ICH4801 Assignment 2 (COMPLETE
ANSWERS) 2025 - DUE 2025
,ICH4801 Assignment 2 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2025 - DUE
2025
SECTION A: COMPULSORY SECTION 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 socio-economic
landscape of Africa. Therefore, the restoration of Africa’s
intellectual and cultural history needs to be at the centre
of political and economic reconstruction and should not
be treated in isolation. A common observation in
previously colonised societies during the post-colonial
period is the patronising continuation of colonial myths
and stereotypes that represent the culture of the colonised
as inferior (Alvares, 1991). Colonial powers regarded Asian
and African people as belonging to ‘backward’ or ‘child
races’, who were inherently inferior because of their skin
colour and perceived immorality, laziness, as well as a
disregard for the sacredness of human life (Kies, 1953).
These stereotypes became an integral part of the colonial
educational systems. To maintain the political and social
dominance of the colonisers, the real history of colonies
was suppressed and replaced with the history of the
coloniser, which was alienating to the local populations.
The continuation of a colonial worldview and lifestyle after
ANSWERS) 2025 - DUE 2025
,ICH4801 Assignment 2 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2025 - DUE
2025
SECTION A: COMPULSORY SECTION 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 socio-economic
landscape of Africa. Therefore, the restoration of Africa’s
intellectual and cultural history needs to be at the centre
of political and economic reconstruction and should not
be treated in isolation. A common observation in
previously colonised societies during the post-colonial
period is the patronising continuation of colonial myths
and stereotypes that represent the culture of the colonised
as inferior (Alvares, 1991). Colonial powers regarded Asian
and African people as belonging to ‘backward’ or ‘child
races’, who were inherently inferior because of their skin
colour and perceived immorality, laziness, as well as a
disregard for the sacredness of human life (Kies, 1953).
These stereotypes became an integral part of the colonial
educational systems. To maintain the political and social
dominance of the colonisers, the real history of colonies
was suppressed and replaced with the history of the
coloniser, which was alienating to the local populations.
The continuation of a colonial worldview and lifestyle after
