Showing papers on "African studies published in 1973"

Death and the social order: Bara funeral customs (Madagascar)

Abstract: (1973). Death and the social order: Bara funeral customs (Madagascar) African Studies: Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 65-84.

Africa in a capitalist world

Abstract: African studies has gone through three well-known phases as a field of study. Up until 1950 or thereabouts, those studying Africa they were not yet called Africanists tended to concentrate almost exclusively on the capturing (or recapturing) of a description of Africa eternal: Launcelot the ethnographer in search of a holy grail of the past that was written in the present tense and was undefiled by contact and uncorrupted by civilization. What was once a myth is now a fairy tale and it would be silly to waste time tellling each other the obvious truth that fairy tales are modes of the social control and the education of children.

African Railwaymen: Solidarity and Opposition in an East African Labour Force

Abstract: This was the first anthropological monograph to have dealt at length with the labour force of a major East African industry. It is a study of the African employees of the East African Railways and Harbours stationed at Kampala, Uganda, and living on the Railway-owned Nsambya housing estate. Set in the years 1964–5, shortly after Uganda's and Kenya's Independence, the book explores some of the consequences for African migrant workers of the changes affecting their society. Dr Grillo describes how falling prices for primary agricultural products, educational expansion and rising wages have created a high demand for employment. Those fortunate enough to find work enjoy a relatively high standard of living. Partly in consequence, the Railway labour force has become stabilised with a low turnover of employees, the majority of whom bring wives and children to live in town. They are, however, still migrants who maintain social and economic ties with their areas of origin. By fulfilling customary and personal obligations, individuals retain a position within an 'ethnic' system which provides one framework for relationships of solidarity and opposition. The industry itself with its work-units, occupational groups and grading system provides another.

On Radicalism In African Studies

Abstract: Over the last ten years or so there has appeared a clear and growing tendency away from the conventional wisdom enshrined in the bulk of writing and teaching on African history, sociology, economics and politics in the West. The generic term used for these is &dquo;radical.&dquo; Yet it appears that no one has examined this phenomenon, to define its limits or catalog its content. In a sense everybody knows ’what is meant by saying of a certain Africanist that he is a radical, or of a piece of work that it is radical. But if the phenomeon is important-and increasingly so-it deserves a certain

Jehovah's Witnesses in Kenya

Abstract: The Watchtower movement, as Jehovah's Witnesses were originally known--figures largely in the twentieth century history of Zambia, Malawi, and Rhodesia, partly because of the activities of break-away and imitative movements which disseminated highly-coloured versions of official Watchtower teaching, 1) and partly because of more recent conflicts between the newly independent states and official Watchtower adherents (known, since 1931, as Jehovah's witnesses). 2) In

The Soviet Africa Institute and the Development of African Studies

Abstract: considerable interest to many western scholars. They have examined extensively the history of these relations, their shifting doctrinal bases, and the many formidable problems Soviet policy-makers have encountered in the pursuit of their stated objectives.1 A frequently overlooked aspect is the scholarly research of a group of Africanists whose activities appear to be inextricably linked with overall Soviet efforts in Africa.

The cattle industry in northern Nigeria, 1900-1939

Abstract: The African Studies Program prepared this publication in memory of Florence Adebisi Bankole Okediji, 1936-1972.

African attitudes in town: the search for precision

Abstract: (1973). African attitudes in town: the search for precision. African Studies: Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 85-98.

Social registers in chidzero's “Nzvengamutsvairo”

Abstract: (1973). Social registers in chidzero's “Nzvengamutsvairo”. African Studies: Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 99-112.

Utilization of cultural information for population planning in East Africa. Report of a workshop sponsored by Institute of African Studies University of Nairobi and the Ford Foundation held at the Westwood Park Country Club Nairobi 17-19 January 1973.

Abstract: This report describes a workshop which was planned together with a survey on traditional beliefs and practices relevant to population and family planning in East Africa The workshop was meant to represent the final phase of the survey Its primary objective was to hand over the collected material to the most important group of potential users ie East African policymakers and program planners The survey was conducted among 37 outstanding social anthroplogists all of whom made a genuine effort to contribute scientifically accurate and practically useful information on the ethnic areas of their respective specialization Cooperation with and among participants was established prior to the workshop Some major recommendations made: there should not be an overemphasis on traditional cultures since society is dynamic and constantly changing; there should be some degree of decentralization to involve the people in the planning and implementation of development projects; there is an urgent need to introduce cultural material as well as sex and population education in the curricula of East African educational institutions; the curricula for sex education should be based upon a matrix depending on kindergarten primary secondary postsecondary and adult education levels; the training of field workers should be a coordinated interdisciplinary approach involving interdepartmental seminars workshops and refresher courses; simplified manuals guidebooks and handbooks should be prepared for field workers on a specific subject line; field workers should be recruited in their areas of operation and be instructed in some basic research skills and communication techniques; there should be a mass media approach in programs for population and family planning; mass media materials should be prepared locally and revised periodically; a central body the National Research Council should be established to determine the areas and priorities or research to collect and provide information on past and current research to coordinate programs at various levels and to bridge the gap between researchers policymakers and programmers; research should be ongoing action oriented interdisciplinary and be undertaken by local researchers in association with field workers; and there should be research on the more effective use of media The report includes selected recommendations and suggestions on the utilization distribution adaptations and reprinting of cultural source materials for Population Planning in East Africa a statement from the Office of the President Government of Kenya on the utilization of social scientific knowledge for policymaking and planning and the workshop program

CULTURE AND MENTAL ILLNESS: A STUDY FROM UGANDA by JOHN H. ORLEY. East African Studies No. 36. Nairobi: East African Publishing House. 1970:

Abstract: to clarify the categories of thought amongst the rural Baganda corresponding to Western notions of psychiatric disorder and related conditions.&dquo; The traditional beliefs concerning causation and treatment of such diseases, as well as the linguistic categories used by the Baganda and their attitude and reaction toward psychiatric patients, are discussed. The data used in this study were collected from patients admitted to Butabika Hospital, Kampala, and obtained in fieldwork among the rural Baganda. Orley worked in close cooperation with hospital staff, probation officers, and social workers, applying inquiry methods ranging from informal contacts to semistruetured interviews. Before discussing indigenous concepts of mental illness, Orley introduces the reader to Ganda ideas on body function related to thinking and feeling. (For those unaccustomed to the Bantu languages it should be pointed out that the root, ganda, is used for things pertaining

Occupational Preferences of College Students in North India

Abstract: LITERATURE on occupational choices suggests that in modern industrial societies based upon capitalism, individuals have freedom to select their occupations. (Ginzberg 1951: 3). It is conceded, however, that the young adult's occupational aspirations and his selection of a job are influenced by such factors as socialization by his family, his peer group and his school (Musgrave 1967: 33). In the case of traditional societies, however, it is assumed that occupational choices are both limited and largely determined by such factors as caste, family status, religion, and other ascriptive norms (Ginzberg 1951: 3). India is described as a traditional society, presently undergoing the process of modernization. Since 1947, a democratic political system has existed in India. There has been a politicization of the masses, and a constant, though slow process of industrialization is taking place. What impact has this change in the external environment had on the interrelationship between a youth's social origin and his selection of a particular occupation? The answer to this question will not only give us some idea of the interrelationship between the traditionally accepted ascriptive norms and occupational preference, but will also be indicative of changing patterns of social norms and values in a transitional society. It should be pointed out here that some recent studies on occupational distributions in India appear to demonstrate that despite urbanization, industrialization, and some change in traditional occupational patterns, caste and religion still remain the dominant determinant of one's occupation. For example, in his study of occupational differentiation in South India, Noel P. Gist concludes that \"the caste system as a determinant in occupational choice is still a dynamic