Within the past two decades pictures, and even more so photographs, have gained enormously in importance as a source and object of scientific research. This expansion of the body of sources has inspired new methods and has opened new thematic fields. It has also overcome the monopoly of written documentation and has led to an increase in interdiscipinary work.

The various contributions to the conference GETTING PICTURES RIGHT testify to the innovative impulses sparked off by this Visual Turn. Thematically they range from the development of photography within the colonial context to the postcolonial self-representation. These two historical periods will be linked to each other with theoretical reflexions on images.

The conference is held in honour of Paul Jenkins, lecturer in African History at the University of Basel and for many years archivist of mission21 (formerly Basel Mission), who will retire in the summer of 2003. During his time in Basel, Paul Jenkins has not only furthered a critical, open-minded and interdisciplinary study of the history of Africa, but has also promoted in many lectures and scientific publications a historical assessment of the missionary activity in Africa and Asia which originated from Basel. Already at an early stage Paul Jenkins has pointed to the potential and the importance of photographs as sources for the historical research. This important feature in the oeuvre of Paul Jenkins provides the thematic scope of the conference GETTING PICTURES RIGHT.