Africa Today

Introduction

Africa is a large continent that stretches across parts of both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. As a result of its length, the continent is often divided into North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to the differences in the physical and the cultural geographies of these regions.

The people who live in the region of North Africa, the part of the continent which borders the Mediterranean Sea and includes lands in the Sahara Desert, are culturally different from the people of Sub-Saharan Africa. North Africa has large Arab and Egyptian populations which predominantly practice the Muslim faith and speak Arabic languages.

The people of Sub-Saharan Africa are mainly the descendants of the African tribes, most of which eventually fell under the foreign rule of European nations (imperial rule). The current nations (except Ethiopia and Liberia) were seized or taken as colonies by European nations that divided up sub-Saharan Africa with little regard for the native peoples and their tribes. In fact, the European countries which took over often divided tribes between nations and created land boundaries which contained tribes of people who were often enemies. The European countries used the natural resources of these lands to benefit themselves and did little to improve the conditions of their territories. Once the European countries withdrew and the African countries became independent nations, they began to attempt to undo the impact of their colonial history. This was very difficult as many of the European countries continued to have a great deal of economic influence over their former territories. Today, many African nations struggle to implement strong governments and maintain peace within their boundaries. We will explore these and many of the other current issues relevant to the region in this unit of study.

Module Lessons Preview

In this module, we will study the following topics:

Culture

Africa is known for a variety of ethnic groups, religious groups, and key cultural traits. As Africa developed in its post imperialism years, many countries have struggled with ethnic and religious tensions due to the vast variety of cultural characteristics.

Location

Africa has a variety of geographical features from the hot deserts to vast jungles. With such a variety of terrains, they face several unique environmental issues across the continent. Deforestation, pollution, and desertification have impacted the growing population.

Governance

Africa is often portrayed as being politically unstable, but Africa is a diverse continent with a variety of government structures. Several key nations such as Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa all have forms of democracy and growing economies.

Key Terms

Literacy Rate- the percentage of a population that can read and write
"Mother Tongue"- a language a person learns first in childhood; native language
Civil War- war fought between factions within the same nation
African Union- a confederation of almost all of the nations in Africa; leaders of member states meet to debate and make decisions that reflect its motto of "a united and strong Africa"
Life Expectancy- the expected number of years a person will live in an area based on the average life span in that region
Developing Country- also called a Less Developed Country (LDC) is a nation with a low living standard and underdeveloped industrial base; for statistical use only; sometimes referred to as an emerging country
Developed Country- also called a More Developed Country (MDC) is a sovereign state that has a highly developed economy and advanced infrastructure
Unitary Government- one central government
Democratic Government- government that is run by the people who live under it
Confederation Government- a government formed by the joining together or alliance of separate states or groups
Presidential Democracy- a democratic government led by a president
Federal Government- a government that divides duties between a large, central government and smaller local governments
Parliamentary Democracy- a democratic government led by a parliament
Autocracy- government by a single person having unlimited power
Lingua Franca- a language used to make communication possible between people not sharing a "mother tongue"
Bureaucracy- system of government by groups of officials tasked with its own subject of business
Military Coup- a sudden attack by the military on its own government
Artificial Boundaries- political borders drawn without consideration for the people living within those borders; often drawn by a foreign government
Civilian Government- government ruled by the civilians of a country- not the military
Military Regime- government ruled by the military of a country- not the citizens
Civil War- war between opposing groups of citizens within one nation
Authoritarian- term used to describe a government that stresses obedience to government authority over individual freedom
Constitution- system of basic principles according to which a nation is governed
Exile- condition of being banished from one's home country
Refugee- a person who has had to flee from their home country to find safety in another
Non-Government Organization- any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group that organizes for a specific purpose- often for charitable purposes
Afrikaners- descendants of the Dutch colonists who lived in South Africa; also known as Boers
Apartheid- legal racial segregation; especially as practiced in South Africa
Monotheism - belief that there is only one God
Polytheism - belief in more than one god
Ethnic Group - socially defined group of people who identify with each other based on social experience or ancestry
Religious Group - socially defined group of people who identify with each other based on a shared religion
Dictatorship - government where one person holds absolute authority
Berber - an indigenous (native) ethnic group in the Maghreb
Maghreb - the region of North Africa west of Egypt
Drought - a long period of dry weather; continued lack of rain
Famine - lack of food in a place; time of starving
Desertification - the spreading of desert conditions into once fertile lands
Rift Valley - a linear shaped low-land between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault
Escarpment - a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of different elevations
Basin - a region in which all water drains to a common area
Tropics - the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer (23.45 degrees north and south latitude) where the sun shines directly overhead
Malnutrition - a poorly nourished condition. People suffer from malnutrition because of eating the wrong kinds of foods as well as from lack of food
Tsetse Fly - an African fly that sucks the blood of mammals and transmits sleeping sickness
Sleeping Sickness - disease carried by the tsetse fly causing fever, inflammation of the brain, weakness, sleepiness and usually death
Malaria - disease characterized by periodic chills, fever and sweating; transmitted by mosquitoes
Plateau - plain in the mountains or at a height considerably above sea level
Lake - body of water entirely or nearly surrounded by land; usually consists of fresh water and is larger than a pond
Dry Season - an annual period of a low amount of rainfall in the Tropics
Wet Season - an annual period of a high amount of rainfall in the Tropics
Vegetation Zones - areas of land that are made up of common vegetation characteristics; also known as Biomes
"Resource Curse" - a phrase used by economists to explain what happens when a nation discovers a valuable natural resource and converts its economy to be dependent upon that resource
Flora - plants
Fauna - animals
Extinction - bringing to an end; wiping out; destruction
Endangered - in danger of becoming extinct
Game Reserve - an area of land put aside for conservation purposes
Water Scarcity- the lack of sufficient amounts of water to meet the demand in an area
Overpopulation - human overpopulation occurs when the number of people living in an area exceeds the carrying capacity of the region wherein they live
Potable Water - water that is safe or clean enough to be consumed by humans
Industrialized Nation - a nation having highly developed industries
Pollution -the dirtying of any part of the environment, especially with waste material
Production - act of producing; manufacture; creation of products
Distribution - a distributing of goods grown or made by producers
Consumption - a using up; use
Deforestation - the removal of trees from an area
The Big Five - the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot in Africa- lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, leopard

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