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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The silences in the old narratives, or, new trends in cultural history
Author:Ogot, Bethwell A.ISNI
Year:1982
Periodical:Journal of Eastern African Research and Development
Volume:12
Pages:36-45
Language:English
Geographic term:Subsaharan Africa
Subject:historiography
Abstract:What are the questions which historians should be asking about African cultures in 1981? Why are they asked? And how can be best replied to them without falsifying the historical past? How can be done justice to the experience of various cultures and at the same time the teleological development of these societies not been falsified by endowing them with a past that is not theirs? In this paper is argued that new trends in cultural history must aim at grappling with various conceptual problems, with doing justice to African systems of thought and ways of life, with studying the interrelations between cultures and giving more attention to the cultural world of submerged sections of humanity such as women, peasants and workers. This should happen, in short, through looking into the silences in the old narratives. This is done by the author a) by discussing what a historical study of any culture should entail and b) how three selected cultural themes (women, music and religion) could be treated historically and in accordance with the principles outlined under a).
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