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
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
This volume, which is dedicated to the Dutch legal scholar Gerti Hesseling (1946-2009), examines issues of law, land dispute and conflict mediation in Africa. The focus is on how citizens, State... Show moreThis volume, which is dedicated to the Dutch legal scholar Gerti Hesseling (1946-2009), examines issues of law, land dispute and conflict mediation in Africa. The focus is on how citizens, State institutions and concerned (inter)national actors attempt to find solutions to land disputes. The issues at stake include land access and land use, State politics and democratization efforts, the relationship between constitutional/State law and customary law, the challenges of urban and rural conflicts, border issues, and conceptions of (human) rights. The 15 chapters are grouped into four thematic parts: 1. Historical and cultural aspects (Walter van Beek, Wim M.J. van Binsbergen on Zambia, Peter Geschiere, Patrick Chabal); 2. Land issues and economics (Abdou Salam Fall, Mayke Kaag, Yaram Gaye and Marieke Kruis on Senegal, Romborah R. Simiyu and Dick Foeken on Kenya, Piet Konings on the Bakassi dispute beween Cameroon and Nigeria); 3. Politics and constitutional law (Jan Abbink on Ethiopia, Babacar Kant‚, Fatima Diallo on Senegal, Moussa Djir‚ on Mali); 4. The challenges of law and conflict (Janine Ubink on Namibia, Han van Dijk on Chad, Mirjam de Bruijn and Egosha E. Osaghae). The book further includes a recollection of Gerti's commitment to the LASDEL Institute in Niger by Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan and Mahaman Tidjani Alou and a bibliography of her works. [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
'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban... Show more'We cannot imagine life now without a mobile phone' is a frequent comment when Africans are asked about mobile phones. They have become part and parcel of the communication landscape in many urban and rural areas of Africa and the growth of mobile telephony is amazing: from 1 in 50 people being users in 2000 to 1 in 3 in 2008. Such growth is impressive but it does not even begin to tell us about the many ways in which mobile phones are being appropriated by Africans and how they are transforming or are being transformed by society in Africa. This volume ventures into such appropriation and mutual shaping. Rich in theoretical innovation and empirical substantiation, it brings together reflections on developments around the mobile phone by scholars of six African countries (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania) who explore the economic, social and cultural contexts in which the mobile phone is being adopted, adapted and harnessed by mobile Africa. Show less
Bruijn, M.E. de; Kaag, M.M.A.; Til, A. van; Dijk, J.W.M. van 2005
Climate change is a global problem with local consequences. However, the direction and magnitude of these consequences in extremely vulnerable regions - such as the Sahel - cannot yet be predicted... Show moreClimate change is a global problem with local consequences. However, the direction and magnitude of these consequences in extremely vulnerable regions - such as the Sahel - cannot yet be predicted with any certainty. The studies in this volume focus on people for whom climate variability, mainly rainfall, is a more immediate and urgent problem than climate change itself. They demonstrate how small-scale communities in south and central Mali are coping with the sudden changes in their ecological environment and are making decisions concerning their livelihoods under high-risk conditions. This book is a result of the climate change project. Show less
Abbink, G.J.; Bruijn, M.E. de; Walraven, K. van 2003
This collective volume reinterprets the genre of resistance studies, introduces recent conceptual perspectives and considers examples of African (civil) wars and insurgent movements. Contributions... Show moreThis collective volume reinterprets the genre of resistance studies, introduces recent conceptual perspectives and considers examples of African (civil) wars and insurgent movements. Contributions: Rethinking resistance in African history, an introduction, by Klaas van Walraven and Jon Abbink. Part I (Historical perspectives): Resistance to Fulbe hegemony in nineteenth-century West Africa, by Mirjam de Bruijn and Han van Dijk; Colonial conquest in central Madagascar: who resisted what?, by Stephen Ellis; Revisiting resistance in Italian-occupied Ethiopia: the Patriots' Movement (1936-1941) and the redefinition of post-war Ethiopia, by Aregawi Berhe. Part 2 (Social inequalities and colonial hierarchies): Ambiguities of resistance and collaboration on the Eastern Cape Frontier: the Kat River Settlement 1829-1856, by Robert Ross; African mutinies in the Netherlands East Indies: a nineteenth-century colonial paradox, by Ineke van Kessel; Absence of evidence is no proof: slave resistance under German colonial rule in East Africa, by Jan-Georg Deutsch. Part 3 (Violence, meaning and ideology in resistance): The Kawousan War reconsidered, by Kimba Idrissa; 'Sawaba''s rebellion in Niger (1964-1965): narrative and meaning, by Klaas van Walraven; The vagaries of violence and power in post-colonial Mozambique, by Gerhard Seibert. Part 4 (Resistance as heritage and memory): Herero genocide in the twentieth century: politics and memory, by Jan-Bart Gewald; 'Namibia, land of the brave': selective memories on war and violence within nation building, by Henning Melber; Dervishes, 'moryaan' and freedom fighters: cycles of rebellion and the fragmentation of Somali society, 1900-2000, by Jon Abbink Show less
The case studies in this book on mobility in sub-Saharan Africa critically discuss dichotomous interpretations of mobility and reject the idea that migration indicates a breakdown in society. They... Show moreThe case studies in this book on mobility in sub-Saharan Africa critically discuss dichotomous interpretations of mobility and reject the idea that migration indicates a breakdown in society. They adopt the approach that sedentary and mobile worlds converge and that mobility is part of the livelihood system of African people. Contents: Mobile Africa: an introduction (Mirjam de Bruijn, Rijk van DijkandDick Foeken) - Population mobility in Africa: an overview (Han van Dijk, Dick FoekenandKiky van Til) - Territorial and magical migrations in Tanzania (Todd Sanders) - Moving into another spirit province: immigrants and the 'mhondoro' cult in northern Zimbabwe (Marja Spierenburg) - Cultures of travel: Fulbe pastoralists in central Mali and Pentecostalism in Ghana (Mirjam de Bruijn, Han van DijkandRijk van Dijk) - Mobile workers, urban employment and 'rural' identities: rural-urban networks of Buhera migrants, Zimbabwe (Jens A. Andersson) - Migration as a positive response to opportunity and context: the case of Welo, Ethiopia (Jonathan Baker) - Multi-spatial livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa: rural farming by urban households - the case of Nakuru town, Kenya (Dick FoekenandSamuel O. Owuor) - Urbanisation and migration in sub-Saharan Africa: changing patterns and trends (Cecilia Tacoli) - Processes and types of pastoral migration in northern C“te d'Ivoire (Youssouf Diallo) - Mobility and exclusion: conflicts between autochthons and allochthons during political liberalisation in Cameroon (Piet Konings) - Population displacement and the humanitarian aid regime: the experience of refugees in East Africa (Patricia Daley) Show less
This thesis deals with the ways in which the agropastoral Fulbe in the Sahel deal with ecological, social and political insecurities. It is based on field research carried out in the Hayre dryland... Show moreThis thesis deals with the ways in which the agropastoral Fulbe in the Sahel deal with ecological, social and political insecurities. It is based on field research carried out in the Hayre dryland region of central Mali, notably in the villages of Dalla and Serma, from March 1990 until February 1992. The first part of the study examines the history of natural resource management and ideologies in the Hayre (1400-1985). The second part is about the role of the past in the present. It analyses the spatial organization, ecological environment, economic organization, and division of labour in the area, as well as the normative complexes typical of Fulbe society. Part three focuses on the use and management of natural resources, paying attention to farming and herding practices, agricultural and pastoral production, the circulation of property, and land tenure. Part four is concerned with the way in which people who have been pushed out of agricultural production survive. It focuses in particular on how people manage social and cultural resources. Part five deals with the interactions of the Fulbe pastoralists with the State and the outside world in a situation of drought Show less
