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Confronting the Past

Negotiating a Heritage of Conflict in Sierra Leone

Bibliographic Data

ID2390909
AuthorsP Basu (0000-0002-4536-9528, University of Sussex, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume13
Issue2
Pages233-247
Publication date2008-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Material Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1359-1835 • E-ISSN: 1460-3586
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/1359183508090896
OpenAlexW2105069083
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited12

Cultural heritage is not a priority in Sierra Leone. As one of the poorest countries in the world and one only gradually recovering from civil war, there are more immediate concerns. Despite long-term neglect, this article considers whether there is, however, a role for Sierra Leone's cultural heritage in post-conflict recovery. It examines two arenas for the production of Sierra Leone's national past: its list of proclaimed national monuments notionally protected by a Monuments and Relics Commission, and the report of its Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Whilst the rhetoric of the TRC calls Sierra Leoneans to confront their past, history is rewritten in its report and a mythic past of `peaceful co-existence' posited. To confront Sierra Leone's `indigenous' cultural heritage is, however, to confront a long history of conflict. The article asks whether it is not better to acknowledge this difficult past rather than deny it

Commission · Cultural heritage · Ethnology · Indigenous · Indigenous culture · Political science · Rhetoric · Sierra leone · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Cambodian History and Society · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · History · Law

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Unique citing works18
Citations per year1
Citation span2008 - 2025 (18)
Citation velocityrecent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 18
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