The Congo Free State across Languages, Media and Cultures: What archives and collections have to say
Workshop
The Congo Free State across Languages, Media and Cultures : What archives and collections have to say.
October 18th 2017
History and Politics Service at the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium NWO project with Open University, Amsterdam
Co organized with the Center “Ecritures”, Université de Lorraine
Scientific committee: P. Van Schuylenbergh & M. Leduc-Grimaldi (RMCA), P. Halen (U. Lorraine); Sarah de Mul (Open U in Amsterdam)
Abstract
Launched at Uppsala University in September 2014, ‘The Congo Free State across Languages, Media and Cultures’ is a research initiative funded by the NWO (the Netherlands), Uppsala University, the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, and Leeds Beckett University. This workshop is the last opportunity for the partners involved in the project to develop and share their findings with the public and peers. This symposium explores the Congo Free State under Leopold II (1885-1908) as a space of transnational encounter through an analysis of its representation across languages, media and cultures. As such, the collections and archives focusing on this period of time, or revisiting the memory of this period at a much later period bring to light new considerations, and help to better envision the impact memory and history may have on specific groups across Europe and Northern America. Though the RMCA is closed for renovation, the workshop will be held at the Museum, offering the audience a key opportunity to discuss specific issues, and scrutinize various types of collections including manuscript archives dating prior 1908, movies, photographs, paintings, sculptures etc. connected to the Congo Free State period or recalling its memory. Thus this international workshop, with its scientific European threefold poles, will benefit the collection and current research ongoing at the RMCA as well as strengthen a European network.