Value-Semantic Blocks in Images of African Poetry (in the Context of Historical and Social Changes)

Abstract

The article presents an interdisciplinary study at the intersection of culturology and African studies. The author suggests that the formation and transformation of values and meanings in Africa were influenced by specific facts of the history of sub-Saharan Africa. On the one hand, a colossal cultural layer is associated with the colonial past of African countries, with the influence of Western culture and Western values. Colonization of the continent, the struggle for freedom and independence, racial problems have determined the identity of Africans, the specifics of their identification, the need to restore their dignity. On the other hand, there exists a powerful foundation of traditional culture. The paper analyzes specific African value-semantic blocks associated with the facts of African history. It raises the question about the mission of Africa and the “Black man”, expressed in the value-semantic block “the black man is the savior of faith, the guardian of spirituality and honor” and the question of the unique “cosmogonic” system of representations of the African man, embodied in the value of connection with ancestors, with nature, with the earth and with heaven. Examples of the reflection of a number of value-semantic blocks in the images of African poetry are given.