Abstract
In Chapter 8, we define the difference between modernity and modernisation. This involves an interrogation of the subject of European Enlightenment. Development and underdevelopment are central to our discussion. We start with Guyanese scholar-activist and Marxist intellectual Walter Rodney's (1942-1980) radical Marxist critique of development in Africa. Rodney's central contention is that Western Europe underdeveloped Africa and Africa developed Western Europe. Next, we turn to Kenyan academic and postcolonial scholar Simon Gikandi (1956-), who helps us think about modernity as an important but contested term. We interrogate Africa's place within the discourse of Western modernity differentiating between modernity, modernisation and tradition.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Roads to Decolonisation |
| Subtitle of host publication | An Introduction to Thought from the Global South |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Pages | 173-193 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781040018507 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032735948 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 16 2024 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Arts and Humanities
- General Social Sciences