Fugitive knowledge

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Encounters between cultures also involve interactions between knowledge systems. This volume presents case studies that investigate how knowledge in cultural contact zones can become transient and ephemeral. The essays focus on various aspects of cultural, particularly colonial, epistemic exchanges, emphasizing the fate of knowledge that resists easy appropriation or translation, remaining on the margins of cross-cultural interactions. The imposition of colonial power relies heavily on the strategic use of knowledge; colonial states, such as Germany in the Baltic and West Africa, functioned as knowledge-acquiring entities. However, this acquisition often involved the rejection and subjugation of resistant epistemes. Drawing from diverse disciplines, including literary studies, history, historical anthropology, and political science, the essays explore how unfamiliar knowledge has been belittled, discredited, and demonized. Additionally, they highlight the resilience strategies employed by subjugated and subaltern groups, illustrating how certain materials have evaded the coloniality of knowledge. Fragments and shards of alternative epistemologies persist within the polyphony and complexity of intercultural documents and archives.