watch on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxKOk_7bBhA Presentation for the Seminar to "Introduction to Global History" at the University of Vienna and within the Erasmus Mundus Master Programm of Global Studies '11 respectively. The presentation covers: Globalization, Global History, and Africa in form of evaluating T. Dederings equally named essay in the Journal of Asian and African Studies 2002.

1. Globalization, Global History, and Africa
Introduction to Global History (Seminar) | Hessler, Hui, Mohebi

2. Introduction
African History
Africa in a Global Order
Globalization
African Renaissance
Questions & Critique
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 2

3. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Tilmann Dedering
Associate Professor in the History department of the University of South Africa
(MA - Free University Berlin; PhD - University of Cape Town)
Research interest: Namibian studies; modern German history; world history; globalisation; history on the
Internet
Tel: 012 429 6869
Email: dedertm@unisa.ac.za
Source: http://www.unisa.ac.za/default.asp?Cmd=ViewContent&ContentID=1091
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 3

4. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 4

5. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 5

6. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 5

7. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 5

8. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 5

9. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 5

10. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African History
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 6

11. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African History
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 7

12. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Periodizations in Modern African History
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

13. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Periodizations in Modern African History
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

14. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Periodizations in Modern African History
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

15. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Periodizations in Modern African History
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

16. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Periodizations in Modern African History
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

17. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Understanding & Redefining
Periodizations in Modern African History Africa‘s marginality within a
genuine global context
Slavery Colonialism Post/Neocolonialism Globalization (?)
Ancient / (Pre)Modern Liberation & Nationalism, Postcolonialism (Democ. Democ. & Develop.,
Times Dependencies & Developm.), Legacies Globally embedded
• Slavery as itself • „Consolidation“ of • Opportunism / • 3 Horsemen
Africa Pragmatism
• Slave trade as • Global Order
explotation • Dependency • Party State /
(ideological, Development State • A. Renaissance
• Impact on Africa? structural, ...) Contradiction State
• Temporarily • Francophone /
prospering Anglophone
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 8

18. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 9

19. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Africa In A Global Order
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 10

20. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Views on Africa: David Landes | Andre Gunder Frank | Jared Diamond
Why are some so rich and some so poor?
--> Unprecedent economical, scientific, technical advances --> increasing divergence
Why did the West become the leading global power and leave the rest behind?
--> Europe unleashed inventive spirit and expanded geographical & intellectual horizons
--> Inventing important technologies, improving productivity, creating art
--> PROGRESS (other countries weren‘t able to overcome retarding cultural elements)
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 11

21. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Views on Africa: David Landes | Andre Gunder Frank (I) | Jared Diamond
No European exceptionalism --> Asia the economical engine of global history:
• More populous, more productive, more advanced
Decline of Asia‘s economy enabled Europe‘s rise
--> „[...]Europeans grabbed the opportunity [...] because they had the advantage of exploiting
relations with the Americas and Africa“ (273) --> economic, scientific, technological improvements
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 12

22. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Views on Africa: David Landes | Andre Gunder Frank (II) | Jared Diamond
Globalization new word for old phenomenon
• Imperialism, industrial revolution & capitalism do not explain global history
Colonialism just a single phase in history of global interaction
--> Claims to marginalize Africa far less than most Africanists
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 13

23. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Views on Africa: David Landes | Andre Gunder Frank | Jared Diamond (I)
Why did some have a head start, which have placed them in a more advantageous position?
Difference between advanced an primitive irrelevant <-- every society tries to make the best out of the
situation
Geographic determinism
Ability of interaction with environment and other societies decisive
East-West / North-South mechanisms of diffusions worked differently in Africa
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 14

24. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Views on Africa: David Landes | Andre Gunder Frank | Jared Diamond (II)
Agriculture --> Urbanisation --> Political Centralisation / Sophisticated Culture / Technical Innovation
Isolation --> Develop themselves --> Technological Handicaps
--> Isolation (divergence) + slavery (society) + colonialism (economy)
--> Difficulties to compete in the global arena
GEOGRAPHY and BIOGRAPHY as catalysators of dynamics
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 15

25. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Globalization
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 16

26. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Globalization
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world?
• Unbroken line of historical continuity between the past and present, as it fuses the new
buzzword “globalization” with the old one of “colonialism”
• Satanic Forces, Africans as the eternal victims of circumstances
• Whether or not Africans should be involved in this inhospitable global world
• Back to the roots / timeless tradition fixed
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 17

27. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 18

28. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance
The complex ways in which the multi-faceted socioeconomic, political, and cultural identities in the region,
and the whole continent, have been shaped and how these various histories should be integrated into
the global world (Dedering)
Some main questions:
• What is our understanding of the term ‘African identity’?
• Who is African, and how do people fit into it?
• How do Africans recover marginalised voices?
• Are there core African values which need to be recovered?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 19

29. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance from various perspectives
Mahmood Mamdani (born in 1947 in Uganda, teaching in Columbia University)
Create an awareness of African-centered knowledge and place it in a wider global historical context
Achille Mbembe (born in 1957 in Cameroon, PhD in France, working in Columbia University)
Inability to imagine Africa outside the contradictory legacies inherited from modernity
Kwesi Prah (Director of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society / CT, Sociologist and Anthropologist at various universities)
Pan-Africanists' view on how "war, pestilence, drought and famine, economic stagnation, political
confusion and AIDS have taken control over our lives"
Paul Gilroy (born in 1956 in London, Professor at the London School of Economics)
No return to the idealized roots of an African identity
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 20

30. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance from various perspectives
Mahmood Mamdani (born in 1947 in Uganda, teaching in Columbia University)
Create an awareness of African-centered knowledge and place it in a wider global historical context
Achille Mbembe (born in 1957 in Cameroon, PhD in France, working in Columbia University)
Inability to imagine Africa outside the contradictory legacies inherited from modernity
Kwesi Prah (Director of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society / CT, Sociologist and Anthropologist at various universities)
Pan-Africanists' view on how "war, pestilence, drought and famine, economic stagnation, political
confusion and AIDS have taken control over our lives"
Paul Gilroy (born in 1956 in London, Professor at the London School of Economics)
No return to the idealized roots of an African identity
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 20

31. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance from various perspectives
Mahmood Mamdani (born in 1947 in Uganda, teaching in Columbia University)
Create an awareness of African-centered knowledge and place it in a wider global historical context
Achille Mbembe (born in 1957 in Cameroon, PhD in France, working in Columbia University)
Inability to imagine Africa outside the contradictory legacies inherited from modernity
Kwesi Prah (Director of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society / CT, Sociologist and Anthropologist at various universities)
Pan-Africanists' view on how "war, pestilence, drought and famine, economic stagnation, political
confusion and AIDS have taken control over our lives"
Paul Gilroy (born in 1956 in London, Professor at the London School of Economics)
No return to the idealized roots of an African identity
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 20

32. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance from various perspectives
Mahmood Mamdani (born in 1947 in Uganda, teaching in Columbia University)
Create an awareness of African-centered knowledge and place it in a wider global historical context
Achille Mbembe (born in 1957 in Cameroon, PhD in France, working in Columbia University)
Inability to imagine Africa outside the contradictory legacies inherited from modernity
Kwesi Prah (Director of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society / CT, Sociologist and Anthropologist at various universities)
Pan-Africanists' view on how "war, pestilence, drought and famine, economic stagnation, political
confusion and AIDS have taken control over our lives"
Paul Gilroy (born in 1956 in London, Professor at the London School of Economics)
No return to the idealized roots of an African identity
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 20

33. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
African Renaissance from various perspectives
Mahmood Mamdani (born in 1947 in Uganda, teaching in Columbia University)
Create an awareness of African-centered knowledge and place it in a wider global historical context
Achille Mbembe (born in 1957 in Cameroon, PhD in France, working in Columbia University)
Inability to imagine Africa outside the contradictory legacies inherited from modernity
Kwesi Prah (Director of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society / CT, Sociologist and Anthropologist at various universities)
Pan-Africanists' view on how "war, pestilence, drought and famine, economic stagnation, political
confusion and AIDS have taken control over our lives"
Paul Gilroy (born in 1956 in London, Professor at the London School of Economics)
No return to the idealized roots of an African identity
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 20

34. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Resumee
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 21

35. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Critiques
• South African perspective, South Africa not really representative for the African continent
• Collection of opinions, hardly an own opinion
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 22

36. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 23

37. Introduction | History | Global Order | Globalization | Renaissance | Resumee
Central Questions
What are the different views on the integration of Africa into a comprehensive picture of global
history?
How did Eurocentric and Afrocentric ideas influence the debate about Africa‘s position in the
face of global challenges?
Where can postcolonial Africa be located in the global world? How can the impact of
globalization to Africa be perceived?
Where should Africa intersect with the rest of the world in regard of African values and African
morality? What is African Renaissance and how should it proceed?
Präsentation: Moritz Hessler ©, Noel Hui, Shadi Mohebi | Vienna, December 2009 23

38. Thank You!
Hessler, Hui, Mohebi
Sources
T. Dedering: Globalization, Global History, and Africa;
Journal of Asian and African Studies 2002; 37; 271
G. Hyden: The Movement Legacy; in: African Politics in
a Comparative Perspective; Cambridge University
Press; London; 2005; 314 pp.
S. Friedman: An accidental advance? South Africa’s
2009 Elections; Journal of Democracy, 29, 10/2009,
pp. 108 – 122
P. Vale / S. Maseko: South Africa and the African
Renaissance; in: Royal Institute of International Affairs,
Vol. 72, No. 2, 1998, pp. 271-287
The African Renaissance, http://web.uct.ac.za/
depts/ricsa/confer/me99/procs/pro_afre.htm
The Motherland Trailer, http://web.uct.ac.za/depts/
ricsa/confer/me99/procs/pro_afre.htm