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Memories in Motion: Bodily Genealogies of the Afrodiasporic Imaginary as Technologies of Life

Project description

Afrodiasporic embodied practices as living technologies of memory

In many parts of the Global South, violence, displacement and colonial history have disrupted how Afrodiasporic communities transmit cultural memory and knowledge. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GEOBODIES project examines how Afrodiasporic practices such as dance, song, midwifery and oral traditions sustain memory, repair social bonds and support collective futures. Working with displaced Afro-descendant communities in Colombia and cultural collectives in Cameroon, it explores how embodied practices preserve and pass on knowledge across generations. Using sensory ethnography, community museography, expanded curating and archival research, the project traces their suppression, transformation and persistence under colonial rule. GEOBODIES will produce affective mappings, methodological guidance, policy recommendations and an open-access multimodal platform.

Objective

Memories in Motion: Bodily Genealogies of Afrodiasporic Imaginaries as Technologies of Life (GEOBODIES) investigates how Afrodiasporic bodily techniques—such as dance, song, midwifery, and oral traditions—function as living technologies that sustain life, activate memory, and shape restorative futures in contexts marked by violence and displacement. The project engages Afro-descendant communities displaced by armed conflict in Colombia, particularly those involved in the Museo del Viernes Negro (Bogotá), and cultural collectives in Cameroon during the secondment, to analyse how embodied practices transmit knowledge, restore social bonds, and recompose memory. Using a Foucauldian genealogical lens, it traces the historical trajectories, contemporary uses, and affective resonances of these practices as archives of resistance and repair.

The methodology combines sensory and multimodal ethnography, expanded curating, community museography, and archival research at the Archivo General de Indias (Seville) to examine genealogies of suppression, transformation, and persistence under colonial rule. Structured into six work packages, the fellowship unfolds in three phases: situated fieldwork in Colombia and Cameroon; comparative analysis and training at the University of Granada; and a non-academic placement at the Cité internationale des arts (Paris). Rooted in Black feminist and decolonial epistemologies, GEOBODIES will deliver affective mappings, a methodological guide for community museologies, cultural policy recommendations, and an open-access multimodal platform.

By addressing critical gaps in Afrodiasporic and memory studies in the Global South, the project contributes to Horizon Europe by advancing inclusive, cross-sectoral, and socially engaged research. It strengthens EU–Africa–Latin America cooperation and develops transferable, non-extractive methodologies for cultural institutions and community memory spaces.

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 194 074,56
Address
CUESTA DEL HOSPICIO SN
18071 Granada
Spain

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Region
Sur Andalucía Granada
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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No data

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