posted
So members, I wanted to give you all a chance to voice your opinions, complaints, etc about the Egyptology forum and its current admin/moderator. What is going right so far? What could be improved in this forum? Say whatever you want but I request that if you have a complaint please offer some kind of solution, and absolutely no disrespect towards mods/Admins will be tolerated. Air your grievances, don't tear people down.
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Meet on the Level, act upon the Plumb, part on the Square. Posts: 574 | From: Guinee | Registered: Jul 2014
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posted
I will forever be thankful for how you and the other mods have kept this forum clean and civil. My only real complaint is one that would be difficult to correct, namely the decline in regular activity.
Part of the problem is that those forum veterans who still visit this place don't have as much spare time to participate in the community as they once did. Another factor may be an unfortunate side effect of the site's detoxification. By nature, the things we discuss here are like bleeding shark bait to the most unsavory trolls, so a disproportionate number of people who will want to post here are those who don't come with the best of intentions. It's such a shame that African history and anthropology---even more so Egyptology with an "Afrocentric" perspective---has always suffered from that kind of racist pollution, but as beyoku would say, it is what it is.
It may also be that the site's focus is a bit too narrow. We do talk about things other than African AE here, but that one topic has always been our main draw. Might there be room to broaden our scope to cover other issues? Like, maybe separate boards for serious discussions about anthropology etc. that aren't supposed to fixate on Egypt? That might attract a greater variety of interested posters.
quote:Originally posted by Tyrannohotep: I will forever be thankful for how you and the other mods have kept this forum clean and civil. My only real complaint is one that would be difficult to correct, namely the decline in regular activity.
Part of the problem is that those forum veterans who still visit this place don't have as much spare time to participate in the community as they once did. Another factor may be an unfortunate side effect of the site's detoxification. By nature, the things we discuss here are like bleeding shark bait to the most unsavory trolls, so a disproportionate number of people who will want to post here are those who don't come with the best of intentions. It's such a shame that African history and anthropology---even more so Egyptology with an "Afrocentric" perspective---has always suffered from that kind of racist pollution, but as beyoku would say, it is what it is.
It may also be that the site's focus is a bit too narrow. We do talk about things other than African AE here, but that one topic has always been our main draw. Might there be room to broaden our scope to cover other issues? Like, maybe separate boards for serious discussions about anthropology etc. that aren't supposed to fixate on Egypt? That might attract a greater variety of interested posters.
The bolded is what the Egyptology section is for. And with less activity we shouldn't have too many discussion categories yet.
Posts: 1891 | From: NY | Registered: Sep 2014
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posted
The topic that historically generated a lot of views was the topic
"Were the Egyptians Black?"
or "The Ancient Egyptians were Black"
I remember there was a thread on the Topix website forum It had a thread to that effect with maybe 10,000 replies, going on for pages and pages
But I think that subject ran it's course, people lost interest. It turned out to have less pertinence to people's lives than they thought.
Most of the Afrocentric scholars of the 1990s have died (except Asante) and interest in Afrocentrism has gradually diminished year to year.
I also noticed that even before this new wave of moderation and when there still was nearly no moderation that white supremacist trolls had already became less interested in dropping bomb threads.
So the controversial aspect, one side against the other generating drama has become less over the years.
There was also the rise of the history conspiracists and anti-white biological theorists and that generated some activity but mainly by me battling them. But apart form that not really that much activity other than a few regular people battling.
This website could also be redesigned as a much more academic site just on ancient Egypt and Nile Valley and various sub categories of those
for instance individual forums for
EGYPTIAN AND NILE VALLEY
- Archaeology
- Physical Morphology
- DNA
- Culture
- Pre-Dynastic
- Dynasties
- Kings and Queens
- Architecture and Monuments
- Art
- Neighboring Nations and foes
- African Civilizations
___________________________
^ All of this would be ancient only pertaining mainly to the Nile Valley and it's neighbors
but I don't know if people want this
there is a different audience between people who are interested in ancient Egypt for it's political implications for today and people who are interested in the civilization in it's own time. These audiences cross over sometimes but only to a limited extent
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
There are currently at least 10 threads in Egyptology that have nothing to do with Egypt or related ancient civilizations but I don't know if people care about that. Take a look at the main page and do a count to see
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
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Tukuler
multidisciplinary Black Scholar
Member # 19944
posted
quote:Originally posted by the lioness,:
Most of the Afrocentric scholars of the 1990s have died (except Asante) and interest in Afrocentrism has gradually diminished year to year.
You must be joking. There are more Afrocentric scholars now than ever. Universities like Temple in Philly keep churning them out.
I've Started a couple threads about the academic discipline Afrocentrism to no avail because everyone loves to lie about what Afrocentricity really is and what degree holding Afrocentrics are interested in and actually write about.
Can any you name me one Afrocentric periodical? What's the name the encyclopedia Afrocentrics published What are the topics, issues and interests covered in either?
ES is explicit in spreading the false image, yte mainstream media corrupted, know-nothing deliberate misconception of Afrocentrism.
The themes attributed to Afrocentric scholarship here are hardly what's regularly published by Afrocentric scholars.
posted
I wish this forum would get an upgrade... Glad many of the racists that derail the forum are gone or have been more effectively dealt with.
Posts: 2508 | From: . | Registered: Nov 2011
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posted
Professor Molefe Asante wrote the first book with
the word "Afrocentricty" or any form of the word
The title was Afrocentricity: The Theory of Social Change in published in 1980
Asante is the chair of the Department of Africology and African American Studies at Temple
In naming the department the "centric" part was eliminated
_____________________________ wikipedia:
Eurocentrism
The adjective Eurocentric, or Europe-centric, has been in use, in various contexts, since at least the 1920s. The term was popularised (in French as européocentrique) in the context of decolonization and internationalism in the mid-20th century.[4] English usage of Eurocentric as an ideological term in identity politics was current by the mid-1980s.
The abstract noun Eurocentrism (French eurocentrisme, earlier europocentrisme) as the term for an ideology was coined in the 1970s by the Egyptian Marxian economist Samir Amin, then director of the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Amin used the term in the context of a global, core-periphery or dependency model of capitalist development. English usage of Eurocentrism is recorded by 1979 ____________________________
The "centric" part had a negative connotation.
This new word Africology was first used in French by a Haitian Scholar in the 1920s but University of Wisconsin Professor Winston Van Horne started using it in English in the 1980s.
Perhaps the most African term would use an African word. Nevertheless this term "Africology" has not caught on at other Universities
"African Studies" is common. Similarly Departments "European Studies" "Asian Studies". Howard's department is called "African Studies"
___________________________________
Anyway the term "Afrocentricity" is not being used by the very professor who wrote the landmark book in 1980 which started the movement and who chairs a department at Temple he calls Africology and African American Studies. -Although I think he still likes and is proud of the term Afrocentricity
In the 1990s some lay people in the Black community knew of writers like Dr. Ben, John Henrik Clarke, Ivan Van Sertima or Professor Leonard Jeffies.
But today nobody in the Black community who isn't a part of that Temple university sphere knows of any of the Temple scholars apart from Asante and there are few books known to the lay black community equivalently known to They Came Before Columbus or African Origins of Major Western Religions or Destruction of Black Civilization, all by now deceased authors
Instead in social media based popular culture there are numerous videos, Dane Calloway and others saying the slave trade was greatly exaggerated and most black people in America are descendants of Aboriginal Americans "ABO" who were already in America before the Euroepans came. This is also similar to what some adherents of the The Moorish Science Temple of Noble Drew Ali say who had a low key presence in the Black community in some places since the late 1920s (although they very particular ideas about it)
On the other hand another movement of note lately is the ADOS(American Descendants of Slavery) movement saying the opposite that black people in America are primarily of slave ancestry and are due Reparations
Anyway in the Black community these two social media/ youtube movements are more prominent than Africology which is basically a University based concept a field of study that being part of a university is limited politically
However African Studies is established and ongoing at some universities.
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
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Tukuler
multidisciplinary Black Scholar
Member # 19944
posted
Cite me some academic professional Afrocentrist authored works. Something not done here outside curt copy&paste splashes.
Wiki can only tell me Eurocentric viewpoints. Its certainly no ethnicless classless objective universal reporter of black peoples.
Look up the periodicals. Buy the encyclopedia. They're what needs be quoted and the published books.
Or continue building outside biased opinion instead of Afrocentric professional voices.
Choice is yours and every readers to make. Done here. Plenty posted years ago. Will take questions from any interested learning what is Afrocentrism, the university discipline. But only in an appropriate thread.
Sorry to interject in this thread which topic I have no comment. It's that an 'Afrocentric' matter posted here and I replied here.
or a new one could started in Deshet or Kemet forum perhaps
Posts: 42918 | From: , | Registered: Jan 2010
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Tukuler
multidisciplinary Black Scholar
Member # 19944
posted
Ok thx but I expect no real interest, just reminding there's a real Afrocentrism that's not what the media informed general public has turned it into. Of coarse Afrocentric will continue its latter usage (gravity wins the fight ask your galaxy's central Black Hole)
STATE OF THE FORUM It's here and I'm posting to it's nonclique ridden threads as long as no one minds
posted
Its been years since i visited this site Ancient Egypt section? I see Lioness is still here....they used to ride you back then lol but good to see you. Anyway i need access to those old files and are any of those people still around? Where did they go? i really need to scroll through a lot of those old posts.
Posts: 142 | From: Atlanta | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Never mind....i resurrected my chrome browser after years of using safari and i forgot i saved all my favorite threads and bookmarked them. They're still readable. I didn't know chrome does that considering i've been through quite a few laptops since then. Anyway good to see this site still exists.
Posts: 142 | From: Atlanta | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
The lack of diversity and so no productive debates ...only afrocentrism seems to be allowed here. Also it should be more neutral/objective.
Posts: 218 | From: Europe | Registered: Jun 2019
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Tukuler
multidisciplinary Black Scholar
Member # 19944
posted
Ah, but who can decide what is neutral/objective since everyone has biases whether they admit it or not.
quote:Originally posted by Nassbean: The lack of diversity and so no productive debates ...only afrocentrism seems to be allowed here. Also it should be more neutral/objective.
This forum has actually gotten rid of the more hardcore "Afrocentric" posters...
Posts: 1891 | From: NY | Registered: Sep 2014
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Nassbean
Banned by a New World Black
Member # 23084
quote:Originally posted by Nassbean: The lack of diversity and so no productive debates ...only afrocentrism seems to be allowed here. Also it should be more neutral/objective.
This forum has actually gotten rid of the more hardcore "Afrocentric" posters...
Good to know
Posts: 218 | From: Europe | Registered: Jun 2019
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posted
In my opinion, a forum shouldn't be heavily moderated since it's better to debunk and educate people with crazy and fringe theories with arguments than resorting to banning unless of course people just want to troll for the sake of trolling. However, there are people who I find enjoy lots of freedom since they can write intelligence-insulting gibberish that borders to extreme trolling and get away with it while other users have to be careful what they write. I got banned for less and without the possibility to defend my cause. Plus I do think that Egyptsearch should be open for diverse opinions in order to appear more balanced and less onesided. For instance, people who have a different take on history or archaeogenetics than Afrocentrists should be able to discuss their ideas and engage in debates with people with Afrocentric views without being labeled as white supremacists or racists. Being critical of some Afrocentric views/theories, scholars can't be equated with anti-blackness since criticizing or disagreeing with the ideas of a person doesn't translate in rejecting the person and his ethnicity as such. Furthermore, there are Africans and blacks from the diaspora that are explicitly critical of Afrocentrism.
Posts: 49 | From: Germany | Registered: Oct 2015
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