This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people l... more This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people living in a former ethnic homeland in recently independent Namibia. In the multidisciplinary scholarship on nationalism, the efforts of nationalist leaders, intellectuals, and officials ...
Page 1. 1209 BOOK REVIEW Wendi A. Haugh Williams College Aaron A. Fox, Real Country: Music and La... more Page 1. 1209 BOOK REVIEW Wendi A. Haugh Williams College Aaron A. Fox, Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture. Duke University Press, 2004. 363 pp. In Real Country, Aaron Fox has produced a ...
Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithet... more Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithetical. I draw on evidence from research on language attitudes in northern Namibia to argue that they may actually enable each other. In Namibia, nationalist and internationalist perspectives have dominated discourses about political identity and community, and new language policies were designed and implemented to facilitate Namibia’s transformation from apartheid state to nation-state. Yet a close examination of popular discourses about language reveals a strongly cosmopolitan orientation rooted in opposition to apartheid ideology and in participation in the migrant labor economy. I argue that in this case, cosmopolitan orientations have facilitated the rise of nationalism while nationalism has enabled people to carry out cosmopolitan projects.
Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithet... more Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithetical. I draw on evidence from research on language attitudes in northern Namibia to argue that they may actually enable each other. In Namibia, nationalist and internationalist perspectives have dominated discourses about political identity and community, and new language policies were designed and implemented to facilitate Namibia’s transformation from apartheid state to nation-state. Yet a close examination of popular discourses about language reveals a strongly cosmopolitan orientation rooted in opposition to apartheid ideology and in participation in the migrant labor economy. I argue that in this case, cosmopolitan orientations have facilitated the rise of nationalism while nationalism has enabled people to carry out cosmopolitan projects.
In northern Namibia in the late 1990s, many Oshiwambo-speaking people were experiencing problems ... more In northern Namibia in the late 1990s, many Oshiwambo-speaking people were experiencing problems they had not anticipated during the excitement and hopefulness surrounding independence in 1990. In this article, I describe discourses about threats to health and prosperity, and the solutions people proposed to these threats, as they were constructed in private conversations and public song performances, as well as speeches, plays, and radio talk shows. These discourses constitute public opinion about the problems of insufficient educational opportunity, unemployment, crime, excessive alcohol consumption, and HIV/AIDS, and about the ways they might be resolved. I focus particularly on the perspectives of Catholic youth, and show that youth were seen as especially endangered by these threats, as both victims and victimizers; their survival was linked to the survival of the nation itself. Rather than turning to discourses of witchcraft or to ‘traditional’ practices in an effort to address contemporary problems, as documented in other African cases, people in this region called for increased government assistance, greater individual initiative, and stronger Christian values.
This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people l... more This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people living in a former ethnic homeland in recently independent Namibia. In the multidisciplinary scholarship on nationalism, the efforts of nationalist leaders, intellectuals, and officials have figured prominently, but it is equally crucial to study the perspectives of those they seek to shape or mobilize. How do they imagine the nation? In what style do they claim national identities or construct national communities? To address this question, I recorded and analyzed naturally occurring discourse about the nation in Owambo between August 1997 and November 1998. Owambo is a relatively densely populated area on the northern border whose residents have been centrally involved in the migrant labor economy and the nationalist movement. Nearly all identified as Christian, and associated Christianity with education, biomedicine, and other aspects of ‘modernity’ opposed to ‘pagan’ or ‘traditional’ ways of life. I focus in particular on songs composed and performed by members of the Namibian Catholic Youth League. I discuss the grammatical and metaphorical construction of the nation, the relationship between national and Christian communities, and the resonance between nationalist and indigenous political discourses. I found that the nation portrayed in NACAYUL songs could be understood in terms familiar from Richard Handler’s study of Québecois nationalist discourse, though in this case as a collective individual which owned resources rather than took action, and a collection of individuals who shared material interests rather than culture or language. NACAYUL members also imagined Namibia as both modern and Christian, situating it simultaneously within a transnational Christian community and an international system of nation-states, and linking the health of the nation to the faith of its members. Finally, they drew on indigenous discourses about the collective ownership of clans and the religious, political, and economic leadership of kings in imagining the nation as owner and the president as leader. The result is a locally specific and distinctively modern vision of the nation.
When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government began dismantl... more When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government began dismantling the divisive apartheid state and building a unified nation-state. What does this new nation look like from the perspective of ordinary citizens? In Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia, Wendi Haugh provides an ethnographic portrayal of the nation as imagined by people living in the former ethnic homeland of Ovamboland, with a particular focus on the lyrics of songs composed and performed by Catholic youth. The author argues that these youth draw on conflicting ideologies – hierarchical and egalitarian, nationalist and cosmopolitan – from multiple sources to construct a multi-faceted sense of national identity. She reveals how their vision of the nation – framed as neutrally national – is deeply rooted in specific local histories and cultures.
This course investigates a wide variety of environmental conservation projects in Africa. We wil... more This course investigates a wide variety of environmental conservation projects in Africa. We will examine efforts by colonial and post-colonial states to preserve wilderness in national parks, and how local residents have responded. We will study projects developed by international organizations which link environmental conservation with economic benefits for local people. Finally, we will look at indigenous African efforts to conserve natural resources and to restore degraded lands. Throughout the course, we will compare and contrast the perspectives and interests of conservation biologists, government officials, and local residents, among others.
This course explores relationships between humans and other animals, as well as ideas that humans... more This course explores relationships between humans and other animals, as well as ideas that humans have about animals. We will examine the similarities and differences between humans and our closest relatives: the great apes and other primates. We will consider both wild and domestic animals through topics such as hunting and herding, wildlife documentaries and working animals, zoos and pets. Finally, we will delve into the ways animals inspire the human imagination in folktales, magic, and beliefs about shamans and shape-shifters. We will examine cases from around the world, with a special focus on Africa.
This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people l... more This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people living in a former ethnic homeland in recently independent Namibia. In the multidisciplinary scholarship on nationalism, the efforts of nationalist leaders, intellectuals, and officials ...
Page 1. 1209 BOOK REVIEW Wendi A. Haugh Williams College Aaron A. Fox, Real Country: Music and La... more Page 1. 1209 BOOK REVIEW Wendi A. Haugh Williams College Aaron A. Fox, Real Country: Music and Language in Working-Class Culture. Duke University Press, 2004. 363 pp. In Real Country, Aaron Fox has produced a ...
Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithet... more Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithetical. I draw on evidence from research on language attitudes in northern Namibia to argue that they may actually enable each other. In Namibia, nationalist and internationalist perspectives have dominated discourses about political identity and community, and new language policies were designed and implemented to facilitate Namibia’s transformation from apartheid state to nation-state. Yet a close examination of popular discourses about language reveals a strongly cosmopolitan orientation rooted in opposition to apartheid ideology and in participation in the migrant labor economy. I argue that in this case, cosmopolitan orientations have facilitated the rise of nationalism while nationalism has enabled people to carry out cosmopolitan projects.
Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithet... more Nationalist and cosmopolitan identities and projects are generally presented as mutually antithetical. I draw on evidence from research on language attitudes in northern Namibia to argue that they may actually enable each other. In Namibia, nationalist and internationalist perspectives have dominated discourses about political identity and community, and new language policies were designed and implemented to facilitate Namibia’s transformation from apartheid state to nation-state. Yet a close examination of popular discourses about language reveals a strongly cosmopolitan orientation rooted in opposition to apartheid ideology and in participation in the migrant labor economy. I argue that in this case, cosmopolitan orientations have facilitated the rise of nationalism while nationalism has enabled people to carry out cosmopolitan projects.
In northern Namibia in the late 1990s, many Oshiwambo-speaking people were experiencing problems ... more In northern Namibia in the late 1990s, many Oshiwambo-speaking people were experiencing problems they had not anticipated during the excitement and hopefulness surrounding independence in 1990. In this article, I describe discourses about threats to health and prosperity, and the solutions people proposed to these threats, as they were constructed in private conversations and public song performances, as well as speeches, plays, and radio talk shows. These discourses constitute public opinion about the problems of insufficient educational opportunity, unemployment, crime, excessive alcohol consumption, and HIV/AIDS, and about the ways they might be resolved. I focus particularly on the perspectives of Catholic youth, and show that youth were seen as especially endangered by these threats, as both victims and victimizers; their survival was linked to the survival of the nation itself. Rather than turning to discourses of witchcraft or to ‘traditional’ practices in an effort to address contemporary problems, as documented in other African cases, people in this region called for increased government assistance, greater individual initiative, and stronger Christian values.
This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people l... more This study examines discourses about the nation in songs composed and performed by young people living in a former ethnic homeland in recently independent Namibia. In the multidisciplinary scholarship on nationalism, the efforts of nationalist leaders, intellectuals, and officials have figured prominently, but it is equally crucial to study the perspectives of those they seek to shape or mobilize. How do they imagine the nation? In what style do they claim national identities or construct national communities? To address this question, I recorded and analyzed naturally occurring discourse about the nation in Owambo between August 1997 and November 1998. Owambo is a relatively densely populated area on the northern border whose residents have been centrally involved in the migrant labor economy and the nationalist movement. Nearly all identified as Christian, and associated Christianity with education, biomedicine, and other aspects of ‘modernity’ opposed to ‘pagan’ or ‘traditional’ ways of life. I focus in particular on songs composed and performed by members of the Namibian Catholic Youth League. I discuss the grammatical and metaphorical construction of the nation, the relationship between national and Christian communities, and the resonance between nationalist and indigenous political discourses. I found that the nation portrayed in NACAYUL songs could be understood in terms familiar from Richard Handler’s study of Québecois nationalist discourse, though in this case as a collective individual which owned resources rather than took action, and a collection of individuals who shared material interests rather than culture or language. NACAYUL members also imagined Namibia as both modern and Christian, situating it simultaneously within a transnational Christian community and an international system of nation-states, and linking the health of the nation to the faith of its members. Finally, they drew on indigenous discourses about the collective ownership of clans and the religious, political, and economic leadership of kings in imagining the nation as owner and the president as leader. The result is a locally specific and distinctively modern vision of the nation.
When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government began dismantl... more When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government began dismantling the divisive apartheid state and building a unified nation-state. What does this new nation look like from the perspective of ordinary citizens? In Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia, Wendi Haugh provides an ethnographic portrayal of the nation as imagined by people living in the former ethnic homeland of Ovamboland, with a particular focus on the lyrics of songs composed and performed by Catholic youth. The author argues that these youth draw on conflicting ideologies – hierarchical and egalitarian, nationalist and cosmopolitan – from multiple sources to construct a multi-faceted sense of national identity. She reveals how their vision of the nation – framed as neutrally national – is deeply rooted in specific local histories and cultures.
This course investigates a wide variety of environmental conservation projects in Africa. We wil... more This course investigates a wide variety of environmental conservation projects in Africa. We will examine efforts by colonial and post-colonial states to preserve wilderness in national parks, and how local residents have responded. We will study projects developed by international organizations which link environmental conservation with economic benefits for local people. Finally, we will look at indigenous African efforts to conserve natural resources and to restore degraded lands. Throughout the course, we will compare and contrast the perspectives and interests of conservation biologists, government officials, and local residents, among others.
This course explores relationships between humans and other animals, as well as ideas that humans... more This course explores relationships between humans and other animals, as well as ideas that humans have about animals. We will examine the similarities and differences between humans and our closest relatives: the great apes and other primates. We will consider both wild and domestic animals through topics such as hunting and herding, wildlife documentaries and working animals, zoos and pets. Finally, we will delve into the ways animals inspire the human imagination in folktales, magic, and beliefs about shamans and shape-shifters. We will examine cases from around the world, with a special focus on Africa.
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