UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Re-constructing the past in post-genocide Rwanda: an archaeological contribution

Giblin, J.D.; (2010) Re-constructing the past in post-genocide Rwanda: an archaeological contribution. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London). Green open access

[thumbnail of 20218.pdf]
Preview
PDF
20218.pdf

Download (162MB)

Abstract

A particular version of Rwanda’s pre-colonial Iron Age past was constructed during colonial rule and influenced by a racial world-view. This ethnicised and racialised past was used by successive Rwandan rulers to divide the population along newcomer/latecomer lines and eventually became a central tenet of the propaganda that contributed to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. More recently this racial presentation of Rwanda’s past has since been successfully deconstructed by social historians such as Mamdani (2002), Chrétien (2003), Eltringham (2004) Vansina (2004 and Newbury (2009), and has been shown to be a heavily biased construction based on colonial values. Yet, the ethno-racial presentation of the past continues to be problematic for history education in Rwanda. This thesis follows on from the work of these authors. It suggests that archaeology can usefully engage with contemporary political contexts, involving the deconstruction and reconstruction of Rwanda’s pre-colonial past in a climate of reconciliation. Following this introduction this thesis explores the concept of ethnicity in relation to Rwandan archaeology before reconsidering the tangible evidence for the Iron Age in Rwanda through a critical review of the existing literature. Furthermore, through the application of a politically aware and sensitive theoretical and methodological framework, this thesis explores non-ethno-racial historical narratives in pre-colonial Rwanda through a new body of archaeological data generated during twelve months of recent fieldwork in southern, central and northern Rwanda. Finally this thesis concludes with a summary of the archaeological outcomes of this research and some speculation on future research directions.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Title: Re-constructing the past in post-genocide Rwanda: an archaeological contribution
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/20218
Downloads since deposit
431Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item