Jewsiewicki, Bogumil & Plankenstein, Barbara (eds.). – An/Sichten. Malerei aus dem Kongo, 1990-2000 (Views/Opinions. Paintings from Congo 1990-2000)

How do people manage to cope with continuing economic and political chaos? In the case of Congo/Zaire this question has imposed itself, unfortunately, already for decades. Another special trait of this country is that its popular paintings provide if not an answer to this question, then at least a vivid image of how people struggle to cope. The beautiful and well-documented catalogue by Bogumil Jewsiewicki and Barbara Plankenstein of Congo paintings from the 1990s–for an exposition in the Vie..

Introductory remarks to the 2013 Lugard Lecture ‘youth, waithood, and protest movements in Africa’ given by Alcinda Honwana

Welcome and many thanks to all of you for coming to attend this lecture at such an early hour. It is a great honour for me to welcome all of you on behalf of the International African Institute to the Lord Lugard Lecture – by now an old tradition of our Institute. This might be a good occasion to emphasize, first of all and once more, that over the last decades we have had lengthy debates on the title of this lecture: is it right to retain the name of Lord Lugard, the founder of our Institute but also an icon of colonialism? This certainly does not fit with our continuous struggle to overcome this colonial heritage and constantly renew the Institute. On the other hand, one does not overcome a heritage by denying it. So, again and again, the outcome of our debates was that it seemed best retain the title - after all, it is part of our heritage; so probably best to face this - but to be particularly diligent that we use the occasion to open up new perspectives in a constantly changing world. This is one of the reasons (there are many more) why I am so happy to introduce here Professor Alcinda Honwana for this year’s Lugard lecture

Autochtonie, démocratie et citoyenneté en Afrique

Le discours de l'autochtonie se généralise sur le continent africain et donne parfois lieu à des mises en actes tragiques (expulsions, pogroms et génocides). Cette évolution est curieusement liée à la démocratisation et aussi au retour de l'autoritarisme, l'autochtonie devenant alors un enjeu politique (Qui vote où ? Qui a le droit d'être candidat ?). Elle accompagne aussi un certain moment économique, celui de la mondialisation et du désastre économique qui voit s'aviver la concurrence entre citoyens pour l'accès à certains biens publics (école, santé…). Malgré ses effets destructeurs, il n'est toutefois pas encore exclu que, comme à Athènes, elle ne se révèle le germe d'une future citoyenneté.[Autochthony, democracy and citizenship in Africa] - The discourse on autochthonous communities has become a generalized phenomenon on the African continent, often giving rise to atrocities (expulsions, pogroms, genocide). Quite curiously, this development is linked to democratization as well as the return to authoritarianism, with autochthony becoming the high stakes of the political game (Who votes where? Who has the right to candidacy?). Autochthony is also characteristic of a particular economic moment, which can be abbreviated as globalisation and the economic crisis that has provoked intense competition between citizens for access to certain public goods (school, health). Despite its destructive effects, it is not impossible that, as in Athens, autochthony proves to be the seed of future forms of citizenshi

Panel 2. Anthropologie de l’Etat : guerre, esclavage et domination politique

© musée du quai Branly, photo Anna Gianotti Laban Laurent BergerAnthropologue, maître de conférences à l’EHESS Je vous propose de continuer ce colloque sur des bases aussi intéressantes que celles qui ont été établies ce matin. Ce second panel est consacré à l’anthropologie de l'État et abordera des phénomènes tels que la guerre, l’esclavage et la domination politique. Pour introduire ce panel, je vais prendre quelques minutes afin de rappeler les principaux éléments de la théorisation par ..

Reflecting on loss in Papua New Guinea

This article takes up the conundrum of conducting anthropological fieldwork with people who claim that they have 'lost their culture,' as is the case with Suau people in the Massim region of Papua New Guinea. But rather than claiming culture loss as a process of dispossession, Suau claim it as a consequence of their own attempts to engage with colonial interests. Suau appear to have responded to missionization and their close proximity to the colonial-era capital by jettisoning many of the practices characteristic of Massim societies, now identified as 'kastom.' The rejection of kastom in order to facilitate their relations with Europeans during colonialism, followed by the mourning for kastom after independence, both invite consideration of a kind of reflexivity that requires action based on the presumed perspective of another

Religious revelation, secrecy and the limits of visual representation

This article seeks to contribute to a more adequate understanding of the adoption of modern audiovisual mass media by contemporary religious groups. It does so by examining Pentecostal-charismatic churches as well as the Christian mass culture instigated by its popularity, and so-called traditional religion in Ghana, which develop markedly different attitudes towards audiovisual mass media and assume different positions in the public sphere. Taking into account the complicated entanglement of traditional religion and Pentecostalism, approaching both religions from a perspective of mediation which regards media as intrinsic to religion, and seeking to avoid the pitfall of overestimating the power of modern mass media to determine the world, this article seeks to move beyond an unproductive recurrence to oppositions such as tradition and modernity, or religion and technology. It is argued that instead of taking as a point of departure more or less set ideas about the nexus of vision and modernity, the adoption of new mass media by religious groups needs to be analyzed by a detailed ethnographic investigation of how these new media transform existing practices of religious mediation. Special emphasis is placed on the tension between the possibilities of gaining public presence through new media, and the difficulty in authorizing these media, and the experiences they induce, as authentic. Copyright © 2006 SAGE Publications

Homophobic Africa? Toward A More Nuanced View

The recent emergence of homosexuality as a central issue in public debate in various parts of Africa has encouraged a stereotypical image of one homophobic Africa, often placed in opposition to a tolerant or depraved West. What is striking is that this image of Africa as homophobic is promoted by both traditionalists who insist that homosexuality is a Western intrusion and by the Western media that focus on homophobic statements from African political and religious leaders. What both neglect, however, is the existence of internal debate and disagreements among Africans on the subject of homosexuality. In this article we try to counter this image of a homophobic Africa with a more nuanced discussion, including a comparison of different trajectories in the emergence of homosexuality as a public issue in four countries (Senegal, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa). The comparison highlights considerable variations in the ways in which the issue became politicized. There is a world of difference, for example, between the image of the homosexual as un Grand (a rich and powerful "Big Man") who imposes anal penetration as a supreme form of subjection (as in Cameroon or Gabon, where homosexuality is associated with witchcraft and other occult forces; compare Achille Mbembe's visionary evocation of a "phallocracy") and the often quite marginal persons who become victims of gay persecution in other contexts. More insight into the variations of what is loosely and inaccurately called "homophobia" can help connect international pressures for decriminalization and protection to local circumstances. Working through local activists is crucial for the effort to counter homophobia in Africa

Regard académique, sorcellerie et schizophrénie (commentaire)

Geschiere Peter. Regard académique, sorcellerie et schizophrénie (commentaire). In: Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales. 56ᵉ année, N. 3, 2001. pp. 643-649