The world is regularly confronted in the media with dramatic images of African boat migrants. Seemingly desperate, these Africans, most of them males, are willing to risk a perilous journey at sea,... Show moreThe world is regularly confronted in the media with dramatic images of African boat migrants. Seemingly desperate, these Africans, most of them males, are willing to risk a perilous journey at sea, hoping for a better life in Europe. And, even worse, hundreds more are believed to die each year, swallowed up anonymously by the choppy waters off Africa's coast. This book focuses on fishermen who have played a pivotal role in boat migration from Senegal to Spain's Canary Islands, advancing various reasons for the fishermen's prominent role. Besides their long history of migration, their proven experience with navigating, their family's push and investment, their perceptions and ideologies about Europe, there is also their growing marginalization as a result of the deepening crisis in the Senegalese fishing sector and the inadequate policies of the Senegalese government that prevents them from having any bright prospects of improving their standards of living. The book provides insights into the meaning of boat migration, and on the effects of success or failure on the migrants and their families. It goes beyond the usual economic explanations to convincingly situate boat migration within the long-standing West African culture of migration, and highlight the significance of sociocultural and political factors. Among the findings are the perception of migration as status enhancing and a rite de passage in the Senegalese fishing communities, and the profound roles of the extended family, social networks and, above all, religion, especially the widespread influence of the marabout. The importance of information and communication technologies in sustaining transnational networks is equally highlighted. [Book abstract] Show less
Religion is alive, especially - and increasingly - in the global South. What impact does religion have in everyday life as provider of normative orientations? This research investigates the role of... Show moreReligion is alive, especially - and increasingly - in the global South. What impact does religion have in everyday life as provider of normative orientations? This research investigates the role of religion in disputing processes in Gorongosa, Mozambique, where both traditional religion and Christianity are tremendously popular. The author compares the religiously-oriented modes of disputing with the secular and formal modes of disputing advocated by government actors. The study reveals that different religions provide different normative orientations to people that strongly impact modes of disputing, not only within the religious realm but also within secular realms of disputing. Show less
In the shadow of good governance traces the implementation of the good governance agenda in Malawi from the loan documents signed by the representatives of the governement and the Bretton Woods... Show moreIn the shadow of good governance traces the implementation of the good governance agenda in Malawi from the loan documents signed by the representatives of the governement and the Bretton Woods institutions to the individual experiences of civil servants who responded in unforeseen ways to the reform measures. Ethnographic evidence gathered in government offices, neighbourhoods and the private homes of civil servants living in Malawi's urban and peri-urban areas undermines the common perception of a disconnect between state institutions and society in Africa. Instead, the book presents a comprehensive analysis of civil servants' attempt to negogiate the effects of civil service reform and economic crisis at the turn of the 21st century. Show less
Many people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the... Show moreMany people associate hospital treatment with 'getting better', the restoration to health and normal life. The onset of a life-threatening disease such as cancer, however, can transform the hospital into a place of constant struggle and suffering. Hospitalisation in this sense coincides with the deterioration of patients' and their families' overall wellbeing. Drawing on twelve months of ethnographic research in a cancer ward in Kenya, this monograph shows that patients' suffering should be viewed within the context of a wider spectrum of adversity. The book demonstrates the ambiguity of a hospital stay and treatment, showing how a hospital can both alleviate as well as increase human suffering. The author advocates patient-centred hospital ethnography as a way to improve the understanding of cancer patients' needs, both medical and non-medical, as they struggle to restore their wellbeing. Benson A Mulemi is a medical Anthropologist from Kenya. He obtained a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from the Institute of African Studies, University of Nairobi in 1998 and was admitted to the PhD programme at AMIDSt, University of Amsterdam in 2004. He has worked on several projects as a researcher and lecturer at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, visiting lecturer at the Institute of African Studies; University of Nairobi, Christ the Teacher Institute for Education, Tangaza College (affiliated to St. Mary's University Minnesota, USA), Tangaza and Hekima Colleges of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi. Show less
Under the aegis of post-apartheid government, much emphasis has been placed on the transformation and democratisation of the heritage sector in South Africa. The emergent new landscape of memory... Show moreUnder the aegis of post-apartheid government, much emphasis has been placed on the transformation and democratisation of the heritage sector in South Africa. The emergent new landscape of memory comprises a host of commemorative monuments, memorials and statues installed since 1994 to create a shared public history with the purported aim of reconciliation and nation-building. This book critically investigates the flourishing monument phenomenon, notably the political discourses that fuel it; its impact on identity formation, its potential benefits, and most importantly its ambivalences and contractions. Sabine Marschall, Dr.Phil. (1992) in History of Art, Eberhardt-Karls Universität Tübingen, is Associate Professor of and programme director of Cultural and Hertitage Tourism at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa. She has published extensively on South African art, architecture, cultural heritage and commemoration. Show less
In this farewell lecture on the occasion of his departure as Professor of Development in sub-Saharan Africa at Leiden University and Director of the African Studies Centre (ASC), Leiden, the... Show moreIn this farewell lecture on the occasion of his departure as Professor of Development in sub-Saharan Africa at Leiden University and Director of the African Studies Centre (ASC), Leiden, the author starts with the vuvuzela issue as an illustration of the lack of confidence the world has in South Africa organizing and running the World Cup smoothly. He takes that as a sign that there still exists a stereotype of African incompetence, despite the social and economic progress Africa has witnessed in the last decade. He does not want to argue that African Studies have not been able to offset such a stereotype. What he tries to show is that it is not clear from the wealth of actor-oriented research in African Studies what the main social, political and economic trends in Africa are. He argues that actor-oriented research in African Studies should try to increase its relevance by contributing- through meta-analyses and comparative research-to the discussion on social, political and economic trends in Africa. Special attention should be paid to the possible rise of the developmental state in Africa. In doing so, African Studies may also substantiate its claim that it is able to challenge the universal pretensions of mainstream social science. Show less
This book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is... Show moreThis book is based on an ethnographic study during an ongoing civil war in northern Uganda. It examines children's suffering as well as their attempts to restore normality. Data shows that there is a high burden of illnesses among the children, both infectious diseases and complaints related to emotional distress. The study describes children's short-term curative approaches to these illnesses, and the ensuing misuse of, and dependencies on, pharmaceuticals. Although children are approached as social actors and their perspectives are privileged, their quests for therapy are shown to be influenced by many other factors as well. The focus therefore lies on children's vulnerability within existing healthcare structures and life conditions. Through this focus, the book critiques the narrow policies regarding healthcare interventions for children above five years, and underscores the importance of addressing wider socio-economic factors in preventive approaches to infectious diseases and emotional suffering.Grace Akello, PhD, is a medical anthropologist trained at the Universities of Amsterdam and Leiden. She is currently employed as senior lecturer at Gulu University, northern Uganda. Show less
Health and healing in Africa have increasingly become subject to monetization and commodification, in short, the market. Based on fieldwork in nine countries, this volume offers different... Show moreHealth and healing in Africa have increasingly become subject to monetization and commodification, in short, the market. Based on fieldwork in nine countries, this volume offers different perspectives on these emerging markets and the way medical staff, patients, households and institutions navigate them in their quest for well-being. Contributions: Introduction: Economic ethnographies of the marketization of health and healing in Africa (Rijk van Dijk and Marleen Dekker); Milking the sick: medical pluralism and the commoditization of healthcare in contemporary Nigeria (Akinyinka Akinyoade and Bukola Adeyemi Oyeniyi); Organizing monies: the reality and creativity of nursing on a hospital ward in Ghana (Christine Böhmig); Market forces threatening school feeding: the case for school farming in Nakuru town, Kenya (Dick Foeken et al.); Dashed hopes and missed opportunities: malaria control policies in Kenya (1896-2009) (Kenneth Ombongi and Marcel Rutten); The market for healing and the elasticity of belief: medical pluralism in Mpumalanga, South Africa (Robert Thornton); Medical knowledge and healing practices among the Kapsiki/Higi of northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria (Walter E.A. van Beek); The commodification of misery: markets for healing, markets for sickness (Zanzibar) (Nadine Beckmann); Individual or shared responsibility: the financing of medical treatment in rural Ethiopian households (Marleen Dekker); Can't buy me health: financial constraints and health-seeking behaviour in rural households in central Togo (Andr‚ Leliveld et al.); Marriage, commodification and the romantic ethic in Botswana (Rijk van Dijk). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This Masters thesis is the winner of the ASC's Africa Thesis Award 2009. It examines the decision-making process of Senegalese men to make use of the dangerous boat journey to the Canary Islands in... Show moreThis Masters thesis is the winner of the ASC's Africa Thesis Award 2009. It examines the decision-making process of Senegalese men to make use of the dangerous boat journey to the Canary Islands in an effort to reach Europe. Moving beyond conventional micro- and macro-theories on migration decision-making, this study focuses at the meso-level by which the embeddedness of migrants' decision-making in ongoing social contacts is considered. The study draws on ethnographic research among unsuccessful boat migrants in Dakar, Senegal. The data collected suggests two models of migration decision-making, revealing variations in social processes that are central to the workings of undocumented migration.Miranda Poeze studied cultural anthropology at the Free University in Amsterdam. She is currently a PhD student at Maastricht University. Show less
This book is about human body movement and culture. The body skills of a sample of Sierra Leoneans are analyzed in terms of acquisition of the skills, the importance of learning these skills to... Show moreThis book is about human body movement and culture. The body skills of a sample of Sierra Leoneans are analyzed in terms of acquisition of the skills, the importance of learning these skills to become part of a community and the physical consequences of the activities. It focuses on skills in football as well as skills used in mundane daily life. Using a combination of technical and anthropological research methods, it offers an example of how to study human body movement in a real-life setting and how culture can be studied by analysis of the techniques of the body. Anneke van der Niet is a human movement scientist and africanist. She is currently preparing a PhD study on a comparable topic as the present study, again in West Africa Show less
The history of development cooperation has attracted very little research to date. This volume offers an innovative interpretation by considering the history of SNV Netherlands Development... Show moreThe history of development cooperation has attracted very little research to date. This volume offers an innovative interpretation by considering the history of SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, which has been in existence for over forty years now. Through SNV's history, an analysis emerges of the role of the Netherlands in development cooperation and the attitudes of Dutch society towards it over the last fifty years as well as the changing ideas, practices and policies in development work more generally. The views and expectations of (former) SNV staff and those of local participants who were ultimately to benefit from the development activities were the focus of this historical research. This has resulted in a socio-cultural history 'from below' rather than a dry description of the organisation's administrative changes and formal bureaucratic structures. Show less
