2022 Paul Mellon Lecture

Cultural Heritage and Identities in Africa: Examples from the Kushite Kingdom of Sudan to the House of W. E. B. Du Bois in Ghana Kwame Anthony Appiah, Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University Join philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah as he reflects on the cultural heritage of Africa, from the Nubian pyramids of Sudan to the Koutammakou Cultural Landscape in Benin and Togo, and the redesign of the W. E. B. Du Bois Museum Complex in Ghana. Appiah addresses the complex and varied interactions between cultural heritage and questions of identity, memory, and community in various African nations and considers how new spaces like the Du Bois Museum highlight the relationship between place, memorialization, and time. Appiah, who serves on the board of trustees at the World Monuments Fund (WMF) and on the visiting committee for the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met, also discusses WMF’s preservation partnerships across Africa at historical sites in Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Benin, and Togo. This prog