Mittwoch, 14. November 2007

Secular in the SpiritualConference: “The Secular in the Spiritual: Missionaries and Knowledge about Africa”, Basel (Switzerland), 30.11.2007 and 1.12.

Hier versammelt sich über eine Dutzend SpezialistInnen der Missions- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Afrika. Interessierte und StudentInnen sind herzlich eingeladen. Konferenzsprache ist Englisch.

This conference explores new trends and debates in the role of missionaries in the production of knowledge on Africa. Scholars have become increasingly aware that missionaries were responsible for much of the knowledge about Africa produced in the days before the establishment of university disciplines. They dealt with subjects such as zoology, botany, mereorology, palaentology, geology and, especially, medicine, linguistics and anthropology. A few were involved in dead-end sciences such as phrenology and eugenics. Both the positive and negative aspects of these “Aufklärer” in Africa will be examined at this conference, which convenes specialists researching and teaching at universities in Africa, Europa and Northern America.

Convenors: Prof. Patrick Harries, Department of History, University of Basel (Switzerland) & Prof. David Maxwell, Department of History, University of Keele (UK).

Location: Basler Afrika Bibliographien, Klosterberg 23, CH-4051 Basel.


Link to conference program: www.unibas-zasb.ch/deutsch/veranstaltungen/2007/11/Conference_Secular_in_the_Spiritual.php


These people seem to do exactly the opposite.