Chinese Transnational Space in Accra, Ghana —Summer 2022
Skills:
Mandarin Chinese
Research
Writing
Research Areas:
Urban History
Urban Culture
Anthropology
Globalization / Transnationalism
Semiotic Studies
Research
In a partnership with the University of Ghana and the Stanford Bing Overseas Global Seminar program, I conducted fieldwork in various sites across Accra, Ghana to study spatial manifestations of urban culture, public transportation systems, land use, and street markets. Following the program, I wrote and published a paper on Chinese restaurant signs and transnationalism in Accra.
Advised by Ato Quayson
Site Visits + Observational Analysis
Over the course of a month, I went to different sites across Accra and along the Ghanaian coast, taking photographs of unique urban and architectural phenomenons and researching their layered, historical backgrounds.
The teal vehicle above is called a “tro-tro”, or a van in Accra that operates as part of a larger public transportation network. These tro-tros often have unique inscriptions on their back windows which contribute to a unique textuality in Accra’s urban fabric.
This is the Elmina Castle, a Portuguese fort that was used by the Dutch to imprison enslaved Africans before forcing them into the Atlantic slave trade. The Elmina Castle is now an important site which holds the spatial history and memory of white supremacy and slavery.
This is a Lorry Park, or a parking lot which hosts a series of tro-tros until they fill up with enough passengers to move. The Lorry Park operates similarly to a train station or bus station, as a node of transportation and movement.
I took this photo while standing the balcony of the Brazil House, a cultural center for the Tabon People, an Afro-Brazilian community of former enslaved people who returned to Ghana. Brazil House is located in Jamestown, an important cultural district in Accra. On the right of this photo you can see Ussher Fort, erected by the Dutch.
Zooming In: Examining Chinese Transnational Space
Having studied Chinese, I was interested in the few Chinese restaurants that I noticed in and around Oxford Street, a prominent transnational and globalized street in Accra. Curious about the Chinese diaspora in Ghana, I decided to focus most of my research efforts into these spaces, taking photos of restaurant signs and going into the restaurants to eat and also speak with the workers. I decided to focus most of my research efforts into these signs, In the paper I completed after the program, I analyzed the restaurant signs and menus as part of a larger historical phenomenon of transnationalism and globalization in African metropolises.
You can read my full paper in the Stanford Journal of International Affairs here.