Disconnective Cartographies, Connective Memories
A lecture by John Njenga Karugia, organized by Noit Banai, Professor of Diaspora Aesthtics, Art Theory and Cultural Studies.
The film Afrasian Memories in East Africa emerged from an attempt at understanding imaginaries and memories that connect Africa and Asia, how these imaginaries and memories are produced and what they are used for within the Afrasian transregion. The film focuses on connective Afrasian memories while remaining sensitive towards connective Afrabian dynamics. Through interviews with various people, it delves into themes such as: the naming of the ocean, transoceanic trade, transculturality, colonialism, railway memories, identity politics, Kiswahili language politics, Afrabian solidarity politics, slavery memories and Bombay Africans’ Memories amongst others.
John Njenga Karugia is a scholar of Transregional Memory Studies, Indian Ocean Studies, Africa-China Relations, Asia Pacific Studies and Area Studies. His research is currently based at the Humboldt University of Berlin within the De:Link // Re:Link research consortium. He is a member of the Frankfurt Memory Studies Platform with a focus on memory politics, memory ethics and responsible cosmopolitanism. He is a Visiting Professor at Hasanuddin University in Makassar, Indonesia, with a focus on transoceanic maritime research, and teaching that focus on diverse aspects of the Afrasian Sea, otherwise referred to as; Ziwa Kuu, Bahari, Ratnakara, the Swahili Sea, Indian Ocean, Bahari Hindi. He has travelled widely for research stints in many countries. His research has been featured within various international exhibitions such as Indigo Waves and Other Stories: Re-navigating the Afrasian Sea and Notions of Diaspora at Gropius Bau in 2023 and Gardens in Transition: Commitments, Obligations and Practices. As a documentary film-maker, he has made two films: Afrasian Memories in East Africa (2018) and New Silk Roads in Local and Global Politics (2025). He has been a Visiting Scholar at Duke University, Shanghai Maritime University, Quaid e Azam University etc.