11:30 - 13:00
Oral session
Room: Muirhead – Room 112
Stream: Raising Children in Times of Hardship
Chair/s:
Caroline Williamson Sinalo, Claver Irakoze
Raising Patriotic Children: Empire Day and Notions of Proper Colonial Childhood in Nigeria
Saheed Aderinto
Western Carolina University, Waynesville

In 1904, Empire Day, an invented tradition of yearly ritualistic veneration of the glory of the British Empire, was introduced to Nigeria. In this paper, I examine the story of Empire Day as a significant colonial spectacle and performance of imperial authority in Nigeria, and how it assumed new meanings and functions among diverse groups of Nigerian children. I am concerned with how it shaped new ideals of “proper” colonial childhood within the context of modernization and civilization. Empire Day, more than any other commemoration placed children at the centre of imperialism and recognized them as a vital element in the sustenance of an imagined citizenship of the British Empire. African historical research has examined the sites and symbols (such as Western biomedicine and education, police and prison, and indirect rule) through which the British imperialism established and maintained itself in Africa. However, little attention has been given to Empire Day as a major factor in the shaping of children’s experience of colonialism.


Reference:
Tu-A38 Raising Children 1-P-004
Presenter/s:
Saheed Aderinto
Presentation type:
Panel
Room:
Muirhead – Room 112
Chair/s:
Caroline Williamson Sinalo, Claver Irakoze
Date:
Tuesday, 11 September
Time:
12:15 - 12:30
Session times:
11:30 - 13:00