World Literature Mr. Nurenberg NERVOUS CONDITIONS

TODAY’S AGENDA 1.Announcements plagiarism sheet + events - intro homework 2.WMB 3.Conrad 4.Intro Zimbabwe and Nervous Conditions (pass out map and book) 5.Colonialism

Homework for TUESDAY *Read p 1-6, and p in Nervous Conditions * You must complete page 1 of the study guide. The rest is optional but encouraged. >>Map quiz a week from today!<<

Discussion for today 1.What, if anything, would justify taking over another culture and “civilizing”/”fixing” it?

Discussion for today 2. What, if anything, would justify another culture taking over yours and civilizing”/”fixing” it?

Education

Next we will be looking at Southern Africa

Zimbabwe (formerly known as Rhodesia) was colonized and drawn up by the English. The ethnic groups Shona and Ndebele comprise 98% of the population; other ethnic groups include the Tonga, Sena, Hlengwe, Venda, and Soth, and some White Europeans.

The majority ethnic group in Zimbabwe (about 70-80%) is the Shona.

Between the 9th-13th centuries, the Shona’s ancestors ran a vast empire that stretched across Southern Africa called Great Zimbabwe, the ruins of which can still be found throughout the country today.

The empire was multi-ethnic, with advanced trading networks and small industries in iron, gold and copper.

In the 1600s, the Portuguese arrived and disrupted the trading networks vital to Great Zimbabwe’s economy.

Although the multi-ethnic empire fell apart, the Shona themselves reorganized into the Rowzi empire.

In the 1830s, however, the Shona were conquered by their neighbors, the N’debele.

The N’debele allowed the Shona to live the way they always had, so long as they paid taxes and tribute to the N’debele government.

Later that century, however, the British arrived and conquered the entire region, turning it into a Colony.

The colony was administrated by Cecil Rhodes, a wealthy businessman charged with “developing” the regions mineral resources for profit. He renamed the land after himself: RHODESIA

In the 1920s, the colony of Rhodesia broke away from Britain in a peaceful negotiation…but it was a “free” country only in that it was free for the white people who still ruled it.

The African peoples of Zimbabwe fought back continuously, through violence and nonviolence. Finally, in 1980, they established democratic elections and took control of the country for themselves.

The new country of Zimbabwe is dealing with a variety of issues including how to redistribute land that had been seized and owned by White colonizers. The current President, Robert Mugabe, has become infamous for thwarting democracy and persecuting and killing those who oppose him.

Under Mugabe’s rule, Zimbabwe has gone from one of the richest post-colonial nations to one of the poorest.

Yet life in Zimbabwe goes on. Tsitsi Dangarembga wrote Nervous Conditions when she was only 20 years old, and it was published just a few years after Zimbabwe’s independence.

In addition to honors in her home country, her writing has won major prizes in England, Germany, and the United States.

One of the key issues she addresses in her writing is: What are the lasting effects of Colonialism on her country -- not just physically, but in the minds and ideas of its people?