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The Ivory Story, Africans and Africanists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

Kate B. Showers
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Extract

In the popular media and in the minds of many people resident in the northern hemisphere, Africa has two major attributes: an environment filled with exotic forms of life and landscapes, and an environment threatened with ecological collapse and human suffering. These themes often work together, providing a base from which everything from international campaigns to basic research are launched. Like all broad generalizations, these are based on small amounts of truth and large amounts of fiction, and like all generalizations, their indiscriminate application can be—and has been—extremely destructive. As these ideas are elaborated, Africans are either not mentioned at all, or are cast in the role of destructive agents. The choice of “Ecology and Environmental Issues” as the overall theme for the 1993 African Studies meetings provides an opportunity to explore and dispel these perceptions—as well as the risk of contributing to their perpetuation.

Type
Research Article
Information
African Issues , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , Winter 1994 , pp. 41 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1994

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Footnotes

*

Kate B. Showers is a Research Fellow at Boston University African Studies Center. She is an agricultural scientist by training and is concerned with interactions among landscapes, land use practices and land users.

References

Notes

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