CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS [TERROIRS – NEW SERIES]

DECENTERING RESTITUTION

AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES ON THE RETURN OF “THINGS”

Deadline : September 10, 2025. Authors will be notified on October 10, 2025. Accepted contributions must be finalized by January 31, 2026, for publication scheduled during the first half of 2026. Proposals and contributions should be sent to Parfait D. Akana (parfait.akana@muntu.media) and Pascal Ndjock (pascal_ndjock@yahoo.fr) with a mandatory copy to manuscripts@mip.cm.

The issue of the restitution of African cultural properties looted in previous centuries, which has been on the international political and media agenda for several years, continues to be viewed primarily through a Western-centric lens. At the heart of the exchanges and discussions that fuel this process are themes focused on the legal frameworks of the countries that hold these objects, their definitions of “art object” or “artifact,” and the universality of the Western-style Museum. As vectors of memory, identity, spirituality, and even development, the disputed entities are also at the center of complex realities, motivations, and dynamics unfolding within African societies, which are little known in their places of exile. To grasp the multidimensional issues involved in restitution, it therefore seems imperative to shift the focus of reflection and investigation.

While the dominant discourse on the subject has often been built around the simplistic dichotomy between “claimants” and “holders,” entire aspects of the issue have been ignored, neglecting the multiplicity of actors, claims, and processes of reappropriation within the communities of origin. The polysemy of these “things” is difficult to perceive and understand using the analytical categories employed by museologists and art historians. In this context, even their ritual functions, social values, and cosmogonic meanings are ignored. The debate is further stifled by the legal, technical, and conceptual argument put forward by the “holders” that these objects cannot be returned, thereby undermining the agency of African societies in the management and promotion of their heritage. It is therefore relevant to proceed with an epistemological shift that allows us to question the very foundations of the different categories and arguments.

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