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When the Field Space Comes to the Home Space: New Constructions of Ethnographic Knowledge in a New African Diaspora

This essay analyzes processes of knowledge construction when Tuareg smith/artisans from the Niger Republic travel to the United States to sell their artworks. Specifically, I examine the effects of these new travels upon the roles of Tuareg smith/artisans as culture-brokers and mediators, and upon the anthropologist's similar work as messenger and translator in confronting transnational complexity, when the heretofore distant "field" space comes to the anthropologist's "home" space. The essay explores how this variant of the African "diaspora" brings about a re-negotiation of roles for artisans, as well as a reconstruction of knowledge of African and Tuareg cultures and artisans, and more generally, invites a reflection upon the ethnographic process itself in anthropology. The essay draws upon data from both Niger and the USA, in analyzing longstanding and changing smith/artisan roles as these roles remain situated in Niger, but become embedded in wider social and economic processes and cultural encounters abroad. These encounters produce not solely new art objects, but also new commentaries on cultural boundaries and ethnographic processes. The essay contributes to theories of culture, ethnographic analysis, and the study of African art patronage.