(AT) Africa Today Module Overview

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

  1. Literacy Rate- the percentage of a population that can read and write
  2. "Mother Tongue"- a language a person learns first in childhood; native language
  3. Civil War- war fought between factions within the same nation
  4. 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"
  5. Life Expectancy- the expected number of years a person will live in an area based on the average life span in that region
  6. 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
  7. Developed Country- also called a More Developed Country (MDC) is a sovereign state that has a highly developed economy and advanced infrastructure
  8. Unitary Government- one central government
  9. Democratic Government- government that is run by the people who live under it
  10. Confederation Government- a government formed by the joining together or alliance of separate states or groups
  11. Presidential Democracy- a democratic government led by a president
  12. Federal Government- a government that divides duties between a large, central government and smaller local governments
  13. Parliamentary Democracy- a democratic government led by a parliament
  14. Autocracy- government by a single person having unlimited power
  15. Lingua Franca- a language used to make communication possible between people not sharing a "mother tongue"
  16. Bureaucracy- system of government by groups of officials tasked with its own subject of business
  17. Military Coup- a sudden attack by the military on its own government
  18. Artificial Boundaries- political borders drawn without consideration for the people living within those borders; often drawn by a foreign government
  19. Civilian Government- government ruled by the civilians of a country- not the military
  20. Military Regime- government ruled by the military of a country- not the citizens
  21. Civil War- war between opposing groups of citizens within one nation
  22. Authoritarian- term used to describe a government that stresses obedience to government authority over individual freedom
  23. Constitution- system of basic principles according to which a nation is governed
  24. Exile- condition of being banished from one's home country
  25. Refugee- a person who has had to flee from their home country to find safety in another
  26. Non-Government Organization- any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group that organizes for a specific purpose- often for charitable purposes
  27. Afrikaners- descendants of the Dutch colonists who lived in South Africa; also known as Boers
  28. Apartheid- legal racial segregation; especially as practiced in South Africa
  29. Monotheism - belief that there is only one God
  30. Polytheism - belief in more than one god
  31. Ethnic Group - socially defined group of people who identify with each other based on social experience or ancestry
  32. Religious Group - socially defined group of people who identify with each other based on a shared religion
  33. Dictatorship - government where one person holds absolute authority
  34. Berber - an indigenous (native) ethnic group in the Maghreb
  35. Maghreb - the region of North Africa west of Egypt
  36. Drought - a long period of dry weather; continued lack of rain
  37. Famine - lack of food in a place; time of starving
  38. Desertification - the spreading of desert conditions into once fertile lands
  39. Rift Valley - a linear shaped low-land between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault
  40. Escarpment - a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of different elevations
  41. Basin - a region in which all water drains to a common area
  42. 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
  43. Malnutrition - a poorly nourished condition. People suffer from malnutrition because of eating the wrong kinds of foods as well as from lack of food
  44. Tsetse Fly - an African fly that sucks the blood of mammals and transmits sleeping sickness
  45. Sleeping Sickness - disease carried by the tsetse fly causing fever, inflammation of the brain, weakness, sleepiness and usually death
  46. Malaria - disease characterized by periodic chills, fever and sweating; transmitted by mosquitoes
  47. Plateau - plain in the mountains or at a height considerably above sea level
  48. Lake - body of water entirely or nearly surrounded by land; usually consists of fresh water and is larger than a pond
  49. Dry Season - an annual period of a low amount of rainfall in the Tropics
  50. Wet Season - an annual period of a high amount of rainfall in the Tropics
  51. Vegetation Zones - areas of land that are made up of common vegetation characteristics; also known as Biomes
  52. "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
  53. Flora - plants
  54. Fauna - animals
  55. Extinction - bringing to an end; wiping out; destruction
  56. Endangered - in danger of becoming extinct
  57. Game Reserve - an area of land put aside for conservation purposes
  58. Water Scarcity- the lack of sufficient amounts of water to meet the demand in an area
  59. Overpopulation - human overpopulation occurs when the number of people living in an area exceeds the carrying capacity of the region wherein they live
  60. Potable Water - water that is safe or clean enough to be consumed by humans
  61. Industrialized Nation - a nation having highly developed industries
  62. Pollution -the dirtying of any part of the environment, especially with waste material
  63. Production - act of producing; manufacture; creation of products
  64. Distribution - a distributing of goods grown or made by producers
  65. Consumption - a using up; use
  66. Deforestation - the removal of trees from an area
  67. The Big Five - the five most difficult animals to hunt on foot in Africa- lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, leopard

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