The emergence of the notions of "modern" and of "European" was implicitly comparative, opposing "... more The emergence of the notions of "modern" and of "European" was implicitly comparative, opposing "moderns" to "ancients", Europeans to non-Europeans. As these notions were formulated in the course of what we now call "early modern Europe", roughly from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, the relationship of"savages" "Orientals" and "ancients" to contemporary Europeans and to one another was not fixed by any means, and was not embedded in an imaginary time line that asserted European superiority.
The emergence of the notions of "modern" and of "European" was implicitly comparative, opposing "... more The emergence of the notions of "modern" and of "European" was implicitly comparative, opposing "moderns" to "ancients", Europeans to non-Europeans. As these notions were formulated in the course of what we now call "early modern Europe", roughly from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, the relationship of"savages" "Orientals" and "ancients" to contemporary Europeans and to one another was not fixed by any means, and was not embedded in an imaginary time line that asserted European superiority.
I have taught the history of anthropology since 1978. At the beginning and the end of my career, ... more I have taught the history of anthropology since 1978. At the beginning and the end of my career, I have had to cope with the same question: why should students have to study the history of the discipline? The rationale underlying such a question has shifted radically, though. The 1980s were the heyday of positivism, the conviction that social “sciences” like anthropology should actually be scientific, Now that “decolonizing anthropology” has become a fashionable enterprise, students want to know why they are being asked to read the writings of dead, straight, white European males.The shifting focus of anthropology reflects changes, not only in anthropological theory but also in the world at large. Our understandings are bound to shift, for better or worse. But the forms of amnesia that some contemporary scholars seem to abdicate erase, not only the history of the discipline, but also the history of the colonized peoples in whose name we perform such an erasure. f dead, straight, white European males.The shifting focus of anthropology reflects changes, not only in anthropological theory but also in the world at large.
Panel Abstract Islamic religious infrastructure has had – and continues to have – great importanc... more Panel Abstract Islamic religious infrastructure has had – and continues to have – great importance for processes of socialization and the production and maintenance of Muslim identities in Africa. Changes during the post-colonial period have, however, affected Muslim institutions, causing structural rearrangements and new modalities to emerge. Much of this is produced by intra-religious discourses, but is also related to broader socio-political developments. This panel will investigate such changes, discussing a range of different Muslim institutions across the African continent. Hadiza K. Abdulrahman will explore changes in the mode of Islamic education in Nigeria, pointing to how different voices are engaged in debates about the meaning of education for the construction of contemporary religious identity. S. A. Chembea examines the emerging problems related to the management of waqf properties in a Kenyan context, focusing on the relationship between local Muslim communities and the state – and how a more active state has created tensions among local Muslims. Frédérick Madore similarly addresses the question of the role of the state as a religious actor – relating this to the organization of hajj in contemporary Ivory Coast. His paper demonstrates how uneven state-policies have augmented intra-religious discussions about the hajj – and how those discussions intersect with competition over economic and religious resources. Jep Stockmans examines the growth of mosques in Addis Ababa, pointing to how this has intensified intra-religious tensions. His paper focuses on religious infrastructure in a concrete and physical manner, relating this to the question of religion and materiality in general, and to local religious actors' perceptions of the other's physical presence in particular. Paper Abstracts Hadiza Kere Abdulrahman Contested Representations of Northern Nigeria's Qur'anic Schools and Almajirai Almajiranci, Islamic-based system of education in Northern Nigeria, involves boys as young as seven being sent off to study and memorize the Qur'an under the tutelage of a Malam. It is currently a topic of great debate in Nigerian society as researchers and the media have linked Almajiranci and Almajirai to everything from religious uprisings to Boko Haram and political unrests. Early indications from my phenomenological study of the products of Almajiranci have shown that the narratives employed above are contradictory to the narratives that the past Almajirai create and utilize for themselves. The critical and negative representations of Almajiranci are at odds with the ones they have of themselves. There is therefore a tension
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