African Studies Research Papers/Topics

Farmer-Herder Conflicts: A Case Study Of Fulani Herdsmen And Farmers In The Agogo Traditional Area Of The Ashanti Region

ABSTRACT This thesis examines conflicts over natural resources between pastoralists and indigenous farming communities in Agogo, in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. In recent years, Agogo has gained much coverage in the media over these conflicts.  This study attempts to unravel the underlying causes of these conflicts.  It argues that the conflicts are shaped by three different interests: farmers, herders and chiefs. The chiefs are interested in gaining revenues from land and natural resource...

Popes’ Complicities In The ‘Negro’ Slave Trade, 15th Century To 19th Century.

ABSTRACT Catholic Church historians and the Papacy had claimed to have vehemently condemned slave trade at every instance. Catholic historians and scholars like Luigi Conti and Panzer have done their best to grant an intellectual absolution to the seat of the Pope by carefully whitewashing the ugly part of their history and eulogizing the Catholic Church for being at the forefront of the abolitionist movement. I contend that a thorough analysis of Papal bull, treaties and the classic works o...

‘Alternative’ Female Genital Cutting Discourses? A Study of the Maasai of Kajiado, Kenya

ABSTRACT The study examines knowledge construction on female genital cutting (FGC) and notions of womanhood and the resultant discourses by the Maasai community in Kajiado, Kenya. There has been a global upsurge in anti-FGC interventions by the international community, feminist movements, national governments, and NGOs in the last three decades which have described FGC as a barbaric practice that violates the health and human rights of docile and helpless women and girls. Kajiado has been...

Youth And Conflict In The Volta Region: A Case Of Peki And Awudome Relations, 1990-2013

ABSTRACT Inter and intra ethnic conflicts over land are many and could be found in almost every region in Ghana. These pose serious threat to peace, stability and development that the country seems to be enjoying, if not well managed. The study focused on the intra-ethnic conflict of Peki and Awudome in the Volta region of Ghana. The study, specifically, looked at the causes, sequence and effects of the conflict on the development of the youth in the areas of agriculture, education, health,...

Silencing The Spirits Of The Shrines: The Impact Of Tin Mining On Berom Religion And Ecology

ABSTRACT The Jos Plateau environment in general and Beromland in particular has witnessed severe decimation and change due to a number of agents of change. These agents of change have created a great ecological imbalance on the land, even as tin mining activities have left behind human-made ponds, dumps, bare vegetation, and have precipitated an avalanche of gully erosion and other activities of denudation that are now a common phenomenon on the Jos Plateau landscape. Many researchers ha...

The Role Of Religious Institutions In Governance In Africa: The Case Of The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference

ABSTRACT The focus of the study is to examine the role of religious institutions in governance in Africa using as a case study the Ghana Catholic Bishops‘ Conference and its interventions on governance issues in Ghana since the inauguration of the Fourth Republic. In all 35 documents were carefully examined. The documents include Communiqués, Pastoral letters, Joint statements and other special messages found in the archives of the GCBC at the National Catholic Secretariat in Accra. Each d...

Do Women Also Give ‘Chop Money’? The Financial Contribution Of Women To The African Household

ABSTRACT The sharing of domestic expenses between conjugal units in Ghanaian households has changed overtime. The way and manner in which conjugal units in rural Ghana shared their domestic expenses tend to be different from how conjugal units in urban Ghana share their domestic expenses. This is as a result of the change in factors such as the shift from the farming system in agrarian economies of the rural areas to monetized urban economies where there is the market system, access to educat...

Towards Electing Women Into National Executive Offices: Challenges Of Women’s Political Participation Within Political Parties In Ghana’ S Fourth Republic.

ABSTRACT Since the commencement of the fourth republic on 7th January 1993, the NDC and NPP have dominated the space of governance. As such, these parties have become major vehicles that drive citizens’ participation in politics. Political participation, therefore becomes complete when all members of the party including women are able to participate at the peak of the party as occupants of the high national executive offices. The thesis seeks to explain why no woman has been able to occupy ...

Environmental Discourses, Charcoal Production And Plantations In The Kintampo Area

ABSTRACT The study involves farmers, charcoal producers, and plantation developers in Weila, a community in Kintampo, a district in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana. Plantation suggested as a sustainable alternative for charcoal production does not support other rural livelihoods and rural inhabitants are excluded from its development due to the high capital required. The nature of integration between farming and charcoal production and tree plantation is investigated. Also the study examines...

The Contexts And Meaning In Asante Dance Performance: The Case Of Kete

ABSTRACT Dance is an important aspect of the culture of the Ghanaian (African). Dance embodies and articulates the philosophies of the culture, the origin, and serves as a unique symbol of identity. Our increasing interaction with various world cultures has undermined certain aspects of our dance heritage. We incorporate ideas which threaten our indigenous philosophies and symbols of our identities to the detriment of our uniqueness as Ghanaians or Africans. Unfortunately, dance is one aspect...

A Case Study Of Medicine Preparation And Healing Procedure In Abora

Abstract A good deal of literature is available about the healing procedures of traditional herbalists in different areas o f Ghana. However, little information can be found about this subject among the coastal Fante. This study attempts to record in detail the activities of two traditional herbalists living in this area. Another objective is to find out whether, and in what situations, fishermen go to a traditional herbalist. The research was carried out through participant observation and ...

Land, Urbanisation, And Custom In The Upper-East Region Of Ghana: The Case Of Navrongo, 1927- The Present

ABSTRACT  Ghana’s land tenure system is a blend of customary and statutory tenure systems and this is viewed as a complex network of interrelationships, characterised by various actors. In such a situation, it is expected that land disputes and tenure insecurity will be rife, especially in the urban and peri-urban areas. This study reveals that the tension between customary, statutory land regulations and practices, are a result of a clash of jurisdictions. The study also provides insight...

The Koforidua Archives: A Historical Study

ABSTRACT This thesis is a historical study of the Eastern Regional branch of the Public Records and Archives Administration Department conveniently referred to in this work as Koforidua Archives. It emphasises important issues such as acquisition, preservation practices, human resource development, storage and environmental conditions which are critical for archival management and historical enquiry. The history of many of the people in the Eastern Region of Ghana is embodied in the documenta...

Economic Enterprises Of The Basel Mission Society In The Gold Coast: A Study Of The Basel Mission Trading Company From 1859 To 1917

ABSTRACT During the ninety years of operation on the Gold Coast (1828-1918), the Basel missionaries did not limit themselves to their primary task of evangelism. As part of the efforts to achieve their aim of total social transformation of converts, the missionaries promoted the establishment of schools, linguistic studies, agricultural experimentation and other economic ventures. A trading post which evolved into the Basel Mission Trading Company (BMTC) was established at Christiansborg in 1...

The 1999 Constitution And The Management Of Indigene-Settler Crisis In Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT In Nigeria, relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution prescribe ways to manage intergroup relationships and contentious issues among constituent parts within the realm. However, the constitution is not definitive in specifying statuses of indigenes and/or settlers, thereby opening those sections on „indignity‟ to misrepresentation and abuse, occasioning communal crisis in Jos since 2001. Drawing heavily on sociological and political perspectives, extant literature on indigene-se...


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