معرفی
Prof. Dr. Ferdinand de Jong serves as a Visiting Professor in African Art History at the Free University Berlin for the academic year 2024-25. He is affiliated with the Department of African Art within the Institute of Art History, which falls under the Department of History and Cultural Studies. His scholarly work bridges art history, anthropology, and postcolonial theory to examine classical and contemporary African art, cultural heritage, archives, museums, and memorial practices.
De Jong's research program centers on decolonizing approaches to African art and heritage. His key interests include decolonization/coloniality studies, cultural heritage preservation, memory studies, decolonizing archives, masking traditions, and conflict resolution. His scholarship demonstrates how African communities navigate postcolonial contexts through artistic and heritage practices, with particular attention to Senegal and the Casamance region. He has conducted extensive fieldwork on masking traditions, cultural heritage, and conflict resolution in West Africa.
His recent publications reveal a strong thematic focus on decolonizing heritage and archives, with particular attention to Senegalese contexts. De Jong explores how African communities are reclaiming cultural narratives and reimagining futures through artistic and archival practices. His work consistently examines intersections of spirituality, modernity, and heritage, positioning African art as central to understanding broader social transformations.
As an educator, De Jong teaches courses including 'Decolonizing Heritage: The Reclamation of African Futures,' 'Histories of Photography in Africa,' and 'African Art and Spirituality' during the Winter Semester 2024/25. His teaching examines how photography has been used for both 'honorific' and 'repressive' purposes in Africa, tracing its evolution from colonial documentation to tools of resistance and artistic expression. His approach emphasizes critical engagement with decolonial methodologies and the political dimensions of art historical practice.
