Visiting Reasearcher Primus Mbeanwoah Tazanu at CAS

Primus M. Tazanu is a Social Anthropologist with a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Freiburg, Germany and an MA in Development Studies from the University of Aalborg.

Primus M. Tazanu on his research: My research focuses mainly on social practices and the production of meanings through media technologies. I look at the ways in which actors use the mobile phone and internet to navigate social relationships within a transnational context. At the moment, my attention is on media and politics – the various ways Africans engage in politics through smartphones and social media. I stress on the connective and collective possibilities of the media technology. I have also researched on Pentecostal representations, on how Pentecostal churches and pastors use the media, especially the television, to display authenticity. My focus is on West Africa where Pentecostal churches increase by leap and bound and where ownership of a television channel is a must for mega-churches.  Lastly, I work on diversity, inclusion and transformation. This trajectory of my research focuses on philosophical anthropology, questions of freedom, decoloniality and social justice. I look at power and social identities and how different actors are un/favourably positioned in the society depending on their gender, class, ethnicity, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, etc.