Africa’s Struggle for Its Art

Savoy, Bénédicte

doi:10.2307/j.ctv20hcs1p

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Museums in imperial centers in the Global North enforce a hegemonic control over the past through the violent theft of cultural heritage. Curators continue to wrangle over whether so‐called universal museums represent spaces of wonder where people can learn to respect cultural diversity or straightforward hangovers of imperialist conquest, violent massacre of Indigenous peoples, and subsequent looting and destruction of their cultural heritage (Mackenzie et al., 2020; Savoy, 2022). These institutions take their authority from the patronizing claim that in this single global narrative, archaeology is an “objective pursuit” whose totalizing temporality is universal.…”

Section: Counter‐myth 3: There Have Been and Are Many Kinds Of Orders...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeology in 2022: Counter‐myths for hopeful futures

Berihuete‐Azorín,

Blackmore,

Borck

et al. 2023

American Anthropologist

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Archaeology in 2022 features more calls than ever for a socially and politically engaged, progressive discipline. Archaeologists increasingly respect and integrate decolonizing and Indigenous knowledge in theory and practice. They acknowledge and embrace the fluidity and diversity of sexes and genders, past and present. They document patterns of migration, ancient as well as contemporary, to combat retrograde and racist narratives that remain pervasive in the public sphere. At the same time, the field has a deep‐seated conservative bastion toward which many scholars retreat, arguing for an “objective” past that is free of political implications or interpretive ambiguity. As anarchist archaeologists, we see the myth of the objective past as one of many interconnected myths that have provided the basis for an archaeology that reifies and proliferates the current social order. We deconstruct myths relating to capitalist and colonialist ideologies of “human nature,” the assumed inevitability of the current order, and fatalistic commitment to dystopian or utopian futures. As alternatives, we present counter‐myths that emphasize the contingent and political nature of archaeological praxis, the creative and collaborative foundation of communities, the alternative orders that archaeology uncovers, and the role of a hopeful past for constructing the possibilities of different futures.

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Section: Counter‐myth 3: There Have Been and Are Many Kinds Of Orders...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeology in 2022: Counter‐myths for hopeful futures

Berihuete‐Azorín,

Blackmore,

Borck

et al. 2023

American Anthropologist

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“…In the context of decolonization, art plays an important role throughout Africa, both in the discussion about the restitution of art objects [35] and in emerging art forms that are new, independent, and proudly African [36]. In music, this innovation is especially visible in local forms of Hip Hop [37] and the immensely swift establishment of Afrobeats as one of the most successful global genres over the last decade [38,39].…”

Section: Social Artivismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual Costs and Civic Impacts of Social Artivism in Music: Three Case Studies from Sub-Saharan Africa

Stein,

Abebe

2023

Social Activism - New Challenges in a (Dis)connected World

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After a general introduction to music censorship in sub-Saharan Africa and the concept of social artivism, this chapter presents three case studies of African musicians – namely Hachalu Hundessa (Ethiopia), Bobi Wine (Uganda), and Miriam Makeba (South Africa) – who, because of their political activism and the critical nature of their lyrics, were persecuted, imprisoned, exiled, or even killed. Drawing on existing studies, autobiographic material and interviews, the chapter discusses the difficulties and dangers faced by musical activists in their respective countries of origin when practicing cultural and political rights as well as the “freedom of speech” that is guaranteed in many countries and assumed a global standard of our times, but is still a utopia in many regions of the world. The chapter inquires about the motivations of the artists to take the risks involved in publishing their music, and into the impact their works have on individuals, groups, and the society at large.

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“…But were these exchanges more consensual than when colonial authorities confiscated objects or soldiers looted them? To encompass these transfers, and their potential returns, Bénédicte Savoy (2016) borrowed from biological chemistry the term "translocation," which refers to an "exchange […] provoked by breakage and repair." Applied to heritage, patrimonial translocations bring "the concept of place at the center of the discussion."…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Restitution vs. Retention: Reassessing Discourses on the African Cultural Heritage

Eyssette¹

2023

Afr. Stud. Rev.

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In order to reappraise discourses on the restitution vs. retention of Africa’s cultural heritage, Eyssette examines the Musée du Quai Branly (France), the AfricaMuseum (Belgium), the British Museum (UK), and the Humboldt Forum (Germany) as one representative spectrum for analysis showing the mutual imbrications of their changing strategies and practices. After detecting biases in retentionist arguments on security, accessibility, law, and ethics, Eyssette stresses symmetrical shortcomings in restitutionist discourses on provenance research and the instrumentalization of heritage for economic gains or post-colonial rebranding. The conclusion determines whether these four institutions are retentionists, rhetorical restitutionists, or truly reformed restitutionists.

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Africa’s Struggle for Its Art

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Archaeology in 2022: Counter‐myths for hopeful futures

Archaeology in 2022: Counter‐myths for hopeful futures

Individual Costs and Civic Impacts of Social Artivism in Music: Three Case Studies from Sub-Saharan Africa

Restitution vs. Retention: Reassessing Discourses on the African Cultural Heritage

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