Postcolonial Archaeologies in Africa: Breaking the Silence

Postcolonial archaeologies in Africa are engaged in a variety of agendas including the decolonization of everyday practices in the field and in the classroom. Postcolonial theory, concerned with issues of power and the Other, is increasingly being invoked to examine how archaeologists conduct their field research and how archaeology is used to dismantle essentialized histories—the metanarratives that arose in the colonial as well as the postcolonial era. Easily misunderstood, however, is the passion expressed by some African archaeologists who are voicing their own views while simultaneously trying to free themselves from dominating “expert” voices. These occurrences create tensions in archaeological discourse that are a natural part of decolonizing archaeology, joining other forms of disenchantment, particularly the disenchantments arising in contemporary African communities about social services, civil society, and human rights. Archaeologists are also implicated in disenchantments as they conduct investigations in the midst of people who may be without water or are suffering from HIV/AIDS—conditions that starkly contrast with their own comfortable lives. We may also need to reconsider how to deal with states that see archaeological research as contrary to nation building. This essay responds to some current misunderstandings that have arisen over these and related issues.     

“庶民研究”与后殖民史学

“庶民研究”是印度近二十余年来以后殖民主义为研究视角的一种历史编纂实践。它主张摒弃传统史学撰述中的精英主义话语,从“庶民”的角度重写印度殖民与后殖民时期的历史。“庶民研究”在理论与方法上代表了当今后殖民史学的一个重要特征,它既批判了西方现代史学观念中的历史主义弊端,又对近现代以来非西方史学在西方普遍主义话语之下继续“受殖”的状况进行了深刻反思。“庶民研究”努力建构的书写非西方历史的新模式,以及由此导致的后殖民史学对非西方历史学的重新定向具有一种普遍意义,值得第三世界的历史学者借鉴与思考。     

Cabral and the Postcolony: Postcolonial Readings of Revolutionary Hopes

This article discusses the legacy of Amílcar Cabral. The main question it deals with is how to read Cabral today when the system that prompted the emergence of his theory, colonialism, is no longer there. The main argument of this article is, therefore, that a disjuncture exists in the ways Cabral is discussed today. Cabral was certainly a great nationalist and revolutionary, and his contribution crucial for the ways in which revolution in Africa has been apprehended. However, his theoretical contribution should be ascertained alongside the analyses of the realities his emancipatory project addressed. Basically, this article suggests a reading of Cabral's theory in the context of the practices and context his theory was addressing. For doing this, this article examines the main tenets of Cabral's theory, on nationalism, alongside the responses the Portuguese had come up with under the rubric of counter-insurgency strategies. The contribution this article tries to put forward is that critical purchase in reading Cabral today has to take into account the complexities of the anticolonial past that brought us to our postcolonial present.     

Re-emerging Frontiers: Postcolonial Theory and Historical Archaeology of the Borderlands

The article considers the importance of frontier studies in historical archaeology and discusses applicability of some of the concepts deriving from postcolonial theories for a better understanding of human relationships in the frontier zones. The conditions of frontiers and borderlands are compared with the characteristics of the “Third Space” described by Homi Bhabha as a realm of negotiation, translation and remaking. It is argued that concepts developed in postcolonial theories, such as “Third Space,” “in-betweeness” or hybridity, are useful not only to address cultural and social processes in borderlands that were created by colonial empires. They are also an apt way to conceptualize relationships in frontiers that lacked colonial stigma. To illustrate this point, two different historical examples of borderlands are scrutinized in this paper: the medieval frontier region that emerged between Denmark and the Northwestern Slavic area and the creation of the colonial frontier in Northeastern America through the establishment of the Praying Indian Towns.     

Colonial Streets and Statues: Postcolonial Belgium in the Public Space

Belgium has a very one-sided way of dealing with its colonial past in its public space. The country has hundreds of street names and memorials for white colonials, but not a single tribute to a Congolese. There are at least fifteen monuments for King Leopold II, some of which are occasionally vandalized, but only one presents a plaque with background information. Only one other monument, for a missionary in Antwerp, has been contextualized with an interpretive panel. The demand of Congolese migrants to name a square in the Brussels borough Ixelles/Elsene after Lumumba, has yet to be satisfied after more than ten years.

This situation contrasts that of other former colonial metropoles and can be explained by several factors. Belgium has far fewer postcolonial migrants, who in other countries often have the loudest and most critical voice in the postcolonial debate. Moreover, the postcolonial fight in Belgium is waged with sensitive symbols: a king (Leopold II) and an assassinated prime minister (Lumumba). This makes the debate much more emotionally charged. Last but not least, Belgium has gone through a great identity crisis over the past ten years. Left-wing pundits, who are traditionally more critical of the colonial past, and mainstream opinion-makers have avoided sparking the postcolonial debate so as to not fuel Flemish nationalism.