The history conference was quite interesting and well worth attending. It turns out that both Ghanaian and Danish historians believe that the general public of their respective countries are woefully ignorant of history. They also lamented the low levels of interest shown by students in studying history. These problems, however, seem to be universal rather than specific to Denmark and Ghana. The encouraging note is that there is a segment of people with real influence in both countries that do think history education is very important.
I was not fully aware of just how strong the ties between Ghana and Denmark were before I arrived in Legon. I knew that Denmark was involved in the slave trade in the Gold Coast and that they had built Christensborg (Osu) Castle along the coast. But, the present day level of cooperation and friendly relationships between Danes and Ghanaians on a variety of levels is not something I really anticipated. For instance there is a Denmark House on campus and Danes are constantly coming here to work on various joint projects. The initial seed money to physically construct the Kwame Nkrumah Complex which houses the Institute of African Studies came from the Danish embassy. These are just two examples on the campus of the University of Ghana. Denmark has been a major contributor of development assistance in almost all spheres since Ghana got its independence in 1957. I had expected there to be much stronger ties to Great Britain, the former colonial ruler of Ghana in the years before independence.
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2 comments:
This is very interesting to me. I did not know that Denmark and Ghana had ties, either.
A favorite literary book of mine, entitled "Quicksand," by Nella Larsen, born to a Denmark-ian mother and a black West Indies father, deals with her issues of race identity and the searing interior conflicts between the two. She writes in the twenties, during the Harlem Renaissance.
It is available free as an audiobook from Librivox: http://librivox.org/quicksand-by-nella-larsen/
Most of the students in my class did not understand this book, but did, in its many-layered depth.
I also feel that just perhaps therein lies a clue to the highly antagonistic attitude of some in America towards our President Obama. They do not recognize or understand their antagonism toward the 'other'.
btw, I've enjoyed reading your blog, tho have never commented.
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I meant to say,
"but I did [understand this book]"
Thanks
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