Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa FROM THE PUBLISHER
Cultural Transformation and Human Rights in Africa clarifies what should constitute human rights, and strategies for their realization in an African context. The book argues for the local promotion of what should be universal human rights through processes of cultural transformation over time. While acknowledging the tensions between local cultures and the notion of universal human rights, the contributors argue that these issues can be addressed via creative possibilities within specific countries.
SYNOPSIS
Seeking to aid the formulation of policy recommendations and law reform proposals promoting human rights in African societies, eight articles explore relationships between religion, law, and human rights in African cultures. Presented by An-Na'im (law, Emory U.), the articles are founded in the concept that human rights should be rooted in the transformation of concepts and realities already present in local cultures. Among the topics are a suggestion that the term "cultural relativism" is actually perpetuated by ethnocentric Westerners who resist a multi-cultural human rights corpus, a view of the struggle of women as being a core of the struggle for an equitable society, and examinations of land tenure regimes as structural dimensions of cultural transformations. Distributed by Palgrave. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
FROM THE CRITICS
Booknews
Seeking to aid the formulation of policy recommendations and law reform proposals promoting human rights in African societies, eight articles explore relationships between religion, law, and human rights in African cultures. Presented by An-Na'im (law, Emory U.), the articles are founded in the concept that human rights should be rooted in the transformation of concepts and realities already present in local cultures. Among the topics are a suggestion that the term "cultural relativism" is actually perpetuated by ethnocentric Westerners who resist a multi-cultural human rights corpus, a view of the struggle of women as being a core of the struggle for an equitable society, and examinations of land tenure regimes as structural dimensions of cultural transformations. Distributed by Palgrave. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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