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BBC: Row over German zoo’s Africa show

Published on June 10, 2005 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, Europe, Us and Them

BBC

German anti-racism campaigners have condemned plans to stage an African cultural festival in a zoo. Responding to the criticism, Augsburg Zoo Director Barbara Jantschke said she does not see anything wrong with staging the event in a zoo, where many cultural exhibitions are held. Mrs Jantschke also argued that the zoo was the ideal place to convey the necessary “exotic atmosphere” for the festival.

It is an attitude which campaigners like Ms Noah So want to change. “There is an urge in Germany to see those who are not white as part of something exotic or romanticised.” This treatment insinuates that non-whites are not really part of German society, she says. >> continue

Read also German magazine DER SPIEGEL: German Zoo Scandal: ‘African Village’ Accused of Putting Humans on Display

MORE INFORMATION AND LINKS:
African village in the Zoo: Protest against racist exhibition

BBC

Most searched words: Zoo Augsburg african village. Newspapers start to report

Published on May 31, 2005 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology in the news, Europe, internal notes, Us and Them

Just a short note on what people search: “Zoo Augsburg african village” are the most searched words at the moment. It’s quite striking how often this site is visited by people (from countries all over the world!) searching for news about the planned exhibition of Africans in the Zoo in Augsburg, Germany. The news has spread mainly via the internet. Only two newspapers (update 1.6.: now it’s three – no four!) in Germany have been interested in this issue so far. It is widely debated on German language blogs and forums, though.

Here I’ve collected updated news and links:

>> African village in the Zoo: Protest against racist exhibition

>> Bewusster oder unbewusster Rassismus? Proteste gegen “African Village” im Zoo

Just a short note on what people search: "Zoo Augsburg african village" are the most searched words at the moment. It's quite striking how often this site is visited by people (from countries all over the world!) searching for news…

UPDATED: African village in the Zoo: Protest against racist exhibition

Published on May 27, 2005 by lorenz Posted in Africa, anthropology (general), anthropology in the news, ethics, Europe, Us and Them

Ethno::log

The zoo of Augsburg/Germany is planning to open a “African village” with people from Africa “situated in an unique African steppe landscape”, critically reports Norbert Finzsch in an email, professor of History at the University of Cologne. It’s remarkable, that scientists at our university are researching the historical dimension of the Völkerschauen in the 19th century while the zoo of Augsburg in about 80km distance is carrying on this tradition in the 21th century. >> continue

Kurt Jonassohn, On A Neglected Aspect Of Western Racism: From the beginning of the 1870s to the end of the 1930s – the exposition of so-called exotic peoples in zoological gardens attracted a huge public

Anthropological Days at the Olympic Games: ‘Great Fun for Savages’

UPDATE 20.6.05:
Radio interview on African Village/ “Germans & Japanese less sensitive about race”

UPDATE 14.6.05: In Detroit and London: More African Villages in the Zoo

UPDATE 10.6.05: Now the BBC starts to report on the African village

UPDATED UPDATE 2 By 2nd of June several German newspapers have written about the protest against this exhibition: Frankfurter Rundschau, Tagesspiegel, Jungle World, Neues Deutschland, while the conservative DIE WELT defended the arrangement and cites some Africans who consider the combination of zoo and african culture as perferct (for their business). >> continue to my post in German with more links in German

UPDATE 1:
The news spread extremly fast. Savage Minds provides a link to the original email by Norbert Finzsch. He writes:

“The way Africans and African Americans in Germany are perceived and discussed, the way they are present on billboards and in TV ads prove that the colonialist and racist gaze is still very much alive in Germany. This is the direct result of forty years of German colonialism and twelve years of National Socialism. People of color are still seen as exotic objects (of desire), as basically dehumanized entities within the realm of animals. This also explains why a zoo has been selected as site for the exhibit.”

“The African German community and concerned individuals like myself call to your attention the need to protest against the opening of the exhibit in the Augsburg Zoo. Please direct your personalized letters of protest to Frau Dr. Barbara Jantschke (Director Zoo Augsburg) at barbara.jantschke@zoo-augsburg.de .”

>> continue

Ethno::log

The zoo of Augsburg/Germany is planning to open a "African village" with people from Africa "situated in an unique African steppe landscape", critically reports Norbert Finzsch in an email, professor of History at the University of Cologne. It's remarkable, that…

Today’s National Day – or “Something rotten in the state of Norway”

Published on May 17, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Europe, Us and Them

As today the people here in Norway celebrate the National day you might want to take a look at the essay collection SOMETHING ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF NORWAY, written by anthropologists and other social scientists four years ago.

From their introduction:

“In spite of the fact that the country possesses enormous financial resources, Norway is unable to administer this capital in an appropriate manner on behalf of the population. It is not invested in education, either at school or university, the health service is deteriorating, cultural institutions are not regarded as important and become balance sheet items.

We have brought about a country that stigmatises and excludes those inhabitants who do not conform to an increasingly uniform and standardised citizenship ideal. In the Norway of today market liberalism is the dominant attitude among the people and leaders.”

>> continue to Something Rotten in the State of Norway

See also:

Sámi flag will not fly in Oslo
Oslo Municipality will not hoist the Sámi flag on Constitution Day, 17 May, the Oslo Municipal Board decided. “We are not one people with two flags, but rather one people with one flag,” stated Labour Party member Runar Gerhardsen. >> continue

Of course you can read an official description of the National Day with typical Norwegian statements like “there’s no celebration quite like it anywhere else in the world.” or take a look at some 17.may-pictures with lots of people in their national costumes. There are also some photos on flickr. Or check Aftenposten (newspaper) for today’s photos.

From their…

Corrected: Drinking Cultures – Anthropology of Food

Published on May 6, 2005 by lorenz Posted in anthropology in the news, culture traditions, Europe, food and drink, journal articles / papers

UPDATE (5.6.05): Link is corrected. They have moved the article to an earlier issue of the journal

Tom WILSON: Globalization, Differenciation and Drinking Cultures: an anthropological perspective. Drinking culture in Ireland, at home or in more public domains, has not been a major interest in the ethnography of Ireland, but it should be. The pub, or public house, is a particularly important ethnographic arena, wherein drinking practices and other aspects of Irish culture merge, and where the questions of identity and identification continually matter. >> continue (pdf)

UPDATE (5.6.05): Link is corrected. They have moved the article to an earlier issue of the journal

Tom WILSON: Globalization, Differenciation and Drinking Cultures: an anthropological perspective. Drinking culture in Ireland, at home or in more public domains, has not been…