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Western attitudes to Africa have been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the arts and artefacts that were brought back by the early collectors, exhibited in museums, and celebrated by scholars and artists in the metropolitan centres. The contributors to this volume trace the life history of artefacts that were brought to Europe and America from Congo towards the end of the nineteenth century, and became the subjects of museum displays. They also present fascinating case studies of the pioneering collectors, including such major figures as Frobenius and Torday. They discuss the complex and sensitive issues involved in the business of 'collecting', and show how the collections and exhibitions influenced academic debates about the categories of art and artefact, and the notion of authenticity, and challenged conventional aesthetic values, as modern Western artists began to draw on African models.
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Slavery and Jihad in the Sudan is not only a riveting narrative about the struggle against the slave trade and martyrdom of Charles Gordon at the hands of the Mahdi, but also an account of conditions during a period of great trauma. Fred Thomas holds a PhD in social anthropology and has studied and worked in Sudan. He relies on his vast knowledge and personal experience to bring attention to a place and time in a unique part of the world where grass roots conditions in a tribal society have changed little over time, particularly in the vast expanses of rural Sudan. Thomas highlights the extraordinary personalities of the time by sharing anecdotes from explorers, Muslim holy men, Christian missionaries, foreign mercenaries, and slave traders. As Thomas recounts the legacy of Mahdism, he also includes haunting vestiges of earlier times within the atrocities currently occurring in Darfur, as well as an interesting correlation between ancient tribal and religious differences to their practical relevance in today's world. Compiled with fragments of conversations, captivating descriptions, and personal stories, Slavery and Jihad in the Sudan allows a glimpse into a fascinating period.
Anne Troelstra’s fine bibliography is an outstanding and ground-breaking work. He has provided the academic world with a long-needed bibliographical record of human endeavour in the field of the natural sciences. The travel narratives listed here encompass all aspects of the natural world in every part of the globe, but are especially concerned with its fauna, flora and fossil remains. Such eyewitness accounts have always fascinated their readers, but they were never written solely for entertainment: fragmentary though they often are, these narratives of travel and exploration are of immense importance for our scientific understanding of life on earth, providing us with a window on an ever...