Articles, Papers, and Essays by Maria Luisa Ciminelli
La traduction, considérée par plusieurs auteurs comme paradigmatique pour l'entreprise anthropolo... more La traduction, considérée par plusieurs auteurs comme paradigmatique pour l'entreprise anthropologique, est aussi une pratique habituelle sur le « terrain », où les malentendus, et ce qui peut être interprété comme une manipulation volontaire, peuvent ensuite s'avérer des clés pour la vérification des résultats de la recherche et, plus généralement, des instruments de compréhension. C'est dans cette perspective que l'auteure réexamine la transcription d'un entretien s'étant déroulé en 1992, au début de sa recherche dans le Bélédougou (Mali), en mettant en contraste le dialogue en français entre elle et l'interprète bambara avec sa traduction française du dialogue, en langue bamanan, entre l'interprète et la guérisseuse interviewée, une jinètigi (prêtresse du culte des jinè). Abstract: Often regarded as paradigmatic of anthropological knowledge, translation is an ordinary practice in fieldwork, where different types of misunderstanding and even what could be interpreted as voluntary manipulation may, however, prove to be precious insights into understanding. In that light, the author reexamines the transcription of a conversation held in 1992 in Bamana and French languages, contrasting her translation of Bamana sentences with the translation formulated by the interpreter.
The author, an anthropologist, argues that ethnically-marked contemporary art (such as African, A... more The author, an anthropologist, argues that ethnically-marked contemporary art (such as African, Aboriginal, or native contemporary art) is included in the contemporary in the form of Agamben's exception: i.e., according to the logic of exclusive inclusion, which mirrors what Dumont defined as «l'englobement du contraire» in his notion of hierarchical oppositions. By examining some recent examples, the author contends that a systematic «denial of coevalness» (Fabian), mostly achieved by applying certain categorial pairs respectively to unmarked/marked contemporary art, is still operating in current curatorial discourse. This type of discourse surreptitiously reaffirms the cultural difference of ethnically-marked contemporary art, and of artists creating it, precisely in praising the " disjunctive " and " different time " of such art as a marker of its contem-poraneity. The article ends with a plea for a critical reassessment of the dichotomies qualifying the anthropological dualism we/others within the dominant historical-artistic paradigm, advocating for the existence of different coeval aesthetics, not solely pertaining to what, for us, is art.
2015. Microestetica del potere. La linea gialla.
This article deals with the yellow line that in Italian banks, postal offices, pharmacies, hospit... more This article deals with the yellow line that in Italian banks, postal offices, pharmacies, hospitals, indicates the physic limit to not cross for respecting individuals’ right to personal data confidentiality. Called “ courtesy distance” in Italian laws and regulations, but established by no norm, this visual detail - formerly employed in prisons as a "dispositif disciplinaire" - has been spontaneously implemented by virtue of the cultural meanings of yellow, dating back to the Middle Age and still persisting, as further uses of the yellow line as a borderline demonstrate. The Author argues that the bureaucratic measure amounts to a micropractice of power, pertaining to the foucauldian process of normalization, and questions its possible results in the social body.
2011. Una macchina per fabbricare l’etnocentrismo: osservazioni critiche sul “sistema arte/cultura” di James Clifford
Oltre trent'anni fa, il26 agosto 1976, il Consiglio tribale dei Wampanoag intentò una causa per i... more Oltre trent'anni fa, il26 agosto 1976, il Consiglio tribale dei Wampanoag intentò una causa per il riconoscimento dei diritti fondiari della Tribù di Mashpee, la "città indiana di Cape Cod" (Massachusetts, USA).
ARABI. Studi italiani sull'Africa a 50 anni dall'indipendenza. Conferenza di studi africanistici.... more ARABI. Studi italiani sull'Africa a 50 anni dall'indipendenza. Conferenza di studi africanistici. Napoli, 30 settembre -2 ottobre 2010 1 Panel "Arte e dimensione estetica nelle dinamiche sociali e culturali dell'Africa contemporanea" 30 settembre 2010 Maria Luisa Ciminelli Università Ca' Foscari -Venezia
Tutti i diritti sono riservati. Questo volume è protetto da copyright. Nessuna parte di questo li... more Tutti i diritti sono riservati. Questo volume è protetto da copyright. Nessuna parte di questo libro può essere riprodotta in ogni forma e con ogni mezzo, inclusa la fotocopia e la copia su supporti magnetico-ottici senza il consenso scritto dei detentori dei diritti.
This article focuses on the risks inherent in the external enhancement of cultural heritages.
Aft... more This article focuses on the risks inherent in the external enhancement of cultural heritages.
After an excursus on anthropological critics and the actions of UNESCO through several examples of sites registered in the World Heritage List in Mali (Djenné, Timbuctu, Bandiagara Escarpment), the author describes the typical limits in the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
Indeed, international implementations of soft law in extra-occidental countries can generate a discontinuity between the setting of aims and their outcome.
This paper deals with the use of the anthropological concept of culture in the Convention for the... more This paper deals with the use of the anthropological concept of culture in the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (Paris, 2003), and in some of its collateral documents. In criticizing the notion of intangible cultural heritage as it is presented by article 2 of the Convention, I rely on anthropological record of the processes of reification, commo¬di-fication, and touristization, undergone by some of the 90 Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity proclaimed in 2001, 2003, and 2005. The purpose of this note is to draw attention to some possible, interrelated ‘collateral effects’ of the Convention, i.e.: ethnomimesis (“the performance of culture and tradition,” as Clifford sees it, or the 'self representation' of cultural identity), and ethnogenesis (the production of new identities).
Chi ancora non conosce Mami Wata farà bene ad informarsi: potrebbe altrimenti essere impreparato ... more 
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Articles, Papers, and Essays by Maria Luisa Ciminelli
http://www.ledijournals.com/ojs/index.php/antropologia/article/view/168/161
After an excursus on anthropological critics and the actions of UNESCO through several examples of sites registered in the World Heritage List in Mali (Djenné, Timbuctu, Bandiagara Escarpment), the author describes the typical limits in the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
Indeed, international implementations of soft law in extra-occidental countries can generate a discontinuity between the setting of aims and their outcome.