Tingatinga has been categorized as ‘tourist art’ for decades, however so far there has been little attention on the actual influence of the tourist group on Tingatinga. By using the theory of...Show moreTingatinga has been categorized as ‘tourist art’ for decades, however so far there has been little attention on the actual influence of the tourist group on Tingatinga. By using the theory of dialogism, this research looks into the interactions between the producers and clients of Tingatinga, and summarizes its development as tourist art as a cycle of souvenirization, mass-production and customization.Show less
Despite global progress in reducing inequalities for women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) under the Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10, in Africa progress has been slower for these two...Show moreDespite global progress in reducing inequalities for women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) under the Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 10, in Africa progress has been slower for these two groups. Social movements are often successful in redressing these inequalities as they are affianced in activism and try to represent a group’s collective grievances to governments. Collective identity (CI), or individuals’ shared aspirations, values or interests, is known to play a key role in their success. The more individuals identify with a movement, the more it is able to mobilize and achieve its aims on the ground. Yet, there is a paucity of literature on CI processes from African contexts. Building upon Della Porta & Diani’s (2006) concept of CI formation and maintenance, this study compared how two key social movement organizations of the disability and women’s movements in Freetown, Sierra Leone—the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI) and the Women’s Forum (WF)—form and maintain their collective identities (CIs) to see if the same processes work in African contexts. The research is based on a six months field work and a range of qualitative methods. Using Grounded Theory and Historical Methodologies approach, the study reveals that both groups formed and have maintained their CIs similar to Della Porta and Diani’s theory. Both groups formed during the brutal eleven-year Civil War (1991-2002) on the basis of their social traits, or physical/biological characteristics, and a common solidarity. They have been maintained post-conflict (2002-present) through (i) face-to-face interactions at the community level and everyday spaces in order to foster relationships and build new networks, and (ii) creating common meaning and experiences over ‘time’ and ‘space’. This suggests that Western CI concepts do work well in African contexts. Yet, different from the authors, I discovered that both CIs are maintained through information sharing via information communication technologies (ICTs) which help engender a ‘online’ CI, organize and spur lobbying and advocacy events. Within this information sharing tool, I discovered that only the WF uses monthly meetings and it helps engender CI by reinforcing the group’s cultural rituals and symbols. Also, I discovered that despite having CIs, fragmentation has been part of both group’s formation and maintenance processes based on (a) intergroup competition; (b) diversity related issues; and (c) ideological differences. The above listed discoveries as well as conflict is a catalyst in bringing social actors to form a CI are my contributions to the literature. The paper calls for identity work, for key organizations to take better stock of their members interests and for future comparative research to devote equal and more time between organizations, focus on current CI formation processes and use research tools that help to verify information. Key Words: collective identity; disability movement; movement formation and maintenance; movement fragmentation; Sierra Leone; women’s movementShow less
This thesis serves to politically conceptualize and explain the popularity of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. The paper focused on the choice of students and employees Covenant University to join that...Show moreThis thesis serves to politically conceptualize and explain the popularity of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. The paper focused on the choice of students and employees Covenant University to join that same university. Covenant University is a private university which is a subsidiary of the Living Faith Church Worldwide (LFCWW), one of the largest Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. This choice of university represents a clear choice to affiliate with or join the Pentecostal community and faith. Covenant University is also a community under full control of the church and a Pentecostal societal model. As an multidisciplinary project, the thesis involved using system-level conceptual analysis of political theory combined with an anthropological ethnographic micro-level study of the Covenant University community. The main argument of the thesis is that while the Nigerian sociopolitical landscape is in a state of disorder, meaning that it is void of a supraethnoreligious ethic and is plagued by extreme violence in everyday life, Covenant University and the LFCWW present themselves as communities of order. This is because they are governed by an overarching ethic derived from scripture and because the main compound of the LFCWW is safe contrasted to the Nigerian public space. Church members and staff explicitly separate themselves from the non-believing populous and the government in a dichotomous friend-enemy fashion. The thesis concludes that the choice of Covenant University as a workplace or place of study constitutes a political choice of order over disorder. As this choice mirrors becoming a Pentecostal church member, the analysis of it bares the political importance the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria.Show less
This thesis explores how same-sex intimacies are navigated by young women in contemporary urban Senegal. Central to this research are various social spaces where sociality and sexuality are co...Show moreThis thesis explores how same-sex intimacies are navigated by young women in contemporary urban Senegal. Central to this research are various social spaces where sociality and sexuality are co-constructed among women. The analysis is based on six months of ethnographic fieldwork in urban Senegal, predominantly Dakar, with a focus on participant observation to grasp the tacit knowledge of same-sex intimacies. In particular, this thesis examines the football field, local queer organisations and a variety of other homosocial environments such as the home and queer parties. Through a careful adherence to the Senegalese value of sutura (discretion, modesty), by making use of play, and by displaying respectability, homosocial spaces ranging from the relatively private home to the fairly public football field allow for the occurrence of same-sex intimacies. This thesis makes use of Henrik Vigh’s (2006; 2009) conceptualisation of social navigation to understand how enacting same-sex desires is a twofold process of balancing personal desires and social expectations. The social environment is an ambiguous terrain in which expectations of proper womanhood, marriage, and parenthood need to be calibrated even as such expectations may change over time due to processes of globalisation, economic recession, or governmental changes, as well as with age, as new expectations and responsibilities arise as people grow from youth into (social) adults. This thesis will demonstrate how women navigate their same-sex intimacies in different ways in various social spaces, drawing on Henri Lefebvre’s (1991 [1974]) conceptual triad of social space. In these social spaces, gender is enacted relationally, and shifting notions of masculinity (jump) and femininity (sexy) attest to the ambiguity and fluidity of gender constructs. Together, these social spaces and the same-sex intimacies that they enable form a loosely connected community of practice (O’Mara 2013) that combines a specific lexicon (jump and sexy) with tacit understanding of same-sex intimacies. By examining how young women navigate existing spaces and create alternative spaces in trying to secure decent lives for themselves, this thesis shows how these different spaces form central loci of urban social reproduction. In these spaces, symbolic manifestations of gendered bodies coalesce into a network of queer women. Examining corporeal and erotic interactions between women helps theorise how these performative aspects of life contribute to the intersubjective meaning-making of sexuality and a sense of being at home in the world.Show less
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) are the biggest marginalised group in the world, especially within the context of the global South. Having a disability is linked to extreme poverty because of...Show morePersons with disabilities (PWDs) are the biggest marginalised group in the world, especially within the context of the global South. Having a disability is linked to extreme poverty because of lacking social services, high medical costs and low employment rates. These challenges contribute to a low self-esteem among young persons with physical impairments. On top of that, societal prejudices and negatives stereotypes about PWDs only further deteriorate their situation. This thesis clarifies the potential that role models have in disability advocacy, something that has never been researched before. Field research in Zambia demonstrated that role models have the potential to (1) address the negative self-esteem of youth with disabilities, (2) stimulate their pro-active attitude, (3) strengthen their ability to speak out and (4) enhance group solidarity. These outcomes are realised through indirect engagement between role models and disabled youth (through observation) and direct engagement (through teaching and feedback).Show less
Even though billions are spent on poverty alleviation, and many thousands of pages of policy have been written, there is no clear idea on the effect of poverty reduction strategies. This paper...Show moreEven though billions are spent on poverty alleviation, and many thousands of pages of policy have been written, there is no clear idea on the effect of poverty reduction strategies. This paper argues that not only development aid has not been durably effective, moreover, this lack of effectiveness is due to a fundamental misunderstanding of what is poverty. This paper argues that the mismatch between poverty-definitions of donor and recipient can be solved through a new conceptualization of poverty, in which its intersocial dimension is central. Two new concepts are introduced: aspiration (the desire to belong to a group which possesses certain commodities – ranging from material goods to civil or human rights, and more) and acceptation (the condition that the group needs to accept an aspirer). Hence, poverty is defined in terms of agency, individuality and desire. The last step made in the argument is to apply the new conceptualization – the Aspiration Approach – to three recurring themes in Dutch development aid to Sub-Saharan African countries. It is shown here how a different definition of poverty can lead to a better understanding of failing development aid. The Aspiration Approach to Poverty defines poverty as the state in which one can be where one has aspirations that cannot be fulfilled. This unfulfilment can obviously have many reasons, but the reason that stands out in the Aspiration Approach is that others – the Opulent Society – do not accept the validity or worthiness of the aspirations.Show less
This thesis presents the results of an (official) six-month period of fieldwork research among two different groups in two countries: undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands and Nigerians that...Show moreThis thesis presents the results of an (official) six-month period of fieldwork research among two different groups in two countries: undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands and Nigerians that have returned to Nigeria after they had been undocumented in the Netherlands.The thesis presents three main topics: policies towards returns in the Netherlands and how these policies are implemented on the ground in Nigeria; the lives of undocumented Nigerians in the Netherlands; and the lives of those that have returned to Nigeria. How do undocumented Nigerians themselves perceive returning? The thesis presents different aspects related to their perceptions, their lives, strategies, constraints and fears. And how do those that have returned perceived their return? Accounts of their lives after return reveal the constraints, exclusion, shame and stigma that can shape their new lives.Show less
