Mistaking Africa by Curtis - Essay Example

?Mistaking Africa INTRODUCTION Cultural biases or cultural biasness is fundamentally regarded as the phenomenon of judging and interpreting the standards that are inherent to one’s own culture. In other words, cultural biases tend to highlight the distinctions amid individuals and groups. The groupings relating to cultural bias can be apparently observed in various levels such as language, socio-economic status, religion and ethnicity among others. Specially mentioning, the notion i.e. cultural bias broadly engages a prejudice which advocates the preference of one particular culture over the other. It can be affirmed from a broader outlook that the critical concern of cultural bias is quite discriminative in nature (Flanagan 153). With this concern, this paper intends to provide a comprehensive understanding about own cultural biases towards Africa through reading the text i.e. Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. DISCUSSION The book of Curtis A. Keim i.e. ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ has portrayed certain significant ideas and perceptions that have broadly influenced or imposed extensive impacts especially upon social along with cultural aspects of Africa. This particular book provides a general idea about the existence of cultural biasness within the nation of Africa. According to the findings of the aforesaid book, it can be affirmed from a broader outlook that an individual can acquire a valuable idea about diverse aspects such as the use and the misuse of stereotypes, racism, exploitation and various other sorts of cultural aspects. The author in this book revealed that for several Americans, the nation i.e. Africa appears to be the indication of various surroundings i.e. dense jungles, safaris, strangely dressed tribesmen and ferocious animals. It is worth mentioning that Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ mainly concentrates upon conducting historical evolution and addressing the most widespread preconceptions along with myths concerning dissimilar cultures and people belonging to Africa (Keim 101-170). In order to present my own notions regarding cultural biases towards Africa through reading the abovementioned book of Keim, certain significant aspects need to be taken into concern and discussed broadly. In this similar context, it can be observed in Keim’s text that a huge majority of Americans considered the facets of exploitation and racism against Africa to be quite acceptable. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the Americans did enslave Africans and maintain segregation along with slavery system, though they by no means ruled colonies in Africa. According to my own perception, as the Americans did enslave the Africans, it can be stated that there laid the existence of cultural biasness within the nation by a significant level. Moreover, apart from enslaving the Africans, the treatment of the Africans as inferiors by the Americans also demonstrates the prevalence of cultural biasness within the nation at large. There also lay certain other significant evidences that have eventually developed my perception towards recognizing the prevalence of cultural biasness in the region of Africa. One of the evidences can be apparently observed in the readings of Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’. This particular evidence which proves to be quiet effective in determining the existence of cultural biasness in Africa can be related with the notion of prejudice. With reference to the reading i.e. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’, it can be revealed that with every passing decade, Americans are incessantly treating Africans with less prejudice. Though the nation i.e. Africa is growing to play an imperative role in developing worldwide economy because of its huge size, greater amount of population and accessibility of vast resources, the specific treatments of the Americans towards the Africans can be affirmed as quite unjustified by a certain degree. This vital information regarding Africa can be duly considered as one of the significant aspects, which has developed my own understanding regarding cultural biases towards Africa (Keim 101-170). After reading Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’, certain key aspects can be learned, demonstrating my own understanding about cultural biases towards Africa. In this regard, one of the vital aspects is that the factors such as exploitation, racism, treatment of prejudice and prevalence of slavery system along with segregation have imposed substantial impacts upon the development of the Africans by a considerable level. Through reading the aforesaid book of Keim relating to the context of cultural biasness in Africa, I have learnt that the Africans have been treated as inferiors by the Americans owing to possessing certain misconceptions about the nation. In this regard, the Americans strongly believe that every part of Africa is filled with jungles, the Africans share a solitary culture, religion along with language and most surprisingly, the nation does not possess any significant history. It can be affirmed that the realization of these facets eventually made the Americans to treat the Africans with inferiority and most significantly with prejudice at large. Besides, apart from realizing the above discussed facets about the nation, the exploitation made by the Americans whether directly or indirectly might also have made them to treat the Africans with prejudice and greater inferiority. Through reading Keim’s text, I have further learnt that the exploitation was mainly conducted by the Americans through a number of ways. These ways include obtaining substantial profits by performing businesses in Africa, altering African culture in terms of developing along with implementing new ideas and also through not protesting about the colonization undertaken by the Europeans in the nation (Keim 101-170). Apart from the aforesaid vital aspects, I have also learnt through the reading of Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ that the Africans are still sufficient enough to enhance their living standards up to a greater level. This can be justified with reference to the fact that today, a smaller portion of Africans live in cities and a majority of population belonging to Africa subsists in rural regions. This can be the other reason for which the Africans are treated with more inferiority along with prejudice by the Americans which has resulted in broad prevalence of the issue concerning cultural biasness within the nation. It is worth mentioning that several myths against the Africans that comprise the native Africans are the most dominant and the most negative class of people throughout the globe along with possessing a need of change based mindset eventually provide me a greater understanding about the prevalence of cultural biasness in Africa. Moreover, I also learnt that massive imposition of Western based cultural values along with principles in every region of Africa ultimately resulted in augmenting the continuation of cultural biasness within the nation by a considerable level (Keim 101-170). Thus, through the above discussion, I have evidently learnt about the existence of cultural biasness in Africa which made the Africans to be treated with prejudice and more inferiority as compared to others by the Americans that eventually restricted their development by a certain degree. CONCLUSION From the above analysis, it can be affirmed that Curtis A. Keim’s ‘Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind’ is primarily based upon the identification of cultural biasness which is prevalent in Africa. It has been apparently observed that certain crucial aspects such as the treatment of Africans with prejudice and more inferiority, their greater exploitation along with weakening of their living standards ultimately depict the existence of cultural biasness in Africa. In conclusion, it is quite obvious that the intensification in the prevalence of cultural biasness in Africa would eventually restrict the development of the Africans by a considerable extent. Works Cited Flanagan, Cara. Psychology. United Kingdom: Letts and Lonsdale, 2004. Print. Keim, Curtis A. Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind. Westview Press, 2013. Print. Read More