Fashioning Africa: Power and the Politics of Dress (African Expressive Cultures)

Everywhere in the world there is a close connection between the clothes we wear and our political expression. To date, few scholars have explored what clothing means in 20th-century Africa and the diaspora. In Fashioning Africa, an international group of anthropologists, historians, and art historians bring rich and diverse perspectives to this fascinating topic. From clothing as an expression of freedom in early colonial Zanzibar to Somali women's headcovering in inner-city Minneapolis, these essays explore the power of dress in African and pan-African settings. Nationalist and diasporic identities, as well as their histories and politics, are examined at the level of what is put on the body every day. Readers interested in fashion history, material and expressive cultures, understandings of nation-state styles, and expressions of a distinctive African modernity will be engaged by this interdisciplinary and broadly appealing volume. Contributors are Heather Marie Akou, Jean Allman, A. Boatema Boateng, Judith Byfield, Laura Fair, Karen Tranberg Hansen, Margaret Jean Hay, Andrew M. Ivaska, Phyllis M. Martin, Marissa Moorman, Elisha P. Renne, and Victoria L. Rovine. Cover......Page 1 TOC......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 Fashioning Africa: Power and the Politics of Dress......Page 10 1. Remaking Fashion in the Paris of the Indian Ocean: Dress,Performance, and the Cultural Construction of a CosmopolitanZanzibari Identity......Page 22 2. Dress and Politics in Post–World War II Abeokuta (WesternNigeria)......Page 40 3. Nationalism without a Nation: Understanding the Dress of SomaliWomen in Minnesota......Page 59 4. Changes in Clothing and Struggles over Identity in ColonialWestern Kenya......Page 76 5. Putting on a Pano and Dancing Like Our Grandparents: Nation andDress in Late Colonial Luanda......Page 93 6. “Anti-mini Militants Meet Modern Misses”: Urban Style, Gender,and the Politics of “National Culture” in 1960s Dar es Salaam,Tanzania......Page 113 7. From Khaki to Agbada: Dress and Political Transition inNigeria......Page 134 8. “Let Your Fashion Be in Line with Our Ghanaian Costume”: Nation,Gender, and the Politics of Cloth-ing in Nkrumah’s Ghana......Page 153 9. Dressing Dangerously: Miniskirts, Gender Relations, and Sexualityin Zambia......Page 175 10. Fashionable Traditions: The Globalization of an African Textile......Page 198 11. African Textiles and the Politics of Diasporic Identity-Making......Page 221 Afterword......Page 236 List of Contributors......Page 240 Index......Page 244 Fashioning Africa / Jean Allman -- Remaking Fashion In The Paris Of The Indian Ocean / Laura Fair -- Dress And Politics In Post-world War Ii Abeokuta (western Nigeria) / Judith Byfield -- Nationalism Without A Nation / Heather Marie Akou -- Changes In Clothing And Struggles Over Identity In Colonial Western Kenya / Margaret Jean Hay -- Putting On A Pano And Dancing Like Our Grandparents / Marissa Moorman -- Anti-mini Militants Meet Modern Misses / Andrew M. Ivaska -- From Khaki To Agbada / Elisha P. Renne -- Let Your Fashion Be In Line With Our Ghanaian Costume / Jean Allman -- Dressing Dangerously / Karen Tranberg Hansen -- Fashionable Traditions / Victoria L. Rovine -- African Textiles And The Politics Of Diasporic Identity-making / Boatema Boateng -- Afterword / Phyllis M. Martin. Edited By Jean Allman. Papers Presented On Two Panels At The 2001 Meeting Of The African Studies Association In Houston, Texas--p. [vii]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Everywhere in the world there is a close connection between the clothes we wear and our political expression. To date, few scholars have explored what clothing means in 20th-century Africa and the diaspora. In Fashioning Africa, an international group of anthropologists, historians, and art historians bring rich and diverse perspectives to this fascinating topic. From clothing as an expression of freedom in early colonial Zanzibar to Somali women's head covering in inner-city Minneapolis, these essays.. Dress has historically been used as one of the most important and visually immediate markers of class, status, and ethnicity in East African coastal society.