The research programme Contemporary Ethnography invites all staff and graduate students to the Academic Hour Seminar:

Tradition or culture? Changing temporalities in Melanesian discourse

- by Ton Otto (AU and James Cook University)

The seminar takes place on Wednesday April 10th 14.15-16.00 at Stakladen, Conference Centre, Meeting Room 2

After the presentation there will be drinks in the Faculty Club

Abstract
Kastom (‘tradition’) has been a wide-spread an important political symbol for Melanesian peoples to assert their distinct identities in a colonial and post-colonial context. Recently a competing term to refer to cultural heritage has entered the discursive scene: kalsa or culture. What is the difference between kastom and kalsa and why has it become important for Melanesian societies to articulate this difference? These questions will guide my talk that will touch on local development, global tourism and the emergence of cultural festivals. This presentation will provide a background analysis to the film ‘Unity through Culture’ (Suhr and Otto 2011).

Organizer: Professor Nils Bubandt, Head of Contemporary Ethnography