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****Introducing AFRICA FORUM**** [Peter Limb, H-Africa]
It gives me great pleasure to present the first of what H-Africa hopes will
be a fascinating regular new column. "AFRICA FORUM" will feature essays or
commentaries by, and interviews with, notable Africanists around the world.
We look forward to these contributions stimulating more dialogue, so please
do not hesitate to respond to the issues raised.
Our first interview, appropriately, comes direct from Africa.
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[David Coplan is The Professor of Social Anthropology, University of the
Witwatersrand, South Africa. Among his many publications are: _In township
tonight!: South Africa's Black city music and theatre_ (Johannesburg: Ravan
Press, 1982) and _In the time of cannibals: the word music of South Africa's
Basotho migrants_ (University of Chicago Press, 1994)]
Date: 6 Oct 1998
From: David Coplan, University of the Witwatersrand
<031david@muse.wits.ac.za>
'AFRICAN STUDIES IN AFRICA: QUO VADIS?'
email interview with David B. Coplan,
The Professor of Social Anthropology,
University of the Witwatersrand.
1. H-Africa: What are your impressions of the current state of African Studies?
Being here in Africa certainly makes one feel left out of "African Studies".
We still have African Studies in Africa in the form of institutes at some of
the Universities, very notably Cape Town (which is just barely in
Africa and the majority of whose residents are of mixed
Euro-Asian-African descent) but not here in Johannesburg, (which is
very African), but where it is now called "Institute for Advanced
Social Research". Their total preoccupation with southern Africa
does not deter them, as their perception, probably correct, is that the
label "African Studies," whether attached to degrees or institutes, does
not sell with Africans. On the other hand we have CODESRIA, who had
a huge symposium here in our graduate school last month. There are those
who dismiss CODESRIA as a cronies' talkshop, but I must argue quite
strongly that this is no longer, if it ever was, the case. Attending
a research symposium on labor studies at CODESRIA in Dakar a few years
ago, I was struck by the dedication of so many young colleagues from
African universities present, who were carrying on with vital
research projects in their countries under almost impossible
conditions and with absurdly inadequate financial support. As to
talkshops, show me an organisation of this kind anywhere that isn't.
2. H-Africa: What are the defining trends in African studies at the turn of
the millenium?
Where are we going? Well there will always be the "colonialism/imperialism
is to blame" cohort, but as this proposition takes us round in circles
without actually explaining anything or, more important, moving us
toward self-understanding or social progress, the more cold-eyed
African Africanists in Africa are busy, quite courageously I think, trying
to find out what (the hell) is happening "on the ground" and informing
the rest of us intelligently about it.
3. H-Africa: To what extent are stereotypes still a major problem in the
understanding of Africa?
Stereotypes? I wouldn't advise any one to attempt to make a career
out of deconstructing or combatting them. For one thing, like folklore,
stereotypes are always somewhat true. For another, things are terrible
in Africa, and everyone but the well-healed politicians who are part of
the problem knows it. What we Africans (ahem) say to the outside and
what we say sitting around among ourselves are very different.
Among ourselves we are often more critical than the Afro-pessimists. This is
a good sign; because we are the ones who need to take a hard look at our
modes of action in order to ultimately find some way forward, since we are
quite obviously not moving forward now, and I include South Africa in
this assessment. This means perhaps that overseas Africanists should
spend less in trying to somehow defend Africans against Time Magazine,
and call contemporary African Studies what it simply has to be:
"Phoenix Studies". Enough said.
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