Paper long abstract:

Niger is a paradox. The country's name remains unfamiliar on the international scene. Its internal social life and everyday discourses construct strong epic identities (domestic and historic) and project time-honored, supposedly immutable values. Yet valuable ancestral knowledges and icons have been lost, silenced or negated in the course of various internationalisations such as moderate Islam, Western colonial violence and post-colonial impact, more recent radical Islamism, or the impact of mas media and social media. Whilst the country is alternately or (episodically) stigmatised in global news, the state continues to struggle with policies of positive national identity construction. What are some of the examples that attest to these social dynamics and cultural processes? How can cultural knowledge and (meta)criticism, creative cultural practice contribute to (re)setting personal and national self-confidence in the Nigérien Sahel?