In Search of a Nation
Histories of Authority and Dissidence in Tanzania
James L Giblin author Gregory H Maddox editor Professor Gregory Maddox editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:James Currey
Published:20th Oct '05
Should be back in stock very soon
Examines the contradictions of nationalism, focusing on the experience of Tanzania. The double-sided nature of African nationalism - its capacity to inspire expressions of unity, and its tendency to narrow political debate - are explored by sixteen historians. The narrative of the nation of Tanzania, which was created by the anti-colonial nationalist movement, expanded by the Union after the Zanzibar Revolution, and fused by the ideology of Ujamaa by Julius Nyerere, has shaped Tanzanian political discourse for decades, but has not obliterated the great wealth of political discourses and identities which exist within the nation. North America: Ohio U Press; Tanzania: Kapsel
All essays leave us with a stimulating way of thinking about nationalism that avoids polarizing representations and binary conceptions of social reality, but highlights on the contrary complex procedures of negotiations of identity and political authority. - -- Marie-Aoud Fouere * ANALYSES ET COMPTES RENDUS *
...A celebration of nationalism and the nation state is not to be found here, as one might have expected a generation ago. Rather, there is a sense of discomfort that Tanzanian nationalism failed to create the unity and freedom promised at independence. The title of the book might be paraphrased as a search for a usable past ... in the ongoing search for a usable past, the contributions here reveal the limitations of state hegemony and the richness of local bases of knowledge in giving meaning to the past. -- Thaddeus Sunseri * AFRICAN HISTORY *
ISBN: 9780852554876
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 446g
320 pages