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189042

(2010) Cultural studies and environmentalism, Dordrecht, Springer.

When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers

Norman Thomson

pp. 165-170

In his essay summarizing his experiences in learning firsthand about Malawi, Dr. Glasson has identified problems and issues that could be almost every/any country in Africa today that shares a colonial past. His emergent emotions and sensitivity to the people and their situations in the context of eco-injustices have allowed him not only to see Africa through a new lens, but also to connect with the people through third space dialogue. That is, the learning space of two differing cultures or individuals is extended by allowing dialogue and reflection to take place beyond the physical time and space constraints limited by each one's own cultural beliefs and knowledge. The issues, challenges, and solutions to Africa's persistent problems have historically been viewed though a variety of lenses, often from a top-down distant perspective beginning long ago with the illogical partitioning of people and kinships, total insensitivity to the indigenous cultures including languages, and disregard of traditional access to shared resources that had no boundaries or ownership. Colonization also came with different motives and guises: religious, economic, social, political, agricultural, and educational. Jomo Kenyatta (1965), musing over postcolonial rule and its legacy as Kenya's first president, stated that he had not realized as he signed a declaration of nationhood, that the British intent was limited to political independence, but continued economic and social dependence had been established and was to be perpetuated.

Publication details

DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-3929-3_12

Full citation:

Thomson, N. (2010)., When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, in D. J. Tippins, M. P. Mueller, M. Van Eijck & J. D. Adams (eds.), Cultural studies and environmentalism, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 165-170.

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