Post by Longevity on Jun 1, 2009 14:24:58 GMT -5
Dr. Ivan Van Sertima died May 25th 2009.
Van Sertima was born in Kitty Village, Guyana, on 26 January 1935, when it was still a British colony. He has remained a British citizen. Van Sertima's father Frank Obermuller was a trade union leader. Van Sertima completed primary and secondary school in Guyana, and started writing poetry.
He went to London in 1959 for university. In addition to producing an array of creative writing, Van Sertima completed undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 1969, where he graduated with honors. During his studies he became fluent in Swahili and Hungarian languages.
He worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. In doing field work in Africa, he compiled a dictionary of Swahili legal terms.
In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey for graduate work.
Van Sertima began his more than 30-year teaching career at Rutgers as an instructor in 1972. In 1977 he completed his master's degree. He is Associate Professor of African Studies in the Department of Africana Studies. As editor of the Journal of African Civilization and author of numerous books, he has addressed topics in literature, linguistics, anthropology and history. Van Sertima has written a number of books in which he argues that the Ancient Egyptians were black
His 1976 book They Came Before Columbus was a bestseller and achieved widespread fame for his claims of prehistoric African influences in Central and South America. It did not receive much professional attention when published, and has been criticized by academic specialists.
[edit] Criticisms
Van Sertima has been criticized by academics for making ill-founded Afrocentric claims. A lengthy 1997 Journal of Current Anthropology article criticized in detail many elements of Van Sertima's 1976 book They Came Before Columbus.[2] The book had not earlier received a thorough professional academic review. They stated that in claiming African origins for prehistoric Olmec culture (in present-day Mexico), Van Sertima had ignored the work of Central American researchers. They stated no evidence of a prehistoric African influence or presence had been found in controlled archeological excavations in the New World. The reviewers also wrote that Olmec stone heads only superficially appear to be African and did not resemble the Nubian populations which Van Sertima claimed as their originators. They ruled as "fallacious" his claims for the diffusion of pyramid building and mummification. In addition, they accused Van Sertima's cultural outlook of being disparaging to Native American achievements. Van Sertima has sparred with some of his critics, but he did not respond to the 1997 Journal of Current Anthropology criticism.[3]
Bibliography
____ Black Women in Antiquity, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____ Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1983
____ Early America Revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1998
____ Egypt Revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1993
____ The Golden Age of the Moor, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1992
____ Great African Thinkers, Cheikh Anta Diop, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1986
____ Great Black Leaders: Ancient and Modern, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____ They Came Before Columbus, New York: Random House, 1976
____ Early America revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____Cheikh Anta Diop, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
Source: Wiki
Van Sertima was born in Kitty Village, Guyana, on 26 January 1935, when it was still a British colony. He has remained a British citizen. Van Sertima's father Frank Obermuller was a trade union leader. Van Sertima completed primary and secondary school in Guyana, and started writing poetry.
He went to London in 1959 for university. In addition to producing an array of creative writing, Van Sertima completed undergraduate studies in African languages and literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London in 1969, where he graduated with honors. During his studies he became fluent in Swahili and Hungarian languages.
He worked for several years in Great Britain as a journalist, doing weekly broadcasts to the Caribbean and Africa. In doing field work in Africa, he compiled a dictionary of Swahili legal terms.
In 1970 Van Sertima immigrated to the United States, where he entered Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey for graduate work.
Van Sertima began his more than 30-year teaching career at Rutgers as an instructor in 1972. In 1977 he completed his master's degree. He is Associate Professor of African Studies in the Department of Africana Studies. As editor of the Journal of African Civilization and author of numerous books, he has addressed topics in literature, linguistics, anthropology and history. Van Sertima has written a number of books in which he argues that the Ancient Egyptians were black
His 1976 book They Came Before Columbus was a bestseller and achieved widespread fame for his claims of prehistoric African influences in Central and South America. It did not receive much professional attention when published, and has been criticized by academic specialists.
[edit] Criticisms
Van Sertima has been criticized by academics for making ill-founded Afrocentric claims. A lengthy 1997 Journal of Current Anthropology article criticized in detail many elements of Van Sertima's 1976 book They Came Before Columbus.[2] The book had not earlier received a thorough professional academic review. They stated that in claiming African origins for prehistoric Olmec culture (in present-day Mexico), Van Sertima had ignored the work of Central American researchers. They stated no evidence of a prehistoric African influence or presence had been found in controlled archeological excavations in the New World. The reviewers also wrote that Olmec stone heads only superficially appear to be African and did not resemble the Nubian populations which Van Sertima claimed as their originators. They ruled as "fallacious" his claims for the diffusion of pyramid building and mummification. In addition, they accused Van Sertima's cultural outlook of being disparaging to Native American achievements. Van Sertima has sparred with some of his critics, but he did not respond to the 1997 Journal of Current Anthropology criticism.[3]
Bibliography
____ Black Women in Antiquity, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____ Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1983
____ Early America Revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1998
____ Egypt Revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1993
____ The Golden Age of the Moor, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1992
____ Great African Thinkers, Cheikh Anta Diop, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1986
____ Great Black Leaders: Ancient and Modern, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____ They Came Before Columbus, New York: Random House, 1976
____ Early America revisited, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
____Cheikh Anta Diop, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988
Source: Wiki
