The seminar discusses the social and anthropological study of belonging and identities in Africa from a historical and (post)-colonial perspective and with a focus on South Africa. We primarily draw upon ethnographic methodologies and social science theories about African societies. Students will read about current social and class structures, gender relations and micro and macro politics. Our leading questions for the course are: what characterizes the relationships between current cultural practices, ethnicity and identity politics in Africa and how are social and linguistic identities entangled in the life of African people? We also examine how socio-economic, political and religious dynamics impact onto the construction of identities and social life in Africa more general. Throughout this course, students will learn theoretical concepts and methods to analyse how dynamics of belonging in Africa are constituted. Through extensive readings drawn from classic as well as contemporary scholarship, we will examine the entanglements of language, culture, territory and identity in studies of belonging.
- Учитель: Stephanie Inge Rudwick