Their topics include towards a hermeneutic for public theology: conversations with Habermas and Schillebeeckx, the hermeneutics of intersubjectivity: theologies of homelessness, still revealing himself: how Jesus' resurrection enables Christians to be public theologians, overcoming political Nestorianism: toward a Calcedonian politics, concentrating on creation: following Christ in a context of climate change, eschatology and the discourse of martyrdom, Schillebeeckx's view of eschatology as public theology today,
Afro-pessimism and Christian hope, the church and the elusive public, and the church in the limelight of the public square: an alternative community.
In some cases, such as the Lonely Planet guide mentioned above,
Afro-pessimism may even entail twenty-first-century Orientalist travel writing practices (Said [1978] 2003) which recall the empire's "obsessive need to present and re-present its peripheries and its others continually to itself' (Pratt [1992] 2008, 4).
For his part, Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), does not share this
Afro-pessimism.
In the last decades of the previous century,
Afro-pessimism was very common.
Rather,
Afro-pessimism continues to manifest in different forms, amongst others; ideations such as affirmative action, lowering the standards, and so on.
Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: "Neither
Afro-pessimism nor Afro-optimism do justice to modern Africa.
In his remarks to members of the press corps, and accompanied by the embassy s Deputy Head of Mission, Pierre Jordn, the ambassador noted: We fully acknowledge that there are changes that South Africa experiences from time-to-time, like all countries experience, but the positives about the country by far outweighs the elements of
Afro-pessimism that one sometimes find in certain media circles.
The Bank was created at a time of
Afro-pessimism during the '80s.
The bitter fruits of
Afro-pessimism can be detected.
But of all these aspects, we wish to highlight the importance we should attach to freedom from ignorance, reversal of African self-hate and
Afro-pessimism.
Zuma called on Africa to reverse "self-hate and
Afro-pessimism, " saying, "We must promote the principles of self-love, Afro- optimism, Ubuntu and the respect for human worth and human dignity.
And, contrary to
Afro-pessimism, there have been growth figures in excess of 5%, success stories such as in Rwanda and in Tanzania, much coveted by China and India, illustrating the potentials of a continent harbouring enormous natural resources.