Veranstaltungen

"Frontiers of Faith" is a multidisciplinary academic network for scholars working on religion in the China-Africa space. Economic and political dynamics in this field have been central in scholarly and popular debates, but the complex cultural side of China-Africa encounters has been conspicuously absent. If factories, construction sites and mines have been the paradigmatic sites of China-Africa engagement, what can we learn from the small but increasing number of churches, monasteries and mosques on the complex and multifaceted ‘frontiers’ between Africa and China?

The presence of Buddhism in Africa has sparked discussions about the influence of Chinese cultural or "soft" power on the continent. This paper argues that "Buddhism in Africa" should not be seen as an ancillary story to the economic narratives of China in Africa; instead, it is a novel avenue in and of itself for reexamining the existing discussions of China’s imperialistic desires, Chinese diasporic identity politics, and eventually the concept of "global China". This paper is based on in-depth ethnographic data from extensive fieldwork at a Taiwanese Buddhist NGO in Namibia, as well as in Chinese diasporic communities in southeast Asia who support this NGO’s charity work in Southern Africa.

Time: 12:00-13:30 CH; 13-00-14:30 UK