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SUMMARY:Africa and the discourse of inventiveness: Deep Historical and Arc
 haeological Perspectives - Dr Abidemi Babatunde Babalola
DTSTART:20201015T150000Z
DTEND:20201015T163000Z
UID:TALK152992@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Lydia Clough
DESCRIPTION:Event speaker: \nDr Abidemi Babatunde Babalola\, University of
  Cambridge\n\nThe view of backward Africa incapable of creativity is still
  being peddled even within academia. Scholars who promote such erroneous v
 iews define innovation and invention as grand phenomena restricted to a pa
 rticular group of people from some regions of the globe\, which exclude Af
 rica. This narrative fails to recognize and appreciate innovation and its 
 adaptive nature at the micro societal/regional level. In this presentation
 \, I will first discuss the genesis of the discriminatory notion of a dark
  Africa that lacks creativeness and how this idea has been sustained and p
 ervaded in contemporary time. Did Africans create or invent sophisticated 
 technology? Using the example of early indigenous glass production and oth
 er high-temperature technologies in sub-Saharan\, the lecture provides ins
 ight into this question. It argues that significant attention needs to be 
 directed toward understanding the intricacies of early African technologie
 s\, especially at the micro societal/regional scale\, to provide a new int
 erpretation and narrative that showcases African's creativity and inventiv
 eness.\n\nDr Abidemi Babatunde Babalola is the Smuts Research Fellow in Af
 rican Studies\, Centre of African Studies\, University of Cambridge and a 
 Fellow of McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.\n\nPlease join u
 s on Zoom for this presentation.  \n\nPlease register via the following li
 nk: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYtceugrj0jHdJjg6UUW55sXoUU9We8C30Y\
 n\nFor those unable to attend the live event\, a recording of the presenta
 tion will be made available on the Department of Archaeology YouTube chann
 el. 
LOCATION:Zoom
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