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Welcome to 'Cultural Architecture: Building Afrocentric Realities.' I'm Anwulika Okonjo, and together, we will explore the rich tapestry of African and Afro-diasporic cultures and how these can be the foundation for constructing empowering social realities. This course will challenge you to think critically about the structures we live in and the world we aspire to create.
Introduction to Cultural Architecture & World-Building
Let's begin by defining Cultural Architecture. This concept extends beyond physical spaces and aesthetics—It's more than buildings; it's the blueprint for our social framework. It involves the shaping of social structures based on the cultural influences, social norms and ideologies of our societies. It’s about crafting systems, institutions, and environments that reflect and support the identities and values of a community. As cultural architects, our task is to consciously design these elements and sustainable ecosystems that honour our past while paving the way for a world where our knowledge thrives locally and globally.
"Cultural architecture is foundational. It lays the groundwork for how societies function, influencing everything from laws and education systems to urban planning and media representation.
[Pop-up: "Key Concept: Cultural Architecture: The strategic design of social structures that reflect and support collective identities, values and aspirations."]
What is World-Building?
In close association with cultural architecture is the concept of world-building. While cultural architecture gives us the frameworks, world-building is the process by which we populate these frameworks.
Often associated with fiction, such literary and cinematic creations, world-building in our context extends into real life. Here, we harness it as a transformative tool for social change.
We define world-building as the detailed crafting of societal narratives that can profoundly influence how individuals and communities perceive and interact with the world around them, including how they understand themselves and their potential.
World-building is dynamic and ongoing. It is about filling the structures created by cultural architecture with life and meaning—through arts, laws, education, and daily social interactions. It’s how cultural values are expressed and sustained in practical, everyday contexts."
[Pop-up: "Key Concept: World-Building - The crafting of societal narratives that shape perceptions and interactions within cultural frameworks.]"]
Consider how the films you watch, the stories you read, and the art you experience influence your perceptions of reality. Now imagine applying that same concept to societal design—where every element of society reflects deep-rooted collective values. Our narratives shape our understanding of history, of present possibilities, and future trajectories.
How Cultural Architecture and World-Building Work Together
Though distinct, cultural architecture and world-building are deeply interconnected. Think of cultural architecture as constructing the theatre, while world-building is about writing the play that unfolds within it. Both are necessary to create a full, vibrant cultural expression that can influence and inspire both the present and future generations.
For example, if we design an educational system (cultural architecture) that incorporates Afrocentric histories and philosophies, the content taught within this system (world-building) can transform students' understanding of their heritage and identity, empowering them to enact change in their communities. The way in which that education system is designed – the principles, perspectives and practices that inform it – are just as important as the content the students learn.
Engaged Citizenship and the Social Imaginary
"In 1948, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti – a Nigerian educator, political campaigner, suffragist, and women's rights activist - delivered a speech to a youth patriotic society in Lagos, emphasising the importance of engaged citizenship. She stated: 'Citizenship simply means the right of being a citizen, but it carries a big responsibility with it... It is when you make your existence felt, and contribute to the welfare and progress of Lagos, that you are recognized as its citizen.' This idea extends beyond individual enjoyment to contributing to societal progress."
[Pop-up: 'Key Quote: "It is when you make your existence felt, and contribute to the welfare and progress of society that you are recognized as its citizen." - Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti']
Seeing ourselves as cultural architects or world-builders is the first step in the practice of engaged citizenship. “Making your existence felt”. Take a second to let that sink in – isn’t it empowering to know that your existence, your voice, your contributions matter? Engaged citizenship is about being intentional in how we reclaim that power and direct our collective future. In a world which is inundated with information about challenges that seem to be insurmountable, it can be easy to lapse into a passive or apathetic state. One may also have a tendency to feel that as long as our individual material needs are being met, that we are good. However, Ransome-Kuti’s quote reminds us of two things:
- Society is about more than just institutions and material structures. It includes the values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices that underpin how we operate collectively, including who has power and how people interact with each other.
- The welfare and progress of the entire society are essential to both our individual and collective wellbeing. To be an engaged citizen, a cultural architect, a world-builder, is to care for others.
African philosophies and practices can guide our understanding of engaged citizenship. For example, Ubuntu, an South African philosophy emphasising community and interdependence, enshrines the idea that our humanity is established through engagement, cooperation and mutual support with others.[Pop-up: 'Key Concept: Ubuntu - "A person is a person through other people" - A philosophy emphasising interdependence and collective well-being.']The need for engaged citizenship is particularly critical for people of African descent. Legacies of colonialism, enslavement, imperialism and other mechanisms have worked to suppress African agency and self-determination. Engaged citizenship calls for us to be intentional about how we interact with existing systems and structures. Afrocentric world-building equips us to challenge these legacies, reclaim our narratives, reshape our realities, and create spaces reflective of our values and aspirations.
World-Building in Action
Let's dissect how world-building plays out in everyday life:
Individual Choices: Your personal decisions – what you wear, what you eat, where you live – reflect and shape your identity and values. Example: Choosing to wear clothes by African designers supports local industries and promotes cultural pride. This is a form of world-building, where you're helping to construct a world that values and sustains local craftsmanship.
[Pop-up: Interactive Poll 'Which aspect of your daily life reflects your cultural identity and value systems the most? Choices: Clothing, Food, Media Consumption, Community Engagement.']
Community Level: How we use public spaces—parks that host local music festivals, schools that teach local languages and histories, and community centres with culturally relevant programs are forms of world-building.
The same applies to urban design, technology and governance. Imagine public art that tells the history of the land, buildings designed in African styles, and technology platforms that centre African voices.
Global Scale: On a global scale, through diplomacy, international trade, and other exchanges, African nations can construct a world stage where their perspectives and innovations are integral. People of African descent in the diaspora promoting internationalism, reciprocity and finding ways to uplift and sustain their unique backgrounds even in contexts where they are not the dominant population. This kind of world-building not only elevates the ideas of people of African descent, but also fosters a more inclusive and equitable global community.
The Role of Cultural Architecture in Today's Society
As cultural architects, you are tasked with understanding these forces and using them to inform your everyday actions and to design better systems.
In a globalised world, cultural architecture isn't just relevant; it's vital. It asks us to rethink the roles our heritage can play. How do we use it to reshape dominant narratives? At home, it means recognizing the value of indigenous knowledge and ensuring it drives innovation across sectors.
What are some areas in your community where you can see yourself as a cultural architect?
[Pop-up question: What are some areas in your community where you can see yourself as a cultural architect?]
Challenges and Opportunities
Colonialism, cultural erasure, and economic power imbalances can hinder world-building efforts. Yet, these also fuel our resilience. We must be strategic, finding ways to integrate our values into existing structures and create new ones.
As we close this lesson, consider how you can apply the principles of cultural architecture and world-building in your daily life. How will you engage as a citizen in shaping the spaces and narratives around you? Each of us carries an imprint of our ancestors and carries the seeds for the future we long for. Remember, every small action contributes to a larger narrative. How will you use this power?
What shapes our beliefs, values, and perceptions of the world?
In this lesson, we delve into the concept of cultural hegemony, introduced by Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, which reveals how state power and cultural forces collaborate to perpetuate dominance - imposing certain norms and values to the detriment, and sometimes erasure, of diverse cultures and ideas. This profound force can often leave people feeling powerless and confined to a narrow set of possibilities.
But hegemony isn't invincible. By understanding its roots and mechanisms, we can begin to dismantle it and pave the way for transformation through cultural confidence.
[Pop-up: 'Cultural Hegemony: A concept developed by Antonio Gramsci, referring to the dominance of one social group over others, maintained through cultural norms and institutions.']
Understanding Cultural Hegemony
Cultural hegemony functions by standardising a specific set of norms and values across societies. For Africans and the diaspora, the legacies of colonialism and slavery have embedded Eurocentric standards deeply within our institutions and societal fabric, marginalising our native cultures, histories, and philosophies."
In 1903, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist, came up with the concept of 'double consciousness', which vividly captures the internal conflict faced by African descendants, striving to maintain authenticity while navigating a predominantly European-influenced world.
He described it as a sensation of always looking at one's self through the eyes of a society that devalues Africanness. This dual awareness—the sense of 'twoness,' as Du Bois puts it—forces African Americans to constantly negotiate between their African heritage and the imposed Western cultural standards.
[Visuals: quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois’s writings.]
The mechanisms of dominance are not only overt but also covert, influencing international norms and development policies that often prioritise Western approaches. This structural hegemony extends into media and education, where narratives uphold certain power dynamics, subtly shaping public opinion and self-perception among African communities.
Internalised oppression, a direct result of cultural hegemony, diminishes self-esteem and distorts identities, leading to a diminished sense of agency among individuals in African and diasporic communities. Frantz Fanon, in works like 'Black Skin, White Masks' and 'The Wretched of the Earth,' discusses how this form of control is psychological, shaping how individuals perceive themselves and their cultures.
Cultural hegemony, racism, and internalised oppression often operate in a vicious cycle, reinforcing each other to maintain power imbalances and justify the dominance of certain groups over others. Racism, a system of prejudice and discrimination based on race, provides the ideological framework for this dominance. It creates a hierarchy where certain racial groups are seen as superior, while others are deemed inferior.
Cultural hegemony then works to normalise and legitimise this hierarchy by embedding racist ideas and values into the dominant culture's norms, institutions, and everyday practices. These ideas can manifest in various ways, from media representations that perpetuate stereotypes to educational systems that erase or distort the histories and contributions of marginalised groups.
Internalised oppression, the process by which individuals from marginalised groups internalise and accept the negative stereotypes and beliefs about their own group, further reinforces this cycle. It can manifest as self-doubt, shame, and a sense of inferiority, making it difficult for individuals to challenge the status quo and assert their own agency.
Have there been times when you've felt a disconnect or even a sense of shame towards certain aspects of your own culture? Or perhaps you've witnessed others expressing similar sentiments towards their own or another culture?
Reclaiming Agency: Afrocentricity
To combat these effects, we turn to Afrocentricity and Afrocentrism, frameworks that call for us to reclaim our agency, redefine power, and reshape our own narratives. These approaches place the perspectives, experiences, and contributions of African peoples at the core of analysis and world-building, challenging the marginalisation of African and global black histories and narratives.
[Pop-up: 'Afrocentrism: A framework that places African perspectives and histories at the core of discussions and analyses concerning African peoples and their diasporas.']
The term "Afrocentric" first gained prominence in the work of Kwame Nkrumah. In response to centuries of European and scholars from other parts of the world opining about Africans and black people, he insisted that people of African descent had to interpret their own histories and social and cultural institutions. This is ultimately about reclaiming agency, autonomy, and power. A great example of this is a seminal work ‘I Write What I Like’, by the late South African anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko.
Molefi Asante emphasised the importance of Afrocentricity not just as a cultural movement but as a theory of agency that positions African and black people as active creators of their realities.
Cultivating Cultural Confidence
Cultural confidence is not just a sentiment; it's an active practice of embracing and valuing our unique identities, traditions, and expressions. It is about acknowledging the enduring strength and wisdom of our ancestors and leveraging this rich heritage to influence and shape the modern world.
As our ancestors moved—whether through migration or the force of the transatlantic slave trade—our cultural identities journeyed with them, planting seeds of African heritage across the globe. This dispersion has given rise to vibrant Afro-diasporic communities such as Afro-Cubans, African-Americans, and Afropeans, each adapting their heritage to their new contexts and evolving in unique ways.
Achille Mbembe challenges us to see this not as a loss but as a dynamic evolution—urging us not to return to an 'authentic' past but to create new ways of being that draw strength from our traditions. This is the essence of cultural confidence: crafting a future that is deeply rooted yet boldly forward-looking.
[Quote Pop-up: Achille Mbembe - "The task is not to return to some authentic African past, but to create new ways of being and thinking that are rooted in our own traditions and experiences." (Critique of Black Reason)]
Marcus Garvey's movement in early 20th-century America exemplifies this. He rallied for economic independence and cultural pride, laying a foundation for civil rights activism and emphasising the importance of Africans and their descendants building their own communities, industries, and educational systems.
Today, we see cultural confidence manifested in the revival of African languages in educational systems, the global influence of Afrobeat music, and the incorporation of African aesthetics into fashion and the arts, all of which assert our cultural presence on the world stage.
Here are some ways we can cultivate cultural confidence: [don’t read]
- Embrace Your Heritage: Deepen your knowledge of your cultural roots, history, traditions, and language. This can involve researching your ancestry, engaging with elders and community members, and participating in cultural practices.
- Practice Self-Affirmation: Affirm your worth and celebrate your unique gifts and talents. Practise positive self-talk and challenge any internalised negative messages about your culture or identity.
- Build Community: Surround yourself with people who support and celebrate your cultural identity. Participate in cultural organisations and events to connect with others who share your values and aspirations.
- Seek Out Diverse Perspectives: Engage with people from different backgrounds and cultures, learning from their experiences and perspectives. This can help broaden your understanding of the world and challenge the dominant narratives you've been exposed to.
- Engage in Creative Expression: Use art, music, fashion, dance, or other forms of creative expression to connect with your cultural heritage and share your unique perspective with the world.
- Advocate for Inclusive Education, Frameworks and Voices: Push for curricula that reflect the diversity of human experiences and histories. Support educational initiatives that centre marginalised voices and challenge Eurocentric perspectives.
- Challenge Racist and Discriminatory Practices: Speak out against racism, discrimination, and prejudice wherever you encounter them. Hold institutions and individuals accountable for perpetuating harmful stereotypes and systems of oppression.
Can you think of any other ways to build cultural confidence?
What are some of the barriers that prevent people from building cultural confidence and power? What are some ways to overcome them?
Thank you for joining me today. I hope this discussion inspires you to think deeply about the power of your cultural identity and how it can be harnessed to reshape not only your own worldview but also the societies we live in. In our next lesson, we'll explore practical strategies for applying these concepts in various aspects of personal and professional life.
