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African Studies 10.1-14.2

Terms in this set (36)

How does Trefon (Chapter 1) define the concept, "reinventing order"?
Dynamic new forms of social organization that are constantly taking shape to compensate for the overwhelming failures of the post-colonial nation-state
According to Trefon in Chapter 1, why is "state failure a relative concept"?
State and society interact in many ways, showing that each influences the other, and that the state has not totally "failed" as it has for other African nations
According to Bilakila (Chapter 2), what does it mean to "break stones" (kobeta libanga)?
To raise money through any means necessary, despite physical and moral transgressions
According to Mwacan and Trefon (Chapter 3), why is the tap on strike?
Procurement of scarce water resources requires ingenuity and very hard work
Why do Kinois often say nous vivons mystérieusement (we live mysteriously)?
The monthly income of $30-50 for the poorest Kinshasa residents is insufficient to meet their food needs
According to Persyn and Ladriére (Chapter 5), the commercialization of the private and public health sectors is evidence of what?
The breaking down of barriers among the social, ritual, and symbolic dimensions of health and healthcare
According to Munikengi and Sangol (Chapter 6), which of the following is a form of state intervention into the university system?
Politically motivated tenure and hiring decisions
All of the following expressions are used by Kinois to question the relevance of a university diploma to life in DRC, EXCEPT
Mayo mpapa, naine nkakupapa (Mother carry me and I will carry you)
How do the processes of "NGOization" and "Association" differ?
People form NGOs (Non-Governmental Associations) in order to access international funding opportunities, whereas Kinois create associations with their own resources to address their own specific priorities
What is Madam Elise's NGO a telling example of?
Social vitality that combines solidarity, traditional mechanisms of self-help, agricultural micro-credit, financial micro-credit and the use of social pressure
According to de Villers and Tshonda (Ch 9), what did the Leopoldville riots of January 4-6, 1959 show?
Social discontent and a claim of independence, or freedom to disobey the Belgian colonial authority
According to the authors of Chapter 9, what are journée ville morte and what did or didn't they achieve?
Days of no work, meant to bring Kinshasa to a halt. Revealed despair and impotence, rather than political activism
In Chapter 8 of Reinventing Order in the Congo, de Herdt argues that impoverishment and growing families in Kinshasa result in
Differential access to resources among family members, because not all family members are considered to be equally related
How is political legitimacy different in postcolonial African states, according to Chabal and Daloz?
Within limits, political leaders can favor members of their own ethnic groups and use their political power to enrich themselves without losing legitimacy.
Why, according to Chabal and Daloz, does "winner-take-all" multiparty democracy (i.e., a multiparty democratic system in which the party that wins an election controls the government, without including the losing party or parties) have particular challenges in the African context?
Because, in this system, opposition parties have no way to deliver resources to their supporters.
What is the proper understanding of the "invention of ethnicity," according to Chabal and Daloz.
The experience of colonialism changed people's understanding of ethnic identity.
Chabal and Daloz describe, and reject, the "developmentalist" explanation for corruption in African politics. "Developmentalism" explains corruption as a necessary and inevitable part of the transition to a modern form of politics, in which the state is institutionalized. Why do Chabal and Daloz reject this explanation?
Because corruption is not decreasing over time in postcolonial African states.
What do Chabal and Daloz conclude about the most prominent anti-corruption campaigns in Africa?
Anti-corruption campaigns are themselves corrupt, because they are used as tools by politicians to hurt the political chances of their rivals.
In "The Elusive Lupemba," Bob White suggests that for witchcraft, or fétiche, to be effective one must do what?
Sacrifice something of close personal value such as a friend or family member
According to White in Chapter 11 of Reinventing Order in the Congo, the concept of lupemba encompasses which of the following?
Success, good fortune, whiteness, talent
In Grains from Grass, Cliggett applies Watts and Buhl's vulnerability framework. This theory argues that the interrelation of which of the following key factors play important roles in the creation of famine among a particular group of people?
Entitlement, Empowerment, and Political Economy Relations
In her fieldwork, Lisa Cliggett notices that Gwembe Tonga women often tell her that they are old (mudaala). On the other hand, men very rarely describe themselves as old, even if they have lived a long time and have become physically weak. What explanation does she offer for this difference?
Men rely on power and authority to gain access to resources, while women appeal to the emotions of their children. As a result, men cannot afford to be thought of as old.
Cliggett describes her use of a variety of research techniques. Which of these is NOT one of the techniques that she describes
Statistical demography (in other words, conducting statistical analysis of information that another research organization has collected, related to aging).
Why are marriages, separations, and/or divorces much more fluid in Tonga versus Western societies?
The matrilineal system allows women somewhat more autonomy than they would have in a patrilineal system in which women are more formally incorporated into their husband's family at marriage
As Cliggett describes, land has become less valuable among the Gwembe Tonga since the 1960s. By contrast, cattle have become more valuable. Why has this change benefited men and disadvantaged women?
Because most cattle comes from bridewealth payments, and fathers usually receive the majority of the cattle given for bridewealth payments.
What is the major reason, according to Cliggett, that Zambians were wealthier in the early 1970s than they were in the 1990s?
The Zambian economy was dominated by copper mining, and copper prices fell sharply in the 1970s.
Cliggett describes the widespread assumptions that local employees of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) steal resources for their own benefit. Why does she suggest that this practice is tolerated?
Because the employees who benefit from this theft can be pressured to provide resources to other members of the community.
According to Cliggett, why do Gwembe Tonga women generally rely on sons rather than daughters to take care of them in their old age?
Because they no longer have a right to a daughter's labor after she is married, since her husband has paid bridewealth.
Both men and women may be believed to possess mystical powers, but these powers differ according to gender. How are they different?
Men are believed to be sorcerers who actively control their supernatural powers, while women are passively possessed by spirits.
According to Cliggett, why do individuals manipulate ritual and spiritual aspects of communities?
In order to attain personal goals and security
According to De Boeck in Reinventing Order in the Congo, why are street children in Kinshasa described as living in the "second world" or "fourth dimension"?
They largely live during the night, and sleep and eat in cemeteries
In the section, "Geographies of inclusion and exclusion," why does De Boeck argues that a victimizing discourse of street children is shortsighted?
Although they can be vulnerable and passive, they can also be active subjects who act forcefully on the world in which they live
Cliggett writes that, unlike in many other parts of Africa, "rural communities [in Gwembe Tongaland] do not live off the remittances (gifts of money) that migrants send home." What does she suggest is the major purpose of these remittances?
Remittances solidify social ties, ensuring that people who have migrated to urban areas will have a rural support network to return to in their old age.
Other than economic opportunity, why do some migrants say that it is an advantage to live far away from their family?
Because the distance prevents them from having to give away all of their resources to support poorer family members
Cliggett suggests that elderly men primarily rely upon what to survive once they are less able to work in the fields?
Wealth in things and people
Cliggett suggests that elderly women primarily rely upon what to survive once they have become less productive?
People, social networks, and social constructs of obligation
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