Haci Akman (ed.) 2014. Negotiating Identity in Scandinavia. Women, Migration and the Diaspora

Diasporas exemplify the polysemy and hybridity of âimagined communitiesâ while retaining in the majority of cases three core aspects which are more or less emphasized according to the circumstances. These are their dispersion in space, their orientation to a conceptual ”homeland”, and the maintenance of boundaries between them and ”others”. These elements mark the connectedness between members of the same diaspora and the elaboration of entangled transnational networks. Migration in general and transnational migration in particular has a lasting impact on the relations between territory and identity, whether it is national, ethnic, cultural, religious or political. Usually, it is a mix of all these elements. Several scholars have during the last three decades or so noted that the semantic dimension of the term diaspora has been stretched in various directions and includes today various types of migrant communities and displaced populations, in order to address different intellectual, cultural and political programs (Brubaker 2005: 1). Whatever form a diaspora takes, diasporic experiences are always gendered (Clifford 1994: 319). So are diasporic identities. Diasporic identities have been described in terms of ”roots and routes” (Clifford 1997), ”sameness-in-dispersal” (Ang 2001), or ”uprootings/ regroundings” (Ahmed et al. 2003). These identities serve as both sources and resources in processes of redefining oneself in times of endurance and opposition in specific historical, cultural, social and political contexts. The book edited by Haci Akman is a welcome addition to the growing literature on women, migration and the establishment of diaspora in different parts of the world. My purpose here is not to go into the details of each of the studies presented, but rather give the gist of the book as a whole and reflect on some of the insights they unfold

Når veggene taler

The present article is about the materiality of visual culture and the long-term impact of ephemeral art. Using a ‘flâneur approach’ the article examines the ways slogans voicing political contestation and demands for social changes were visualized into street art, graffiti and calligraffiti during the so-called Arab Spring in Egypt. The article posits that the Arab Spring did not merely disrupt the established political and social life in the country. It also prompted and gave room to varieties of artistic creations. Street art, graffiti and calligraffiti are among the most conspicuous forms of art of this brief period. Artists took upon themselves to chronicle events as they happened and to document political fluctuations and ambiances. They drew upon their people’s cultural memory to convey their political standpoint and expressed dissension and resistance by combining images and writings on the walls of the urban space

Moumita Sen. 2016. Clay-modelling in West-Bengal: Between art, religion and politics

Den 20. mai 2016 forsvarte stipendiat Moumita Sen med glans sin avhandling Clay-modelling in West-Bengal: Between art, religion and politics for graden Philosophiae doctor ved Universitetet i Oslo, Institutt for kulturstudier og orientalske språk, Det humanistiske fakultet

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern—particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron—on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Results from the second WHO external quality assessment for the molecular detection of respiratory syncytial virus, 2019-2020

BACKGROUND: External quality assessments (EQAs) for the molecular detection of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are necessary to ensure the standardisation of reliable results. The Phase II, 2019-2020 World Health Organization (WHO) RSV EQA included 28 laboratories in 26 countries. The EQA panel evaluated performance in the molecular detection and subtyping of RSV-A and RSV-B. This manuscript describes the preparation, distribution, and analysis of the 2019-2020 WHO RSV EQA. METHODS: Panel isolates underwent whole genome sequencing and in silico primer matching. The final panel included nine contemporary, one historical virus and two negative controls. The EQA panel was manufactured and distributed by the UK National External Quality Assessment Service (UK NEQAS). National laboratories used WHO reference assays developed by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an RSV subtyping assay developed by the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory (Australia), or other in-house or commercial assays already in use at their laboratories. RESULTS: An in silico analysis of isolates showed a good match to assay primer/probes. The panel was distributed to 28 laboratories. Isolates were correctly identified in 98% of samples for detection and 99.6% for subtyping. CONCLUSIONS: The WHO RSV EQA 2019-2020 showed that laboratories performed at high standards. Updating the composition of RSV molecular EQAs with contemporary strains to ensure representation of circulating strains, and ensuring primer matching with EQA panel viruses, is advantageous in assessing diagnostic competencies of laboratories. Ongoing EQAs are recommended because of continued evolution of mismatches between current circulating strains and existing primer sets

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Survivals of Pharaonic Religious Practices in Contemporary Coptic Christianity.

The concept of “survivals” has provoked heated discussions among scholars of various disciplines within the humanities and the social sciences. In the case of Egypt the polemics have been most vehement between those who trace contemporary popular beliefs and practices back to Pharaonic times and others who reject the idea altogether. The perspectives of “analogy,” “continuity and change,” and “living traditions” have opened the way to alternative approaches to the subject. Urbanization and globalization have profoundly changed Egyptian culture and prompted the abandonment of most religious practices belonging to the Egyptian lore. However, some aspects of Pharaonic religious practices can still be observed in Coptic Christianity. These practices are tied to the Coptic calendar, funerary rituals, visits to the dead, and mulids

Autres temps, autres regards. Représentations de l’altérité au musée d’Histoire culturelle de l’université d’Oslo

Other Times, Different Gazes. Representations of Otherness at the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo In 1897 the Norwegian Parliament passed a resolution approving to house three university museums under the same roof. These museums were the Museum of Norwegian Antiquities, the Museum of Numismatics and the Ethnographic Museum. The project was undertaken by the architect Henrik Bull (1864-1953) who built for this occasion one of Oslo’s rare Jugenstil buildings. The museum was inaugurated in 1904. The history of the Museum of Cultural History of the University of Oslo is tied to the history of Norway, to the assertion of its independence and to the elaboration of a national identity. This article limits the discussion to the ethnographic section of the museum. The author follows the main lines of its development from its beginnings to the present and offer some reflections on the dialectics between the various social, political and cultural contexts and scientific research. Further, she explores the ways changes in ideology were articulated in the constitution, preservation and display of the museum’s collections, and how these changes are reflected in the representation of otherness.En 1897, le parlement norvégien décide de regrouper en un même lieu trois musées universitaires : le musée d’archéologie, le cabinet de Numismatique et le musée d’Ethnographie. L’architecte Henrik Bull réalise le projet et fait construire l’un des rares bâtiments Art nouveau de la capitale. Le musée ouvre ses portes en 1904. L’histoire du musée d’Histoire culturelle de l’université d’Oslo est profondément liée à celle de la Norvège, à l’affirmation de son indépendance et à l’élaboration d’une identité nationale. Cette étude se limite à la section ethnographique du musée et retrace les lignes de son développement depuis sa création à nos jours. L’auteur aborde la question des rapports entre les différents contextes sociaux, politiques et culturels et les courants de la recherche scientifique. Il examine comment les changements idéologiques sont articulés dans la constitution, la préservation et la mise en exposition des collections et comment ils se reflètent dans les modes de représentation de l’altérité.Naguib Saphinaz-Amal. Autres temps, autres regards. Représentations de l’altérité au musée d’Histoire culturelle de l’université d’Oslo. In: Histoire de l'art, N°60, 2007. Histoire de l’Art et anthropologie. pp. 149-160