Professor Dr Mirjam de Bruijn: Memory, the Digital and Conflict in the Sahel (Africa)
In this presentation I will explore how memory becomes ‘memory work’ in the conflicts in the Sahel. Since 2012 the Sahel has been involved in multiple conflicts that are both endogenous and indigenous. Memory work (Fabian 2003) has become one of the motors in indigenous/ethnic explanations and effects of the conflict. This cannot be understood without taking into consideration the role of digital communication (social media and mobile phones).
The relation between memory, the digital and conflict is a central question in on-going research that started in 2007 and followed the advent of mobile communication technologies and changing inequality and conflict in the Sahel.