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...Show moreThis 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.Show less
