Writing and colonialism in northern Ghana : the encounter between the LoDagaa and "The world on paper", 1892-1991. / Sean Hawkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hawkins, Sean, author.

Series:

Anthropological horizons ; 18.

Anthropological Horizons ; 18

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dagaaba (African people)--Ghana--Social conditions.

Dagaaba (African people).

Ghana--Colonial influence--History.

Ghana.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (488 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto, [Ontario] ; Buffalo, [New York] ; London, [England] : University of Toronto Press, 2002.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

This book presents a new perspective on colonialism in Africa. Drawing on work from a variety of subjects and disciplines - from the ancient Mediterranean to colonial Spain, and from anthropology to psychology - the author argues that colonialism in Africa needs to be understood through the medium of writing and the particular world it belonged to. Focusing on the LoDagaa of northern Ghana and their relationship with British colonialism, Hawkins describes colonialism as an encounter between a world of experience - a world of knowledge, practice, and speech - and ";the world on paper"; - a world of writing, rules, and a linear concept of history. The various ways in which ";the world on paper"; affected the LoDagaa are examined thematically. The first four chapters explore how writing imposed a form of historical consciousness on different aspects of LoDagaa culture - identity, politics, and religion - that was alien to them. The second half of the book examines how both the British colonial state and its postcolonial successor, the Ghanian state, attempted to regulate indigenous forms of knowledge, gender relations, and social reckoning through courts. This ambitious and richly detailed book will appeal to scholars and general readers interested in African history, British colonialism, and cultural and postcolonial studies.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Maps, Tables, and Figures

Preface

Introduction: Colonialism as an Encounter between "the World on Paper" and the World of Experience

PART ONE. Ways of Appropriating the LoDagaa

Chapter One. Maps and Narratives

Chapter Two. Labor, Bodies, and Names

PART TWO. Political and Religious Ambiguities

Chapter Three. Rewriting the Past

Chapter Four. Reimagining God

PART THREE. The Colonization of Space

Chapter Five. Suppressing Knowledge

Chapter Six. Missionary Medicine and Colonial Money

PART FOUR. From Social Practice to Rhetoric

Chapter Seven. Women, Marriage, and Adultery

Chapter Eight. Postcolonial Litigation of Personal Identities

Conclusion: Writing, Blood, and the Politics of Legitimacy

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Backmatter

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed September 20, 2016).

ISBN:

1-4426-5845-2

1-4426-5756-1

OCLC:

944178459