kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
517 803-8839
harrow@msu.edu
Sent: Wednesday, June 1, 2022 8:20 AM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - uproar over autoethnography piece in asr
Ken and Adepoju:
I am on the road, and still on the road, which prevents me from making a statement. I read the manuscript of Soro Soke for Cambridge and offered a blurb. I cannot recollect that I saw in the manuscript that she claimed that she coined the two Yoruba words, Sore Soke, as both preceded my birth. May be it is outside of the book.
However, any time many people signed a petition that attracts over 5,000 people, then something inappropriate must have occurred.
To Adepoju: groups, cultures and people must react if they are maligned and misinterpreted—it is different from saying that they have no right to talk or write. If I were to call a group cannibalistic, they must pour venom on me.
TF
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Harrow, Kenneth <harrow@msu.edu>
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 7:11 AM
To: usaafricadialogue <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - uproar over autoethnography piece in asr
similar issue concerning two "white" women academics who wrote piece in african studies review on autoethnography.
|
| Against 'Detachment' "African Studies Keyword: Autoethnography," the article in question, was written by Katrina Daly Thompson, Evjue-Bascom Professor of the Humanities and professor of African cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Kathryn Mara, a postdoctoral fellow in African cultural studies at Madison.Both authors identify as white women and argue against ... www.insidehighered.com |
kenneth harrow
professor emeritus
dept of english
michigan state university
517 803-8839
harrow@msu.edu
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Oluwatoyin Adepoju <ovdepoju@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 1, 2022 2:15 AM
To: usaafricadialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Learning and Writing Sucessfully About Other Cultures as Central to Global Unity : Misguided Protest Against Lorenz, German Writer on Nigeria's EndSars Movement
Response to Story from Sahara Reporters Posted at Bottom of this Mail
Anybody from anywhere can write about anything from anywhere.
To claim that only those who are part of a culture, country or movement can write about those phenomena holds no water.
There is no basis for persecuting the German writer who was astute enough to write a book about the Nigerian EndSars movement and for demanding the book be recalled from publication.
The controversial claim she made about having named the movement after a Yoruba term the movement used in defining itself has been addressed and modified at the website where the interview in question took place.
How much writing and publication do Nigerians do anyway?
The EndSars movement can be studied and written about indefinitely.
Get to work and do your own bit and stop telling us about having people qualified to write, yet have not written.
Writing is not simply about being able to write. Everyone can write, to a degree.
It's about the determination and discipline to actually write and after that, publish.
We should not disgrace ourselves as culturally insular people who think only they can tell their own stories, when in fact, empathy, research, scholarship, expressive skill can enable anyone to speak powerfully about situations and contexts they were never involved in or have no direct relationship with.
Over 5000 Nigerians Sign Petition Against UK Author, Lorenz Over Book 'Soro Soke'
Lorenz in an interview claimed she was the one who named the protesters "Soro Soke generation."
The petition demanded that a public apology be written to Nigerians from Lorenz and that the interview be taken down.
The book is also named after a Yoruba-sourced activism phrase meaning "speak out".
The phrase is a popular term used by Nigerians during the #EndSARS protest against police brutality in 2020.
In her book, Lorenz, who is based in Berlin, Germany, examined the bravery of youths who led the movement and featured the views of some Nigerians who took part in the demonstration.
Lorenzo in an interview claimed she was the one who named the protesters "Soro Soke generation."
"This cohort exhibits a confident outspokenness and a tendency for creative disruption, leading me to name them the Soro Soke generation," she said.
The publication which won her the 2021/2022 Nine Dots Prize which lauds creative thinking that tackles contemporary societal issues.
She later came under intense criticism on social media.
Nigerian youths On Tuesday, started to sign the petition seeking the recall of the book from publication.
The petition, has so far amassed over 5,000 signatures, alleged that Lorenz, with her book and the conversation around it, decided "to expropriate and abuse the name of the struggle."
"Soro Soke is a Nigerian movement. One that came with our blood, sweat, and tears. We are yet to recover from the aftermath," the petition read in part.
"The phrase indicated that the Nigerian people would no longer put up with bad governance and they would speak out boldly. Unfortunately, in the course of the protests, the authorities responded with the military and over 50 Nigerians' lives were lost. Many protesters and activists are still in jail, some in exile. Nigerians have not recovered.
"How can you name and claim what was already existing? She has no connection to the struggle yet she capitalises, benefits and profits off the trauma of Nigerians.
"This is evidenced by her winnings from The Nine Dots Prize which comes with a remuneration of about $100,000. She has also received book deals with Cambridge University press and has her books in global bookstores and universities such as Harvard University library.
"This is a Nigerian story to tell and we have Nigerians who are qualified to tell it. We have already told it without support or visibility. African stories must be told by African people." The petition reads in part.
Sahara Reporters
.
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