Negotiating Social Memory in Postcolonial Mozambique: The Case of Heritage Sites in Mandhlakazi District
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: \nThis research deals with the construction, contestation and negotiation of social memory \ninvolving the postcolonial state of Mozambique, elites and subaltern social groups with a \nfocus on heritage sites in Mandhalakazi District, Mozambique. Construction of social \nmemory is current in Mozambique, mainly dominated by state attempts at reproducing \nnational memory by establishing a national historical narrative, and in continuity with \ncolonial practices. This is strategically used by Mozambican and South African elites, and \ncontested by subaltern groups in Mandhalakazi. Subaltern contestations outline critiques of \nprecolonial, colonial and postcolonial state power and mainstream historiography. Elites’ use \nsuggests future contests relating to precolonial politics and future dynamics of national and \ntransnational memory and potential heritage tourism involving South Africa and \nMozambique. Research was conducted using multi-sited ethnography, participant and nonparticipant \nobservation, semi-structured individual and group interviewing, and archival \nresearch in Maputo City, Mandhlakazi and Xai-Xai, for ten weeks, between June and \nSeptember 2007.
Author: Celso Inguane
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W160486174