Expectations of modernity : myths and meanings of urban life on the Zambian Copperbelt / James Ferguson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ferguson, James, 1959-2025.

Series:

Perspectives on Southern Africa ; 57.

Perspectives on Southern Africa ; 57

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Urban anthropology--Zambia--Copperbelt Province.

Urban anthropology.

Urbanization--Zambia--Copperbelt Province.

Urbanization.

Industrialization--Zambia--Copperbelt Province.

Industrialization.

Copper industry and trade--Zambia--Copperbelt Province.

Copper industry and trade.

Copper mines and mining--Zambia--Copperbelt Province.

Copper mines and mining.

Zambia--Social conditions--1964-.

Zambia.

Zambia--Economic conditions--1964-.

Zambia--Politics and government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xvii, 326 pages) : illustrations, maps.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, Calif. : University of California Press, [1999]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Once lauded as the wave of the African future, Zambia's economic boom in the 1960's and early 1970's was fueled by the export of copper and other primary materials. Since the mid-1970's, however, the urban economy has rapidly deteriorated, leaving workers scrambling to get by. Expectations of Modernity explores the social and cultural responses to this prolonged period of sharp economic decline. Focusing on the experiences of mineworkers in the Copperbelt region, James Ferguson traces the failure of standard narratives of urbanization and social change to make sense of the Copperbelt's recent history. He instead develops alternative analytic tools appropriate for an "ethnography of decline. "Ferguson shows how the Zambian copper workers understand their own experience of social, cultural, and economic "advance" and "decline." Ferguson's ethnographic study transports us into their lives-the dynamics of their relations with family and friends, as well as copper companies and government agencies. Theoretically sophisticated and vividly written, Expectations of Modernity will appeal not only to those interested in Africa today, but to anyone contemplating the illusory successes of today's globalizing economy.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

List of Cases

Acknowledgments

1. The Copperbelt in Theory

2. Expectations of Permanence

3. Rural Connections, Urban Styles

4. "Back to the Land"?

5. Expectations of Domesticity

6. Asia in Miniature

7. Global Disconnect

Postscript: December 1998

Appendix: Mineworkers' Letters

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-320) and index.

ISBN:

9786613520319

9781280088230

1280088230

9780520922280

052092228X

9780585283036

0585283036

OCLC:

45730914

Publisher Number:

(ebook)