ABSTRACT
Discourse on the interconnections between culture and sustainability is a relatively recent research field that has become more popular with the ever-burgeoning efforts towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This introductory chapter parses the understandings and dimensions of culture(s) and sustainability in West Africa, as well as the SDGs and their limitations for aspects of culture.
Building on this, the research approaches of the SDG Graduate School, ‘Performing Sustainability: Cultures and Development in West Africa’, will be discussed with a special emphasis on conflict situations. In conclusion, the chapter defines four theoretical core cultural issues of sustainability: (1) safeguarding of cultural heritage, (2) social cohesion through cultural practices, (3) conflict transformation through artistic peace education and (4) effective local bottom-up cultural policies and cultural ownership. Furthermore, several methodological approaches to researching culture in social transformation processes and conflict situations in West Africa are discussed.
