Discuss why the narrator stress that the discovery of over 70,000 manuscripts in Timbuktu (a city in Mali) will forever re-write the history of West Africa?

FORUM DESCRIPTION
I. Answer the following questions on The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu:
1. Why does the narrator stress that the discovery of over 70,000 manuscripts in Timbuktu (a city in Mali) will forever re-write the history of West Africa?
2. Why does the narrator state that Mali’s oral tradition (of song and dance) has been dismissed?
3. Why does the narrator emphasize that Timbuktu’s Arabic manuscripts date back to the 1400s (15th century) and the 1500s (the 16th century)?
4. Given that the manuscripts cover such topics as astronomy, theology, and medicine, what does this prove about about the intellectual abilities and traditions of West African scholars? How do these intellectual traditions shatter racist stereotypes of African culture and peoples?

II. Answer the following questions on When the Moors Ruled Spain:
1. Why does the narrator stress the African Moors’ presence in Spain (and Europe) “has been systematically written out of history”?
2. Why does the narrator stress that Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Americas (and the Reconquista) marks the end of an era?
3. Given the elaborate design of the Alhambra Palace, what do the narrator and the guest commentator indicate about the Moors’ advanced knowledge of architecture and mathematics?
III. Answer the following questions related to Gates on Ancient African Civilizations:
1. Why does the interviewer state that Gates’s project seeks to elevate the significance of African civilizations from the footnotes of history?
2. Why does Gates provide a contrast between the negative Western image of Africa and the actual historical achievements of Africans?
3. Why does Gates stress that the 400 year old institution of chattel slavery caused the erasure of African history and African historical contributions?

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