Architectures of Belonging: inhabiting worlds in rural West Africa, Ann Cassiman (Ed.) : book review

• Published in: Contemporary journal of African studies Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 117 - 123
• Main Author: Dakubu, M.E. Kropp
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institute of African Studies 01.01.2013
• ISSN: 2343-6530

This book consists of nine contributed chapters plus a Preface by George Intsiful, Dean of Architecture at KNUST, a Foreword by the well-known writer on the indigenous architectures of Ghana, Labelle Prussin, and an Afterword by the vice-mayor of Antwerp and the vice-rector of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. The Afterword informs us that the volume was produced to accompany an exhibition entitled 'Home Call' at Antwerp's Museum aan de Stroom, which focused on the Kasena and how they use their houses, and was based on the work of Ann Cassiman, the editor of the volume and author of three of its nine chapters. Prussin entitles her Foreword 'The Anthropology of Architecture and the Architecture of Anthropology', which sums up the essential features of the approach of the contributors to the book. The Preface and Foreword were both written by professional architects, although Prussin is also one of the pioneers in the study of indigenous architecture in Ghana. However all the contributors of articles are anthropologists (and not architects).