As the academic year is beginning to wind down for some of us, we would like to welcome new readers to the CIHA Blog. At CIHA, we seek to foreground critical and religious voices to examine connections between faith, governance, gender, and race in colonial and post-colonial contexts. Through our analysis and dialogue, we strive for equality, justice, and respect for others’. Today we would like to take a moment to highlight some of the work produced thus far in 2019 which has been featured on CIHA.
Over the past 6 months, we have stood in support of those affected by Tropical Cyclone Idai, which struck most severely Zimbabwe’s Chimanimani and Chipinge districts, and adjoining regions of Mozambique and Malawi, causing unprecedented destruction of life, homes, clinics, schools, businesses, whole neighborhoods, roads, bridges, and crop fields. CIHA contributor Mhoze Chikowero brought our attention to a Go Fund Me relief fund to support those affected by the disaster. Sadly, just before the cyclone, an extraordinary scholar and friend, Pius Adesanmi, was killed when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed shortly after takeoff. You can read several moving tributes to this great man here.
In our ongoing series, “Track Changes,” we critique online content that we have found to be problematic in its assumptions, framing, or language and provide questions or thoughts provoked by each piece. In our post Kenya and the New York Times redux by CIHA Blog Co-Editor, Dr. Cecelia Lynch, we critique the controversial reporting by the New York Times of the Dusit Hotel attack in Nairobi. The criticism leveled by CIHA and many others, justifiably focused on the choice of The NYTimes to publish a photograph of two people’s slumped and bloodied bodies. The Times, for its part, refused requests to take down the photo, stating that its policy was to demonstrate the horror and protesting that the image was not “sensationalized“. In response, Kenyan social media exploded with examples of how bloodied victims’ bodies were not similarly shown in tragedies occurring in the U.S.
Another of our Co-Editors, Father Dr. Toussaint Kafarhire Murhula, of the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations in Nairobi was interviewed about the elections in Congo on AM Live in Kenya. He discusses the political history of Congo and his thoughts on Félix Tshisekedi’s win. Check out the video here.
We also featured several posts reviewing or highlighting scholarship relevant to CIHA’s focus on religion, feminisms, and African scholarship. Gyaviira Kisitu from UKZN in South Africa reviewed A Life in Letters: Selected Correspondence of Denis Hurley. He found that the book was timely, especially in the South African community, which despite the 1994 celebration of democracy continues to ask as to whether, or not and to what extent the post-apartheid era envisages liberation, peace, and social justice to all. This book review demonstrates the ethical complexities and evolution of an influential Catholic leader in South Africa,and taps into ongoing struggles for justice in the country. We also featured the open-access special issue of Meridians on “African Feminism – Cartographies for the 21st Century” with an extended introduction by issue co-editor, Dr. Gabeba Baderoon, who also tells us about her scholarly and creative writing. We also reposted Haythem Guesmi’s The Gentrification of African Studies with an extended commentary by Edwin Adjei and Abena Kyere, our editorial assistants from the University of Ghana to highlight the work that the African Studies Association of Africa (ASAA) is doing to promote African scholarship on the continent.
Speaking of the ASAA, did you know their biannual meeting is coming up this October in Nairobi? The deadline has been extended for the Call for Papers and Panels to May 30th for papers and June 15th for panels.
We also had many lively posts coming from Ghana which covered everything from pastors to Gandhi to Corporate Social Responsibility! Artist Amarkine Amarteifio discusses the Menzgold saga – a Ponzi scheme that left some customers devastated and bankrupt. Amarteifio draws parallels between the Menzgold scheme and predatory pastors in Ghana with and extended introduction by CIHA Editorial Assistants, Abena Kyere and Edwin Adjei .In a related post, Amarteifio discusses how charismatic pastors marketed a new brand of Christianity, and in doing so, changed the image and relationships of the church in Ghana. Finally, Amarteifio adds his voice to the numerous and varied arguments that have been traded over the last year on the need or otherwise for Ghana to invest in the erection of a national cathedral. Additionally, Wunpini Mohammed, Anli Xiao, and Erica Hilton offer a write-up of their article on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ghana’s Telecommunication companies. In this post they suggest ways in which CSR could actually benefit communities and become more self-reflective.
And finally, CIHA has been following the #GandhiMustFall movement from Ghana since its inception. We have previously posted about the initial petition to bring down the statue, news that the statue will come down, and other updates. The statue has been taken down and we posted a reflection by Dr. Ọbádélé Kambon about the work involved in making this happen, a timeline of events, and future directions for Ghana and other countries with similar statues.
We are always happy to see that our posts spur conversations both online and off and look forward to continued engagement with our readers.