Contemporary African Cultural Productions

Publication Year: 2013

All over Africa, an explosion in cultural productions of various genres is in evidence. Whether in relation to music, song and dance, drama, poetry, film, documentaries, photography, cartoons, fine arts, novels and short stories, essays, and (auto)biography; the continent is experiencing a robust outpouring of creative power that is as remarkable for its originality as its all-round diversity. Beginning from the late 1970s and early 1980s, the African continent has experienced the longest and deepest economic crises than at any other time since the period after the Second World War. Interestingly however, while practically every indicator of economic development was declining in nominal and/ or real terms for most aspects of the continent, cultural productions were on the increase. Out of adversity, the creative genius of the African produced cultural forms that at once spoke to crises and sought to transcend them. The current climate of cultural pluralism that has been produced in no small part by globalization has not been accompanied by an adequate pluralism of ideas on what culture is, and/or should be; nor informed by an equal claim to the production of the cultural ñ packaged or not. Globalization has seen to movement and mixture, contact and linkage, interaction and exchange where cultural flows of capital, people, commodities, images and ideologies have meant that the globe has become a space, with new asymmetries, for an increasing intertwinement of the lives of people and, consequently, of a greater blurring of normative definitions as well as a place for re-definition, imagined and real. As this book ñ Contemporary African Cultural Productions ñ has done, researching into African culture and cultural productions that derive from it allows us, among other things, to enquire into definitions, explore historical dimensions, and interrogate the political dimensions to presentation and representation. The book therefore offers us an intervention that goes beyond the normative literary and cultural studiesí main foci of race, difference and identity; notions which, while important in themselves might, without the necessary historicizing and interrogating, result in a discourse that rather re-inscribes the very patterns that necessitate writing against. This book is an invaluable compendium to scholars, researchers, teachers, students and others who specialize on different aspects of African culture and cultural productions, as well as cultural centers and general readers.

Published by: African Books Collective

Contents
Search Inside This Book
Book Details

All over Africa, an explosion in cultural productions of various genres is in evidence. Whether it be in relation to music, song, dance, drama, play, poetry, film, documentaries, photography, cartoons, fine art, novels (fiction and faction), short stories, essays and (auto)biography, the continent is experiencing a robust outpouring...

1. Dancing through the Crisis: Survival Dynamics and Zimbabwe Music Industry

pdf icon Download PDF (163.1 KB)
pp. 1-28

The details of how Zimbabwe – once lauded as the jewel of Africa – slid into a mess over the past decade have been well chronicled (see Melber 2004; Harold- Berry 2004; Vambe 2008). President Robert Mugabe and his ruling ZANU PF blame the economic meltdown on the British and their allies the United States of...

2. Retelling Joburg for TV: Risky City

pdf icon Download PDF (130.3 KB)
pp. 29-46

This paper deals with my experiences as a researcher on a TV show about youth in the city of Johannesburg – now officially called Joburg – while working on a study of intertextuality. My study into intertextuality became my doctorate thesis and, later, turned into a book1 and a few published articles...

3. The Legendary Inikpi of Nigeria: A Play – Political Interpretation and Contemporary Implications

pdf icon Download PDF (126.0 KB)
pp. 47-66

This chapter examines the political interpretation of the legendary Inikpi play and its implications for Nigerian society today. In order to develop this political interpretation of the legendary Inikpi, the chapter examines some historical and anthropological works concerning the origins of the Igala people. It is from an...

4. Makishi Masquerade and Activities: The Reformulation of Visual and Performance Genres of the Mukanda School of Zambia¹

pdf icon Download PDF (118.3 KB)
pp. 67-82

Makishi (singular, Likishi) are masked characters associated with the coming of age rituals of the Vaka Chiyama Cha Mukwamayi communities of the north-western part of Zambia. The term refers to the masks and costumes that constitute a character being portrayed. The masks are believed to be a manifestation of the...

5. Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms

pdf icon Download PDF (149.5 KB)
pp. 83-108

From a cultural perspective, religion is a very diverse phenomenon. This is because culture influences people to behave in a certain way, affecting the way they express themselves, including their religiosity. The many African cultures can be argued to have caused religious and/or denominational diversity in African religiosity. For...

6. Striking the Snake with its own Fangs: Uganda Acoli Song, Performance and Gender Dynamics¹

pdf icon Download PDF (125.4 KB)
pp. 109-128

This chapter, based on a field study among the Acoli of northern Uganda, revisits the idea of gender and genre – arguing that in order to understand Acoli gender one needs to pay attention to the genres through which it is expressed. Song performance is one of the popular cultural forms through which gender is...

7. Industrie musicale au Sénégal: étude d’une évolution

pdf icon Download PDF (1.1 MB)
pp. 129-176

Les années 1980 ont vu le Sénégal amorcer un grand virage dans le domaine de la musique. L’ère de l’industrie musicale fit son apparition avec l’installation de studios d’enregistrement qui contribuèrent à l’explosion de la musique au Sénégal. Les artistes eurent la possibilité de trouver sur place pour se faire enregistrer ce qu’ils allaient chercher...

8. Voix féminines de la chanson au Cameroun: émergence et reconnaissance artistique

pdf icon Download PDF (128.1 KB)
pp. 177-196

La musique, plus que toute autre forme de l’art au Cameroun, est un domaine en perpétuelle émulation. Il faut dire qu’elle a largement de quoi soutenir une inspiration originale et continue parmi la diversité des rythmes dont regorge la grande variété ethnique qui constitue le peuplement national. Au fil des années, la musique populaire...

9. Vidéo et espace politique: le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire

pdf icon Download PDF (175.0 KB)
pp. 197-232

Les nombreuses crises qui traversent la Côte d’Ivoire depuis le décès du Président Félix Houphouët Boigny ont abouti à un conflit manifeste dans la nuit du 18 au 19 septembre 2002 (Akindès 2004). Les insurgés se retranchent dans la zone nord pendant que le sud est sous le contrôle des forces loyalistes. De part et d’autre de...

10. Les Bantous de la capitale de Brazzaville: Cycle de vie et productions culturelles

pdf icon Download PDF (166.6 KB)
pp. 233-260

L’espace africain du fait de la mondialisation est de plus en plus traversé par plusieurs courants musicaux : les musiques traditionnelles, la world music, les musiques religieuses et les musiques savantes d’origine occidentale. L’histoire de la musique africaine suit étroitement l’histoire globale de l’Afrique depuis la période...

11. Le vidéoclip congolais : politique de mots et rhétorique d’images¹

pdf icon Download PDF (149.5 KB)
pp. 261-286

La rencontre entre la musique et la technologie moderne a révolutionné les procès de création, d’expression et de réception des oeuvres musicales. Après, par exemple, l’invention du phonographe qui a permis la domestication et la reproductibilité à volonté du son, la musique a bénéficié d’autres moyens et procédés techniques...

12. Artes e reconstruir indentidades: Um Proyetode teatro em Mozambique¹

pdf icon Download PDF (111.5 KB)
pp. 287-300

Introdução à proposta de investigação ou “o caminho que fiz para aqui chegar” ...

13. Afterword: A Meditation of the Convener

pdf icon Download PDF (104.3 KB)
pp. 301-311

Not a preface, this is a testimony in accompanying voices in African studies. They are of the participants in the Durban, South Africa, Social Science Campus of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) of 17-21 December 2007. An afterword, it expresses an attitude. For a Convener arriving directly...

Back Cover

pdf icon Download PDF (7.3 MB)

E-ISBN-13: 9782869785618
Print-ISBN-13: 9782869785397

Page Count: 328
Publication Year: 2013

Contemporary African Cultural Productions

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on Contributors

Preface

1. Dancing through the Crisis: Survival Dynamics and Zimbabwe Music Industry

2. Retelling Joburg for TV: Risky City

3. The Legendary Inikpi of Nigeria: A Play – Political Interpretation and Contemporary Implications

4. Makishi Masquerade and Activities: The Reformulation of Visual and Performance Genres of the Mukanda School of Zambia¹

5. Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms

6. Striking the Snake with its own Fangs: Uganda Acoli Song, Performance and Gender Dynamics¹

7. Industrie musicale au Sénégal: étude d’une évolution

8. Voix féminines de la chanson au Cameroun: émergence et reconnaissance artistique

9. Vidéo et espace politique: le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire

10. Les Bantous de la capitale de Brazzaville: Cycle de vie et productions culturelles

11. Le vidéoclip congolais : politique de mots et rhétorique d’images¹

12. Artes e reconstruir indentidades: Um Proyetode teatro em Mozambique¹

13. Afterword: A Meditation of the Convener

Back Cover

Research Areas

Welcome to Project MUSE

Connect with Project MUSE

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3

Contemporary African Cultural Productions

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Notes on Contributors

Preface

1. Dancing through the Crisis: Survival Dynamics and Zimbabwe Music Industry

2. Retelling Joburg for TV: Risky City

3. The Legendary Inikpi of Nigeria: A Play – Political Interpretation and Contemporary Implications

4. Makishi Masquerade and Activities: The Reformulation of Visual and Performance Genres of the Mukanda School of Zambia1

5. Religiosity in Vihiga District: Modernity and Expressions of Outward Forms

6. Striking the Snake with its own Fangs: Uganda Acoli Song, Performance and Gender Dynamics1

7. Industrie musicale au Sénégal: étude d’une évolution

8. Voix féminines de la chanson au Cameroun: émergence et reconnaissance artistique

9. Vidéo et espace politique: le cas de la Côte d’Ivoire

10. Les Bantous de la capitale de Brazzaville: Cycle de vie et productions culturelles

11. Le vidéoclip congolais : politique de mots et rhétorique d’images1

12. Artes e reconstruir indentidades: Um Proyetode teatro em Mozambique1

13. Afterword: A Meditation of the Convener

Back Cover

Research Areas

Recommend

Related Content

Welcome to Project MUSE

Connect with Project MUSE

Cover 1

Cover 2

Cover 3

4. Makishi Masquerade and Activities: The Reformulation of Visual and Performance Genres of the Mukanda School of Zambia¹

6. Striking the Snake with its own Fangs: Uganda Acoli Song, Performance and Gender Dynamics¹

11. Le vidéoclip congolais : politique de mots et rhétorique d’images¹

12. Artes e reconstruir indentidades: Um Proyetode teatro em Mozambique¹