UDSM Scholar appointed editor of Taylor & Francis' Heritage and Society Journal
By Dotto Kuhenga, Communication and Marketing Office,
The University of Dar es Salaam Archaeology and Heritage Studies Scholar Dr. Elgidius B. Ichumbaki, has been appointed an editor of the Taylor and Francis prestigious global journal, Heritage and Society.
Dr Ichumbaki, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, College of Humanities and the President of Pan African Archaeological Association received this news in a letter from the Taylor and Francis Research Services Managing Director, Dr. Leon Heward-Mills early October, 2022.
Dr. Heward-Mills congratulated Dr. Ichumbaki and said it was a great pleasure to work with him as he was joining their “trusted community of editors, editorial board members and reviewers to ensure that our journals are the best they can be”.
“I recognise and greatly appreciate the time and commitment that you are bringing to this role”, stated Dr. Heward-Mills to Dr. Ichumbaki who is also a Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin.
Heritage and Society is a global peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for scholarly, professional, and community reflection on the cultural, political, and economic impacts of heritage on contemporary society.
The journal seeks to examine the current social roles of collective memory, historic preservation, cultural resource management, public interpretation, cultural preservation and revitalization, sites of conscience, diasporic heritage, education, legal/legislative developments, cultural heritage ethics, and central heritage concepts such as authenticity, significance, and value.
Explaining about his new roles, Dr Ichumbaki feels honoured and takes his editorial post with humility, gratitude, and a strong sense of responsibility. His research and scholarship focuses on the heritage of societies and individuals with marginalized identities, especially around heritage sites in eastern Africa.
“Despite my experience as a manuscript reviewer and an author of more than 50 publications seven years after my PhD, there are several publishing technicalities I was still unaware of. With this editorial post and other training skills on publishing and journal management role I have gained, I will very much be happy to share them with my fellow academics at UDSM and beyond”, said Dr. Ichumbaki.
Dr Ichumbaki has also noted that, in the past ten years, the journal has published many articles focused on heritage conceptualization, tensions in heritage management, and uses of heritage in several case studies. Also, it has published heritage management issues, heritage values, cultural landscape, and decolonization of heritage studies, among others.
“I acknowledge that all these contributions are essential to the journal; however, there have been few contributions on how communities/societies interact with heritage, especially at local scales; on the process of heritage management and conservation, intangible heritage, and the legacy of shared values between and among societies. Being a scholar from and based in the global south (Sub-Saharan Africa), I will promote diversity, inclusivity, and representation”, said Dr. Ichumbaki.
Dr. Ichumbaki has implemented community-based research, educational and heritage recording programs in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Comoros. He has also focused on empowering marginalized societies to make them benefit from heritage sites and has established community enterprises at important heritage sites in Bagamoyo and Kilwa in Tanzania.
Taylor and Francis’ recognition and appointment of Dr Ichumbaki builds and complements his other achievements at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). In 2018, UDSM recognized Dr Ichumbaki as one among the top three researchers of the year, and during the 7th Research Week (in 2022), his research work was recognized as one among the top three with societal impacts.
As an expert in both the intrinsic and extrinsic values of heritage sites to surrounding societies, Dr Ichumbaki confirms his readiness to take up the editorial role to publish works that represent scholarly voice within the field of heritage and society.