Royal African Society

The Royal African Society of the United Kingdom was founded in 1901 to promote relations between the United Kingdom and countries in Africa. In addition to producing its journal African Affairs (ISSN 0368-4016, formerly Journal of the African Society), the Society runs programmes in business, politics, the arts and education. It is based in London.

History

The establishment of the society in 1901 grew out of the travels of Mary Kingsley, an English writer and explorer who travelled to Africa several times in the 1890s and greatly influenced European study of the African continent. In 1893, she travelled to Luanda, Angola, where she lived with the indigenous peoples to learn their customs. In 1895 she returned to study cannibal tribes, travelled up the Ogooué River collecting specimens of previously undiscovered fish, and became the first European to climb Mount Cameroon. Upon her return to England, Kingsley upset many people, particularly the Church of England: she criticized missionaries, and supported many traditional aspects of African life, most controversially the practice of polygamy. Kingsley wrote that a "black man is no more an undeveloped white man than a rabbit is an undeveloped hare".[1] The Royal African Society (RAS) was formed to commemorate and continue Kingsley's work.

The society administers the African Studies Association of the UK (est. 1963).[2]

Cultural initiatives

In 2008, the RAS supported the launch of a London African Film Festival, in co-operation with Africa at the Pictures, and subsequently established the annual festival "Film Africa".[3] In 2009, the RAS launched the African Arguments Book Series, published by Zed Books, which was followed by an online blogging platform, African Arguments Online.[4] In 2012, the RAS established an annual literature festival called "Africa Writes".[5][6]

gollark: > The HDD's spindle system relies on air density inside the disk enclosure to support the heads at their proper flying height while the disk rotates. HDDs require a certain range of air densities to operate properly. The connection to the external environment and density occurs through a small hole in the enclosure (about 0.5 mm in breadth), usually with a filter on the inside (the breather filter).[124] If the air density is too low, then there is not enough lift for the flying head, so the head gets too close to the disk, and there is a risk of head crashes and data loss. Specially manufactured sealed and pressurized disks are needed for reliable high-altitude operation, above about 3,000 m (9,800 ft).[125] Modern disks include temperature sensors and adjust their operation to the operating environment. Breather holes can be seen on all disk drives – they usually have a sticker next to them, warning the user not to cover the holes. The air inside the operating drive is constantly moving too, being swept in motion by friction with the spinning platters. This air passes through an internal recirculation (or "recirc") filter to remove any leftover contaminants from manufacture, any particles or chemicals that may have somehow entered the enclosure, and any particles or outgassing generated internally in normal operation. Very high humidity present for extended periods of time can corrode the heads and platters. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_disk_drive#Integrity
gollark: Interweb says it's to keep pressure equalized between the inside and out.
gollark: Ah yes, destroy it as an example to the others.
gollark: I find that threatening my electronics with a hammer or something works.
gollark: Progressive web applications are very cool.

See also

References
  1. Mary H. Kingsley (1897). Travels in West Africa; Congo Français, Corisco and Cameroons.
  2. "About Us". Asauk.net. African Studies Association of the UK. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  3. Film Africa.
  4. African Arguments.
  5. "A History", Royal African Society.
  6. Africa Writes.
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