The Politics of Historical Memory and Commemoration in Africa

book: The Politics of Historical Memory and Commemoration in Africa

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2022

The Politics of Historical Memory and Commemoration in Africa

Edited by: Cassandra Mark-Thiesen , Moritz Mihatsch and Michelle Sikes
Funded by: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF)

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110655315

Overview
Contents

About this book

Now in Paperback

Essays in Memory of Jan-Georg Deutsch

The volume observes some of the principles that drove Prof. Jan-Georg Deutsch's research: highlighting present-day politics for the way they shape historical remembrance, learning from people on the ground through fieldwork and oral history, and bringing various parts of the African continent into discussion with one another.

From Cape Town to Charlottesville, many societies are grappling with historical consciousness and the production of public memory. In particular, how and why societies remember and forget, what should serve as symbols of collective memory, and whether there exists space for multiple memory cultures are questions being vigorously debated once again. These discussions present particular challenges not only to official memory bound to ideological constructions of nationhood but also to the teaching of history and its links to social justice movements.

The volume re-centres Africa and African history in memory studies, with each chapter drawing parallels to comparable cases in Africa and the world. An underlying assumption is that what can be learned from the politics of historical memory in Africa will have relevance for contemporary politics globally and for understanding how memories can be mobilised for political ends.

Author / Editor information

Cassandra Mark-Thiesen, University Bayreuth/Basel

Moritz A. Mihatsch, British University, Egypt

Michelle M. Sikes, Penn State University

Topics

Frontmatter Open Access Download PDF	I
Table of Contents Open Access Download PDF	V
Acknowledgements Open Access Download PDF	VII
Public Memorialisation and the Politics of Historical Memory in Africa Michelle M. Sikes, Cassandra Mark-Thiesen and Moritz A. Mihatsch Open Access Download PDF	1
I Struggles with Heritage & Historicity
Oral history, Closed Settings and the Formation of Narratives: A South African Example Natacha Filippi Open Access Download PDF	23
A “Quest for Relevance”: The Memory Politics of UNESCO’s General History of Africa Casper Andersen Open Access Download PDF	47
II Political Commemoration & Memory
Remembering Mzee: The Making and Re-making of “Kenyatta Day,” 1958–2010 Edward Goodman Open Access Download PDF	77
Southern Somalia’s “Glorious Days Are Our Nightmare”: The Performance of Political Memory and Contestations of Commemoration in Northern Somalia (Somaliland) Mohamed Haji Ingiriis Open Access Download PDF	107
III Nostalgia – between Social Connection & Social Ordering
The Memory Process in the Commemorations of the Dead in West African Newspapers Rouven Kunstmann and Cassandra Mark-Thiesen Open Access Download PDF	143
Remembrance of Drinks Past: Wine and Absinthe in Nineteenth-century French Algeria Nina S. Studer Open Access Download PDF	169
Epilogue
The Historian as Memory Practitioner Ruramisai Charumbira Open Access Download PDF	195
Figures Open Access Download PDF	217
List of Contributors Open Access Download PDF	219
Index of names Open Access Download PDF	221
Index of places Open Access Download PDF	223

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Audience: Academics in the field of memory studies, African history and African politics.
Pages
- Front matter: 6
- Main content: 224
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 7
Keywords: Africa; collective memory; memory politics; historical remembrance

eBook

Published: December 6, 2021
ISBN: 9783110655315

Hardcover

Published: December 20, 2021
ISBN: 9783110655056

Paperback

Published: October 24, 2023
ISBN: 9783111353272