The Media Anthropology Network (MediaNet) invites you to join its 76th e-seminar, this time on the paper by Jaana Serres, postdoctoral scholar, Groningen University. Please note that paper is already online and it is highly recommended that attendees read this paper ahead of the discussion, which will take place on the MediaNet mailing list.
76th MediaNet e-seminar
Jaana Serres
Decentering the Black Atlantic in “global” pop: Afrobeats and the politics of cultural visibility
Before platformization made it a segment of global pop, Afrobeats was already shaped by circulations spanning the Nigerian ethnoscape. Its expansion from below relied on fluid structures and mobile agents operating notably through trading hubs, such as Dubai or Kuala Lumpur. This paper examines how these liminal actors and geographies have been erased from the dominant #AfricaToTheWorld narrative centered in London, Paris, and New York, where Afrobeats is increasingly championed by cultural institutions and Afro-diasporic corporate professionals. It then presents ongoing research on the multiple contemporary mediations of Afrobeats across Asia. Preliminary findings reveal how top-down, Western-mediated corporate initiatives articulate with entrepreneurial, diasporic practices. The paper suggests a novel use of the “inter-Asia” theoretical-methodological framework, mobilizing it to trace the commercial circulations of West African cultural production across networked Asian hubs. This delineates the construction of a “global” popular culture that bypasses the historical routes of the Black Atlantic. Ultimately, the paper interrogates the politics of visibility in an emerging multipolar cultural order and calls for a reassessment of reference epistemological frameworks.
To download the manuscript, please click here:
About MedNet e-seminar series
Hosted on the MedNet mailing list, the e-seminar offers an opportunity to engage with a media anthropology-related manuscript in progress or with a past event (e.g., e-seminar as a follow-up on workshops or panels). The e-mail based exchange begins with reflections from a designated discussant and continues through contributions from network members.Discussions typically run over a two-week period, with materials circulated in advance by the Network Convenors.
Many authors find the feedback generated through these conversations valuable in strengthening their work for publication. All list members are welcome to participate.
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