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Friendly Africans, Deceptive White Men: Ghanaian Narratives of the Nation
Author(s) -
Dull Laura J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2004.tb00055.x
Subject(s) - blame , white (mutation) , narrative , oppression , sociology , gender studies , ethnic group , democracy , identity (music) , globalization , vision , people of color , political science , psychology , social psychology , politics , law , race (biology) , anthropology , aesthetics , linguistics , philosophy , gene , biochemistry , chemistry
As a tutor at Peki Training College in Ghana, I noticed that particular stories about history and identity arose in discussion with students, teachers, and colleagues and in social studies textbooks. These ‘narratives of the nation’ were linked to globalization and Ghanaian visions for development. By teaching children to work hard, be honest, and study science and technology, educators hope to attract investors to Ghana. At the same time, they resist the moral decline they associate with developed countries by teaching about the importance of maintaining Ghana's similar yet diverse cultures. By ignoring or neutralizing struggles among ethnic groups and blaming ‘white men’ for past and present problems, they build a national identity around shared oppression. But educators also re‐direct negative images used against Africans toward people in villages, who they blame for holding back development and democracy.