Overview

The dominant trend in pastoralist studies has long assumed that pastoralism and pastoral gender relations are inherently patriarchal. The contributors to this collection, in contrast, use diverse analytic approaches to demonstrate that pastoralist gender relations are dynamic, relational, historical, and produced through complex local-translocal interactions. Combining theoretically sophisticated analysis with detailed case studies, this collection will appeal to those doing research and teaching in African studies, gender studies, anthropology, and history. Among the topics discussed are pastoralism, patriarchy, and history among Maasai in Tanganyika; women's roles in peacemaking in Somali society; the fertility of houses and herds; gender, aging, and postchildbearing experience in a Tuareg community; and milk selling among Fulani women in Northern Burkina Faso.

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9780821413692

Table of Contents

Reviews

This collection will be a very important contribution in the studies of pastoralist societies in Africa. As argued by the editor in the introduction, the role and status of women among these allegedly predominantly male-dominated societies has not been properly examined. This is one of the first books to challenge this gender bias in the field in a scholarly and systematic way. The papers in the book cover various domains where women actively participate, giving the book a sense of being well designed and comprehensive. -- Eisei Kurimoto, associate professor, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka

This collection will be a very important contribution in the studies of pastoralist societies in Africa. As argued by the editor in the introduction, the role and status of women among these allegedly predominantly male-dominated societies has not been properly examined. This is one of the first books to challenge this gender bias in the field in a scholarly and systematic way. The papers in the book cover various domains where women actively participate, giving the book a sense of being well designed and comprehensive. -- Eisei Kurimoto, associate professor, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka

Author Information

Dorothy L. Hodgson is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University.

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