A Democracy of Chameleons

A Democracy of Chameleons PDF Author: Harri Englund
Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute
ISBN: 9789171064998
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
After thirty years of autocratic rule under "Life President" Kamuzu Banda, Malawians experienced a transition to multi-party democracy in 1994. A new constitution and several democratic institutions promised a new dawn in a country ravaged by poverty and injustice. This book presents original research on the economic, social, political and cultural consequences of the new era. A new generation of scholars, most of them from Malawi, cover virtually every issue causing debate in the New Malawi: poverty and hunger, the plight of civil servants, the role of the judiciary, political intolerance and hate speech, popular music as a form of protest, clergy activism, voluntary associations and ethnic revival, responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and controversies over women's rights. Both chameleon-like leaders and the donors of Malawi's foreign aid come under critical scrutiny for supporting superficial democratization. The book ends with a rare public statement on the New Malawi by Jack Mapanje, Malawi'sinternationally acclaimed writer.

A Democracy of Chameleons

A Democracy of Chameleons PDF Author: Harri Englund
Publisher: Nordic Africa Institute
ISBN: 9789171064998
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212

Get Book Here

Book Description
After thirty years of autocratic rule under "Life President" Kamuzu Banda, Malawians experienced a transition to multi-party democracy in 1994. A new constitution and several democratic institutions promised a new dawn in a country ravaged by poverty and injustice. This book presents original research on the economic, social, political and cultural consequences of the new era. A new generation of scholars, most of them from Malawi, cover virtually every issue causing debate in the New Malawi: poverty and hunger, the plight of civil servants, the role of the judiciary, political intolerance and hate speech, popular music as a form of protest, clergy activism, voluntary associations and ethnic revival, responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and controversies over women's rights. Both chameleon-like leaders and the donors of Malawi's foreign aid come under critical scrutiny for supporting superficial democratization. The book ends with a rare public statement on the New Malawi by Jack Mapanje, Malawi'sinternationally acclaimed writer.

Peacocks, Chameleons, Centaurs

Peacocks, Chameleons, Centaurs PDF Author: Wayne Brekhus
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226072924
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book Here

Book Description
What does it mean to be a gay man living in the suburbs? Do you identify primarily as gay, or suburban, or some combination of the two? For that matter, how does anyone decide what his or her identity is? In this first-ever ethnography of American gay suburbanites, Wayne H. Brekhus demonstrates that who one is depends at least in part on where and when one is. For many urban gay men, being homosexual is key to their identity because they live, work, and socialize in almost exclusively gay circles. Brekhus calls such men "lifestylers" or peacocks. Chameleons or "commuters," on the other hand, live and work in conventional suburban settings, but lead intense gay social and sexual lives outside the suburbs. Centaurs, meanwhile, or "integrators," mix typical suburban jobs and homes with low-key gay social and sexual activities. In other words, lifestylers see homosexuality as something you are, commuters as something you do, and integrators as part of yourself. Ultimately, Brekhus shows that lifestyling, commuting, and integrating embody competing identity strategies that occur not only among gay men but across a broad range of social categories. What results, then, is an innovative work that will interest sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and students of gay culture.

The Book of Chameleons

The Book of Chameleons PDF Author: Jose Eduardo Agualusa
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416588094
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Get Book Here

Book Description
Félix Ventura trades in an unusual commodity; he is a dealer in memories, clandestinely selling new pasts to people whose futures are secure and who lack only a good lineage to complete their lives. In this completely original murder mystery, where people are not who they seem and the briefest of connections leads to the forging of entirely new histories, a bookish albino, a beautiful woman, a mysterious foreigner, and a witty talking lizard come together to discover the truth of their lives. Set in Angola, Agualusa's tale darts from tormented past to dream-filled present with a lightness that belies the savage history of a country in which many have something to forget -- and to hide. A brilliant American debut by one of the most lauded writers in the Portuguese-speaking world, this is a beautifully written and always surprising tale of race, truth, and the transformative power of creativity.

Liberal Nationalism in Central Africa

Liberal Nationalism in Central Africa PDF Author: G. Macola
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230104894
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 238

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book transforms our contemporary understanding of the recent political history of Central Africa. It charts the complex life and thought of Harry Nkumbula (ca. 1917-1983), the first openly nationalist African politician in Northern Rhodesia and, later, the leader of parliamentary opposition during Zambia's multi-party First Republic.

The Dance of Politics

The Dance of Politics PDF Author: Lisa Gilman
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 1592139868
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 269

Get Book Here

Book Description
Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, inThe Dance of Politics, "praise performing" is one of the few ways that poor women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system in which issues of gender, economics, and politics collide in surprising ways. Along with its solid grounding in the relevant literature,The Dance of Politicsdraws strength from Gilman's first-hand observations and her interviews with a range of participants in the political process, from dancers to politicians.

Folklore, Gender, and AIDS in Malawi

Folklore, Gender, and AIDS in Malawi PDF Author: A. Wilson
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137322454
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Get Book Here

Book Description
Informal folk narrative genres such as gossip, advice, rumor, and urban legends provide a unique lens through which to discern popular formations of gender conflict and AIDS beliefs. This is the first book on AIDS and gender in Africa to draw primarily on such narratives. By exploring tales of love medicine, gossip about romantic rivalries, rumors of mysterious new diseases, marital advice, and stories of rape, among others, it provides rich, personally grounded insights into the everyday struggles of people living in an era marked by social upheaval.

Prisoners of Freedom

Prisoners of Freedom PDF Author: Harri Englund
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520249240
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Get Book Here

Book Description
Publisher Description

Challenging Authorities

Challenging Authorities PDF Author: Arne S. Steinforth
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030769240
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 471

Get Book Here

Book Description
When the notion of ‘alternative facts’ and the alleged dawning of a ‘postfactual’ world entered public discourse, social anthropologists found themselves in unexpectedly familiar territory. In theirempirical experience, fact—knowledge accepted as true—derives its salience from social mechanisms of legitimization, thereby demonstrating a deep interconnection with power and authority. In thisperspective, fact is a continually contested and volatile social category. Due to the specific histories of their colonial and post-independence experience, African societies offer a particularly broad array of insights into social processes of juxtaposition, opposition, and even outright competition between different postulated authorities. The contributions to the present volume explore the variety of ways in which authority is contested in Southern and Eastern Africa, investigating localized discourses on which institution, what kind of knowledge, or whose expertise is accepted as authoritative, thus highlighting the specificities and pluralities in ‘modern’ societies. This edited volume engages with larger theoretical questions regarding power and authority in the context of (post)colonial states (neo)traditional authority, claiming space, conflict and (in)justice, and contestations of knowledge. It offers in-depth critical analyses of ethnographic data that put contemporary African phenomena on equal footing with current controversies in North America, Europe, and other global settings.

Against Humanity

Against Humanity PDF Author: Sam Dubal
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520296095
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 294

Get Book Here

Book Description
Introduction : against humanity -- How violence became inhuman : the making of modern moral sensibilities -- Gorilla warfare : life in and beyond the bush -- Beyond reason : magic and science in the LRA -- Interlude : Re-turn and dis-integration -- Rebel kinship beyond humanity : love and belonging in the war -- Rebels and charity cases : politics, ethics, and the concept of humanity -- Conclusion : beyond humanity, or how do we heal?

Training for Model Citizenship

Training for Model Citizenship PDF Author: Molly Sundberg
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 113758422X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book explores the state in post-genocide Rwanda through an ethnography of a state-run civic education program and everyday forms of government. In 2007, the Rwandan government introduced a nationwide civic education program, called Itorero, to teach all inhabitants about its vision of the model Rwandan citizen. Since then, this ideal has been pursued through remote training camps, village assemblies, and daily government practices. Based on ethnographic research of the life and workings of Itorero camps and the day-to-day administration of a local neighborhood in Kigali, this book investigates how such a pursuit has come to affect Rwandans’ relation to the state and what it may tell us about modern forms of authoritarian rule.