ICH4801 ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 1 2025

ICH4801 ASSIGNMENT 2 SEMESTER 1 2025 QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED ANSWERS Question 1 [40 marks] Question 1(a) (20 marks) – compulsory Read the given extract titled, "Colonialism, coloniality and post-colonial Africa: a conceptual framework", from chapter 7 of the prescribed book (Seroto, Davids & Wolhuter 2020) and then answer the questions that follow. Colonialism, coloniality and post-colonial Africa: a conceptual framework Post-colonial reconstruction of African societies cannot be limited to political and economic transformation. Due to the predominance of Western epistemologies and systems of education during and after colonialism, the African masses often became oblivious to their forgotten history. Western European colonial policies such as 'assimilation' (French) and 'assimilados' (Portuguese) were based on a rejection of the local culture and an adoption of a foreign, European culture – essentially a denial of an African identity. The African elite that worked in close collaboration with the colonial administration often became the main protagonists of European culture. When a few African leaders met in Addis Ababa in 1963 to establish the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the objective was to liberate the continent from colonialism and apartheid. While apartheid was abolished in 1994, African countries remained largely dependent on foreign aid which compromised their political and economic independence. Without achieving its objectives, the OAU was dissolved in July 2002 and transformed into the African Union (AU), which aimed to unite its fifty-three member-states politically, socially and economically. The AU intended to address the old African problems afresh through the promotion of democracy, good governance and foreign investment (Carbone, 2002). For a long time, Africa seems to have been suffering from the aftermath of colonialism, which has posed serious challenges to its economic development and independence. The colonial legacy left behind structural inequalities that were difficult to eradicate. However, Smith argues that 'there can be no social justice without cognitive justice' and calls for an ecology of knowledge(s) that enables alternative ways of knowing and scientific knowledge to co-exist (Smith, 2012:214). The inspiration of an African Renaissance, which is mainly about cultural and intellectual revitalisation, should become an integral part of transforming and reconstructing the