Ferdinand de Jong is Lecturer in Anthropology at the School of World Art Studies and Museology of the University of East Anglia. He has conducted research on masked performances and initiation ceremonies in Senegal. His book Masquerades of Modernity: Power and secrecy in Casamance, Senegal has just been published by Edinburgh University Press. He has also published on conflict resolution in a special issue of the Canadian Journal of African Studies on the civil war in Senegal. His current research focuses on the memory and heritage of the slave trade and colonialism in postcolonial Senegal.