Comparativity Complex Theory

Essays 5

• Before the Comparison, the Comparer: Comparativity Complex Theory, Its Propositions, Method and Stakes

  Comparison is never the first act. Before anyone places two heritages side by side, a history of power has already made them comparable.…

• Where Power Lives: Scripturalization, the Invention of \"Religion,\" and the African Burden of Comparison

  Africa did not ask to be compared. This essay argues that \"religion\" was made to carry that burden, and that power in African religious…

• Returning the Bronze, Keeping the Key: Heritage as Power and the Comparativity of Restitution

  Restitution has become the conscience of the Western museum. This essay argues that it returns objects while keeping the categories that…

• Mining Scriptures: Religion, Heritage, Technology, Geopolitics, and the African World as One Field of Force

  Religion, heritage, technology, geopolitics, and Africa and its diasporas are not five subjects that occasionally meet. Read from the cre…

• In the Name of God Almighty: Scripture, Heritage, and the Authorship of Africa from Berlin to the New Scramble

  The General Act of Berlin opened with a prayer and protected missionaries by treaty. This essay argues that African geopolitics has been…