The Social Life of Connectivity in Africa

The rapid increase in adoption of modern 'connective' technologies like the mobile phone has reshaped the social landscape of Africa. This book examines the myriad possibilities that the post-global moment offers African societies to develop and to relate, offering profound new insights into the processes of globalization. Introduction: connectivity and the post-global moment: (dis- )connections and social change in Africa Mirjam de Bruijn and Rijk van Dijk -- Flows and forces: once contained, now detained? on connections past and present in Rwanda Danielle de Lame -- Research practice in connections: travels and methods Mirjam de Bruijn and Inge Brinkman -- Patriarchy turned upside down: the flight of the royal women of Kom, Cameroon from 1920 to the 1960s Walter Gam Nkwi -- Beyond the last frontier: Major Trollope and the eastern Caprivi Zipfel Jan-Bart Gewald -- The "Victorian internet" reaches halfway to Cairo: Cape Tanganyika telegraphs, 1875-1926 Neil Parsons -- Marriages and mobility in Akan societies: disconnections and connections over time and space Astrid Bochow -- A ritual connection: urban youth marrying in the village in Botswana Rijk van Dijk -- Connecting communities and business: public-private partnerships as the panacea for land reform in Limpopo Province, South Africa Marja Spierenburg, Ben Cousins, Angelique Bos & Lubabalo Ntsholo -- Connectivities compared: transnational Islamic NGOs in Chad and Senegal Mayke Kaag -- Love therapy: a Brazilian Pentecostal (dis)connection in Maputo Linda van de Kamp -- Ajala travel: mobility and connections as forms of social capital in Nigerian society Oka Obono & Koblowe Obono -- Connecting "ourselves": a Dogon ethnic association and the impact of connectivity Walter E.A. van Beek -- Intimate strangers: connecting fiction and ethnography Francis B. Nyamnjoh Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction Connectivity and the Postglobal Moment: (Dis)connections and Social Change in Africa....Pages 1-20 Flows and Forces: Once Contained, Now Detained? On Connections Past and Present in Rwanda....Pages 21-44 Research Practice in Connections: Travels and Methods....Pages 45-63 Patriarchy Turned Upside Down: The Flight of the Royal Women of Kom, Cameroon from 1920 to the 1960s....Pages 65-80 Beyond the Last Frontier: Major Trollope and the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel....Pages 81-93 The “Victorian Internet” Reaches Halfway to Cairo: Cape Tanganyika Telegraphs, 1875–1926....Pages 95-121 Marriages and Mobility in Akan Societies: Disconnections and Connections over Time and Space....Pages 123-139 A Ritual Connection: Urban Youth Marrying in the Village in Botswana....Pages 141-159 Connecting Communities and Business: Public-Private Partnerships as the Panacea for Land Reform in Limpopo Province, South Africa....Pages 161-182 Connectivities Compared: Transnational Islamic NGOs in Chad and Senegal....Pages 183-201 Love Therapy: A Brazilian Pentecostal (Dis)connection in Maputo....Pages 203-225 Ajala Travel: Mobility and Connections as Forms of Social Capital in Nigerian Society....Pages 227-241 Connecting “Ourselves”: A Dogon Ethnic Association and the Impact of Connectivity....Pages 243-264 Intimate Strangers: Connecting Fiction and Ethnography....Pages 265-287 Back Matter....Pages 289-295 In an age of new technologies of connections, understanding social transformations in Africa through connections has become pivotal. Africa has now arrived at a juncture, referred to as a 'post-global' moment, where connections have turned the global to a normalcy in Africa and elsewhere. Yet a model to understand social transformations from the perspective of the social life of connections is still lacking. Noting that the nature of the connection is often overlooked in social theory, the studies outlined in this volume explore how connectedness continues to change Africa and how Africa continues to shape the social life of connections