End of arrogance : Africa and the West--understanding their differences / Helmut Danner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Danner, Helmut.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civilization.

International relations.

Africa--Foreign relations--Europe--21st century.

Africa.

Europe--Foreign relations--Africa--21st century.

Europe.

Africa--Civilization--21st century.

Diplomatic relations.

Physical Description:

vi, 170 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Nairobi, Kenya : East African Educational Publishers, 2012.

Summary:

Having worked in Africa for years with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (an NGO involved in political education work), Danner here shares his thoughts on the development relationship between Africa and the West. He presents three major theses: that the relationship between and the encounter of the West and Africa is disturbed due to their common history; that better knowledge of each other is pertinent to a relationship that is based on mutual respect; and that the approach to reflect on these issues has to be a mutual understanding that can overcome both colonial attitudes and anti-colonial resentments while remaining cognizant of the ways different cultures approach things. Distributed in the US by African Books Collective. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Introduction. Non-understanding ; The intention of this essay

History of the relationship between Africa and the West. The unknown history of Africa ; The 'discovery' and subjugation of Africa by Europeans ; A disturbed relationship

African social structure. Kenyatta on education and community ; Some features of African society ; 'Village' and 'city' : tradition and modernity ; The 'master-servant society' ; 'Kenyan cowboys' : the need for integration

Ethics. Social context of ethics ; European and African sources of moral rules ; Ethics in the encounter of Africa and the West ; The 'immoral' side of African politics

Spirituality. The Western difficulty in understanding African spirituality ; More examples ; Supra-natural powers ; Christianity and Islam in the African context

Reason and individualism in Europe. Galileo Galilei as an example ; The Enlightenment

Excursion : understanding and interpretation. Theory of understanding : 'hermeneutics' ; Understanding the alien, a 'practical hermeneutics' ; 'Hermeneutics of development cooperation'

The encounter of two cultures. Differences ; Enlightenment in Africa ; Perceptions ; Understanding and learning

'Development'. What is development for Africa? ; The West as the model? ; Global contexts ; Democracy and 'pseudo-elders'

End of arrogance.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 156-163) and index.

ISBN:

9789966258380

9966258388

OCLC:

811839171