Modernity and Its Malcontents

Ritual and Power in Postcolonial Africa

By: Jean Comaroff (Editor), John L. Comaroff (Editor)

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Hardcover | 1 November 1993 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
272 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
2.3 x 1.61 x 0.2

Hardcover

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What role does ritual play in the everyday lives of modern
Africans? How are so-called "traditional" cultural
forms deployed by people seeking empowerment in a world where
"modernity" has failed to deliver on its promises?
Some of the essays in "Modernity and Its Malcontents"
address familiar anthropological issues--like witchcraft,
myth, and the politics of reproduction--but treat them in
fresh ways, situating them amidst the polyphonies of
contemporary Africa. Others explore distinctly
nontraditional subjects--among them the Nigerian popular
press and soul-eating in Niger--in such a way as to
confront the conceptual limits of Western social science.
Together they demonstrate how ritual may be powerfuly
mobilized in the making of history, present, and future.
Addressing challenges posed by contemporary African
realities, the authors subject such concepts as modernity,
ritual, power, and history to renewed critical scrutiny.
Writing about a variety of phenomena, they are united by a
wish to preserve the diversity and historical specificity of
local signs and practices, voices and perspectives. Their
work makes a substantial and original contribution toward the
historical anthropology of Africa.
The contributors, all from the Africanist circle at the
University of Chicago, are Adeline Masquelier, Deborah
Kaspin, J. Lorand Matory, Ralph A. Austen, Andrew Apter,
Misty L. Bastian, Mark Auslander, and Pamela G. Schmoll.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Religion & Beliefs Alternative Belief Systems Occult Studies Witchcraft Sociology & Anthropology Sociology Sociology & Customs & Traditions Mind, Body, Spirit Mysticism, Magic & Occult Interests Witchcraft & Wicca Politics & Government

Anthropology Society & Culture Cultural Studies Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning Geography Family & Health

Introduction
(Re)visions of Power, Ritual (Trans)formations
Narratives of Power, Images of Wealth: The Ritual Economy of Bori in the Market Adeline Masquelier
Chewa Visions and Revisions of Power: Transformations of the Nyau Dance in Central Malawi
Government by Seduction: History and the Tropes of "Mounting" in Oyo-Yoruba
Moral Economics, Modern Politics, Mystical Struggles
The Moral Economy of Witchcraft: An Essay in Comparative History
Attinga Revisited: Yoruba Witchcraft and the Cocoa Economy, 1950-1951
Bloodhounds Who Have No Friends: Witchcraft and Locality in the Nigerian Popular Press
"Open the Wombs!": The Symbolic Politics of Modern Ngoni Witchfinding Mark Auslander
Black Stomachs, Beautiful Stones: Soul-eating among Hausa in Niger
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

Modernity and Its Malcontents

Ritual and Power in Postcolonial Africa

At a Glance

Hardcover

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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