Tracing slavery: the politics of Atlantic memory in the Netherlands

Abstract

"Looking at the ways in which the memory of slavery affects present-day relations in Amsterdam, this ethnographic account reveals a paradox: while there is growing official attention to the country's slavery past (monuments, festivals, ritual occasions), many interlocutors showed little interest in the topic. Developing the notion of "trace" as a seminal notion to explore this paradox, this book follows the issue of slavery in everyday realities and offers a fine-grained ethnography of how people refer to this past - often in almost unconscious ways - and weave it into their perceptions of present-day issues"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents

Introduction -- The politics of autochthony -- Negotiating colonial geographies -- Practices of diaspora -- Kaskawina : politics of a lower frequency -- Doing cultural heritage : race, gender and the politics of authentication -- Conclusion.