Professor Mark Auslander
 
For generations, the Nilotic communities of the southern Sudan have held a special place in the academic training and scholarly imaginations of anthropologists the world over. Through the works of Charles and Brenda Seligman, E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Godfrey Leinhardt, Francis Mading Deng and many others, the Nuer, Dinka, Shilluk, Anuak and related peoples have captured the imaginations of students and professional anthropologists alike. Re-analysis of Nilotic ethnography has for decades been a minor "academic industry," as successive models of society and culture have been debated and refined through the lens of these complex communities.

The tragic events that have unfolded in southern Sudan since 1983 have posed particular moral and conceptual challenges to anthropologists. What do we owe to the peoples and communities of the southern Sudan, who for generations have generously shared their lifeways and worldviews, immeasurably enriching our understandings of human ecology, religion and social organization? Whose voices should predominate in representations of Nilotic society and history? Who has the right to tell stories of atrocity, loss and survival? What might museum exhibitions and anthropological scholarship contribute to urgent struggles for survival and human betterment?

It has been a privilege to work with my students, the volunteers of the Sudanese Education Fund, and members of the southern Sudan Diaspora community as we have discussed and wrestled with these challenging questions. I have been especially pleased that undergraduates and graduate students from Anthropology and the new M.A. program in Cultural Production have worked together with so much mutual respect, creativity and integrity.

Our exhibition, presenting works by persons displaced by Sudan's civil war, attempts to honor the memories and historical experiences of this far-flung community. Whenever possible, students have tried to include direct quotations from our southern Sudanese community partners in explicating the paintings. We have tried, as well, to respect our community partners' commentaries in grouping the images and in the visual design of the exhibition.

Mark Auslander
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Director, M.A. Program in Cultural Production
Brandeis University