Unfinished Histories: Empire and Postcolonial Resonance in Central Africa and Belgium

This book explores how the imperial past has lived on in Belgium, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, through literature, politics, the arts, the press, cinema, museum practices, architecture, and language policies. It also analyzes the role of places such as the Africa Museum, Bujumbura, Colwyn Bay, Kongolo, and the Virunga Park to appraise the links between memory and the development of a postcolonial present.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 426 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2022
Publisher: Leuven University Press

Belgian colonialism, although brief, left a lasting impact that can be felt in the twenty-first century. This book delves into the enduring legacy of imperialism in Belgium and its impact on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. The contributing authors approach colonial legacies from an interdisciplinary perspective, exploring how literature, politics, the arts, the press, cinema, museum practices, architecture, and language policies, among other areas, have been utilized to critically reexamine this period of African and European history.

While engaging with notable figures such as Sammy Baloji, Chokri Ben Chikha, Alexis Kagame, Edmond Leplae, Joseph Ndwaniye, and Sony Labou Tansi, this book also examines the role of places like the Africa Museum, Bujumbura, Colwyn Bay, Kongolo, and the Virunga Park in assessing the connections between memory and the development of a postcolonial present.

This book is freely available as an ebook through the OAPEN Library, JSTOR, Project Muse, and Open Research Library. The contributors to this book are:

Sarah Arens (University of Liverpool)
Robert Burroughs (Leeds Beckett)
Bambi Ceuppens (AfricaMuseum)
Matthias De Groof (University of Antwerp)
Catherine Gilbert (University of Newcastle)
Chantal Gishoma (University of Bayreuth)
Hannah Grayson (University of Stirling)
Donal Hassett (University of Cork)
Sky Herington (University of Warwick)
Nicki Hitchcott (University of St Andrews)
Yvette Hutchison (University of Warwick)
Albert Kasanda (Charles University, Prague)
Maeline Le Lay (CNRS/ THALIM, Sorbonne nouvelle)
Reuben Loffman (Queen Mary University of London)
Caroline Williamson Sinalo (University of Cork)

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 156 x 234 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9789462703575