From Lerner to Adesina: literacy, technology anddevelopment in Africa

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At first glance, Daniel Lerner and Jimi Adesina wouldseem to be implacably opposed:Lerner's championing of modernityin the Middle East during the 1950s seems at odds withAdesina's apparent rejection of technology for technology's sake in Africa somefifty years later. However, a closer reading of both authors reveals ashared belief in the transformative power of education. Both men areunited in their understanding that education and literacy mustaccompany technical developments on the march to progress. For Lerner, 'the modernising man' has to make sense of the media towhich he (or she) is exposed. Furthermore, Adesina argues that'endogeneity' and sustainability rooted in African intellectualactivity are essential elements in any technological development. Otherwise, what will be adopted are, in his words, "Western patterns ofconsumption not Afrocentric trends of development."From "The Passing of Traditional Society" to the"fatal distractions" of today's information technology, authenticeducation still empowers individuals and societies to distinguishbetween the vacuous and the valuable.

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