DGV Tagung 2007

Comparative Perspectives on Postcolonial Nation-Building and Concepts of Nationhood in Africa

Workshop 2

In a comparative manner, the workshop shall address processes of nation-building and concepts of nationhood in the aftermath of colonialism in Africa. Issues to be addressed may include the following:

  • the impact of the respective colonial powers on processes of postcolonial nation-building and concepts of nationhood
  • the impact of the postcolonial elites on the construction / obstruction of a national identity
  • the role (re-)invented precolonial traditions played in forging a national identity in the early postcolonial period
  • the specificities and similarities of postcolonial processes of nation-building and concepts of nationhood: Are there alternative and multiple (postcolonial) nationhoods?
  • the (inter)relation between national and ethnic identity in ethnically diverse postcolonial societies
  • the „Unity in Diversity“–model which is becoming increasingly popular in ethnically diverse postcolonial societies
  • the relationship between nation- and statehood under postcolonial conditions
  • the relationship between notions of indigeneity and authenticity and concepts of nationhood
  • the role of creole, settler and Eurafrican communities in the construction / obstruction of postcolonial nationhood
  • the interaction of global and local models of nationhood

Invited speakers

  • Paul Nugent; University of Edinburgh
  • Toyin Falola; University of Texas, Austin

Organisation

Jacqueline Knörr; Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung

Datum, Uhrzeit

Mittwoch, 03.10.2007 & Donnerstag, 04.10.2007, jeweils 14:00-18:00 Uhr

Ort

Melanchthonianum, Hörsaal XVI

Programm

Wednesday, 3 October

  • 14.00-14.30    Jacqueline Knörr:   Introduction: Comparative Perspectives on Postcolonial Nation-Building and Concepts of Nationhood in Africa
  • 14.30-15.15    Invited Lecture I)    Paul Nugent:   Accounting for Expressions of Nationalism: A Comparison of National Discourses and their Local Effects in the Senegambia and Ghana
  • 15.15-15.45    Carola Lentz:   ‘Ghana@50’: celebrating the nation
  • 15.45-16.15   Coffee Break
  • 16.15-16.45    Bea Vidacs:   Football and nation-building in postcolonial Cameroon
  • 16.45-17.15    Petr Skalník:   Politics of nationhood in Africa and post-communist
    • Eurasia
  • 17.15-17.45    Anita Schroven:   Guinea: a nation confronts the state
  • 17.45-18.00   Wrap-up first day

Thursday, 4 October

  • 14.00-14.45    Invited Lecture II)    Toyin Falola:   The military and postcolonial nation-building in Africa
  • 14.45-15.15    David Bozzini:   Serving independence and the state: Uncertainties of the warsay generation in Eritrea
  • 15.15-15.45    John G. Galaty:   Anthropology and the reality effects of culture: Shifting registers of pastoral identities in East Africa
  • 15.45-16.15   Coffee Break
  • 16.15-16.45    Christoph Kohl:   Postcolonial processes of nation-building in Guinea-Bissau
  • 16.45-17.15    Gregor Dobler:   Building a nation from a party: Namibia’s Swapo after independence
  • 17.15-17.30    Wrap-up second day
  • 17.30-18.00    Procedures concerning publication & farewell

Vorträge & Abstracts

  • David Bozzini: Serving independence and the state: Uncertainties of the warsay generation in Eritrea

    Since the independence of Eritrea in 1991, all young adult citizens are obliged by law to serve eighteen months as part of the program hagerawi agolgolot (national service). After having received military training, they get assigned either as soldiers or as workers in the governmental ministries where they have to carry out a wide […]

  • Paul Nugent: Accounting for Expressions of Nationalism: A Comparison of National Discourses and their Local Effects in the Senegambia and Ghana

    This paper forms part of a larger project designed to chart the manner in which state repertoires have been shaped in crucial ways by the societies in which they are embedded. The manner in which the nation and belonging have been configured is quite significantly different in the Senegambia and Ghana respectively, which has […]

  • Petr Skalník: Politics of nationhood in Africa and post-communist Eurasia

    There are certain parallels between the social and cultural developments in post-colonial Africa and post-communist Eurasia. In both areas the political leaders strive for political unity by way of formation of national culture. The cultural symbols are revived or invented so that citizens of the new states identify with the state and its leaders. […]

  • Anita Schroven: Guinea: a nation confronts the state

    Since January 2006, national strikes and violently suppressed demonstrations have shocked Guinea, culminating in the installation of a government of large consensus. Beside this first success, the popular movement brought a wave of national sentiments and the spirit of change to a country, which had so far been paralyzed by an official silence.
    These events […]

  • Bea Vidacs: Football and nation-building in postcolonial Cameroon

    Similarly to other African countries the Cameroonian government has put great emphasis in its official rhetoric on nation-building and national unity. It has used sport and especially football to promote these ideals. Although the Cameroonian public is genuinely pleased with the exploits of the Indomitable Lions, the national team, they do not necessarily attribute […]

  • John G. Galaty: Anthropology and the reality effects of culture: Shifting registers of pastoral identities in East Africa

    Theoretical advances in social and cultural anthropology have lent considerable sophistication in our understanding of how identities are constituted and enacted in context. But some anthropologists have confused their own reflexivity with reality, claiming that because ethnicity and other forms of identity are culturally created they do not “exist”, ignoring that it is precisely […]

  • Gregor Dobler: Building a nation from a party: Namibia’s Swapo after independence

    During South African rule in Namibia, the liberation movement Swapo was officially recognized as sole legitimate representative of the Namibian nation by the UN. After the country’s belated independence in 1990, the movement changed its status to become the dominant political party within a democratic state. Still, being Namibian is synonymous with “being Swapo” […]

  • Christoph Kohl: Postcolonial processes of nation-building in Guinea-Bissau

    This talk focusses on the transethnic dimensions of Creole identity and the Creoles’ role with regard to nation-building in Guinea-Bissau.
    After its “discovery” by the Portuguese in the 15th century, Guinea-Bissau became a crosspoint of European, Cape Verdian and African commercial interests. At coastal trading posts, called “praças”, a Creole society emerged. Consequently, new cultural […]

  • Toyin Falola: The military and postcolonial nation-building in Africa

    The era of military regimes seems to be over in many African countries, although the possibility of future coups cannot be ruled out. Post-colonial Africa was dominated by military regimes that defined the notions of nationalism, nation-state and identities. The military presided over the transition from colonial authoritarianism to postcolonial dictatorship. Extreme cases in […]

  • Carola Lentz: ‘Ghana@50’: celebrating the nation

    On 6 March 1957, Ghana became the first country in Subsaharan Africa to achieve independence from its colonial masters. Ever since, Independence Day has been celebrated, and particularly the decennial celebrations have provided opportunities for taking stock, reflecting on past achievements and setting out national aims. But all Ghanaians regard ‘Ghana@50′, as the official […]