On the rhetoric of Afrocentricity

This study critically examines Molefi Asante's development of Afrocentricity through a rhetorical analysis of his philosophy as found in the texts Afrocentricity and The Afrocentric Idea. Using Burke's theory of dramatism by way of Conrad's three phase approach, this study employed statistical analysis (which consisted of cluster analysis and identification), representational analysis, and pentadic analysis. This study identified three key terms based on their frequency in the text: Afrocentricity, Afrology, and Ideology/Reality. The pentadic analysis found that the ratio of scene/purpose was the most significant of all the ratios in Asante's discourse. The scene (Eurocentricity in scholarship) stands for the situation to which all parts of the pentad respond. The purpose of Afrocentricity is thus to challenge the Eurocentric tradition without replacing it with another tradition; and to develop a perspective that speaks about the multiplicity of culture and experience that Eurocentrism historically has failed to consider. This study illuminated Asante's motives in the development of Afrocentricity through the use of identification with his audience. The theme of the narrative that drives Asante's discourse is that the multiplicity of the human condition requires alternative modes of inquiry. The analysis was grounded in the text; therefore, the interpretations were based on the language and vocabulary of Asante's own writings.
One of the many current challenges posed to scholarship is that of the historicity of scholarship itself. One manifestation of this challenge can be seen in critical researcher's contention that [...]