This book is based on iterative multi-sited ethnography at Merrivale farm, Tavaka village, and various sites in South Africa. The author reveals how the dynamics generated by fast-track potentially... Show moreThis book is based on iterative multi-sited ethnography at Merrivale farm, Tavaka village, and various sites in South Africa. The author reveals how the dynamics generated by fast-track potentially offer new development opportunities - specifically for women. The findings challenge existing expert notions and opinions about women's rural land use, livelihoods, and rural development. The book examines how negotiations and bargaining by women with family, state, and traditional actors have proved useful in accessing land in Mwenezi district, Zimbabwe. The hidden, complex, and innovative ways adopted by women to access land and shape livelihoods based on transitory mobility are examined. The role of collective action, conflicts, conflict resolution, and women's agency in overcoming the challenges associated with trading in South Africa are examined within the ambit of the sustainable livelihoods framework, a gendered approach to land reform and social networks Show less
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
Cette thèse de doctorat montre la manière dont des femmes originaires de la République démocratique du Congo, dans une période de crise et dans le contexte de la mondialisation, au Congo et dans la... Show moreCette thèse de doctorat montre la manière dont des femmes originaires de la République démocratique du Congo, dans une période de crise et dans le contexte de la mondialisation, au Congo et dans la diaspora congolaise, retrouvent leur identité propre parmi ou en dépit des nombreuses contradictions qui affectent leur situation. Le travail de terrain qui sous-tend cette recherche a été centré sur une filiale d'un mouvement charismatique kinois, "Le Combat Spirituel". Les données ont été rassemblées parmi des groupes de prière du "Combat" aux Pays-Bas, en Belgique, et dans de moindres proportions, en République démocratique du Congo. L'aliénation et les contradictions qu'éprouvent les individus dans leur vie quotidienne créent pour ceux-ci des conflits existentiels, et font qu'ils se mettent à la recherche d'une structure qui correspond mieux au contexte dans le quel ils vivent. Les questions centrales de l'ouvrage sont: quels projets culturels propose le mouvement du "Combat" à ses membres, et quels sont les facteurs qui le rendent si attirant pour des femmes des classes économiques moyennes? Le rituel thérapeutique du "Combat" révèle une dynamique culturelle et les grands processus de changement au Congo. Il a aussi un rôle de médiation dans diverses situations conflictuelles. L'auteur constate l'absence d'une rupture avec le passé. Grâce à une sélection de références au Nouveau et à l'Ancien Testaments, les femmes produisent un univers culturel qui fonctionne comme une confirmation de ce qu'elles connaissaient déjà. [Résumé ASC Leiden] Show less
