Africa in U.S. Educational Materials: Thirty Problems and Responses.

Many American educational materials present biased or inaccurate views of Africa. Although these problems are found in a range of media, this study examines printed matter only. A representative sampling of materials indicates that four approaches are generally used in a study of Africa: geographical, historical, cultural, and case study. An overview illustrates problems within each of these four categories. Although the trend in the study of geography has been to present man's interaction with his environment, African texts still discuss only the country's physical aspects. Historical materials are often slanted; for example, they often favor European colonialism without considering the African's point of view. Culture is portrayed not as different and valid, but rather as exotic and strange. Case studies contain large amounts of descriptive information with little analysis. Generally, too many materials offer a superficial treatment of Africa in language that has condescending or negative overtones. As a solution to such problems, African sources should be consulted when preparing materials. Bibliographies for both educators and students are included in this booklet. (KC)