FIVE THINGS EVERY STUDENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AFRICA - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 22
About This Presentation
Title:

FIVE THINGS EVERY STUDENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AFRICA

Description:

Title: FIVE THINGS EVERY STUDENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AFRICA Author: jds Last modified by: jds Created Date: 4/28/2002 5:12:22 PM Document presentation format – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:347
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 23
Provided by: jds99
Learn more at: http://homework.jds.org
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: FIVE THINGS EVERY STUDENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AFRICA


1
FIVE THINGS EVERY STUDENT SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
AFRICA
2
INFORMATION FROMLYNN M
THOMASASSISTANT PROFESSORHISTORY DEPARTMENT OF
U.WASHINGTONGLOBAL TEACH PRESENTATION27 MARCH
2000
3
1AFRICA IS A HUGE DIVERSE CONTINENT NOT A
COUNTRY
  • 11.8 million square miles
  • Environmentally diverse savannah, desert
    rainforest
  • Over 1,100 languages
  • 2/3 rural 1/3 urban
  • Range of social classes and income levels

4
(No Transcript)
5
AFRICA - ECOREGIONS
6
AFRICA CLIMATE
7
2AFRICA IS A CONTINENT OF ENORMOUS CULTURAL AND
HISTORICAL RICHNESS
  • Religion and music
  • Great civilizations and great people
  • --ancient Egypt, Nubia, East African Coast,
    Ghana, Songhay, Mali and Great Zimbabwe
  • Beautiful objects

8
AFRICAN MASKS
9
3AFRICA IS NOT A DISTANT PLACE FROM THE US
  • There is a long history of connections between
    Africa and the Americas
  • Humans originated in the Rift valley (East
    Africa) 2 million years ago
  • Trans Atlantic slave trade
  • Liberia Americas colony
  • US trade and strategic interests in Africa

10
4WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS FACINGAFRICAN
COUNTRIES WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY OF
SLAVERY AND COLONIALISM
11
HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND COLONIALISM
  • Legacies of slave trade (c. 1500 1830)
  • -Africa as exporter of resources
  • - plantation slavery fueled development of
    modern and unequal world economy
  • Legacies of European colonialism (c.1880 1960)-
  • - creation of nations
  • - African countries as food importers

12
5IN THE FACE OF PROFOUND ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL CHALLENGES, PEOPLE ACROSS AFRICA ARE
STRUGGLING WITH DETERMINATION AND CREATIVITY TO
BUILD BETTER LIVESAFRICANS ARE NOT SIMPLY
VICTIMS IN NEED OF A HANDOUT
13
RESOURCES
  • African studies outreach program at Boston
    University
  • www.bu.eud/afr/Outreach
  • Stanford guide to internet resources on Africa
  • http//www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/heal
    th.html
  • APIC
  • www.africapolicy.org

14
AFRICA - OVERVIEW
15
AFRICA OVERVIEW Landscape/Geography
  • REGIONS
  • North Africa
  • SubSaharan Africa West Africa
  • Central Africa
  • East Africa
  • Southern Africa

16
Landscape/Geography
  • REGIONS
  • desert
  • grasslands
  • tropical rain forests
  • mountains

17
Landscape/Geography
  • SubSaharan Africa
  • Escarpments near coastline levels to a hilly
    plateau
  • Few harbors
  • Rivers difficult to navigate
  • Hinders communication and contact among African
    peoples

18
Landscape/Geography
  • SubSaharan Africa
  • 1/3 of Africas land is deserts
  • 2000 years ago the Sahara Desert was green
    pastureland
  • Drought over farming and overgrazing turns
    marginal land into barren wasteland
  • Example Sahel Region

19
AGRICULTURE
  • Most Africans are farmers
  • North and South corn and potatoes
  • Central coffee, bananas,
    tobacco, cocoa
  • ¼ land is suitable for grazing
  • Difficulty with disease and drought
  • Only continent not self-sufficient for food

20
OTHER ECONOMY
  • Rain forests produce valuable hardwoods
  • - logging limited due to undeveloped
    transportation networks
  • Mineral reserves
  • - oil (Nigeria, Libya, Algeria)
  • - diamonds (South Africa, Namibia)
  • - copper - (Zambia, Zaire)

21
OTHER ECONOMY
  • Wildlife
  • Major threat poachers
  • Only found in abundance in
  • - Tanzinias Serengeti Plains
  • - Botswanas Kalahari Desert

22
HISTORY
  • 8000 year history
  • - pyramids in Egypt _at_ 3000 BCE
  • - 1500s European exploration and colonization
  • - After WW11 period of African Nationalism
  • - 1946 1980 All African colonies receive
    independence (Namibia in 1990)
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com