The Union des Populations du Cameroun and Third World Internationalism: Solidarity, Cooperation, and Abandonment, 1955-1970
Beginning in the early 20 century, and culminating at the Bandung conference in 1955, the Third World began to consolidate itself as an international bloc around a philosophy of self rule and international solidarity. Cameroon’s Union des Populations the Cameroun (UPC) embraced this project from its inception, and maintained a strong internationalist agenda throughout its existence as it struggled for Cameroon’s independence, first from French trusteeship, and then from what was, in its view, an illegitimate neo-colonial government. International solidarity was not merely a rhetorical tool for the UPC, but was rather an essential part of their strategy to achieve their national goals. The party attempted to put the objectives of Third World solidarity in to practice through a number of projects, most notably in the cultivation of personal and political relationships between the party’s elite and emerging Third World Leaders, and educational and military exchange. This work is intended to provide a body of historical evidence of the participation of the UPC in the Third World Internationalist Movement. Contacts: Dr. Willibroad Dze NgwaA professor of History and International Relations at the University of Yaounde I, as well as the director of the secondary school at Mario Academic Complex and the founder and head of a Peace and Conflict NGO, Willibroad conducts research on the UPC, and is also knowledgeable on a number of other historical subjects. He is a great resource for anyone interested in studying history, or any of the contemporary conflicts going on in Cameroon today. Tel: 77 65 93 65; e-mail: dzewing@yahoo.com Jacob TatsitsaJacob is currently writing his dissertation on the relationship between Bamileke migration and the UPC’s armed conflict. He has been researching the UPC for well over ten years, has UPC contacts all over the country, and has worked on several international projects concerning the party’s history. He is another great resource for anyone interested in the UPC. Tel: 75 66 75 90; e-mail: tatsitsa@yahoo.fr
Out of Empire into Socialist Modernity: Soviet-African (Dis)Connections and Global Intellectual Geographies
Abstract:In this article the Soviet-African Modern is presented through an intellectual history of exchanges in a triangular geography, outspreading from Moscow to Paris to Port of Spain and Accra. In this geography, postcolonial conditions in Eastern Europe and Africa became interconnected. This shared postcolonial space extended from the Soviet South to Africa. The glue for the transregional imagination was an engagement with the topos of backwardness. For many of the participants in the debate, the Soviet past was the African present. Focusing on the 1960s and 1970s, three connected perspectives on the relationship between Soviet and African paths to modernity are presented: First, Soviet and Russian scholars interpreting the domestic (post)colonial condition; second, African academics revisiting the Soviet Union as a model for development; and finally, transatlantic intellectuals connecting postcolonial narratives with socialist ones. Drawing on Russian archives, the article furthermore demonstrates that Soviet repositories hold complementary records for African histories.
Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil
W. E. B. Du Bois was a public intellectual, sociologist, and activist on behalf of the African American community. He profoundly shaped black political culture in the United States through his founding role in the NAACP, as well as internationally through the Pan-African movement. Du Bois's sociological and historical research on African-American communities and culture broke ground in many areas, including the history of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. Du Bois was also a prolific author of novels, autobiographical accounts, innumerable editorials and journalistic pieces, and several works of history. Considered a sequel to Du Bois's wildly popular The Souls of Black Folks, Darkwater revisits many of the same themes with a more militant edge, even revising previously published essays and poems to include in this newer volume. Published in 1920, Darkwater focuses on the political climate following World War I. In ten carefully crafted chapters, Du Bois explores the important issues of that period- labor, capital, politics, gender, education, and international relations-in tandem with an overarching theme of race. Blending lyrical autobiography with political thoughts and even poetry, Du Bois makes a powerful, forceful argument regarding race and the color line. With a series introduction by editor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and an introduction by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, this edition is essential for anyone interested in African American history.