Bogumil (Bogumił) Jewsiewicki Koss (born 1942 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

) is a Polish-Canadian historian and an Africanist specialising in the history of

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

, notably the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, and the social usage of visual memory. Jewsiewicki obtained a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

in 1964 and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1968, both at the

University of Łódź The University of Łódź (, ) is a public research university founded in 1945 in Łódź, Poland, as a continuation of three higher education institutions functioning in Łódź in the interwar period — the Teacher Training Institute (192 ...

in Poland. From 1968 through 1974 Jewsiewicki taught at , Université Lovanium of

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

and Université Nationale du Zaïre in the

, later

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

. He then emigrated to Canada to work at Université de Saint-Boniface in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

and in the Département d’histoire of

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

since 1977, becoming a full professor in the

comparative history Comparative history is the comparison of different societies which existed during the same time period or shared similar cultural conditions. The comparative history of societies emerged as an important specialty among intellectuals in the Enlight ...

of memory () in 1985. Jewsiewicki was a researcher at the Centre d'études africaines of the

School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (, EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The school awards Master and PhD degrees alone and conjo ...

in Paris, and curated exhibitions on Congolese popular urban painting and on photography at the Museum for African Art in New York (1998-1999) and at the Museum für Völkerkunde in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. In 2009, he retired from his teaching post and continued as a researcher and member of the () at Université Laval. Jewsiewicki was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Africanist Award of the

African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...

, and in 2007 he won Marius Barbeau Medal from the Association canadienne d'ethnologie et de folklore (Folklore Studies Association of Canada, ACEF FSAC). Jewsiewicki's collection of popular Congolese paintings was acquired by the

Royal Museum for Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) (; ; ), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally b ...

Tervuren Tervuren (; ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren proper, Vossem and Moorsel. On 1 January 2006, Tervuren had a total population o ...

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. A

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was published in Jewsiewicki's honour in 2009 entitled ''Images, mémoires et savoirs. Une histoire en partage avec Bogumil Koss Jewsiewicki'' with Karthala, edited by Isidore Ndaywel è Nziem and Mudimbe-Boyi.

Publications

Jewsiewicki published many scholarly articles, books and book chapters, including: * ''Marx, Afrique et Occident : les pratiques africanistes de l'histoire marxiste'', Centre for Developing-Area Studies,

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

, ontréal 1985. . * with David S. Newbury: ''African historiographies : what history for which Africa?'',

SAGE Publications Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park neighborhood of Thousand Oaks, California. Sage ...

, Beverly Hills, 1986. Series: Sage series on African modernization and development. * ''Art pictural zaïrois''.

Sillery, Quebec City Sillery (), a former independent city founded in 1637, is one of 35 administrative sectors (), which are unincorporated places, located in the post-expansion jurisdiction of the City of Quebec, Quebec, Canada. Sillery was one of multiple self-g ...

: Septentrion en collab. avec le CÉLAT (Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur les lettres, les arts et les traditions), 1992. . * with V. Y. Mudimbe: Africans' Memories and Contemporary History of Africa, '' History and Theory 32(1993), Beiheft 32: History Making in Africa. pp. 1–11 * with Elikia M'Bokolo, Ndaywel è Nziem and Sabakinu Kivilu: ''Naître et mourir au Zaïre : un demi-siècle d'histoire au quotidien'', Paris : Éditions Karthala, 1993. . * with Jocelyn Létourneau: ''L'histoire en partage : usages et mises en discours du passé''. Paris :

L'Harmattan Éditions L'Harmattan, usually known simply as L'Harmattan (), is one of the largest French book publishers. It specialises in non-fiction books with a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named after the Harmattan, a trade wind in W ...

, 1996. . * with Jocelyn Létourneau: ''Identités en mutation, socialités en germination'', Septentrion, Sillery, Québec, 1998. Series: Nouveaux cahiers du CELAT. * ''Mami Wata : ma peinture urbaine au Congo''. Paris : Ed. Gallimard, 2003. . * with Léonard N'Sanda Buleli: ''Les identités régionales en Afrique centrale : constructions et dérives'', Paris : L'Harmattan, 2008. . * Introduction. One Historiography or Several? A Requiem for Africanism, in: I. Ndaywel è Nziem, M. Elisabeth Mudimbe-boyi, Pierre Nora (Eds.): ''Images, mémoires et savoirs : une histoire en partage avec Bogumil Koss Jewsiewicki'', Karthala, Paris, 2009. Series: Hommes et sociétés. ISBN 9782811102081, 2811102086. * In the empire of forgetting : collective memory of the slave trade and slavery, in: Ana Lucia Araujo, Mariana P. Candido, Paul E. Lovejoy (Eds.): ''Crossing Memories: Slavery and African Diaspora'', Africa World Press, Trenton, NJ, 2011. * with Freddy Tsimba, Koli Jean Bofane, Pascal Blanchard, and Henry Bundjoko: ''Freddy Tsimba - Mabele eleki lola! : de aarde, stralender dan het paradijs'', Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale. Exhibition catalogue Africamuseum, Tervuren, Belgium. Kate' art édition, Brussel, 2020. Books honouring Jewsiewicki's work are: * I. Ndaywel è Nziem, M. Elisabeth Mudimbe-boyi, Pierre Nora (Eds.): ''Images, mémoires et savoirs : une histoire en partage avec Bogumil Koss Jewsiewicki'', Karthala, Paris, 2009. Series: Hommes et sociétés. ISBN 9782811102081, 2811102086. * Ana Lucia Araujo, Mariana P. Candido, Paul E. Lovejoy (Eds.): ''Crossing Memories: Slavery and African Diaspora'', Africa World Press, Trenton, NJ, 2011. Series:

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, – March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. After escaping slavery, Tubman made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including her family and friends, us ...

series on the African diaspora. Papers presented at a conference held in Quebec City in 2005.

External links

* Total duration 3h 24m 15s. Université Laval, Faculté des sciences sociales, Département d'anthropologie. Jewsiewicki discusses his career as a historian of Africa and collector of African art. In French. * . Video. Benjamin Hebblethwaite. Jewsiewicki lectures on Congolese culture at the Conference "Kongo Atlantic Dialogues: Kongo Culture in Central Africa And In The Americas", University of Florida. Duration 13m 21s. February 2014. In French.

References

Bibliography

* Kończal, Kornelia (2014), Porównawcza historia pamięci. Rozmowa z profesorem Bogumiłem Jewsiewickim, Kultura Współczesna, 4, p. 148–161. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jewsiewicki, Bogumil 1942 births Canadian Africanists Living people Polish Africanists Scientists from Vilnius Academic staff of Université Laval University of Łódź alumni Historians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Academic staff of the National University of Zaire Lovanium University people Polish emigrants to Canada Canadian art collectors Polish art collectors