The Other in the Chronicles and Photography of Ryszard Kapuściński as a Correspondent in Africa (1959 to 2000)

Abstract

This article aims to explain how the concept of the Other is constructed in the work of Polish reporter Ryszard Kapuściński in Africa from 1958 to 2000. To achieve this, a case study is conducted with two analytical dimensions: a visual analysis and a written analysis. The written material analyzed includes the chronicles Ébano y Estrellas Negras while the visual analysis focuses on a set of photographs titled—not by the Polish author— África en la mirada. The conclusions begin by asserting that Ryszard Kapuściński's work is oriented toward the Other, both in methodological and ethical-political dimensions. The concept of the Other, in Kapuściński's work in Central and Southern Africa during the latter half of the 20th century, is shaped by three historical categories: colonialism, anti-colonialism, and the processes of decolonization and postcolonialism.