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The Residue of Colonial Anthropology in the History and Political Discourse of Northern Ghana: Critique and Revision
Author(s) -
MacGaffey Wyatt
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
history compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.121
H-Index - 1
ISSN - 1478-0542
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2010.00677.x
Subject(s) - colonialism , politics , anthropology , history , history of anthropology , ethnology , sociology , social science , political science , archaeology , law
The received history of northern Ghana is based on anthropological assumptions imported by colonial officials at the end of the 19th century. This history is now unreflectively incorporated in the political discourse of the north, associated with ongoing conflicts that threaten at times to engulf all three northern regions in warfare. A critique of colonial anthropology, in combination with new research, suggests an alternative history of the North.