Leiden University Student Repository

Kompier, Sjoerd (2021)

Preconditions of access to knowledge: The ‘colonial situation’ of Sjoerd Hofstra’s fieldwork among the Mende in Sierra Leone (1934-1936)

Master thesis | History (MA)

This thesis investigates the ‘colonial situation’ in which the Dutch anthropologist Sjoerd Hofstra (1898-1983) conducted his anthropological research on the Sierra Leonean Mende. During Hofstra’s study (1934-1936), which took the form of two prolonged stays in the town of Panguma and its surroundings, he shared a space with numerous actors; notably, British colonial administrators, Methodist missionaries, and above all the Mende political authorities themselves. Characterized by a multitude of power dynamics, this interpersonal context of anthropological fieldwork influenced Hofstra’s process of knowledge production in profound ways. As will be argued, each of these groups of actors shaped ‘preconditions of access to knowledge’ which had to be met for Hofstra’s venture to be successful.

knowledge production

anthropology

fieldwork

Africa

colonialism

Author

Kompier, Sjoerd

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Colonial and Global History

Supervisors

Sysling, F.H.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en