Authors

Antonio L. Rappa

DOI: 10.54646/bijsshr.014

Abstract

At first, my intention in this article was to write about imperialism and agency in sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on British Imperialism. However, as the article evolved over the months, it became gradually clearer that the idea of the agency was not only outdated, based on various reviews, but also unwarranted. This is because of the wide range of possibilities and prospects for agents in the colonial and postcolonial worlds. Therefore, the concept of agency was removed from the title, but it does not make the importance of agency as a recourse for resisting oppression, authoritarianism, and tyranny any less important. One might think that the narratives of imperial colonial Africa have become over-mined since the fin de siècle but the reality is that the consequences of those narratives continue to wreak havoc in the modern African worldview regardless of how many millions have died fighting against its largesse. This is sufficient motivation to continue our struggle in the search for authenticity and agency in postcolonial Africa and modern Africa itself. This article is about the cultural logic of African society and how the social construction of village identity is contingent on tribal elders and gate-keepers, shamanism, colonial authoritarianism, and oral traditions. The logic of the African village during the postcolonial era is defined as the skewed colonial rationale for the cartographization and control of the colonial subject as part of a larger western imperialist project and the imposition of alien White rule on Africa.

Keywords

Colonial Africa, Symbolic Interpretation, Cultural Logic, western imperialism, and agency.