I’ve purposely been waiting to do a post on Africa for some time now. Throughout my four-year Penn State experience, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing people that lived in the actual continent itself. I’ve also gone to several events hosted by the Penn State chapter of ASA, which is the African Student Association. Both of these interactions have allowed me gain insights on and observe the culture from true natives. For the first-time readers, please note that I enjoy comparing my culture to others and that it has been a reoccurring theme throughout the semester (refer to prior posting here/ ). Therefore, the structure of this blog is going to connect any event/personal interaction I’ve had to a related cultural characteristic as described by Moran, Moran, Abramson (2014). Also, one large connection will be made with respect to a reading I found explain the pride Africans have with respect to celebrating their culture.
After having many many conversations about our upbringing with my friends from Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon it is clear that having respect for your elders is vital. It is held to a high degree in many African American households as well but with respect to the African culture, saying something disrespect or something that may come to offend an older person (could be a parent or friend of the family) would not end well. I agree with the part in Moran, Moran, Abramson (2014, pg 514) that states young Africans may not agree with the opinions of elders but are ingrained to respect it and more than likely abide by it regardless. There are many jokes on the Internet (more offensive than not) that try to perpetuate this idea of ‘African respect”, which to me seconds that it does happen.
Among the connections I was able to make with the information in the text, I was taken aback as to how there was no mention of Africans showing their pride and love for their homeland and countries within. Moran, Moran and Abramson (2015) shockingly doesn’t hit on that in the tribal section of the chapter, I would have expected to see that African’s represent their tribes in various ways. On Penn State’s campus, there is one main event, the largest in all of Central Pennsylvania that showcase African culture to all students. This event is called Touch of Africa (TOA), as cited by PSU ASA (2015), this events’ purpose is to “display and educate students, faculty, and the community about the diverse cultures within Africa”. Black Oakland (2015) states “people across the African diaspora choose to embrace the fashion and culture of the long misrepresented continent.” This stands true by ASA’s willingness to provide African cuisine, art, fashion, music (guest African musician) and dance all within TOA. The planning that goes into this event is extremely extensive; they want to get everything right so they plan for about 6 months on end. To see a snippet of what the TOA experience is like check out this flashmob/promo video and the website link to learn more:
The prideful representing can compare to my African American culture through our love, appreciation and celebration of Hip Hop. We celebrate our fashion sense and music personification through of Hip Hop. Granted, to outsiders these two styles get merged into the same but they are very different. Gale Group (1993), states that there it is evident that with respect to music, dance and some fashion trends African Americans have integrated/combined the “African trends and made them their own. Examples can include using “African-style” instruments like banjos, tambourines, drums etc. Gale Group (1993).
The final similarity area I will briefly discuss is what Moran, Moran and Abramson (2014) titled family and kinship. Within a African and African-American house hold nothing comes before family, as the text states it is the “basic unit of African society” Moran, Moran and Abramson (pg. 511, 2014). In both groups families provide direct guidance and strict instruction on what is right and wrong for family members to do. Children in both cultures know that parents do no go for much nonsense or misbehavior because of the expectation that has been set.
With all that being said, having the ability to see similarities within the happenings, behaviors and beliefs of my culture to one that as distinctive as Africa’s is a unique experience that I very much enjoyed.
References:
African-American Culture Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies, 1993 From U.S. History in Context. (1993). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/DocumentToolsPortletWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&u=rock77357&u=rock77357&jsid=e4d5e94a5327ade410aaf530b732be83&p=UHIC:WHIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE|BT2350022001&zid=9430749ca5a437b83a58b
Africa Rising: Fashion and Pride Across the Diaspora. (2015, September 19). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://whatshappeningblackoakland.com/2015/09/19/africa-rising-fashion-and-pride-across-the-diaspora/
Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V. (2014) Managing Cultural Differences. Routledge, New York.
Penn State University. (2015). Lesson 14 : Africa. Retrieved Dec 03, 2015, from Leadership in a Global Context: https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa15/olead410/001/content/14_lesson/03_page.htm
Like you, I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more depth on the African chapter in Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014). Africa is a continent I’ve never visited and know the least about so I was hoping for some more in-depth details or a deep dive on a country or two like the other continents received in earlier chapters. Although I believe the Moran, Abramson, and Moran likely needed to make some tough cuts to keep the length of the text to an appropriate length it does feel like the birthplace of humanity could have used more investigation.
It’s interesting to think about how respect for elders may be related to other cultural aspects of Africa (tribes, less developed areas than most of the world). Also, knowing how important respect for elders in Africa is can impact doing business in Africa greatly. “Africans generally have deep and ingrained respect for old age, and even when we can find nothing to admire in an old man, we will not easily forget that his grey hairs have earned him right to courtesy and politeness” (Conton, 1966).
Knowing this, going into a business meeting you should be generally aware of the age of people in the room. This is interesting because in the United States we’re really taught to do the opposite, and treat everyone equally regardless of age. Where “young people are not expected to offer opinions in meetings” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 514) in other cultures extroversion is rewarded. Perhaps if you are traveling with a group of coworkers and presenting, thinking about age would be appropriate. Does it make sense for the oldest person to take the lead, regardless of job titles or rank? Keeping age in mind while speaking with your African counterparts may prove worthwhile. Taking the time to show respect to elders could return exponential benefits.
Bibliography
Conton, W. (1966). The African. Signet.
Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. New York: Routledge.