IMPERIALISM AND FOREIGN AID IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - Daily Blog

IMPERIALISM AND FOREIGN AID IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

Timelines!! And continued theories of imperialism powerpoint

9/23/2020

Learning Goals

Develop a general sense of the timeline of colonialism and independence in Africa

Understand the various motives and theories of imperialism
Delineate the similarities and differences between various approaches to colonial rule
Analyze a poem to identify examples of racial assumptions of superiority

Today's Agenda

Let's finish the Powerpoint Lecture: Theories of Imperialism, the Berlin Conference and “The White Man’s Burden”

Read and discuss “White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling

TIMELINE homework discussion

Which events did you choose and why?
Let's see your drawing!
What stood out to you as you consumed these timeline resources? Especially the two videos?

HOMEWORK: Let's go over Assignment #5, due Tuesday of next week! Listed on the class calendar and assigned in google classroom.

What is the purpose of this assignment?
The goal of this assignment is to expose you to a variety of perspectives both in support of and against imperialism from the late 1800’s-early 1900’s in order for you to both understand the rhetorical appeals various leaders were making as well as responses to and critiques of imperialism.
Additionally, these readings will allow you to apply the theories of imperialism to actual rhetoric of the Scramble for Africa time period.

Theories of Imperialism

9/22/2020

Starter: Let’s all share out one thing we did this past weekend!

Learning Goals

Discuss your understanding of and takeaways from the "How Race was Made" podcast
Understand the various motives and theories of imperialism
Delineate the similarities and differences between various approaches to colonial rule
Analyze a poem to identify examples of racial assumptions of superiority

Announcements

Heart of Darkness: Next week, we are going to start reading our class novel, The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Contrad. I am one copy short. Does anyone already own it or want to purchase their own copy to be able to annotate? Also, I need to get you all a copy this week! I'll try to find you all during school on Thursday or Friday. Rio, I can give your dad a copy.
Workload: Some thoughts from Ashley

Breakout rooms

First, elect a spokesperson who will take notes and share out everything highlighted in RED below
Second, elect a facilitator who will read the following questions and keep the group on track.

Discussion Questions:

Take turns sharing 1 claim and piece of evidence that you took notes on for the Podcast, “How Race was Made”.
Discuss, overall, what stood out the most from this podcast? Pick ONE insight to share with the whole group.
Take turns sharing your questions from the podcast. Don't discuss them for now, just pick 1 of your questions to bring back to the whole group for discussion.
Share out your summaries of the Fashoda Incident
Take turns sharing your questions about the "theories of imperialism" reading (text #2). Don't discuss them for now, just share them out and pick 1 that is most common among your group or most important to understanding the reading.

Powerpoint Lecture: Theories of Imperialism, the Berlin Conference and “The White Man’s Burden”

Read and discuss “White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling

HOMEWORK: Let’s review the homework due for Wednesday

Danger of a Single Story

9/16/2020

Today's Agenda:

Starter (7 minutes)
Homework discussion (20 minutes)
If time: Instagram challenge (10 minutes)
Homework overview and participation survey (5 minutes)

Starter 3: Review

What is one thing that stands out in your memory about our class yesterday?
Now, open your digital comp book and review your notes on last night's assignment: What was the biggest idea you took away from the essay or podcast?

Today's Learning Goal

Challenge the idea of a "single story" of Africa as part of developing a decolonized mindset.

Review Key Terms
As a reminder…

Colonial Mentality: the internalized attitude of ethnic or cultural inferiority felt by people as a result of colonization, i.e. them being colonized by another group and
Decolonization: the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby a nation establishes and maintains its domination on overseas territories.

Discuss Homework: BREAKOUT ROOMS!
In your breakout room, discuss the following questions for both texts. Elect one spokesperson to report out on key ideas/insights from your discussion!

“How to Write about Africa”

Share out your notes from this essay
What lines best captures the TONE (aka the attitude of the writer toward the subject) of this essay?
What is Wainaina's purpose in writing this essay?
What are all the stereotypes he speaks to in this essay?
If this were "How to Write About America", how would it go?

Danger of a Single Story

Share out your notes from the TED Talk
To what extent does your starter from the first day of class represent a single story about Africa like the one Adiche describes?
What are the dangers of a single story?
What connections are you making between the other reading assignments we’ve done this week, especially our discussion of the term "White supremacy" yesterday?

"It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power. There is a word, an Igbo word, that I think about whenever I think about the power structures of the world, and it is "nkali." It's a noun that loosely translates to "to be greater than another." Like our economic and political worlds, stories too are defined by the principle of nkali: How they are told, who tells them, when they're told, how many stories are told, are really dependent on power. Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes that if you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and to start with, "secondly." Start the story with the arrows of the Native Americans, and not with the arrival of the British, and you have an entirely different story. Start the story with the failure of the African state, and not with the colonial creation of the African state, and you have an entirely different story."

Review the next assignment and roll into end of class work time

Insta challenge (if time)
Self-assessment and feedback survey

Let’s Insta!
One way to challenge the single story is to change what you look at every day. Take stock of what's on your feed?

Cruise over to the "Resources" tab of my DP and check out the list of instagram accounts
I'd encourage you to follow some or all of these!
For now, pick ONE to check out. Spend about 10 minutes reading through their posts and pick one you find interesting.
Reply to my post in our google classroom stream with the link to the insta post, your reaction, and one question it sparks for you.

Self-Assessment and Class Feedback Survey: Please fill out this survey to assess your participation in class this week and provide me with feedback as well.

HOMEWORK: Let’s check out the homework due for next Tuesday and Wednesday and why I’m assigning it.

Day 2 of Class: Colonial Mentality and Decolonization

9/15/2020

Starter 2: Should we rename the course? Why “Sub Saharan Africa”?
Check out the world map above and notice what is different.

What about it might make us reconsider renaming the course?
Why do you think the map as we know it is typically oriented the other way around?

Starter Debrief

Today's Agenda

Starter + discussion (10 minutes)
Discuss last night's assignment (20 minutes)
Racism and White Supremacy in comedy and sociological terms (20 minutes)
Homework overview (5 minutes)

Reminders

Links to readings can be found on the course calendar located on the "Resources" tab of my DP and I'll assign them in google classroom as well.
All reading assignment responses go in your digital comp book which is automatically shared with me in google classroom

TODAY’S ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

To what extent does contemporary racial justice revolution relate to colonialism?
Why should we even study the history and legacy of European’s colonialism of Africa?
How does an understanding of colonialism and the Eurocentric nature of most curricula influence your view of your own education?

What are we doing and where are we going?
Ashley will talk through why we're starting with more contemporary issues and frames for colonialism and racism today and then where we are headed from here and over the course of the semester.

Starting with the present to understand relevance today
We'll go back in time:
European colonialism and theories of imperialism with a focus on Belgium and King Leopold's rule in the Congo
We'll read a classic imperialist text called Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
We'll then study African resistance to colonialism and independence movements
Then we'll dive into neocolonialism (today!) and various theories of development/foreign aid
We'll end with a final project that will hopefully allow you the ability to work together, be creative, and tackle something of your own interest related to course content.

Definition: STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS (From one of your assigned readings)
A structural adjustment is set of economic reforms that a country must adhere to in order to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund and/or the World Bank. Structural adjustments are often a set of economic policies, including reducing government spending, opening to free trade and so on.

They got a bad rap esp. in the 80's and 90s for leading to more poverty in the Global South. Basically, these institutions would offer poorer nations loans, and then when those countries couldn't pay the loan back in time or in full, the IMF/World Bank would swoop in and say, no problem. Just offer us bananas at a super low price and only buy Sour Patch Kids from these pre-approved nations.

Thus, once the Bretton Woods institutions had “control of exports” the prices they paid for them decreased, while the cost of their own exports into Africa increased.

The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the United States, Canada, Western European countries, Australia, and Japan after the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement.

Discuss today's reading assignments: Colonialism and Decolonization Today

What do you all know about BLM?
We'll go through all four articles, having you all share your takeaways and questions.
Focusing on "Decolonizing the Curriculum"

How do we decolonize the curriculum? What does that look like in practice?
What are the consequences of a eurocentric or white curriculum? Think about the concept of "colonial mentality"
Why might it be hard to decolonize the curriculum?
How does this influence your perspective on your own education? To what extent might it influence future decisions?
How can you hold me accountable?

Racism and White Supremacy
Two Youtube Videos
Watch the following two short youtube videos and be ready to discuss your reactions and your guesses as to why I’d ask you to watch them and how they might relate to the course content thus far.

“Where are you from” ?
Next, check out this Australian comedian, of Bangladeshi descent, speak about "Reverse Racism”

Definitions, according to Robin Diangelo

Let's read the following excerpts from White Fragility defining "racism" and "white supremacy"
What are your reactions, both emotionally and intellectually, to these definitions and claims?
To what extent do you agree with Diangelo's framing?
What are your thoughts regarding the idea of “reverse racism”-- what does it mean? do you agree with Diangelo's claim regarding this term?

Homework: Let's go over work due for tomorrow and approximate time estimate.

Open up the course calendar document found on the “Resources” page of my DP OR find it in google classroom.
Click on the assignment due (Assignment #3: Danger of a Single Story)
Let’s read through it!

Welcome to IFASA

9/9/2020

Greetings!
Hi! Welcome to Advanced IFASA.
Please introduce yourself, your grade, why you’re in this class and one interesting, or little-known fact about you and a land acknowledgement for the lands in which you were born.

I’m Ashley! I teach 12th grade Humanities and advanced electives pertaining to race, identity, literature and history. I am teaching this class because of my own personal connection to Kenya, as well as my passion for studying the ways in which history has shaped the present as well as my commitment to Anti-racist education that seeks to decolonize our curriculum and ultimately our minds. If that made no sense, tonight’s homework will clarify. I have a bunion on my right toe that I hate, but have named Paul nonetheless. I was born in Denver, CO, which is the traditional territory of the Great Sioux Nation, the Ute, the Cheyenne and the Arapaho nations

Why Acknowledge Territory?

Here is the land acknowledgement map (I’ll show you guys how to use it really quickly, then give you a chance to get organized for your introduction)

Starter 1: Please go to google classroom

Click on the assignment under the topic “IFASA Course Intro” titled “Digital Compbooks”.
Follow the instructions for how to set it up. When you’re done setting up the document, give me a thumbs up!

Starter 1 Prompt: 2 minute free association with the word “Africa”
When you think about Africa, what do you think about? What images pop into your head, what sounds, what experiences do you think of? Create a list of at least 15-20 things! Don’t overthink it, just write whatever pops into your head. The more the better.

Starter Debrief

Mute your mics unless speaking
Raise hands to speak unless I'm sharing my screen-- for today, you'll need to interrupt me. Moving forward, I'll have another computer so I can have two screens up at once.
Everyone needs to share! We’ll go around one by one :)

Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift)
Let's check out a pop-culture example of just how narrow an understanding most United States citizens have about Africa.
We'll watch the video and then read the article critique.

Your initial reactions to the music video
A summary of 3 main critiques of this video from the article in your own words

This Week's Essential Questions:

What (are some of the things that ) happened in Africa BEFORE European imperialism?
To what extent does today's racial justice revolution relate or serve as a response to colonialism?
Why should we even study the history and legacy of European’s colonialism of Africa?

Homework Discussion: A Brief Foray into African History Before Colonialism

Share out which video stood out the most to you
Pick ONE of your questions from your notes and type it into the chat box. We'll discuss 3 questions.

Course Syllabus
Ok, so now that we’ve established that there are some SERIOUS stereotypes about Africa, let’s get into the ways in which we’ll try to overcome these narrow understandings and portrayals. What is this course about?

What are the images on the top of the syllabus about?
Key terms
General overview
Classroom Tech
- DP
- Google classroom
- Zoom meeting link (same for every class meeting! Located on the right hand side of my Daily Blog on my DP)
Assessment
Semester curriculum sequence
Class SCHEDULE
- Tuesdays? 1-2 or 2:15-3:15?
- Vote (type your preference in the chat box)

Should we rename the course? Why “Sub Saharan Africa”? (BREAKOUT ROOMS)
Check out the world map below.

What is different about it?
What about it might make us reconsider renaming the course?
Why do you think the map as we know it is typically oriented the other way around?

Let’s go over the homework for next week (and how to find it on my DP)

Check-in: What do you all know about what is currently happening with BLM and the racial justice revolution our nation and world is experiencing?
To find the homework, please go to the class calendar located under the “Resources” tab on my IFASA dp: www.ifasa.weebly.com I’d encourage you to bookmark the course calendar now!

IF TIME--> IFASA KWL survey: Please fill out the IFASA KWL survey to let me know a bit more about you and what you hope to get out of this course

Last Day of Class!

5/2/2019

Starter: If you were to travel abroad to do service work, how would you think differently about your work now than before you had taken this class?

Discuss feedback on IFASA!

Strengths
Ways to improve
Suggestions for content
Final Grades and self-assessment on "Engagement and Participation"

A Note on the Grades
There are 4 assignments in the gradebook and each are weighted as follows:

HoD literary analysis: 30%
Student-Led Seminar: 15%
Final Critical Analysis: 40%
Engagement and Participation: 15%

Please reflect on your engagement and participation and write me a note explaining what grade you think you deserve and WHY for that particular "assignment".

Share out your selected organization for the final assignment!

Watch: The Dangers of a Single Story, Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and final discussion

Review “How to Write About Africa”
Gut Check: To what extent have we challenged the “single story” of Africa in this class? To what extent have we reinforced it?
Tying it together: What advice does Adichie indirectly offer us with what to do with white guilt and privilege?

White Guilt and Challenging the Danger of a Single Story

4/30/2019

Discuss White Guilt and what to do with it

To what extent have you experienced white guilt? Which of the "types" have you experienced as listed in the "Anatomy of White Guilt" article?
What should we "do" with white guilt? What about white privilege? (Backing up-- to what extent do you feel like you DO have white privilege? In what ways? Examples?)

Watch: The Dangers of a Single Story, Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and final discussion

Review “How to Write About Africa”
Gut Check: To what extent have we challenged the “single story” of Africa in this class? To what extent have we reinforced it?
Tying it together: What advice does Adichie indirectly offer us with what to do with white guilt and privilege?

Homework for THURSDAY

Complete the class feedback survey for Thursday!
Finish selecting and researching your org for final assignment

Last Week of IFASA :(

4/29/2019

Review final assignment task (Due Tue. May 7th)

Discuss meeting at Bread’s new cafe for our final class this Thursday

Review all the theories/approaches to development covered this month

We'll divide up the theories listed on the linked document
Your job will be to review the reading briefly
Find a definition that you think works best for the theory
Find one QUOTE from the reading that captures the essence of the theory
We'll share out definitions/quotes and make sure we're all on the same page!

Homework for Tuesday: Exploration of white guilt and what the heck to do with it!

Read this short “Dear Sugars” article on White Guilt (2 pages)
Read this slightly longer article from Racial Equity Tools called “The Anatomy of White Guilt” (7 pages)
One last one for fun: “Talking With White Folks About Race: Responding to the Guilt, Shame and Powerlessness of White Privilege” (2 pg)

Homework for Thursday

Select and research your organization for the final assignment and be ready to share out your choice of organization on Thursday
Complete the class feedback survey for Thursday!

TOMS!

4/25/2019

Discussion about Toms!
Is TOMS doing more harm than good?

If Time:
Launch Final Assignment (linked on the course calendar)

Homework
Read “Educating the Global Humanitarian Citizen” for Friday

Try to identify the main point or thesis of this chapter
Make sure you follow the general structure of the author's argument (i.e. how does the author OUTLINE or ORGANIZE their ideas?
Mark specific passages that you are confused by so we can break those down in class tomorrow.

Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism?

4/23/2019

DISCUSS THE ASSIGNED READINGS:“Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism?”
Traditional Humanitarian Aid is Vital

What is Design Thinking? Stanford's D-School (designing for social systems)
What is the first article's critique of it?
What is the second article's point about humanitarian aid?

Let's take a look at some examples of Humanitarian Aid Design Approaches!

Scope out the website you're assigned
Find out who the organization is, what their mission statement and/or approach is
Read about one of their initiatives/projects
How do they use design thinking to try to address an issue related to development?

The Examples

MIT's D-Lab
Stanford's D-School's Impact-- Example with Noora Health
IDEO.org
Innovation and Design for Africa's Malnutrition Crisis
Applying Design Thinking to Humanitarian Gender-Based Violence
“How might we inspire medical professionals to be more willing, even excited, to provide contraceptive services to unmarried girls?” (READ THE SHORT ARTICLE AND CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE POPULATION SERVICE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION's WEBSITE)
UNHCR Innovation Service

Period. End of Sentence

Reactions to this approach to development? Would you fund this project if you were a philanthropist?
NPR Article: A 'Period' Movie Won The Oscar! So Why Are Some Menstrual Health Experts Ambivalent?