The dance of politics : gender, performance, and democratization in Malawi / Lisa Gilman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gilman, Lisa, 1969-

Series:

African soundscapes.

African soundscapes

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dance--Political aspects--Malawi.

Dance.

Women--Malawi--Social conditions.

Women.

Malawi--Politics and government.

Malawi.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (269 p.)

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Election campaigns, political events, and national celebration days in Malawi usually feature groups of women who dance and perform songs of praise for politicians and political parties. These lively performances help to attract and energize throngs of prospective voters. However, as Lisa Gilman explains, "praise performing" is one of the only ways that women are allowed to participate in a male-dominated political system. Although political performances by women are not unique to Malawi, the case in Malawi is complicated by the fact that until 1994 all Malawian

Contents:

Contents; Acknowledgments; 1 Introduction: Gender, Power, and Performance; 2 Dance and Nationalism in the Independence Movement; 3 Dance and Social Control During Banda's Presidency; 4 Dance, the Transition to Multipartyism, and Patronage; 5 Power and Performance in Political Rallies; 6 Why Do Women Dance?; 7 Gendering Democracy; 8 Gender at the Intersection of Politics, Democratization, and Tradition; Appendix A: Brief Timeline of Malawi's Recent Political History; Appendix B: People Interviewed; Appendix C: Political Functions Attended and Referenced

Appendix D: Associated Multimedia WebsitesReferences; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [233]-248) and index.

ISBN:

9786612329074

9781282329072

1282329073

9781592139873

1592139876

OCLC:

430947567