The relationship between notions of heritage, religion and the secular in relation but limited to museums have been taken up more and more stridently over the last two decades in scholarly literature. Building on this momentum in the academy, organizers Abdoulaye Sounaye (ZMO) and Duane Jethro (CARMAH) arranged a one day intensive workshop that aimed to address a specific set of questions. How is the language of heritage mobilised as a language for incontestable tradition and culture? How is it used for foregrounding Western notions of secular culture? How was authenticity raised and framed as a stake in debates concerning religion, heritage and national values? And how were heritage institutions implicated in adjudicating and mediating social difference today?
The workshop brought into conversation scholars working in different disciplines and a number of projects engaged with questions of material culture, religion, heritage and difference.
