In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

xxi I remember hearing,long ago,that Herman Melville’s method for completing Moby-Dick was to write each day for twelve hours and chop wood for two. It is an admirable recipe for escaping a book’s hold on its maker, and laying the work, finally, to rest. Armed with central heating,modern life did not afford me many opportunities to approach Melville’s feverish focus and fortitude. So I wrote in spurts, and found and made time to organize and analyze data, and then write this book.The best bursts happened in my home.It somewhat resembles Melville’s western Massachusetts house: a small cottage in the New Hampshire woods, where e-mail access did not exist until recently, winters are frigid, and quiet is abundant. The aim of the research for this book was, at its core, to find out what Rwandan youth are thinking and doing about their lives, and then use their stories to consider how male and female youth come of age (or not). While responsibility for the contents of this book falls entirely on me,every effort has been made to communicate youth views in this book without bias. Emphasizing an unbiased approach may seem peculiar and perhaps unnecessary to some.After all,the author is a social scientist and the reader will hopefully find that the book’s findings and analysis are frankly described. Yet those familiar with the Rwandan context, and others where the government’s presence and sensitivities are similarly strong, will recognize the utility in stating that the author has no ax to grind. Indeed, given how contentiously some Rwandan government officials responded to my preliminary findings, I will state again, and with additional emphasis, that no one but me has responsibility for this book—neither its findings and analysis nor its conclusions and recommendations. The breadth and depth of this book could not have been achieved without the extraordinary efforts of the entire research team. The field contributions of the Rwandan researchers in 2006–7 were superb in every way: they were dedicated,detail oriented,conscientious,and incredibly productive.They carried out all aspects of their demanding work with good cheer, generosity, and Acknowledgments xxii A c k o w l e d g m e n t S unstinting professionalism. Although I have carried out research work in twenty war-affected countries for two decades,I’ve never worked with a better field research team. It was an honor and pleasure to work with each of them. Thirteen graduate students from the Fletcher School,the Tufts University Graduate School for International Affairs, contributed significantly to the data analysis process.Special mention must be made to Xanthe Scharff,who helped to input, organize, and analyze the data, as well as supervise the contributions of other Fletcher students. A quick study, she generated a wealth of helpful insights; her work was steady and outstanding. Marcus Holknekt joined the research team before the other students, developing a system for inputting and analyzing respondent profile information.His work was stellar. The contributions of Angie Nguyen and Raul Chavez, who inputted much of the field data and helped with initial data analysis, and Amelia Cook and Natalie Parke, who also contributed to the analysis process, were also essential and well done. Thanks also to Noël Twagiramungu and Nils Baetens (a graduate student from Belgium), who each made substantial contributions to the document research.Subsequent bibliographic work by Claire Putzeys, Sujatha Sebastian,Regina Wilson,and Jessie Evans was equally superb.Near the end of the data analysis, the contributions and upbeat energy of Julie Guyot-Diangone of Howard University, and my research assistant at the United States Institute of Peace,were absolutely terrific.Excellent contributions to the final draft work were thankfully made by Michele Wehle and Amelia Hight, who helped me reach the finish line. The collective student work proved extremely helpful,even essential,and their uniformly high spirits made it fun to work with all of them. Steady, patient, and always upbeat and helpful assistance were provided by my immediate supervisors (now good friends) at the World Bank, Maria Correia and Pia Peeters,with whom the contours and direction of this research originated.Maria’s leadership of the project,and her verve and drive to assess the role of masculinity in youth lives, enhanced my focus on this elemental concern. I am grateful for her passionate and always insightful comments on this and related issues. As time went on, Pia...

Share