There is currently no single-volume history of Zimbabwe that provides detailed coverage of the country's experience from precolonial times to the present. © This collection: the editors, and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, 2009. James Muzondidya's chapter details the transition 'from buoyancy to crisis', and Brian Raftopoulos concludes the book with an analysis of the decade-long crisis and the global political agreement which followed. After independence in 1980, Zimbabwe enjoyed a period of buoyancy and hope. The politics and economics of the UDI period, and the subsequent war of liberation, are covered by Joesph Mtisi, Munyaradzi Nyakudya and Teresa Barnes. Sabelo Ndlovu tracks the history up to WW11, and Alois Mlambo reviews developments in the settler economy and the emergence of nationalism leading to UDI in 1965. In their Introduction, Brian Raftopoulos and Alois Mlambo enlarge on these themes, and Gerald Mazarire's opening chapter sets the pre-colonial background. a tolerant and continuing process of questioning and re-examination.' Becoming Zimbabwe tracks the idea of national belonging and citizenship and explores the nature of state rule, the changing contours of the political economy, and the regional and international dimensions of the country's history. In 1997, the then Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, Morgan Tsvangirai, expressed the need for a 'more open and critical process of writing history in Zimbabwe.The history of a nation-in-the-making should not be reduced to a selective heroic tradition, but should be. View full-textīecoming Zimbabwe is the first comprehensive history of Zimbabwe, spanning the years from 850 to 2008. This introduction discusses the making of Becoming Zimbabwe and sets it in the broader, post-colonial, intellectual context from which it emerged. Contrary to persistent nationalist hopes and claims on 'an unquestioned national identity', to use Joshua Nkomo's (1984) words, the chapters of this book track the uneven and difficult road towards 'becoming national' in Zimbabwe, as elsewhere in African history. ![]() In addition, the book seeks to locate these developments within the dynamics of Southern African history. polities, imperial intervention, settler colonialism and post-colonial challenges. From an unpackaging of major political identities such as the 'Shona', 'Ndebele' and 'white settlers', the book situates these constructions in the context of the changing politics and political economies of pre-colonial. In an attempt to come to terms with the complexities of Zimbabwe's current crisis, the book Becoming Zimbabwe (2009) presents a long-term critical assessment of Zimbabwe's past.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |