Jack Palmer

This thesis explores two lines of critique of social theories of modernity by way of a historical sociological analysis of Burundi and Rwanda. Firstly, it engages with arguments about the Euro-/Western-centric assumptions which are suggested to have underpinned many conceptualisations of modernity. Secondly, it considers the notion that the processes of modernity move gradually, if precariously, towards more peaceable forms of cohabitation within and between societies. In doing so, it draws on and develops the theoretical framework of entanglement, which emphasises the existence of a variety of intertwined historical routes to and through modernity. Central to the analysis is a critique of both the idea that modernity entails a progressive ‘detraditionalisation’ or destruction of traditional societal forms, and the idea that tradition provides a repository of cultural resources upon which are founded distinct, plural ‘modernities’. In the case of Burundi and Rwanda, I argue that col...

and theological text’ () that ‘provides insight into the intersection of Kenyan, Christian, and queer identities and politics’ and its contribution to ‘an African queer theology of love’ (). Chapter  presents an anthology of some  life history interviews with LGBTQ Kenyans, framing them as counter stories, ‘that resist dominant narratives of sexuality’ () and that promote a Kenyan brand of sexual politics. Van Klinken’s analysis is at its most powerful when it highlights the instability of self-signifiers in the narratives of participants, through, for example, their coming out stories. From these stories emerges a complex version of intimate citizenship that Van Klinken rightfully acknowledges is ‘far from homogenous’ (). They both challenge the violence of Kenyan heteronormativity and reveal localised strategies for ‘dealing with sex, love, relationships, marriage, and family’ (), unsettling over-simplified accounts of African LGBTQ lives. Chapter  provides a thick description of how the Nairobi-based Cosmopolitan Affirming Church (CAC) ‘negotiates lgbt identities and Christian faith in the Kenyan context’ (). With its connections to emerging forms of radical inclusivity within the African American Pentecostal movement, the church offers a critique of socio-political homophobia on the continent, suggesting that there has been a ‘spiritual colonization of Africa’ (). Van Klinken shows how the church functions as much as a space for ‘queer religious world-making’ (). For example, he describes a drag-queen contest in which the congregation is invited to envision a society in which LGBTQ people and queer practices are religiously sanctioned and celebrated, bearing witness to a theological statement on queer empowerment. Van Klinken intersperses these case studies with four ethnographic interludes that address his experience as a researcher occupying a queer, white European subject position. For example, in ‘Bodywork’ he reflects on a sexual experience with a queer Kenyan to ‘illustrate the complex situation of power and vulnerability’ () of sex during fieldwork and to challenge taken-for-granted norms about ethnographic research ethics. These interludes raise ‘ethical, methodological, and political’ () questions related to fieldwork and, he hopes, contribute to a ‘queerworld making in academia’ () that affirms, rather than avoids, the embodied humanity we share with our research participants. Kenyan, Christian, Queer will serve as an important resource for students and scholars of religious, queer and African studies. Its intervention in these three overlapping fields make it an exciting contribution to scholarship on the role of religion in queer African lives.

The article has two aims: firstly, it provides a holistic account of Zygmunt Bauman’s oeuvre, and secondly, it presents an extensive up-to-date and multilingual bibliography of his published writings. The authors discuss Bauman’s prolificacy, as well as the stylistic, formal and substantive heterogeneity of his work. Taking this into account, they reflect on the curious reception of his oeuvre in the wider disciplinary field of sociology. The bibliography attached to the paper provides the most complete account of Bauman’s writings. Building on previous bibliographies, and drawing on archival research in the Janina and Zygmunt Bauman Papers at the University of Leeds, the bibliography spans 63 years from his first publication to his most recent. Many of these papers – both in English and Polish – are presented for the first time in the list of his works.

This article elucidates some connections and divergences between S.N. Eisenstadt’s work on multiple modernities and critical reflections on ‘African modernity’ presented by Africanist scholars. It argues that there is more cross-over between these discussions than is commonly thought when both are seen as parallel responses to the shortcomings of post-war modernization theory. Eisenstadt’s work can inform debates in African Studies concerning the effective power of tradition in postcolonial African societies, and on African interpretations of the ‘cultural programme’ of modernity. The article also discusses some weaknesses in Eisenstadt’s theorizing which arise from an extension of the multiple modernities framework to African societies, namely, an underappreciation of the various modalities of colonial imperialism and racialization, as well as the institutional constraints placed on postcolonial societal elites. It claims that these can be offset via a dialogue with the work of sch...