Research Interests
Ethnicity, nation building, land tenure, land conflicts, colonialism,
ethnography of the state, elites, qualitative methods; anthropological theories
of culture
Research Area
West Africa (Ghana, Burkina Faso)
The poetics and politics of national commemoration in Africa
Doctoral research group in the context of the programme of the University of Mainz „PRO Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften 2015“
Since November 2009, a research group of five doctoral students at the Department of Anthropology and African Studies, University of Mainz, explores the poetics and politics of national commemoration in Africa. Having jointly prepared their research programmes, in cooperation with a project of supervised fieldwork of master students, the doctoral researchers will investigate the 2010 ‘jubilee’ independence celebrations in different African countries.
Further information
African Independence Celebrations
Beginning with the Sudan (1956) and Ghana (1957), followed by Guinea (1958) and many former French colonies in 1960, most Sub-saharan African countries became independent by the early 1960s, and therefore have just or will very soon celebrate their independence jubilees. Research into these national celebrations, in a comparative and historical perspective, can provide important insights into past and present processes of nation building, with its political ramifications, but also its cultural strategies of creating ‘unity in diversity’, as Ghana’s popular slogan puts it. This e-mail list intends to support an informal network of scholars interested in research into the upcoming jubilees, enabling them to exchange information (bibliographies, events, etc.), discuss research designs and findings, and establish contacts for joint studies as well as workshops or conferences.
If you are interested in joining the mailinglist please send an e-mail to: lentz@uni-mainz.de or nolting@uni-mainz.de |
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