Overview

In this fine-grained history, Michael O. West focuses on how the unintended consequences of colonialism lead to the creation of an African middle class in Zimbabwe. Tracing Africans' quest for social recognition from the time of Cecil Rhodes to Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence, West shows how some Africans were able to avail themselves of scarce educational and social opportunities in order to achieve some degree of upward mobility in a society that was hostile to their ambitions. Though relatively few in numbers and not rich by colonial standards, this comparatively better class of Africans challenged individual and social barriers imposed by colonialism to become the locus of protest against European domination. The Rise of an African Middle Class explores the origin, identity, and consciousness of the new ""elite"" as well as their educational and residential patterns, political and social affiliations, and the community associations that provided structure and strength to their numbers. Eventually becoming the political and social leaders of their country, West points to Zimbabwe's African middle class and their roles, interests, aspirations, and unity of purpose as a key factors in building the postcolonial democratic state. West's extensive and original book lends unique perspective to the complex relations between colonisers and colonised.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael West
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
Imprint:   Indiana University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.612kg
ISBN:  

9780253340856

ISBN 10:   0253340853
Pages:   344
Publication Date:   19 August 2002
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Unknown
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Preliminary Table of Contents: Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Colonial and Postcolonial Place NamesIntroductionPart 1. The Social Construction of the African Middle Class1. Running Against the Wind: African Social Mobility and Identity in a Settler Colonial Society2. Courting Miss Education : The Love Affair with Social Mobility3. The Quest for Bourgeois Domesticity: On Homemakers and Households4. The Best of All Homes: Housing and Security of TenurePart 2. The Political Construction of the African Middle Class5. A New Beginning: The Roots of African Politics, 1914-19336. Found and Lost: Toward an African Political Consensus, 1934-19487. Back Toward the Beginning: The Pursuit of Racial Partnership, 1949-19588. An Aborted Coronation: In Search of the Political Kingdom, 1955-1965ConclusionNotes; Bibliography; Index

Reviews

Offers an extremely sophisticated, nuanced view of the social and political construction of an African middle class in colonial Zimbabwe. -Elizabeth Schmidt ... the most important book to date on the origins and activities of the African elite in Southern Rhodesia... -John Higginson

""Offers an extremely sophisticated, nuanced view of the social and political construction of an African middle class in colonial Zimbabwe."" -Elizabeth Schmidt ""... the most important book to date on the origins and activities of the African elite in Southern Rhodesia... "" -John Higginson

Author Information

Michael O. West teaches in the Departments of Sociology and Africana Studies at Binghamton University. He is co-editor (with William G. Martin) of Out of One, Many Africas: Reconstructing the Study and Meaning of Africa. He has written widely on Zimbabwean and southern African history, and on the African diaspora.

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