American Philanthropy and African Education: Toward an Analysis
TL;DR: The role played by foundations in the growth of American institutional life has been seriously neglected by scholars, more specifically by political scientists, who, one would think, would have an especial interest in studying these institutional pillars of American society as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Since the passage in 1969 of congressional legislation intended to regulate the activities of tax free philanthropic foundations, a spate of works dealing with the role of foundations in American life has been published (Cuninggim, 1972; Heimann, 1973; Nielsen, 1972; Peterson, 1972). Most of these works have dealt in a general way with the responsibilities of philanthropic organizations in a period of rapid change. Several were commissioned by the larger foundations themselves, perhaps to indicate to a potentially hostile legislative branch the foundations' willingness to evaluate their performances to date and to establish socially “responsible” goals for themselves. None of these studies has analyzed specific policy issues in which the foundations have been involved or themselves have helped to create. The central role played by foundations in the growth of American institutional life has been seriously neglected by scholars, more specifically by political scientists, whom, one would think, would have an especial interest in studying these institutional pillars of American society. If the role of American foundations in the evolution of institutions at home has been neglected, the significant role of American foundations as institution builders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and as implementors of American foreign policy is hardly even known. It is with the role of American foundations overseas, particularly in Africa, that I am concerned at this juncture.
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01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In the decolonized world, from the 1950s until the 1970s, educating elites in the decolonialized world featured prominently in private and public American development policies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: From the 1950s until the 1970s, educating elites in the decolonized world featured prominently in private and public American development policies.1 Large sums of money were invested into establishing universities, libraries, research institutes, and exchange programs to bring forth “the best and the brightest” of the newly independent Asian and African nations. As Dean Rusk, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, put it in 1955, initiating and supporting education measures in the decolonized regions was expected to play a role in determining
whether newly independent nations can erect a structure of government and public order under which peaceful development may proceed; whether public office can become a public trust, separate from private interest; whether national revolutions are to be diverted, by the colonial issue, away from their democratic base to become a source of energy and power for dictatorship; … whether they will be “open” societies, in the humanistic tradition of the West, or closed by dogma or ideology.2
Framed by modernization theory and Cold War liberalism, the support of elites through higher education seemed to offer a peaceful, constructive way of furthering indigenous as well as American interests in the context of decolonization and the Cold War.
27 citations
TL;DR: A quick perusal of biographies and autobiographies of Africans who came to the United States demonstrates that the vast majority of them who made the journey did so with the help of either American philanthropic foundations or the American government.
Abstract: Most memoirs written by the sons and daughters of African immigrants make reference to how the pursuit of education in America provided an impetus for the ‘reverse middle passage’ that their parents (usually, indeed, their fathers) undertook in the 1960s. A quick perusal of biographies and autobiographies of Africans who came to the United States demonstrates that the vast majority of them who made the journey did so with the help of either American philanthropic foundations or the American government. These students, who varied tremendously in background, point of view, and political orientation, were united by one thing – a dream of a better life. Few of them were aware of the political machinations that underwrote the construction of their fellowships. Most were blissfully unaware of how invested the United States government was in putting their own stamp on the people they would become. Their stories are instructive, therefore, for illustrating the power of African diaspora networks in the me...
2 citations
01 Oct 2022
TL;DR: The status of open and distance learning in Nigeria is reviewed in this article , where the authors provide recommendations and concrete actions to enable policy makers and distance education leaders to transform the sector for national development.
Abstract: "Status of Open and Distance Learning in Nigeria" reviews current policy and practice in relation to issues of access, equity, quality and costs. This was done using a survey of ODL institutions, data from different institutions, and available studies conducted by COL. The report identifies innovations and best practices that institutions adopted as a response to the Covid-19 crisis. The objective of this report is to provide recommendations and concrete actions to enable policy makers and distance education leaders to transform the sector for national development.
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Book•
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19 Apr 1956
TL;DR: The Power Elite can be read as a good account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today.
Abstract: First published in 1956, The Power Elite stands as a contemporary classic of social science and social criticism. C. Wright Mills examines and critiques the organization of power in the United States, calling attention to three firmly interlocked prongs of power: the military, corporate, and political elite. The Power Elite can be read as a good account of what was taking place in America at the time it was written, but its underlying question of whether America is as democratic in practice as it is in theory continues to matter very much today. What The Power Elite informed readers of in 1956 was how much the organization of power in America had changed during their lifetimes, and Alan Wolfe's astute afterword to this new edition brings us up to date, illustrating how much more has changed since then. Wolfe sorts out what is helpful in Mills book and which of his predictions have not come to bear, laying out the radical changes in American capitalism, from intense global competition and the collapse of communism to rapid technological transformations and ever changing consumer tastes. The Power Elite has stimulated generations of readers to think about the kind of society they have and the kind of society they might want, and deserves to be read by every new generation.
3,801 citations
Book•
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01 Jan 1967
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the role of public opinion in the power elite's domination of government and its role in the corporate community and the upper class in the United States.
Abstract: Introduction 1. Class and Power in America 2. The Corporate Community 3. The Corporate Community and the Upper Class 4. The Policy-Planning Network 5. The Role of Public Opinion 6. Parties and Elections 7. How the Power Elite Dominates Government 8. The Big Picture Appendix A: How To Do Research on Power Appendix B: Indicators of Upper-Class Standing
837 citations
"American Philanthropy and African E..." refers background in this paper
...See, for example, the paltry discussions of foundation activities in the representative works of Baltzell (1964), Dahl (1961), Domhoff (1967, 1970), and, of course, Mills (1956)....
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Book•
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01 Jan 1953
TL;DR: In this article, a political system is part of an intra-societal environment including ecological, biological, personality, economic, cultural, and other systems, all operating in society and bound by an extra-Societal environment which is the sphere of relations among national societies.
Abstract: The systems analysis of political life might be used as a basis for teaching about the political process in all grades, including elementary school. A political system is part of an intra-societal environment including ecological, biological, personality, economic, cultural, and other systems, all operating in society and bound by an extra-societal environment Which is the sphere of relations among national societies. This system, emphasizing the relationship of the political system to its environment, is regulated by "demands," one of the two major inputs fro* the environment; "outputs," the decisions made by the authorities; "su%pport" for the system, and other major input; and "feedback," a concept which unifies the Whole analysis. The three basic components of the system unified by the feedback process are the political community, the regime, and the authorities. The concept of politics as a feedback system focuses on the cycle of inputs and outputs and presents the political system as a conversion process that regulates itself in order to persist. This cycle is the political function of allocating authoritatively the valued things of society, which is an order-maintaining role. This theory of the political system deals with fundamental processes and relationships rather than isolated facts. (JH)
632 citations
Book•
01 Jun 1964
TL;DR: The Protestant Establishment as discussed by the authors is a classic account of the traditional upper class in America that traces its origins, lifestyles, and political and social attitudes from the time of Theodore Roosevelt to that of John F. Kennedy.
Abstract: This classic account of the traditional upper class in America traces its origins, lifestyles, and political and social attitudes from the time of Theodore Roosevelt to that of John F. Kennedy. Sociologist E. Digby Baltzell describes the problems of exclusion and prejudice within the community of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (or WASPs, an acronym he coined) and predicts with amazing accuracy what will happen when this inbred group is forced to share privilege and power with talented members of minority groups. "The book may actually hold more interest today than when it was first published. New generations of readers can resonate all the more to this masterly and beautifully written work that provides sociological understanding of its engrossing subject."-Robert K. Merton, Columbia University "The documentation and illustration in the book make it valuable as social history, quite apart from any theoretical hypothesis. As such, it sketches the rise of the WASP penchant for country clubs, patriotic societies and genealogy. It traces the history of anti-Semitism in America. It describes the intellectual conflict between Social Darwinism and the environmental social science founded half a century ago by men like John Dewey, Charles A. Beard, Thorstein Veblen, Franz Boas and Frederick Jackson Turner. In short, The Protestant Establishment is a wide-ranging, intelligent and provocative book."-Alvin Toffler, New York Times Book Review "The Protestant Establishment has many virtues that lift it above the level we have come to expect in works of contemporary social and cultural analysis. It is clearly and convincingly written."-H. Stuart Hughes, New York Review of Books
237 citations
196 citations