Jonas Savimbi: Representations and Imaginaries
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H-Luso-Africa CFP: Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries Discussion published by Vasco Martins on Monday, May 31, 2021 Dear colleagues, Below you will find the CfP (both in English and Portuguese) for the collective book "Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries" . Please consider sending an abstract (max. 500 words) by 30th June. All the best, Pedro F Neto & Vasco Martins Call for papers Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries eds. Pedro Figueiredo Neto (ICS-ULisboa) & Vasco Martins (CES-UCoimbra) Killed in combat on 22 February 2002, Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, the “Black Jaguar of the Jagas”, “elder” to his followers and self-proclaimed five star general, is increasingly becoming more of a social, political and cultural reference in Angola, particularly to the youth, two decades after his demise. Founder of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola -- UNITA -- in 1966, Jonas Savimbi was an enigmatic and controversial character, an ecletic politician who throughout his life forged strategic yet antagonistic alliances – first with Portuguese colonialism, then with Apartheid South Africa, the United States and Zaire’s Mobuto Sese-Seko. Having found in guerrilla warfare and life his main battlefield, Savimbi is remembered for his charisma, his rhetoric and fiery speeches, and the mastery of national and foreign languages. However, the stories of people who either spent time with or fought against UNITA’s leader describe his leadership as cruel and ruthless, accusing him of having committed several atrocities and of being responsible for the culture of terror and fear that prevailed in Angola for decades. Having survived several assassination attempts and fake death announcements, Savimbi’s lifeless body was publicly shown to persuade Angola and the world that his death was indeed a reality. At this point, the myth of Savimbi was already deeply ingrained. This may be the reason why the former UNITA leader still personifies a mental barrier that synthesizes the events and fears lived during the Angolan civil war. As a key character in the recent past of Angola, it is increasingly pertinent today to reflect upon the Citation: Vasco Martins. CFP: Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries. H-Luso-Africa. 05-31-2021. https://networks.h-net.org/node/7926/discussions/7773822/cfp-jonas-savimbi-representations-and-imaginaries Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Luso-Africa imaginary, the legacy, the representations, invocations and implications of the uses of Savimbi’s figure, in order to analyze his resurgence in the political and public sphere of Angola and beyond. This CfP seeks contributions from the areas of social sciences, arts and humanities – from anthropology to sociology, political science, history, geography, post-colonial and development studies, media, literature, music, among others – that explore, reflect and analyze the ways in which graphic, audiovisual, musical and other aspects of popular culture, in the form of news reports, videos, photographs, videogames, gifs, memes, posters, graffiti, music and other audios (radio emissions, mobile phone rings, oral speeches and stories circulating in social networks) have contributed to the construction and continuation of several imaginaries, often romanced, of Jonas Savimbi. We encourage submissions that resort to empirical data to analyze the representations of the figure and persona of Jonas Savimbi by critically questioning: The resurgence of representations in the present and possible near future consequences; The formats of the construction of the figure in both life and death, in light of various iconography produced about other leaders like Mao Tse Tsung, Nelson Mandela, Amílcar Cabral, Mobuto Sese Seko or Che Guevara; The ghosts in daily life, between legacies of hope, fear and terror; Ancient and new myths, with or without historical verifiability, yet based upon past and present tales; The use of his image in popular culture, particularly through different aesthetic manifestations; The cultural, military and political impact of Jonas Savimbi in the context of Southern Africa, past and present Other related lines of enquiry. Original contributions that include audiovisual elements (photo-essays, soundscapes, audio tracks, videos, etc.) are of special interest. Proposals should be explicit in terms of questions and goals and on the sort of empirical materials to be used in exploring these overarching questions. Final submissions should have no more than 7000 words excluding references, footnotes and captions. Submitted papers must be original and written in English or Portuguese. The final oeuvre is expected to be published in both English and Portuguese, with the possibility of including a digital medium (dvd or usb-drive). Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent [email protected] and Citation: Vasco Martins. CFP: Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries. H-Luso-Africa. 05-31-2021. https://networks.h-net.org/node/7926/discussions/7773822/cfp-jonas-savimbi-representations-and-imaginaries Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 2 H-Luso-Africa [email protected] until 31 June 2021. Selected contributions shall be notified by email before 31 July 2021. As a tentative schedule, a complete first draft is expected to be submitted before 15 october 2021. About the editors Pedro Figueiredo Neto is an anthropologist and filmmaker, currently researcher at the Social Science Institute, University of Lisbon (ICS-ULisboa). His research focuses on different phenomena of forced displacement as a result of conflict, violence, developmental endeavours and environmental transformations, mainly in Southern Africa on which he has published several pieces. More at https://www.ics.ulisboa.pt/pessoa/pedro-figueiredo-neto or http://pedrofneto.com Vasco Martins is a political scientist and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra (CES-UCoimbra). Author of several articles and of the recently published book Colonialism, Ethnicity and war in Angola, his research interests reside on nationalism, ethnicity, memory and war in pos-colonial and post-war contexts, specifically in Southern Africa. More at https://ces.uc.pt/en/ces/pessoas/investigadoras-es/vasco-martins ********************* Chamada para artigos Jonas Savimbi: representações e imaginários eds. Pedro Figueiredo Neto (ICS-ULisboa) & Vasco Martins (CES-UCoimbra) Morto em combate a 22 de Fevereiro de 2002, o apelidado “jaguar negro dos Jagas”, “mais velho” para os seus correligionários e auto-promovido general de cinco estrelas da UNITA, duas décadas depois do seu desaparecimento físico, Jonas Malheiro Savimbi é cada vez mais uma referência na esfera social, política e cultural, sobretudo para a juventude, em Angola e noutras geografias. Fundador da UNITA-União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola na década de 1960, Jonas Savimbi constitui-se como personagem enigmático e controverso, um político camaleónico que ao longo da sua vida lacrou alianças estratégicas aparentemente antagónicas — com o colonialismo Português, com o regime do Apartheid na África do Sul, com os EUA ou ainda com Mobutu Sese- Seko. Encontrando na guerrilha a sua morada e principal campo de batalha, Savimbi é lembrado pelo seu carisma, retórica e discursos inflamados, a que juntava um forte domínio de línguas nacionais e Citation: Vasco Martins. CFP: Jonas Savimbi: representations and imaginaries. H-Luso-Africa. 05-31-2021. https://networks.h-net.org/node/7926/discussions/7773822/cfp-jonas-savimbi-representations-and-imaginaries Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3 H-Luso-Africa estrangeiras. Contudo, relatos dos que com ele privaram e contra ele combateram descrevem-no como um líder cruel e implacável, acusando-o de uma miríade de atrocidades, e o grande responsável pela cultura de terror que se viveu em Angola durante décadas. O seu corpo moribundo foi mostrado ostensivamente de forma a persuadir Angola e o mundo de que a sua morte era efectiva — de resto, sobreviveu a mais de uma dúzia de tentativas de assassinato e foi declarado morto pelo menos quinze. Nessa altura, Jonas Savimbi era já um mito estabelecido. Talvez por isso, ainda hoje, o antigo líder personifique uma fronteira mental que sintetiza os eventos e medos vividos durante o tempo da guerra. Enquanto personagem chave no passado recente de Angola, revela-se pertinente reflectir acerca do imaginário de Savimbi, do seu legado, representações, invocações e respectivas implicações dos usos da figura do antigo guerrilheiro, de forma a analisar como perdura na esfera política e pública do país e da região. A presente chamada para artigos procura contribuições das mais diversas áreas das ciências sociais, artes e humanidades (antropologia, sociologia, ciência política, história, geografia, estudos de desenvolvimento e pós-coloniais, média, literatura, arte, música, etc) que explorem, reflitam e analisem o modo como elementos gráficos, audiovisuais, musicais e/ou outros da cultura popular, na forma de reportagens TV, vídeos, fotografias, videojogos, gifs, memes, posters, grafitti, música, áudios (emissões rádio, toques de telemóvel, discursos ou estórias via Whatsapp ou Facebook, entre outras plataformas) contribuíram e contribuem para a construção e continuação de vários imaginários, frequentemente