Since the emergence of negritude as a literary and philosophical creed, debates have been raging among African and black intellectuals both inside and outside the continent as to the real nature of the "true" art and culture of Africa. Some of these debates ignore history and the contact made between Africa and other parts of the world. The followers of the nationalist position hold that any Europeanism in Africa's culture is untenable and tantamount to betrayal and cultural heresy.