DATA SOURCES

Primary, secondary and tertiary sources are used in this site, each type fulfilling specific informational needs.

Primary Sources:

Nkrumah's presentations and books provide the primary source material for this site's theoretical base. For the purpose of analysis, Nkrumah's published speeches are organized into three categories:

theoretical,
operational, and
incidental.

The first category addresses theoretical, ideological, and epistemic perspectives. Questions of ethics and strategy also fall in this category but more often overlap into the operational field. Operational presentations give specific directions on action to be taken by an agency (e.g., movements, political parties, government, self-conscious organized social sectors, police, youth). Incidental speeches address events and important activities that Nkrumah chose to interpret to selective audiences.

Speeches deemed necessary for explaining Nkrumahist ideological positions were considered "key speeches." They were selected because of their relative comprehensiveness. Frequency of appearance in Nkrumah's and others' written works was also weighed. Some speeches were used to highlight Nkrumah's speech style in an effort to culturally locate his aesthetic and mobilizing techniques.

Member's Access to Nkrumah's Speeches