A Response to Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's, "Declonising The Mind"
Craft a 250 word critical response to Ngugi's Decolonising the Mind. If we understand Ngugi's suggestions regarding African literature--that African literature isn't authentically African unless written in an African language--as a means to an end rather than an end itself, what do you think is Ngugi's ultimate objective (or end)? Explain.
Essay #2: Critical Race Theory
Consider Tara Yosso’s
Critical Race Counterstories along the Chicana/Chicano Educational Pipeline.
Opponents of CRT note that its beliefs are, of course, untestable, and as such, one has no choice but to accept or reject CRT outright, not based on empirical, rational reflection, but on one’s emotional reaction to the fictional, highly subjective “evidence” that is the basis on which all CRT claims are supported: the counterstory; moreover, such critics contend that CRT, rather than promoting positive change, reinforces racial and ethnic stereotypes by rejecting logical thought in favor of anecdotal evidence. How do you respond to these criticisms? Is CRT invalid because its tenets are largely untestable? Explain.
Additionally, your essay should include a critical analysis of the film we watched in class,
Freedom
Writers, through the theoretical lens of CRT. One way to integrate the film into your essay is to use it to test the validity of CRT.
tl;dr Is it okay that Yosso uses stories rather than empirical evidence to prove her points?
Requirements:
4-6 page minimum
Meaningful critique of the Freedom Writers film
Close analysis of cited evidence (both primary and secondary)
MLA style throughout, including a Works Cited page
Avoid five paragraph essays
See schedule for draft stage due dates
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
NGUGIS DECLONISING THE MIND
Ngugi wa Thiong'o started his literacy works in English and succeeded but finally changed them to Gikuyu his mother tongue. The book “Decolonising the Mind” explains how he became a Gikuyu Writer to exhort other African writers to write in their mother tongues. It provides a distinct anti-imperialist view on the ongoing debate on the destiny of Africa as well as the language's role in fighting and effecting imperialism and neocolonialism contexts in African countries.
Many African writers utilize imperialists’ languages like the Portuguese, French and English languages forced on them. This is because after colonization they have never ended colonialism and slavery in their minds. They see their languages as inelegant, shameful and incapable of presenting intellectual and scientific thoughts as well as very crude for exportation to other lands. And so they write using foreign languages instead of growing African language literature.
Ngugi makes a good stance that the association of Africans to the forced language is unique from that of their local ones. Speaking as well as writing in colonial languages is distinct from the native languages. Additionally, the colonial languages are truly foreign as sections of the society comprehend it badly and therefore, some audiences cannot get the works in these languages.
Ngugi is concerned about education’s focus that has employed foreign languages calling them as destructive: “therefore, language and literature were taking us further and further from ourselves to other selves, from our world to other worlds” (Thiong’o 12). Clearly, there is need to develop works that indicate the real African involvement from the local’s view point. Local languages are integral parts of showing the...
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