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UK funding (£164,577): Contemporary 'Africa Rising' narratives in historical perspective Ukri1 Oct 2015 UK Research and Innovation, United Kingdom
Overview
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Contemporary 'Africa Rising' narratives in historical perspective
| Abstract | In recent years a very positive policy and scholarly 'Africa rising' narrative has emerged. Based on Africa's economic growth and democratisation, this narrative differs significantly in tone from the depiction of death, starvation and warfare which seemed to define popular coverage of the continent through the 1980s and 1990s. In an anglo-centric context, this narrative has even penetrated popular culture, via Africa film festivals, 'Afropolitan' literature, and popular television, where Severino and Ray's book 'Africa's Moment' (2010) appears being read by a central character in the critically acclaimed US drama House of Cards. Because it is optimistic, this narrative about Africa's 'rise', although contested, appears discursively distinct from some of the more evidently pejorative Afro-pessimism which dominated coverage of Africa in the preceding decades and rendered Africans as helpless or violent. This project however seeks to interrogate precisely what is new about these narratives by exploring positvity about Africa during three selected historical periods. Because Africa rising narratives have emerged as a progressive response to more pessimistic narratives about Africa, the project will explore, in a British context, historical iterations of this narrative promoted by self-identified progressive movements which have come to the fore during periods of British reconsideration of its relationship with Africa, driven by broader geo-political and economic events. In order to historicise the current Africa rising moment the project will focus on the following movements and periods: i) Missionary societies working in Southern Africa from the 1800s-1820s, a time of British consideration of the African interior; ii) 'Paramountcy' and African rights movements during the 1920s-1930s, as British policy sought to make sense of growing nationalist sentiment in its African colonies alongside the threat of war in the European theatre; iii) Liberal-settler and multi-racialist movements in the 1950s-60s, when British policy was concerned with establishing working relationships with the new African governments, and settler communities in its current and former colonies. The project explores these periods through empirical archival research. A detailed understanding of the ways in which British progressive movements have rendered Africa optimistically will help to historicise contemporary Africa rising narratives, and illustrate the discursive continuities and ruptures which define these narratives across time as well as their relationships with the simultaneously pessimistic narratives which have been the primary focus of critical scholars on British and imperial representations of Africa. Indeed, because of this focus on the evidently pejorative nature of Africa's representation, much of this literature at first glance appears unable to comprehend modern narratives which focus more squarely on African agency, achievements, growth and development. The project thus contributes to ongoing critical debates regarding Western representations of Africa, but takes a different tack from more conventional approaches. It challenges received critical wisdom that the British encounter with Africa has always been based on racially-informed pessimism regarding the capabilities of Africans, by instead focusing on more positive representations of Africa and Africans, whilst being cogniscant of the racial prejudices which may have informed these perspectives as well. The project provides the foundations for studies of positive narratives about Africa across different imperial centres, as well as optimism expressed towards Britain's other colonial possessions, and brings the study of optimism within the purview of other regional specialists, and disciplines, including history, politics, literature and film, as well as the concerned general public. Project developments will be disseminated via popular African news and commentary websites. |
| Category | Fellowship |
| Reference | AH/M010686/1 |
| Status | Closed |
| Funded period start | 01/10/2015 |
| Funded period end | 30/09/2017 |
| Funded value | £164,577.00 |
| Source | https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FM010686%2F1 |
Participating Organisations
| Queen Mary University of London | |
| KING'S COLLEGE LONDON |
The filing refers to a past date, and does not necessarily reflect the current state. The current state is available on the following page: Queen Mary University of London, London.
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