New institutions sometimes emerge out of peace or democratisation processes. Yet many are the instances in which civil society organisations are also among the casualties of the conflicts. The aim of this working group is to place African culture in the global cultural context, and look specifically at the effects of globalisation. This working group takes a particular interest in how cultural production is shaping, and is affected by, the ongoing construction of social identities. Globalisation is less easy to define and a critical analysis of the concept in the context of studies of cultural production is invited.
Globalisation means many things.
Common to all is the question of power and counter-power. Papers on Western and Nordic images of Africa where they affect and are affected by globalisation are encouraged. Hans Erik Stolten Far from being merely academic, historiography plays a crucial role in the production of popular understandings of the world. History has been used extensively in Africa, both to legitimise Western supremacy and as a tool in liberation struggles against oppression. Many debates on African history contain hidden agendas which reflect problems of the present rather than those of the period under investigation.