African Pyramids of Knowledge delves into four areas: (1)'The Intellectual Landscape,'which details what constitutes the discipline of Africology; (2)'A Mobilization of Ideas,'which discusses the hallmarks of creative and philosophical origin as they aid in the critical process of African recovery; (3)'Confronting the Historical Situation,'which proposes new ways to deal with the historical situation; and (4)'Asserting the New Cultural Reality,'envisioning what innovative examination of agency could accomplish.

Asante, Molefi Kete

United States, United States of America

Brooklyn (NY), 2015

Oct 01, 2015

2015-10-01

FR, 2015

The Afrocentric method seeks to transform human reality by ushering in a human openness to cultural pluralism that cannot exist without the unlocking of our minds for acceptance of an expansion of consciousness. I seek to overthrow parochialism, provincialism, and narrow Wotanic visions of the world by demonstrating the usefulness of an Afrocentric approach, based on beginning with ancient Kemet, to questions of knowledge. Without a plausible ideology we can never march in the same direction; Afrocentricity is essential for the collective vision. I must alert you to the overpowering value of realizing an Africa truth that has been staring us in the face for thousands of years: the permanence of the pyramids.There is nothing profound in such a pronouncement, there have been similar pronouncements by various other writers, but what is different, I hope, is the identification of the principal cause of the failure in those other formulations. In the West there have been theories and critiques that are fraught with problems whether you call them by the names of existentialism, phenomenology, structuralism, post-colonialism, or deconstruction. What we have come to know is that the proponents of these views have hedged their bets in a European worldview that is moribund when it comes to looking at the outside world. They cannot truly grasp the significance of a revolutionary idea that would challenge the Eurocentric projection of its method as universal. However, the time has come for a total re-evaluation of both intellectual privilege and the assertion of European dominance in knowledge

Afrocentricity allows the student of human culture investigating African phenomena to view the world from the standpoint of the African. As Ama Mazama has argued in The Afrocentric Paradigm, Afrocentricity's implications are multifarious and constant. Since the publication of Mazama's book two decades ago (and spurred in turn by Dr. Asante's The Theory of Social Change two decades before that), the theoretical and critical works on Afrocentricity have exploded. Dr, Asante's current book brings us into the 21st century with new avenues for research and critique.
Readers will learn how - Apply the Afrocentric method to transform human reality - Usher in a human openness to cultural pluralism unlocking of our minds for acceptance of an expansion of consciousness - Overthrow parochialism, provincialism, and narrow Wotanic visions - Demonstrate the usefulness of an Afrocentric approach, beginning with ancient Kemet, to questions of knowledge
African Pyramids of Knowledge delves into four (1) The Intellectual Landscape, which details what constitutes the discipline of Africology, (2) A Mobilization of Ideas, which discusses the hallmarks of creative and philosophical origin as they aid in the critical process of African recovery (3) Confronting the Historical Situation, which proposes new ways to deal with the historical situation and (4) Asserting the New Cultural Reality, envisioning what innovative examination of agency could accomplish.

2024-07-01