa have history before European colonization?
The earliest known recorded history arose in Ancient Egypt, and later in Nubia, the Sahel, the Maghreb and the Horn of Africa. At its peak, prior to European colonialism, it is estimated that Africa had up to 10,000 different states and autonomous groups with distinct languages and customs.
How did Eurocentrism develop?
Eurocentrism, in this sense, is a result of European colonialism and global domination by Western powers. The different events that shaped Western supremacy are the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and Modernity, which, however, did not necessarily develop in linear ways in one particular place.
Why is art history so Eurocentric?
Art history has, through many of its European epistemological technologies, reinforced what are in fact colonialist perspectives, judgments, and rationales. An effect of Eurocentrism is the attempt at keeping “other” cultures in the past, somehow creating a contest between traditional and contemporary.
What can we learn about West African history from the Epic of Sundiata?
The Epic of Sundiata points up the complexities of the thirteenth century Sudan. Scholar Nehemia Levtzion calls it pivotal in the historical traditions of the Malinke. It delineates the time when many small states were struggling to fill the power vacuum left by the fall of Ghana.
What is the critique of Eurocentrism?
A major point of criticism of Eurocentrism in Fanon’s work is his attacks on those Africans who internalize European culture at the expense of their own. He calls on Africans to promote their own culture as the symbol of their national consciousness.
How was Africa organized before European influence?
Pre- colonial societies were highly varied, where they were either stateless, run by the state or run by kingdoms. The notion of communalism was accepted and practiced widely; land was held commonly and could not be bought or sold, although other things, such as cattle, were owned individually.