Ordinary social violence, - i.e. recurrent mental or physical aggression occurring between closely related people - structures social relationships in Africa, and in the world. Studies of violence... Show moreOrdinary social violence, - i.e. recurrent mental or physical aggression occurring between closely related people - structures social relationships in Africa, and in the world. Studies of violence in Africa often refer to ethnic wars and explicit conflicts and do not enter the hidden domain of violence that this book reveals through in-depth anthropological studies from different parts and contexts in Africa. Ordinary violence has its distinctive forms embedded in specific histories and cultures. It is gendered, implicates witchcraft accusations, varies in rural and urban contexts, relates to demographic and socio-economic changes of the past decades and is embedded in the everyday life of many African citizens. The experience of ordinary violence goes beyond the simple notion of victimhood; instead it structures social life and should therefore be a compelling part of the study of social change. Show less
The voices of orphans and other vulnerable children and young people and of their carers and professional development workers are documented and analysed to both criticise the inadequacies of... Show moreThe voices of orphans and other vulnerable children and young people and of their carers and professional development workers are documented and analysed to both criticise the inadequacies of current social development work and to create a new, alternative theory and practice of project management in Zimbabwe and southern Africa. This is the first extensive and intensive empirical study of Zimbabwean orphans and other vulnerable children and young people. Chronically poor children and their carers can be corrupted or silenced by management systems which fail to recognise their basic human needs. Resilience in the face of such adversity is celebrated by the dominant project management ideology and practice but is a major barrier to achieve genuine sustainable improvements in the lives of vulnerable children. We propose a new person-centred project management approach aimed at delivering comprehensive services for orphans, which explicitly recognises the needs of orphans and other poor children to be fully socially, politically and economically included within their communities and which avoids the reinforcement of power based inequalities and their unacceptable consequences. The moral bankruptcy of much social development work in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in Southern Africa is described and we delineate an alternative project management policy and practice. Show less
This edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and... Show moreThis edited volume focuses on mobile phone use in specific African communities, namely those that have a long history of mobility and are regarded as marginal in the national economic, social and/or political context. It was in such regions that the most intensive dynamics were expected to be seen following the introduction of the mobile phone. Contributions: Introduction: mobile margins and the dynamics of communication (Mirjam de Bruijn, Inge Brinkman and Francis Nyamnjoh); Mobilit‚ et moyens de communication au Gu‚ra (Chad) (Djimet Seli); La connexion des marges: marginalit‚ politique et technologie de d‚senclavement en Basse Casamance (Sud du S‚n‚gal) (Fatima Diallo); 'Angola my country, Cape Town my home': a young migrant's journey of social becoming and belonging (Imke Gooskens); Transnational migration and marginality: Nigerian migrants in anglophone Cameroon (Tangie Nsoh Fonchingong); Les femmes hadjaraye du Gu‚ra … l'‚cole de l'alphab‚tisation (Khalil Alio); From foot messengers to cell phones: communication in Kom, Cameroon, c. 1916-1998 (Walter Gam Nkwi); Grandeur ou misŠres des cabines t‚l‚phoniques priv‚es et publiques au Mali (Naffet Ke‹ta); Informationandcommunication technology and its impact on transnational migration: the case of Senegalese boat migrants (Henrietta Nyamnjoh); Identities of place: mobile naming practices and social landscapes in Sudan (Siri Lamoureux). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
The studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such... Show moreThe studies in this volume are the result of research carried out by students of the Research Masters in African Studies (RMAS) at Leiden University who graduated in 2008. The studies cover such areas as conflict, democracy, migration, urban and rural studies, language, communication and youth. An introduction by Mirjam de Bruijn, RMAS director, and Daniela Merolla, RMAS academic coordinator from 2006-2009, is followed by eight contributions: Facilitating return: notions of conflict and peace in ending internal displacement in northern Uganda (Hilde Kroes); Political parties and intra-party democracy in East Afria: considerations for democratic consolidation (Josh Maiyo); How the youth of Soweto have turned language into a transformable object in the context of a changing society (Pierre Aycard); How linguistic features and social arrangements can interrelate: the position of Swahili and its speakers in Bujumbura [Burundi] (Lianne Belt); Peer groups and human anchorage: girl-migrants making it work in N'Djamena, Chad (Jonna Both); Recycling gifts: ritual and money in present-day 'tonw' in Bancoumana [Mali] (Esther Khn); Negotiating insecurity through mobile telephony in Buea, Cameroon (Barbara Tah Gwanmesia); Challenges for ethnographic research in fragile situations: research among youth in post-war Burundi (Lidewyde H. Berckmoes). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
