It was late morning in May 2014, and I was sitting on the sofa in the lobby of a Radisson Blu Hotel. The sliding doors of the hotel opened onto a typical, international hotel lobby with marbled floors, a series of lifts, a spiralling staircase and clusters of small, hard, colourful square-shaped sofas and arm-chairs. If you could only see the lobby, and not the street outside, you would not hav…
This is a book about how the Congo was and continues to be imagined in Kinshasa. I outline the way that coproduced visions of nation, modernity, and stereotypes of culture have taken material form in the postcolonial city. My aim is to trace what remains of past presentations of the Congo in the rich textures of key architectural and artistic sites in Kinsh…
An essential teaching companion offering practical strategies for enhancing learning for all teachers of history in higher education. The study of the eighteenth century has been a growth area in university research and teaching in recent decades. Although widely taught in history departments, the eighteenth century also presents challenges, including new students’ unfamiliarity with the peri…
Sheds new light on European and regional book markets, the development of a public sphere and the impact of new media on intellectual, social, religious and political change. How do you become a citizen? Ever since printing was introduced, being a member of society increasingly involved reading and writing: for sociability and belonging, instruction and entertainment, profit and charity, spirit…
he final weekend brought better weather and we went down to our installation to take photos. We were surprised to find the streets were full of people pushing strollers, children, couples, elderly people, crowds from all walks of life. Sydney came outdoors at night in winter and did so with a vengeance. Building on this early success, Vivid Sydney went on to become a major light festival (owned…
Ada perkembangan yang patut disyukuri tapi juga disayangkan dalam pengelolaan kehidupan keagamaan di Indonesia pasca-Orde Baru. Di satu sisi, kekerasan kolektif antar-agama, seperti yang terjadi di Ambon, Maluku Utara, dan Poso (Sulawesi Tengah) sudah berhenti sejak sekitar sepuluh tahun lalu. Namun, di sisi lain, beberapa laporan menunjukkan peningkatan insiden konflik antar-agama, khususnya t…
Kita sering bertanya apa yang dikerjakan polisi ketika terjadi konflik atau aksi-aksi kekerasan, termasuk yang mengatasnamakan agama, tapi sesudah itu kita segera melupakannya. Ini ironis: kita memerlukan polisi sebagai pihak terdepan dalam merawat kebersamaan kita, tapi seringkali kita tak mempedulikannya, apalagi mendengar dan mengajak mereka bicara. Ditulis dua orang dosen, peneliti dan fasi…