Heritage and the use of the past in East Africa
Resource type
Book chapter
Creator (person)
Giblin, John
Date published
August 2018
Abstract
This article outlines historical and ongoing uses of the past and academic heritage research into those activities within eastern Africa. The use of the past will be discussed as a deep historical practice in the area that is the EAC in the 21st century, demonstrating how political elites have constructed versions of the past to suit contemporary and future aims for hundreds of years. Then there is an outline of the colonial introduction of formalized Western heritage institutions and legislation in the early 20th century, the subsequent nationalization of these in the mid-20th century, and the late-20th- and early-21st-century internationalization of heritage. These overviews are followed by a discussion of different approaches to heritage research including early studies of museums, traditions, heritage management, archaeological introspections, and more recent “critical heritage studies,” which interrogate the use of the past as a form of cultural production.
Series name
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia
Book title
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Place of publication
Oxford
Rights statement
In Copyright
Additional information
Full text available via the official URL