Preliminary Programme

Wed 12 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Thu 13 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Fri 14 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00
    16.30 - 18.30

Sat 15 April
    08.30 - 10.30
    11.00 - 13.00
    14.00 - 16.00

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Thursday 13 April 2023 14.00 - 16.00
F-7 AFR04 Social History after Independence: How to Write on Africa‘s Postcolonial History
B24
Network: Africa Chair: Alexander Keese
Organizers: Alexander Keese, Andreas Zeman Discussant: Alexander Keese
Cassandra Mark-Thiesen : History Journals and the Forging of New Pathways to Africa’s Postcolonial Past: a Textual Analysis Approach
Answering a decolonial call for the engagement with forms and bodies of knowledge overlooked by colonial modernity, my current research project aims to cast more light on the historical trajectories of history journals from Africa in the hope of reanimating the well of knowledge that they hold for the broader ... (Show more)
Answering a decolonial call for the engagement with forms and bodies of knowledge overlooked by colonial modernity, my current research project aims to cast more light on the historical trajectories of history journals from Africa in the hope of reanimating the well of knowledge that they hold for the broader field of African Studies. Not only do these publications have the potential to expand the historiography in meaningful ways, but also they also can provide new angles on postcolonial struggles related to panafricanism, nationalism, political economy, and Africa-based knowledge production. While a close reading approach in the paper centres the political strategies of editors and the research questions of scholars, machine-based text analysis illuminates publishing and editorial
networks (and dysconnectivity), as well as the contextual background of key themes in the historiography over time. (Show less)

Hyden Munene : The Dynamics of Labour and Racial Relations in Zambia’s Copperbelt Mines, 1964-1991
By 1964, anthropologists and historians affiliated to the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute and Manchester University had transformed our understanding of labour, class and race in the development of the Northern Rhodesian (Zambian) copper industry during the colonial era. Following decolonisation and the rise of the new labour history, studies of labour and ... (Show more)
By 1964, anthropologists and historians affiliated to the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute and Manchester University had transformed our understanding of labour, class and race in the development of the Northern Rhodesian (Zambian) copper industry during the colonial era. Following decolonisation and the rise of the new labour history, studies of labour and racial relations in the Copperbelt mines fragmented between 1964 and 1991. Using primary material obtained from four Zambian archives, as well as interviews and questionnaires with former management and ordinary level employees in the copper industry, this paper examines the dynamics of labour and racial relations in Zambia’s Copperbelt mines between 1964 and 1991. The significance of the information obtained from the National Archives of Zambia, the United National Independence Party Archive, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Archive, and Mineworkers’ Union of Zambia Headquarters, is manifest in the discussion on how decolonisation, nationalisation, Zambianisation and the indigenisation of labour, as well as the world economic recession, coupled with the burst in the copper market, interconnected to affect labour and racial relations in the industry. The paper tries to bridge the gaps in archival sources by engaging some information from interviews and questionnaires.

In the period under consideration, labour and racial relations on the Zambian Copperbelt were changed by the introduction of the dual (European and African) labour structure comprised of a segregated workforce and separate trade unions, as well as the impact of the colour bar, African Advancement, indigenisation and Zambianisation policies. The paper argues that the Copperbelt mining companies’ efforts to fight white racism, abolish the colour bar, and advance Africans into identical/ragged-edge, intermediate, and supervisory jobs given to or reserved for Europeans in the sector were undermined by the impact of the dual labour structure and racial segregation, which maintained the privileged position of white workers. Despite a change of government in 1964 and the emphasis on nationalisation of the economy and rapid indigenisation and Zambianisation in the industry, white miners remained entrenched in technical, managerial, and supervisory positions, which undermined the advancement of Africans into these jobs. Additionally, the government and the mining companies failed to introduce an effective single-wage structure and improve the general conditions of African workers in the industry due to the impact of the world economic crisis after 1974. Inequalities embedded in the dual labour and wage structure undermined the government and Copperbelt mining companies’ efforts to improve industrial/racial relations in the industry. (Show less)

Lynn Schler : Peripheral Repositories : Using the Israel State Archives to Write Nigerian History
Historians of Nigeria are often confronted with difficulties accessing archival materials relating to the history of the postcolonial years. This presentation reviews the possibilities and limitations of using the under-utilized Israeli State Archive (ISA) as a resource for scholars of Nigeria’s First Republic. The ISA holdings reflect the broad and ... (Show more)
Historians of Nigeria are often confronted with difficulties accessing archival materials relating to the history of the postcolonial years. This presentation reviews the possibilities and limitations of using the under-utilized Israeli State Archive (ISA) as a resource for scholars of Nigeria’s First Republic. The ISA holdings reflect the broad and varied relations between Israel and Nigeria that began in 1957 and continued until the end of the First Republic and beyond, until the break in ties in 1973. Documentary evidence from the very first encounters between government officials, labor organizers, commercial interests and diplomats sheds light on the variety of aspirations and objectives that guided Nigeria’s process of decolonization. The contacts between Israelis and Nigerians, and the records relating to them, increased as independence approached. Once official ties were established in 1960, the Israeli presence and involvement in economic and political ventures grew exponentially. Throughout this time, Israeli diplomats and commercial interests submitted detailed reports about meetings and conversations with their Nigerian counterparts, and these records provide new insights into the political agendas and strategies of Nigeria’s political elites, the economic interests of the era, and also the ideologies and social agendas driving the transition to independence. The ISA also provides vast documentation on development assistance programs and economic relations between Israel and each of Nigeria’s regions. Alongside the contributions that the ISA can make to historians of Nigeria, there are several limitations to using this repository, and these will be reviewed as well. (Show less)

Andreas Zeman : Towards a History of Zambia’s Tractor Drivers: Possibilities and Limitations
In many African countries, government involvement in agriculture increased impressively in the years following independence. In Zambia, the state focused on promoting and supporting agricultural cooperatives. In the context of Kenneth Kaunda’s ideology of humanism, cooperatives were seen not only as a viable instrument of economic modernization, but also as ... (Show more)
In many African countries, government involvement in agriculture increased impressively in the years following independence. In Zambia, the state focused on promoting and supporting agricultural cooperatives. In the context of Kenneth Kaunda’s ideology of humanism, cooperatives were seen not only as a viable instrument of economic modernization, but also as a new ‘way of life’ that was closely linked to the United National Independence Party's (UNIP’s) nation-building efforts. Although always treated in the shadow of the state’s involvement in the copper industry, the role of the state in Zambian agriculture has received some scholarly attention. However, previous literature has focused on questions of the political rationale behind and economic failure of the state’s agricultural policies (Turok 1981; Good 1986; Bowman 2011). Little is known about the histories of the members of the cooperatives and how they experienced their participation as (potential) agents of social change. This contribution attempts to make a first step to fill this research gap by focusing on a specific group of agricultural workers, namely those who operated tractors. Muntemba (1978) and Bowman (2011) have highlighted the importance that the Zambian government initially placed on farm mechanization, as tractors had the advantage of not only promising agricultural intensification but also of representing powerful symbols of modernization and progress. The history of tractor drivers can thus be seen as emblematic of the social change envisioned by the Zambian government in general, and thus constitutes—as this paper seeks to show—a possible door-opener for the study of the social history of Zambian agricultural cooperatives in general. Exploring both oral and archival sources, this paper will reflect about the possibilites and limitations of reconstructing this history. (Show less)



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