This paper focuses on how livelihood and the question of development and environment in a globalising era should be examined. It discusses various views in geography on the question of environment... Show moreThis paper focuses on how livelihood and the question of development and environment in a globalising era should be examined. It discusses various views in geography on the question of environment and development, and it explores the concept of sustainable livelihood. It concludes that a geographical conceptualisation of development and environment may profit from the discussion on sustainable livelihood, provided that it does not become entangled in an actor-cum-local bias. Moreover, the diffusion of non-equilibrium concepts may broaden the analysis of man-land relations and open the way to an analysis of globalisation effects. Globalisation gives rise to new assortments of geographical entities and, as livelihoods adapt, they will shape constantly shifting regions with specific man-land arrangements. Show less
In various parts of Africa, Pentecostalism underscores the necessity for its members to make a complete break with the past. Although Pentecostalism speaks a language of modernity in which there... Show moreIn various parts of Africa, Pentecostalism underscores the necessity for its members to make a complete break with the past. Although Pentecostalism speaks a language of modernity in which there is a past-inferior versus a present-superior dichotomy whereby the believer is prompted to sever all ties with former social relations in the search for new individuality, it would be a mistake to argue that Pentecostalism stops here. On the contrary, the author argues that because the moment of instant rebirth is seen as the power base from which new future orientations are constructed, Pentecostalism may swing in different modalities from a disembedding of the subject from past social relations to a re-embedding in relations with a different temporal orientation. This is illustrated by the case of the Pentecostalist movement of 'Abadwa Mwatsopano' (Born Again) in urban areas of Malawi, and most of all in the largest city, Blantyre. This movement rose against the official discourse in Malawi, which fetishes the remembrance of the country's cultural past. Conversion narratives of young fundamentalists remember the past only to deny it. For the Born Again movement, the truth lies with a Christian future, utopian in its emancipatory promise. Bibliogr., notes, ref Show less
La zone de Kantindi, canton de la Région des Savanes, est l'une des plus peuplées du Togo, avec un mode de vie principalement agraire: la commercialisation du coton et de l'arachide fournit les... Show moreLa zone de Kantindi, canton de la Région des Savanes, est l'une des plus peuplées du Togo, avec un mode de vie principalement agraire: la commercialisation du coton et de l'arachide fournit les trois quarts des revenus et les produits vivriers couvrent soixante-dix pour cent de la consommation alimentaire. Les conditions de vie y restent cependant difficiles. La sous-nutrition y est chronique, l'approvisionnement en eau déplorable, le revenu insuffisant et les ressources des habitants dépendent pour une part des envois d'argent des émigrés. Se fondant sur des documents d'archives et des enquêtes menées à Kantindi, l'auteur montre comment, au cours de la colonisation allemande, puis française, et après l'indépendance, s'est réalisée l'intégration de cette région enclavée dans l'économie de traite ouest-africaine et dans l'État togolais moderne. Il établit un lien entre cette intégration et le mode de vie à Kantindi et fait appel aussi bien à l'analyse anthropologique qu'à la géographie, l'économie et l'histoire. Show less
