Event

The Genres of Worldmaking:Texts and Regimes of Truthin Ethiopia, 1901-1912

After its decisive victory against Italian invaders at the 1896 battle of Adwa, Ethiopia entered the twentieth century as an independent polity. Confronted with the political, economic and cultural salience of the “global” at the turn of the century, Ethiopian intellectuals saw the need to build an epistemology able to explain and improve Ethiopia’s position on the world stage.

Experiments in political thought went hand in hand with the exploration of forms of textuality able to convey modern modes of knowledge. Amharic historiography and newspapers soon emerged as key genres of this collective “worldmaking” endeavor. The presentation illustrates how these Amharic genres took shape around specific regimes of truth, combining oral and written communications tools to claim authorial authority and address multiple contemporary audiences.

Sara Marzagora is a cultural and intellectual historian of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa and holds a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London

Refreshments will be served.

Co-sponsored bythe Department of History

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