Sub Saharan Africa: Part 3
.
Gender Relationships
–
Strict
division of labor and responsibilities between men and women is a long-standing
tradition in many rural areas in Africa (though not all).
• Women: domestic
activities (cooking, water getting), subsistence agriculture, cash agriculture
if men migrate, crafts
• Men: Preparing land
for cultivation, cash crops, migrating for work
– Result is rural men
often work less hours than women
Gender and Sexuality
–
In
pre-colonial times, most (not all) marriages were social alliances between
families.
• Husbands and wives
spent most of their time with family members of their own sex
• To this day, men and
women have separate bank accounts for their earnings
–
Under
Islam, Christianity, and colonization, men gained power and women lost options
• Urbanization seems to
be bringing options back
–
Female
circumcision/genital mutilation most publicized, extreme gender-related
abuse/rite of passage in region
• A pre-Christian,
pre-Islamic practice
–
One
area of major concern is that not only have many countries ignored LGBTQ
rights; but some countries have made new actively discriminatory laws.
Religion
Indigenous Belief Systems/animism
–
Though
there is great diversity, most are based on maintaining contact between
departed ancestors and living people
• Children are important
to continue rituals, care for ancestors.
–
Spirits
of the deceased are believed to be all around and offer protection in return
for respect.
–
Religious
beliefs in Africa evolve continually (b/c passed orally) as new influences are
encountered
• Also, when animists
covert to new religion, often retain some of old
– Called syncretism
Religion (cont.)
•
Islam
and Christianity in Africa
–
Islam
is the predominant religion in most of northern and western Africa
• Long interaction with
Islamic Middle East
• Islamic leaders helped
the British colonize.
–
Christianity
had existed since ancient times in Ethiopia
• Missionaries spread it
in the 19th century
– Old churches do well:
More Anglicans in Africa than England, fastest growing Catholic continent
– Anglicans do well among
Middle class, evangelicals, especially those preaching the Gospel of Success,
among poor
Ethnicity and Language
–
Very
rarely do groups occupy discrete and exclusive spaces.
• Often groups are
complementary (one herds, other farms), and live peacefully
• Now people in same
group can have quite different lives if in rural or urban area
–
More
than a thousand languages are spoken in Africa
• Many are dying
• Lingua francas like Swahili
(an Arabic influenced Bantu language), English and French are taking over
Olympic Video Time
•
One
on Greece
•
Two
on Sochi (aftermath)
Questions
Almost every Olympic games (even those in giant
cities like Beijing) have a hard time using all the infrastructure and
recouping the cost. But they certainly bring a city attention, some
infrastructure improvements and most people like them while they are happening.
•
Would
you like Miami to host the Summer Olympics? Would it be worth the cost? Why or
why not?
•
As
every Olympics seem to be more expensive than the last, what is the solution?
Is the current system OK or can you think of different options?