Digital Communications at Crossroads in Africa

A Decolonial Approach

Kehbuma Langmia, Agnes Lucy Lando, Kehbuma Langmia, Agnes Lucy Lando

• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9783030424039
• eBook ISBN: 9783030424046
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Media Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

Digital communication as it is practiced in Africa today is at a crossroad. This edited collection takes that crossroad as its starting point, as it both examines the complicated present and looks to the uncertain future of African communication systems. Contributing authors explore how western digital communication systems have proliferated in the African communication landscape, and argue that rich and long-cherished African forms of communal, in-person communication have been increasingly abandoned in favor of assimilation to western digital norms. As a result, future generations of Africans born on the continent and abroad may never recognize and appreciate African systems of communications.

Acknowledging that globalized digital communication systems are here to stay, the volume contends that in order to comprehend the past, present, and future of African communications, scholars need to decolonize their approach to teaching and consuming mediated and in-person communications on the African continent and abroad.

© The Author(s) 2020

K. Langmia, A. L. Lando (eds.)Digital Communications at Crossroads in Africahttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42404-6_1

Begin Abstract

1. Seshu nu per ānkh: The Ancient Kemetian Genesis of Digital Communication

Abdul Karim Bangura¹

(1)

American University, Washington, DC, USA

Abdul Karim Bangura

Abstract

Employing Africancentric Methodology (i.e., the systematic inquiry of knowledge as a commonality of cultural traits among the diverse peoples of Africa which characterize and constitute a worldly perspective that is somehow distinct from that of the foreign world views that have influenced African peoples), this chapter aims to fill a major gap in the study of digital communication. It does so by discussing the Ancient Kemetian/Egyptian genesis of the technology (i.e., the exchange of information in signal or symbolic form), how it is being used today, and how it can be advanced. The chapter reveals that the genesis of digital communication was Ancient Kemet, a verity that will come as a huge surprise to those who think that the technology is a recent invention. In fact, it was the Ancient Kemetians and other Africans who invented the number zero (0) and the binary code, without which the binary digit system on which modern computing is based would not have been possible. But, quite perplexing is that universities in today’s Egypt which should be exploring, teaching, and advancing this technology are too caught up into promoting Eurocentric digital communication technology to do so.

Keywords

Ancient KemetGenesis of digital communicationAfricancentric Methodology

End Abstract

Introduction

That the genesis of digital communication (i.e., the exchange of information in signal or symbolic form) was Ancient Kemet/Egypt will come as a huge stupefaction to those who perceive the technology to be a recent invention. In fact, as I have discussed elsewhere, it was the Ancient Kemetians/Egyptians and other Africans who invented the number zero (0) and the binary code, without which the binary digit system on which modern computing is based would not have been possible (Bangura 2011, 2012). But, quite perplexing is that universities in today’s Egypt which should be exploring, teaching, and advancing this technology are too caught up into promoting Eurocentric digital communication technology to do so. For instance, the American University in Cairo (AUC), one of the leading Egyptian academic institutions teaching and researching digital media communication technology, offers the following Eurocentric courses on the subject, none of which includes Ancient Kemetian digital communication technology in its content, much less being exclusively on it:

1. (a)
   “ECNG 210/2101—Digital Logic Design (3 cr.): The nature of digital logic and numbering systems. Boolean algebra, Karnaugh map, decision-making elements, memory elements, latches, flip-flops, design of combinational and sequential circuits, integrated circuits and logic families, shift registers, counters and combinational circuits, adders, subtracters, multiplication and division circuits, memory types. Exposure to logic design automation software. Introduction to FPGAs and HDL” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
2. (b)
   “ECNG 218L/2108L—Digital Logic Design Lab (1 cr.): The laboratory component will cover experiments in digital design and experiments illustrating material of course ECNG 2101 including an FPGA-based project” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
3. (c)
   “ECNG 413/4103—Testing of Digital Circuits (3 cr.): Basic concepts behind testing digital circuits. Causes of permanent and temporary failures. Test pattern generation techniques including exhaustive, Pseudo-exhaustive, Path sensitization, Critical path, Random and Pseudo-random Testing. Design for testability methods for testing Integrated Circuits. Techniques for testing Printed circuit boards” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
4. (d)
   “ECNG 414/4104—High Level Digital ASIC Design Using CAD (3 cr.): Design of digital application-specific integrated circuits (ASICS) using synthesis CAD tools. Topics include the following: design flow, hierarchical design, hardware description languages such as VHDL, synthesis, design verification, IC test, chip-scale synchronous design, field programmable gate arrays, mask programmable gate arrays, CMOS circuits and IC process technology. For the project, students will design and implement a significant digital system using field programmable gate arrays” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
5. (e)
   “ECNG 3201/MACT 3224/ENGR 3202 concurrent with ECNG 4314L: Review of signal representation and classification, time and frequency domains, Fourier transform; Energy and power spectral density. Basics of analog communication: amplitude, angle, and pulse modulation; modulators and demodulators; frequency division multiplexing. Introduction to digital communication: Review of sampling and quantization; pulse code modulation (PCM), Delta Modulation, Differential PCM, time division multiplexing, line codes; the matched filter. Introduction to Random Processes. Noise in communication systems” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
6. (f)
   “ECNG 421/4302—Fundamentals of Communications II (3 cr.): Fundamentals of Digital Communications. Geometric Representation of Signals; Binary and M-ary Modulation and their Performance Analysis and Spectral Efficiency M-ary Baseband Transmission. Introduction to Information Theory and Source and Channel Coding; Channel Capacity; Block and Convolutional Codes. Introduction to Spread-Spectrum Communications and Discrete Multitone (DMT). Several experiments are conducted in the Communication Lab to illustrate the material covered in the course” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
7. (g)
   “ECNG 2101/ECNG 3106/ECNG 3502 and concurrent with ECNG 4509L: Microcontroller architecture (ARM, Motorola 68HC11). Interrupts, serial and parallel Input/Output, Timers, Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog conversion, Watchdog timers, I/O expansion, Interfacing to keypads and display devices, AC control, Introduction to RISC and CISC” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
8. (h)
   “ECNG 453/4503 - Microcontroller System Design (3 cr.) and concurrent with ECNG 4509L: Microcontroller architecture (ARM, Motorola 68HC11). Interrupts, serial and parallel Input/Output, Timers, Analog-to-Digital and Digital-to-Analog conversion, Watchdog timers, I/O expansion, Interfacing to keypads and display devices, AC control, Introduction to RISC and CISC” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
9. (i)
   “ECNG 510/5210—Advanced Solid-State Devices (3 cr.): This course covers crystal structures, band gap theory, ionic equilibrium theory, fundamentals of carrier transport, compound semiconductors III-V. This course will make special emphasis on the properties of various types of junctions (p-n junctions, heterojunctions, metal-semiconductor junctions) leading to various electronic devices such as field effect transistors (FETs), metal oxide-semiconductor FETS (MOSFETs), high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), etc. Short Channel effects and nanoscale phenomena will be emphasized throughout the course and their impact on device modeling in analog and digital circuits” (AUC 2019, p. 1).
10. (j)
    “ECNG 517/5217—Digital Integrated Circuit Design (3 cr.): The Diode (DC and Dynamic Behavior), The MOSFET (DC and Dynamic Behavior as well as short channel effects), The CMOS inverter (Static and Dynamic Behavior - Power / Speed Tradeoffs), Combinational Logic Gates (Static CMOS Design, Transistor Sizing, Static vs. Dynamic logic styles, Power / Speed Tradeoffs), Sequential Logic Circuits (Static and Dynamic circuits/flipflops, Power / Speed Tradeoffs), Low Power Circuit Techniques, Memory circuit design and power / reliability consideration, arithmetic logic blocks (adders/multipliers) and its design” (AUC 2019, p. 1).

In light of the glaring negligence in the exploration, teaching, and advancement of Ancient Kemetian digital communication technology, this chapter seeks to contribute toward filling this gap in the subject. It does so by discussing the Kemetian genesis of the technology, how it is being used today, and how it can be advanced. But before doing all this, I must first very briefly describe the Africancentric Methodology that undergirds the analysis for the sake of cohesion. The reader interested in more details can consult the works cited in the following section.

Africancentric Methodology: Very Briefly

As I relay in more depth in my books titled African-Centered Research Methodologies: From Ancient Times to the Present (Bangura 2011), African Mathematics: From Bones to Computers (Bangura 2012), Toyin Falola and African Epistemologies (Bangura 2015a), and Falolaism: The Epistemologies and Methodologies of Africana Knowledge (Bangura 2019), and my essays titled “The Colors of the Flag of Sierra Leone: An Africancentric Analysis” (Bangura 2015b) and “Bo School Symbols: A Deep African-Centered Analysis” (Bangura 2015c), from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, many, and consistent, definitions of Africancentricity were proffered by Africanists. The first definition was by Molefi Kete Asante who defined “Afrocentricity [African-centered] as the placing of African ideals at the center of any analysis that involves African culture and behavior” (1987, p. 6). The second definition was by C. Tsehloane Keto who defined the “African-centered perspective [as an approach that] rests on the premise that it is valid to position Africa as a geographical and cultural starting base in the study of peoples of African descent” (1989, p. 1). The third definition was by Wade Nobles who defined “Afrocentric, Africentric, or African-Centered [as being] interchangeable terms representing the concept which categorizes a quality of thought and practice which is rooted in the cultural image and interest of African people and which represents and reflects the life experiences, history, and traditions of African people as the center of analyses. It is therein that the intellectual and philosophical foundation [with] which African people should create their own scientific criterion for authenticating human reality” exists (1990, p. 47). The fourth definition was by Maulana Karenga who defined “Afrocentricity…as a quality of thought and practice rooted in the cultural image and human interest of African people [and their descendants]. To be rooted in the cultural image of African people is to be anchored in the views and values of African people as well as in the practice which emanates from and gives rise to these views and values” (1993, p. 36). Finally, Lathardus Goggins II defined “African-centered [as being able] to construct and use frames of reference, cultural filters and behaviors that are consistent with the philosophies and heritage of African cultures in order to advance the interest of people of African descent” (1996, p. 18).

I add that from the preceding definitions, it is obvious that Africancentricity presupposes knowledge of a commonality of cultural traits among the diverse peoples of Africa which characterize and constitute a worldly view that is somehow distinct from that of the foreign world views that have influenced African peoples. Africancentricity simply means that the universe is a collection of relationships, and an individual or a group being in that universe is defined by and dependent upon these relationships. Africans, prior to European and Asian dominance, and still to some degree now, considered the Cause or God as being a part of His creation while Europeans on the other hand considered God separate from His creation.

Also, I point out that Asante suggests that in the analysis of what he calls the “three fundamental Afrocentric themes of transcendent discourse: (1) human relations, (2) humans’ relationship to the supernatural, and (3) humans’ relationships to their own being” (1987, p. 168) that if done with an awareness of the interrelatedness of these themes, a greater understanding of the African being will be acquired...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Seshu nu per ānkh: The Ancient Kemetian Genesis of Digital Communication
• 2. Digital Communications: Colonization or Rationalization?
• 3. Digital Communication in Africa at Crossroads: From Physical Exploitation in the Past to Virtual Dominance Now
• 4. Africa at Development Policy and Practice Crossroads in the Digital Era: Navigating Decolonization and Glocalization
• 5. Pax-Africana Versus Western Digi-Culturalism: An Ethnomethodological Study of Selected Mobile African Apps
• 6. Africans and Digital Communication at Crossroads: Rethinking Existing Decolonial Paradigms
• 7. African Communication Paradigms Between Yesterday and Tomorrow: Preserving and Enhancing Africanity in the Digital Age
• 8. Digital Communication Tools in the Classroom as a Decolonial Solution: Pedagogical Experiments from Ashesi University in Ghana
• Back Matter