Reclaiming Heritage: Alternative Imaginaries of Memory in West Africa (UCL Institute of Archaeology Critical Cultural Heritage Series) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1598743074 ISBN 13: 9781598743074

Publisher: Routledge, 2008

Synopsis

Struggles over the meaning of the past are common in postcolonial states. State cultural heritage programs build monuments to reinforce in nation building efforts―often supported by international organizations and tourist dollars. These efforts often ignore the other, often more troubling memories preserved by local communities―markers of colonial oppression, cultural genocide, and ethnic identity. Yet, as the contributors to this volume note, questions of memory, heritage, identity and conservation are interwoven at the local, ethnic, national and global level and cannot be easily disentangled. In a fascinating series of cases from West Africa, anthropologists, archaeologists and art historians show how memory and heritage play out in a variety of postcolonial contexts. Settings range from televised ritual performances in Mali to monument conservation in Djenne and slavery memorials in Ghana.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

In a fascinating series of cases from West Africa, anthropologists, archaeologists and art historians show how memory, heritage, identity and conservation play out in a variety of postcolonial contexts at the local, ethnic, national and global level .

About the Author:

Ferdinand de Jong is Lecturer in Anthropology at the School of World Art Studies and Museology of the University of East Anglia. He has conducted research on masked performances and initiation ceremonies in Senegal. His book Masquerades of Modernity: Power and secrecy in Casamance, Senegal has just been published by Edinburgh University Press. He has also published on conflict resolution in a special issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies on the civil war in Senegal. His current research focuses on the memory and heritage of the slave trade and colonialism in postcolonial Senegal.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1598743074
• ISBN 13: 9781598743074
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 270
• Editor: De Jong Ferdinand, Rowlands Michael