SYNTHESIS PAPER ON THE PERCEPTION OF AFRICA
At the heart of Adichie’s argument is a genuine concern about perceptions and mis-perceptions about Africa and those who live there. Think about our readings, videos, presentations, etc., and write a reaction paper that discusses your own view of our perceptions of Africa.
You will come up with your own claim regarding the works we have been looking at in class about the mis-perceptions of Africa. You will consider your own reaction to the works we have examined. Your response should start with a reaction statement, a thesis statement that describes the conclusion you drew form the various works we have examined.
The rest of your paper should be spent supporting that view with specific examples, comparisons to real life, philosophies or beliefs that you feel support or contradict what we looked at.
You could do one of the following or come up with your own idea here:
Identify a pattern across or within the works we have read and speak of its relevance.
Compare one aspect of what we read so far to something relatable today.
Prove or disprove the popular opinions about our mis-perceptions about Africa.
NOTE: Your paper must mention at least 4 of the recent readings/ videos/ Ted Talks that we have examined. (LISTED BELOW)
Reminders:
A reaction paper is an individual’s conclusions drawn from a particular topic. Those conclusions, if interesting and persuasive, should lead readers to consider the topic differently. Now, while everyone may have the same exposure to the work to which you are responding, your reaction paper is unique since it is entirely based on your ability to process, analyze, and think. Writing is a reflection of thinking and this reaction paper will set your thoughts apart from all the others
What to Do – PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE
1. Write a thesis that states your overall opinion about our perceptions of Africa. The rest of the
paper supports that opinion.
2. Compare, Evaluate, Analyze, Justify, Defend, Distinguish, Prioritize, Critique
Justify why you think that way. Avoid fallacies.
3. Make reference to 4 or more of the works we have examined. Feel free to bring in your own resources
and support to clarify your position. Provide real-world examples. Be sure your evidence gets to your point. Summarizing the works we have studied is a waste of time.
4. End with the bigger picture in mind. What does this mean? What can we learn from this?
What Not To Do
1. Just summarize what you saw (I want to see your opinions – not a summary)
2. Eliminate all evidence to back up your point (e.g. no examples). You NEED
evidence. Just be sure that the evidence supports YOUR view.
3. Provide random examples without making careful effort to relate to your point.
For your convenience:
Resources: Your essay must pull from at least four sources overall
Description of Africans excerpt – Leo Africanus (1550)
“An Open Letter to His Serene Majesty Leopold II, King of the Belgians and Sovereign of the Independent State of Congo” – George Washington Williams (1890)
Excerpt from Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad (1899)
“An Image of Africa” – Chinua Achebe (1977)
Mistaking Africa: Curiosities and Inventions of the American Mind – Curtis Keim (2014)
“The Danger of the Single Story” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)
“African Men. Hollywood Steroetypes” (2012)
“Let’s Save Africa – Gone Wrong” (2013)
“The Daily Show- Spot the Africa” (2014)
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