Brilliant thinking. But why don’t kids in US or UK do African novels as part of literature. Yes, i mean the works of Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiongo et al? Or education is a one-way route?
They actually study these books in African literature. Our Education system has prescribed mandatory books in our curriculum.
Moreover, the world is getting globalized and powerful countries seem to have an upper hand is engaging other countries to conform to their cultures.
if we decide to use your hypothesis,
We would be asking questions like why dont US and UK adapt swahili as their national language? Which is far from a logical discussion stamp. Why, because there is an upward mobility in this fast globalizing world with the third world at the bottom and first world at the top. It is us who have to conform to the norms since they are advanced and not the other way round. By this I dont mean that it is wrong for them to adapt to our cultures. Matter of fact there are master in swalili classes in some German universities so it actually depends on the angle you look at in this discussion.
In other words they are civilized and we are still monkeys!
No
Dude no, we are civilized at least more than five decades ago but there is a conventional expectation whose roads all lead towards the first world…
I am sticking to your first comment about why Ngugi and Chinua cannot be prescribed as literary material to UK and US kids.
My point exactly.
The western nations are strictly guided by a system of standards. Just like in America with housing and road infrustructure, everything in western europe is by design.
One of the most funded parastal(s) here is the Bureau of Standards and it is not by chance.
The governments over here through their respective ministries of culture and information are directed to hire sociologists and socio psychologists who constantly flaut a narrative correlating with the local traditions and norms…this is repeated over and over in different situations…thus setting up a trend in the society.
So when you living here, you will notice that you are constantly but subtly directed into a collective thinking. This message is subtly conveyed to the masses though commercial advertisements, the Film board, public debates, kipindi cha watoto, hospitals, news, sporting events virtually everywhere leaving a population that is overly patriotic, proud of their language and culture but not nationalistic! That neo nazi typ of nationalism is viewed as “backward”. But you will also find it more prevalent in Sweden and more precisely in southern part as these are the mostly densly populated part of Sweden and that also includes the immigrant population. But again, Sweden was neutral during the war unlike Norway which was stripped of it’s dignity by the Germans.
This philosphy in absent in eastern european countries, probably due to finances but also because governments over there do not want to be seen as imposing as the memories of the cold war are still fresh…that is why you will have that raw european nationalism in the east.
A good example is the morning show, whereas in Kenya you will have a Debarl with his (same) old (recycled) panel of paliamentary empty suits, disscussing over the same topic of Ruto this, Ryalia that, Ouru dis…over here you have a politician(s), but you will ALSO have, a dean of the faculty of say political economy providing an insight.
Now when it comes to literature in the syllabus of education, there is no way mûthûngû want their children to be contaminated with foreign ideology as these ideals are viewed as a compromise to their core culture left a lot of time and resources has been used to enhance their culture.
Chinua Achebe’s/Ngugi wa Thiong’o are highly celebrated by Mûthûngû, but that is how far it gets. Mûthûngû understands that these gentlemen have a background, norms, culture and values that are not compartible with “Astrid” from Telemark, at least that is the reasoning.
Also remember, most of the scandinavian countries have a very small population, a population compelled to live with the horrors of occupation by the Germans lest an ever looming threat of a Russian invation all while their economic prowess compells them to assert a notable footprint on the world stage.
They do take pride in that they are small countrie in size and numbers but they are also aware of the great impact they have on the world stage especially in technology most notable, in defence…but they never brag. Pentagon and NASDAQ can attest to that!
That is why every child goes on ski’s here, but only 99.8% ethnic norwegians make it to represent Norway in winter games, something that is viewed as “very” ethnically Norsk (Norwegian).
again you commit the cardinal sin of stating that the book is instilling values (what I called prescriptive). That is not the case. Literature is meant to provoke conversations and narrations around the characters, stylistics, themes and values in society. In Kenya Noras are hacking their husbands’ dikcs, killing their husbands and conning their fiances. The Insenian society had these issues, so whats wrong in hacing convwrsations around these issues.
On Ngugi, his books are read in schools even in latin america
If you do not know understand and appreciate that a literature book projects to…,and adds value to the recipient, then there is nothing else I have to add.
a text is supposed to stir conversations around values through contestations, negations and negotiations. It is through these conversations that we adjust our values and even add new ones. That is how literature adds to values, not what you purport that because Nora leaves her family then the book prescribes a dissolution of the family. Nora in this case can be viewed as an anti-hero depending on the readers’s value community.
Where are the Catholic bishops when you need them? They successfully lobbied for the banning of a man of the people by chinua some years ago.
You made a flimsy accusation that I was wrong by suggesting that literature adds value to the recipient. Which is an ignorant stance “mwathani”!
(And mark you mine was a general ascertion.)
When I refuted flawed claim that…
“you do not accept and appreciate value addition to the recipient/reader or otherwise through dissermination/instilling of values…”,
then I obviously did not have anything else to add, because honestly, no one in their right might can argue with your ascertion.
So what did you do??
you ended up using so many words just to be argumentative while agreeing (on your own will) on my exact point.
Answer these two simple questions
a.) When and where did I claim to have read “Et dukkehjæm”?
b.) What is my point of intiating this thread?
You questioned and I quote you “the relevancy of knowledge and instilled values that are fed to the future leaders of our nation”. Who is instilling values and feeding values to our future leaders? Ibsen? My answer and this forms the crux of my thesis is No, not Ibsen. The readers question the values in the textual context and the subtexts therein and in the process evaluate their own values thereby entering a new space of new and hopefully improved values. A text doesnt as you claim instil and/or feed values, it provides a space for dialogue on values.
There you go again, over and over like a broken record with your ridiculous ascertions and angles that are neither here nor there.
How can one honestly engage such?
I have nothing to add to a mind that is in some sort of a civil war.
I am not learning anything from you…nothing