1. Van Hear, Nick. “Child Labor and the Development of Capitalist Agriculture in
Ghana.” Development and Change. Vol. 13. 4. (1982): 499-514.
This article gives a factual historical background about child labor and exploitation on Ghanaian cocoa farms. It starts with early colonialism, using historical accounts to describe the conditions of laboring children. It then continues up until the 1960s, detailing the exploitation, pawning, and fostering of child laborers in Ghana up until that point. The purpose is to give a historical illustration of child labor in Ghana, and the article is meant for an educated audience that probably have at least some form of background in world history, and maybe even Ghanaian history. This source aids my project because it provides historical background about child labor and cocoa farming in Ghana, and my research topic includes whether child labor due to cocoa farming prevents education for children.
2. Danquah, Francis and Stephen K. Miller. “Cocoa Farming in Ghana: Emic Experience,
Etic Interpretation.” Southern Rural Sociology. Vol. 22 (2007): 65-79.
This article is meant to demonstrate the understanding brought on from a dual emic and etic experience of a Ghanaian man who grew up on a cocoa farm, and later moved to an urban area. The purpose is to show that both perspectives are needed to more deeply understand the economic circumstances of rural societies that thrive on cocoa farming, and that education empowers individuals to transcend their states of manual labor. The author uses personal experiences to support his argument. He recounts times of his life spent both in a rural area of Ghana at his stepfather’s cocoa farm, as well as his urban experiences. The audience the author is catering to seems to be mainly Western readers, or non-natives of Ghana at least, and ones who would have had some learning in sociological theory. My project revolves around the dynamics of rural cocoa farming in Ghana, and how these work alongside the need for youth to gain academic educations in hope for empowerment and stability in a competitive world. This source directly connects to my project, as it is a unique account of one native Ghanaian’s life experiences concerning cocoa farming, and his opportunity to also experience an urban lifestyle and education, and reflect on how both have affected his understanding of Ghana’s culture and economics.
3. International Cocoa Initiative, "Child Labour in Cocoa Growing." Last modified 2010.
Accessed October 26, 2011. http://www.cocoainitiative.org/en/resources/child-labour-
in-cocoa-growing.
This source gives quantitative data in hopes to show that hazardous and illegal child labor is occurring in parts of Western Africa in regards to cocoa farming. This information justifies the source’s main cause, which is “working towards responsible labour standards for cocoa growing.” The evidence provided is mostly statistical, based on a sociological survey. The document is thus organized with the statistics first, and potential problems inferred from these numbers second. The audience is likely supposed to be educated authorities that can analyze statistics and assist in promulgating action to aid the situation presented. The source bases its information off surveys on child labor done in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana in 2008. Since my project involves child participation on cocoa farms in rural Ghana, this source is very helpful, as an official report full of statistics. It even mentions children being prevented from attending school because of the poverty cycle and their obligations to cocoa farming.
4. Central Intelligence Agency, "The World Factbook: Ghana." Accessed October 26, 2011.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html.
The homepage of the World Factbook states that it provides information about things such as the people, economies, geographies, and communications of 267 global entities. The source of this website gains great credibility from the fact that it is a government agency’s official website. The organization of the data on the site is very official, and is separated into various categorical tabs. There are facts and statistical information provided for a number of topics about specific countries. The audience is very broad, because the source is a formal database. Anyone can access it that wants statistical and empirical data about a country. For my project I need to have at the least, a basic background knowledge of the country I am working in. The CIA World Factbook provides ample information about geography, demography, ethnicity, communication, etc. - all things that play big parts in social structure and therefore culture.
5. Anne-Marie Wooley interview. “Financing Cocoa in Ghana.” How we Made it in
Africa. 25 September 2010.
This source is an interview of the head of Structured Trade & Commodity Finance: Africa at Stanbic Bank. She answers several questions regarding the relationship between small-scale farmers and international exportation and trade, and if they are being compensated fairly. Wooley has credibility because of her high position, however her opinion is obviously biased towards large-scale commerce, and her answers support the bigger international forces behind cocoa trade. She does not give a detailed account of small-scale cocoa farmers. The audience is the readers of How We Made it in Africa online journal. Therefore, the audience is most likely assumed to be fairly educated readers who have at least a background in world news involving Africa. My project revolves around cocoa farming in Ghana. It is important for me to have at least an elementary understanding of the economics behind cocoa farming, and how lower class farmers are connected to the upper class that is involved with the distribution of their crops.
6. Allman, Jean and Victoria Tashjian. 2000. “I Will Not Eat Stone” A Women’s History of
Colonial Asante. Oxford: James Currey.
This book attempts to conceptualize the social history behind the shaping of economics in the Asante region of Ghana. It mainly focuses on Asante women, and how they have had to adapt to a changing economic landscape. It supports resistance for and defense of economic autonomy. The audience for this book is probably educated readers who do not have firsthand experience with economics in Ghana, especially concerning women. The authors gain credibility because of their own fieldwork in Ghana. This sources will be an aid to my project because it specifically teaches about Ghanaian females, and it provides information about Ghanaian economics, which are closely tied to cocoa farming.
7. Clark, Gracia. 1994. Onions Are My Husband. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
This book focuses on the dynamics of the open-air marketplaces in Kumasi, Ghana. It is based on the ethnographic studies of the author who worked for four years with women in the marketplace. Her analyses are directed at the affects of economy, ethnicity, gender, and other social variables on women trying to uphold business in the market. The audience for this book would be educated readers who have not had extensive firsthand experience in the Ghanaian market place, especially with women. The author conducted field research in these places, and thus gains credibility. Since my project deals with differing gender roles in Ghana, this source will contribute because it provides cultural insight on family dynamics and women specifically.
8. Mikell, Gwendolyn. 1997. African Feminism: The Politics of Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The University of Pennsylvania Press.
The author describes how African Feminism differs from the traditional feminism known in the elite Western world. Instead of focusing on sexuality and choices behind child bearing, African feminism is largely involved with economics and power. This book looks into land control, product distribution, and other economic issues in relation to gender in Africa. The audience for the book would be Westerners who may have never been exposed to a different notion of what constitutes feminism. My project specifically focuses on female children, and their chances for educational success in rural Ghana. This topic is intertwined with gender roles, and accordingly, African feminism.
9. Amanda Berlan, (2009) "Child labour and cocoa: whose voices prevail?"
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 29 Iss: 3/4, pp.141 – 151
This article takes a slightly alternative view. It is based on an ethnographic study in Ghana, and contrary to common theories, aims to show that child labor is not as prevalent as often thought in Ghana. The article shows that many children who work on cocoa farms do so within families, and of their own free will. The authors take their evidence form participatory research they conducted in Ghana. They argue that wide claims of child labor in West Africa are too broad, and that child labor is location specific because in some areas children work willingly on family farms. This source is a good contrasting view compared to several other sources about child labor in Ghana, that could help with my project that concerns child laborers on family cocoa farms.
10. Padwick, Nick. “Fair Farming.” Farmers Weekly. 152. No. 9 (2010)
This source is a brief description of one European farmer’s experience visiting a cocoa farm in Ghana. It gives some insight into what the agriculture is like, and mentions youth leaving to the cities to find jobs. This is relevant to my research question where I inquire about children’s situation on cocoa farms because it gives a first hand account of a foreigner's impression of coca farming in Ghana. It is very brief, but gives me a glimpse of what cocoa farming culture may be like, before I actually travel to Ghana.
11. Weis, Lois. “Education and the Reproduction of Inequality. The Case of Ghana.”
Comparative Education Review. 23. No. 1 (1979).
This source looks into stratification based on socioeconomic status. It gives evidence that Western education systems favor specific individuals and thus offer unfair educational opportunities within developing countries. It analyzes whether those born from more educated parents, or from urban families, have a higher chance of getting into better schools and progress their education. This would directly apply to my project if it were true, since I am arguing that a rural lifestyle could prevent children from academic opportunity.
12. Mikell, Gwendolyn. “Ghanaian Females, Rural Economy and National Stability.”
African Studies Review. 29. No. 3 (1986).
This sources studies the literature and research that has supported the exploitation of females in the farming industry in Ghana. However, it focuses on how the state has not encouraged this, but it has happened as a result of economic relations concerning crops and production. The disintegration of the rural industry could lead to further national instability. This is relevant to my project since it is gender specific, and is about the situations females face in relation to cocoa production.
Commodification in South-eastern Ghana.” Africa. 80. No. 1 (2010). 104-122.
This article focuses on the evolution of property rights and customary land tenure in Ghana's forest region from the nineteenth century to now. It contests that because of land scarcity and an increase in population, agriculture is seeing a shift towards more open markets and individualized property rights. The commodification of property rights has served to disintegrate the "family farm," and it is now more common to see a dependence on hired labor instead of children working on farms, and sharecropping instead of inheritance. According to Amanor, this is breaking down the "moral economy of the family" in places like South eastern Ghana.
This source gives a new twist on my topic. It argues that the concept of a family farm is decreasing in Ghana, and instead there is more hired help. This could change my study, or my conclusions, since my question is focused on female children working on farms. I may find, like this source attests, that because of evolving concepts of land tenure, there are not a lot of children even laboring on farms.
14. Oppong, Christine and Christine Okali and Beverley Houghton. “Woman Power.
Retrograde Steps in Ghana.” African Studies Review. 18. No. 3 (1975). 71-84.
This paper discusses the hurdles to equality for women in Ghana because of economic structures and gender roles. Women are highly involved in agriculture, which is a necessary part of Ghanaian economy, but do not receive the benefits of higher education and equality. The authors assert that Ghanaian have been held back by their own men, as well as colonialists in the past, and now neo-colonialists. The women generally are self-reliant, and "achievement-oriented," and thus deserve independence, autonomy, and an increase in power and education. This source could aid my project by presenting systems and events that have limited females in Ghana in the past, and that continue to do so.
15. Vigneri, Marcella and Rebecca Holmes. "When being more productive still doesn’t pay:
gender inequality and socio-economic constraints in Ghana’s cocoa sector." Gender
Pathways Out of Poverty. United Kingdom: Overseas Development Institute (2009)
15. Vigneri, Marcella and Rebecca Holmes. "When being more productive still doesn’t pay:
gender inequality and socio-economic constraints in Ghana’s cocoa sector." Gender
Pathways Out of Poverty. United Kingdom: Overseas Development Institute (2009)
This source argues that those who have hailed the cocoa economy as Ghana's solution to rise out of poverty fail to recognize that it has also emphasized gender inequality in Ghana. Women generally own less land, and have access to less resources, although they yield the same amount of produce as men. If Ghana wants to reach middle income status by 2015, it is very important that women are given the economic freedom they need to be able to become as successful as men regarding cocoa farming. The authors call for the cocoa sector to become involved, as it could help to implement reforms that would cause more gender equality. This sources connects to my project because it takes a look at gender roles surrounding cocoa farming in Ghana. However, it may give me a new perspective about what is best for Ghanaian females in rural areas. Possibly, better social change to push for would be to grant women equality in the cocoa agricultural industry, instead of making sure they are able to attend school.
16. Anti-Slavery International, "The Cocoa Industry in West Africa: A History of
Exploitation." Last modified 2004. Accessed February 22, 2012.
This source is a report that followed the shocking discoveries of widespread slavery and child labor in Cote d’Ivoire and parts of West Africa. It contains a detailed history of cocoa in these areas, an explanation of the labor-intensive process of producing cocoa into an exportable product, and the issues of contemporary slavery and child labor. It concludes by advocating for companies and groups to take the needed steps to eliminate these cruel practices, especially since Westerners are benefiting through the chocolate products they enjoy, from labor sometimes illegally employed. This source applies to my project because it gives very informative background information about the history of cocoa, and its production process. It also comments on child labor within the family context, which directly applies to my research topic.
17. Knudsen, Michael Helt. "Making a living in the cocoa frontier, Western Ghana:
Diversifying incomes in a cocoa economy." Danish Journal of Geography. 107.
no. 2 (2007): 29-44.
This article argues that it is not necessarily bad if cocoa farmers begin to diversify their income by spreading to non-cocoa monetary sources while also maintaining cocoa farms. This can be a healthy economic practice, providing options while farmers still provide for their families mostly through cocoa production. This sources aids my project because during my research I want to remain conscious and concerned about the various debates concerning whether cocoa farmers should be encouraged to perpetuate farming within their families to stabilize the Ghanaian economy, or if youth should be pushed to diversify their occupational options by leaving agricultural business.
18. Hurd, G. E. and T. J. Johnson. “Education and Social Mobility in Ghana.” Sociology of
18. Hurd, G. E. and T. J. Johnson. “Education and Social Mobility in Ghana.” Sociology of
Education. 40. No. 1 (1967)
This source also poses the hypothesis that the Ghanaian educational system stratifies its favored students. The system benefits those born to parents of higher social status, leading them to more opportunity, and bottlenecks others out. Although modernization studies may focus on the primacy of occupation in present day Ghana, they have at times overlooked the prevention of social mobility to all classes within such a stratified advancement system in the schools. This would directly apply to my project if it is true, since I am arguing that a rural lifestyle could prevent children from academic opportunity.
19. Utley, Ian. Culture Smart! Ghana. Kuperard, 2009.
19. Utley, Ian. Culture Smart! Ghana. Kuperard, 2009.
This source is a brief guidebook for Ghanaian culture. It provides information about Ghana’s people, values, customs, family structure, etiquette, health and safety tips, business, and communication. It advertises itself as a helpful practical advice guide to make cross-cultural situations more comfortable, and to avoid embarrassing taboos and offences.
20. Ware Barrientos, Stephanie, Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Samuel Asuming-Brempong,
Daniel Sarpong, Nana Akua Anyidoho, Raphael Kaplinsky, and Jennifer Leavy. 2008. Sustainable Production in Ghanaian Cocoa Report to Cadbury Institute of Development Studies Project Coordinators.
This source documents a study done to see how cocoa farms in Ghana can become more sustainable and productive. It connects Western economy with the socioeconomic activity of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The study was done because when it was conducted, there were 720,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana. However, many of them were susceptible to poverty and had low productivity. This source could help me to better understand the economic dynamics of cocoa farming in Ghana, and thus be an aid to my project.
21. Baah, Francis, and Vincent Anchirinah. "A review of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana
extension activities and the management of cocoa pests and diseases in Ghana."
American Journal of Social and Management Sciences. 2. no. 1 (2011): 196-201.
This source gives information about a variety of extension activities surrounding cocoa farming in Ghana. Extension activities are supposed to cause more sustainable production, and can be conducted by NGOs, business institutions, etc. Extension activities pass on knowledge and skills to the cocoa farmers, and can be educational campaigns, radio announcements, and farmer field studies. This could help me to look at another form of education for Ghanaians, besides academic education, and aid my perpective as aI do my project.
22. Amanda Berlan, (2008) "Making or marketing a difference? An anthropological
examination of the marketing of fair trade cocoa from Ghana", , Vol. Iss: 28, pp.171 -
194
This source uses ethnographic field research to combat common Western perceptions of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. In media campaigns the farmers are often presented as helpless, passive people, who are resentful and angry with economic companies. However, this source argues that based on past anthropological studies, as well as present studies, many cocoa farmers have large goals, and are more capable than they are perceived to be. This account could help me break down some of my own Western perceptions, and be more prepared to conduct my project.
23. DiCicco-Bloom, Barbara, and Benjamin F. Crabtree. "The Qualitative Research
Interview." Medical Education. 40. no. 4 (2006): 314-321.
This source gives information about the qualitative methodology of interviewing. It discusses unstructured interviewing versus traditional structured interviewing often used in certain fields, and when to use it. This source could be useful to my project by providing useful information about one of my main methodologies I will be using in the field - interviewing.
20. Ware Barrientos, Stephanie, Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Samuel Asuming-Brempong,
Daniel Sarpong, Nana Akua Anyidoho, Raphael Kaplinsky, and Jennifer Leavy. 2008. Sustainable Production in Ghanaian Cocoa Report to Cadbury Institute of Development Studies Project Coordinators.
This source documents a study done to see how cocoa farms in Ghana can become more sustainable and productive. It connects Western economy with the socioeconomic activity of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. The study was done because when it was conducted, there were 720,000 cocoa farmers in Ghana. However, many of them were susceptible to poverty and had low productivity. This source could help me to better understand the economic dynamics of cocoa farming in Ghana, and thus be an aid to my project.
21. Baah, Francis, and Vincent Anchirinah. "A review of Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana
extension activities and the management of cocoa pests and diseases in Ghana."
American Journal of Social and Management Sciences. 2. no. 1 (2011): 196-201.
This source gives information about a variety of extension activities surrounding cocoa farming in Ghana. Extension activities are supposed to cause more sustainable production, and can be conducted by NGOs, business institutions, etc. Extension activities pass on knowledge and skills to the cocoa farmers, and can be educational campaigns, radio announcements, and farmer field studies. This could help me to look at another form of education for Ghanaians, besides academic education, and aid my perpective as aI do my project.
22. Amanda Berlan, (2008) "Making or marketing a difference? An anthropological
examination of the marketing of fair trade cocoa from Ghana", , Vol. Iss: 28, pp.171 -
194
This source uses ethnographic field research to combat common Western perceptions of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. In media campaigns the farmers are often presented as helpless, passive people, who are resentful and angry with economic companies. However, this source argues that based on past anthropological studies, as well as present studies, many cocoa farmers have large goals, and are more capable than they are perceived to be. This account could help me break down some of my own Western perceptions, and be more prepared to conduct my project.
23. DiCicco-Bloom, Barbara, and Benjamin F. Crabtree. "The Qualitative Research
Interview." Medical Education. 40. no. 4 (2006): 314-321.
This source gives information about the qualitative methodology of interviewing. It discusses unstructured interviewing versus traditional structured interviewing often used in certain fields, and when to use it. This source could be useful to my project by providing useful information about one of my main methodologies I will be using in the field - interviewing.
