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We continue our Ideopraxis Series with the conclusion of Dr. Marimba Ani’s digitally re-mastered presentation of her critically acclaimed book, Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought And Behavior, where she discusses the following:
- The Western conception of monotheism
- How/Why the Western conception of beauty and art is the perfection that does not exist in nature (i.e. obsession with “physical perfection”, “eternal youth”, and sayings such as “you are as young as you want to be”)
- The purpose of the cultural “other”
- Her term the rhetorical ethic
- How “multiculturalism”, and/or banal sayings such as “We are all human”, “We are one human race”, “I don’t see color, and “We are all part of the human family” etc is the imperial Western ideological weapon which she defines as the syntax of universalism. This is the tactic Europeans use to attempt to negate one’s unique African identity (or any non-white person’s identity), in favor of what they define as the “human race” or “universal humanity”, but really is the propagation of European cultural imposition (assimilation/domination).
- The meaning of the term “progressive” as defined by Western epistemology, and much more!
Ideopraxis, a term coined by renowned African scholar & author Ayi Kwei Armah, means “the translation of ideas systematically embraced into structured behavior and lifestyle. Ideopraxis is the yardstick that separates revolutionary performers from phonies” (Remembering The Dismembered Continent, pg 75-76). With this term in mind, we created our Ideopraxis Series.
Our Ideopraxis Series is an extension of our Conscientization 101 produced tracks from our FREE GIFT musical commentaries featuring Dr. Marimba Ani, Dr. Amos Wilson, and Dr. John Henrik Clarke. These podcast episodes include lectures we have curated and digitally re-mastered from each of these African scholars in order to preserve these critical insights and analysis.
This episode features music from:
- Conscientization 101 – “Decolonize This? Properly Defining Settlers – Part 1” from our Musical Commentaries collection
- Mutabaruka – “History” from his album Life and Lessons
- Wise Intelligent – “Israelite (This Uprising) 05′” from his album Blessed Be The Poor
Other works by Dr. Marimba Ani in the Conscientization 101 Library include Let The Circle Be Unbroken: The Implication of African Spirituality in the Diaspora.
