The "WWI Bush Ghost" of German East Africa.
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The "WWI Bush Ghost" of German East Africa. (10 pp) This discussion will look at an amazing period of World War One history concerning the conflict between the Germans and the British in East Africa. (German East Africa encompassed all of present-day Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. Its 384,180 square miles exceeded the size of Germany and France combined. Its borders ranged from Kenya-Uganda and Lake Victoria in the north; to the Congo, Rhodesia and Lake Tanganyika in the west; to Nyasaland (with Lake Nyasa) and Portuguese Mozambique in the south. The Indian Ocean presented a natural border in the east.) Paul Von Lettow-Vorbeck was the consistent German player, with about 300 German officers and 11,000 black colonial troops, during this conflict, and we will see much of the information from his point of view, concerning this seldom reported period. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: Bbvorbck.doc

Women in Africa
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This 10 page paper looks at women in Africa historically through the 1500s and analyzes their roles. Gender differences are discussed in terms of religion and tribal traditions as well as the influences of the Europeans on male/female models. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: SA48Afrc.wps

Ritualistic Female Mutilation
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A 9 page essay on the practice of female genital mutilation considered traditional in many parts of Africa. Though not as prevalent in the cities, the estimated numbers of girls subjected to the ritualistic surgery, normally without the benefit of anaesthesia, is between 90 and 94 percent. When researchers ask why the mutilations are performed, the standard reply is that it is tradition, or (more rarely) that it enhances beauty. Native women are working with villagers to help end the practice, trying to help them see that not only is this surgery unncessary, it is also physically and psychologically damaging for a life time. Bibliography lists 8 sources.
Filename: Mutilate.wps

Women As Part Of The History Of The Sahara
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This 15 page paper looks at the nations surrounding and affected by the Sahara Desert, as well as role of women in Saharan Africa throughout history. Bibliography lists 14 sources.
Filename: Sahara.wps

The Oral Tradition in African Literature
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Walter Ong, in his work Orality and Literacy, stated that the oral cultures of the world are based in words that have not static objects, but instead are comprised of events, power and actions (31-32). This 5 page paper considers the basic premise of Ong's basic evaluations of oral traditions, and demonstrates them through a view of Courlander and Herzog's recount of the African short story 'Talk.' Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Filename: Oraltrad.wps