Social Realism in The Sun by Night- A Novel by Benjamin Kwakye

Drawing on Benjamin Kwakye's The Sun by Nightthis paper presents a sociological analysis of the Ghanaian society as presented in the literature produced by its members. Communication, verbal or non-verbal, is a sine qua non in human interaction. Human groups and societies depend on communication to perpetuate themselves. By analysing human communication, therefore, in this case the written literature of a society, knowledge is ultimately generated on the kind of social interaction characteristic of human groups and their way of life. Literature is a society's sublime means of self-expression that exposes its make-up and is, thus, essentially sociological. The paper suggests that the Ghanaian social milieu is the womb, which conceives and ultimately externalises it through literary works such as The Sun by NightThe novel depicts writing as intervention, active in society, spanning the Ghanaian experience of freedom and repression, wealth and poverty, the spiritual and the secular, being themes explored in the novel

Scrambling for the Centre: Ghana’s New Churches as an Alternative Ideology and Power

The effort expended by religious groups in Ghana to access and influence political power is not a historic novelty. Most clearly manifested in organizational strategies and the pronouncements of religious leaders, sectional ambitions in respect of political access and influence have recently gained ascendancy in response to the relatively rapid and large-scale growth of religious diversity across the nation and within its growing conurbations. This scramble for access and influence has also been fueled by the overt participation of some political leaders in religious activities, which are perceived to grant certain groups an enviable presence in the public sphere and favoured access to the corridors of state power. Focusing on two of Ghana’s New Churches, both Pentecostal–charismatic organizations, as case studies, this paper explores the strategies and motivations of religious groups striving to access and influence political society in an increasingly diverse socio-cultural context

HIV counseling and testing among men in the University of Ghana: Implications for gender-based HIV and AIDS prevention interventions

HIV counseling and testing (CT) is one of the key strategies in the prevention and control of HIV and AIDS in Ghana. Although condoms remain a significant tool in the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV, they are often not used consistently or correctly due to some patriarchal beliefs resulting from the typical male roles that call for men and boys to be tough, aggressive, sexually dominant, and risk taking. What is more, the utilization of CT services among men is generally low. We therefore conducted a quantitative study of 600 men (median age = 22 years) to determine HIV counseling and testing among men in the University of Ghana. Overall, CT use among men was 19%. Of those who used CT, 84% did so voluntarily. The major barriers to CT use among men were due to 'non regular use of a condom', 'don't want to know', and 'fear of receiving an HIV positive test result'. Results however revealed that age of respondents had a significant influence on HIV counseling and testing among men (p<0.05). Key words: Human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, Human immunodeficiency virus counseling and testing, voluntary human immunodeficiency virus counseling and testing, University of Ghana, men