Paper short abstract:

This paper explores conceptions of selfhood among men in Namibia and the ways that these are made and unmade in relation to others. It focuses on relatively short periods of isolation that men would sometimes subject themselves to, as a time of intense self-reflection on identity and belonging.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores conceptions of selfhood among young men and the ways that these are made and unmade in relation to others. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Swakopmund and Windhoek, Namibia, the paper focuses specifically on relatively short periods of isolation which men would sometimes submit themselves to, most usually after significant major life events such as a death of a close relative, or other times of major life stresses. Known by several names – uudhigu (Oshindonga) or uupakadhi (Oshikwanyama) – these periods were times removed from friends and family (indeed, from all other people) and of intense reflection on matters of the heart, as well as self-identity and belonging. Described to me as a distinctly ‘masculine’ way of handling emotional issues in a highly gendered society, self-isolation as way of navigating such times was also seen as problematic by men themselves – as well as self-reflection, it was also a time of danger. The paper elaborates the social and cultural factors that enable these periods of isolation to occur, as well as men’s reported thought processes and experiences during those times.

Paper short abstract:

In the act of (un)doing with the anthropology arena, the educational sphere stands as a system of transnational experiences between African “growing decolonial critiques” and European “civilizing mission” to discuss effective leadership styles in educational anthropology, mainly.

Paper long abstract:

In the act of (un)doing with anthropology arena, the educational sphere stands as a system of transnational experiences between African “growing decolonial critiques” and European “civilizing mission.” In educational anthropology, research about effective leadership styles has recently become an area of growing concern, debate, and examination in many academic studies to respond to the growing casualization of labor and knowledge production. In many African countries, including Morocco, since independence, the educational system has flopped with many setbacks despite the reform stages, failing to approach the heart of this issue. Today, African educational stakeholders and pedagogical actors should redress the crux of the problem to allow learners access to a Western world of leadership and business with enough transferable skills and competencies. This paper examines effective leadership in the educational sphere, particularly in the Moroccan context. It attempts to unravel the opportune challenges facing the decolonial leadership progress in Moroccan educational institutions. Also, it tries to discuss some perspectives that foreground potential advancements in educational anthropology. The paper adopts a meta-analysis design, whereby a special examination of the various studies that have already been conducted came out with conclusions: perspectives and challenges. Owing to its descriptive, diagnostic, and generative nature, this method allows the researcher to explore the wide range of pitfalls and weaknesses that provide potential opportunities for alternative conclusions to be adopted in restructured approaches to leadership and school effectiveness in educational anthropology. This paper's major results and conclusions are to be qualitatively discussed and analyzed.

Paper short abstract:

Gender essentialism has been supported by many branches of knowledge through centuries, from religion to philosophy, even biology. Nowadays, many of its main defenders come from the area of psychology and their supposed scientific statements are used by many as the justification of gender inequality

Paper long abstract:

Gender essentialism is a school of thought that has been present in Western culture throughout the centuries, generally serving as a tool to justify inequality between women and men. With the

passage of time and social, cultural and scientific advances, essentialist thinking has evolved and

modified its discourse and foundations, in such a way that it has remained latent to this day. In this way, the essentialist discourse predominant today, far from relying on religious or philosophical postulates, as it did in the past, has sought refuge and legitimization in certain branches of science, one of the most prominent since its beginnings being psychology.

Through this work, I propose to analyze the role that psychology has played in the dissemination of gender essentialist ideas during the last century, as well as the survival of this current of thought until today, the postulates and influence held by its main defenders and its impact at a social level as a “scientific” explanation of inequalities between the sexes. To do this, I have made a selection of some of the authors who have most influenced the development of psychology and who have maintained essentialist positions. Regarding the modern authors that I consider representatives of this discourse, they have been selected based on their academic prestige and the impact that their theses have, both on a scientific and social level.

Paper short abstract:

This paper will reflect on an investigation into several artworks produced by Inuit for the 1967 Montréal World Fair, and the difficulty of documenting their circulation afterwards, while exploring alternative methodologies offered by Inuit scholars.

Paper long abstract:

Provenance research generally focuses on two primary sources: the artwork itself as a key document, if not the most important one, on the one hand, and the archives to trace back the object’s circulation through space and time on the other. What happens to provenance research then when the object is missing, and the archives are lacking? Understanding provenance research as reconstructing an object’s biography, I aim to explore this question by presenting my investigation into several artworks produced by Inuit artists in the 1960s, at the time of colonization of the Arctic, and exhibited by the Canadian government at the 1967 Montréal World Fair (known as Expo’ 67). In attempting to track down the artworks and their current location, however, I have quickly come up against the limitations of archives, whether regarding the uncertain provenance histories for entire collections of Inuit art in cultural institutions, or the absence of the artist’s perspectives on their work. Therefore, I wish to offer in the first place a critical reading of this failed attempt at provenance research, as to highlight how colonial relations impacted and still impact the way Inuit art has been discussed, curated, documented and circulated. I will then reflect on the possible ways to integrate these artworks, both present and absent, into an art history which focuses on Inuit agency and challenges settlers’ narratives, by mobilizing the recent works of Inuit scholars and curators.