Africa and Africans in Late Nineteenth-Century Missionary Thought

Theory and Practice

  • Viera Vilhanová-Pawliková
Keywords: Africa, Africans, mission societies, theories of the missionary thought

Abstract

The colonial conquest of Africa and the development of colonial empires in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries went hand in hand with a missionary revival during which Christian missionaries were sent to every corner of the African continent. As those missionaries were generally in closer contact with the local population than colonial officials, studying their space and survival practices, as well as the strategies and patterns of missionary thought, has considerable potential to reveal the dynamics of intercultural interaction in the imperial encounter. The present study seeks to analyze theories of the missionary cause, trace and study missionary activities in Africa, and explore some aspects of the subtle interplay of missionary encounters with African peoples, as well as missionary perceptions of Africa and Africans.

Author Biography

Viera Vilhanová-Pawliková

VIERA PAWLIKOVÁ-VILHANOVÁ PhD DrSc is a senior research scholar at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Professor Emeritus of African Studies at the University of St. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava. Having graduated in African Studies from Charles University, Prague, she continued her studies at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Her interests span African history, African historiographies, African literatures and cultures, and the spread of Islam and Christianity in Africa, with a special interest in Christian missions to Africa, especially the White Fathers, their linguistic work and their role in the production of knowledge on Africa. She has done a lot of research and published books and articles on these topics. Since 1998 she has been International Director of the international project Fontes Historiae Africanae (Sources for African History) of l`Union Académique Internationale based in Brussels, the aim of the project being to publish critical editions of sources for African history.

Published
2018-12-06
How to Cite
Vilhanová-Pawliková, V. (2018). Africa and Africans in Late Nineteenth-Century Missionary Thought: Theory and Practice. Archiv orientální, 86(3), 381-396. Retrieved from https://aror.orient.cas.cz/index.php/ArOr/article/view/102
Issue
Vol. 86 No. 3 (2018): Czech and Slovak Contributions to African Studies
Section
Research Article

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