2nd millellium AD (Temporal Keyword)
1-1 (1 Record)
The Inscribed Word vs. the Spoken Word in African History and Archaeology (2013)
DOCUMENT
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Pierre Nora got it wrong when he drew a distinction between inscribed history and social memory. By making this unfortunate dichotomy he unwittingly amplified a long standing separation between the written word and the spoken word in history making. The writings of F. Lwamgira in NW Tanzania provide a poignant study from which insights emerge about the speciousness of such distinctions. Lwamgira's writings take on an authoritative quality by becoming materially inscribed representations of Haya...