Sensuous stories in the Indian Ocean islands* |
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Authors: | Rosabelle Boswell |
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Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Arts, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa;2. Department of Anthropology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africarose.boswell@nmmu.ac.za |
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Abstract: | AbstractProviding examples from the islands of the Indian Ocean Region, this article focuses on the multisensory nature of storytelling and listening. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork in the region (1998–2016), the author proposes a sensuous epistemology that turns on listening to “sense”. She reveals that storytelling can be a profoundly sensuous experience that elicits emotional and physical responses in both the teller and listener. The sensuous quality of stories enable the listener to fully encounter politically inscribed, complex social experiences. Ultimately, the article advances a notion of listening as sense-work, thereby deepening sensory scholarship’s recent, politically reflexive analysis on listening to hear. |
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Keywords: | Stories listening sensing Indian Ocean region identity |
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