From 5 to 19 of November 2019 Research Fellow Dr. Nadezhda Khokholkova and a student from Russian State University for the Humanities Mariia Sergeeva conducted field research in Tanzania, supported by Russian Scientific Foundation (project №18-18-00454 "Historical Memory as the Evolutional Factor of Socio-Political Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa and Mesoamerica"). The study focused on the historical memory of the slave trade and colonialism.
This field research can be considered as a continuation of the second season of field research in Tanzania. The first expedition of this season within the framework of the grant was conducted by senior research fellow Dr. Anastasia Banshchikova, junior research fellows Oxana Ivanchenko, and Valentina Bryndina from 4 to 24 of August 2019. The main goal of this expedition was to examine the historical memory of the colonial past - the periods associated with the activities of German and British colonial administrations.
During the field research in four cities and villages of Tanzania (Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo, Stone Town {Zanzibar} and Kiwengwa {Zanzibar}), 13 formal interviews were conducted, a significant amount of research materials was collected in libraries, bookstores, and museums. Also, the researchers met with faculty members of the Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy (MNMA, Dar es Salaam). They took part in the graduation ceremony of the School of Library, Archives, and Documentation Studies (SLADS, Bagamoyo).
The results of the field research will be analyzed in detail and presented in scientific reports and ongoing publications.
N. Khokholkova and M. Sergeyev are sincerely grateful to the staff of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and personally to M.V. Pateeva and R.K. Pateev for their contribution in organizing this expedition.