China Science

The article examines the position of the University of Cape Town (UCT) on academic freedom and institutional autonomy. It also provides information on the Mafeje Affair, in which its 40th anniversary was celebrated through a public symposium held at UCT in South Africa in August 2008. The concept of a social policy or racial segregation, as compared to liberal universities was also discussed, as well as their differences in policies and practices. The article also offers a narrative account of the UCT’s decision-making process on the appointment of Archie Mafeje as the senior lecturer in the Department of Social Anthropology.

Hendricks, Fred1
[1]Rhodes University, Grahamstown

The article discusses the construction of the World Cup stadiums in Cape Town and Durban. It also explores on the interconnection of different factors that influence the decision-making process of policy makers in South Africa. It also offers information based on media sources and documents from the South Africa’s 2010 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC). It is cited that the political economy of world football, which is dominated by institutions, media and corporations, influences the processes of decision-making and policy-making in the local context.

Alegi, Peter1
[1]Department of History, Michigan State University,

The article discusses the gendered respectability, which was built into a labour process of shop work in South Africa. It offers a brief history of the interactions between white women and black service workers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is said that the National Union of Distributive Workers (NUDW) had protected the rights and reputability of white women workers. It is cited that the NUDW had raised public claims to employers and to their white customers, to defend for the legitimacy of women’s status as workers.

Kenny, Bridget1
[1]University of the Witwatersrand,

The article describes and analyses the conflicts over land, authority and natural resources among the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the ethnic groups in West Caprivi in Namibia. It also offers information on the tribalism, tradition and ethnicity in South Africa, and also presents and analysis on the multi-layered political nature of identities. The ethnic groups, namely Khwe and Mbukushu, were also discussed, as well as their contested authority in relation to the state and how the people of each group were constructed.

Taylor, Julie J.1
[1]Department of International Development, University of Oxford,

The article discusses the slum demolitions, land and democratisation in Kenya. It suggests that a group within the Kenya African National Union (KANU) has intensified the demolitions in the 1990s, as the fight for multi-party elections began to heighten. It is said that the the reason behind the demolition was securing a slum clearance, a way of keeping in check urban popular dissent, which was linked to support multi-partyism. It is cited that slum clearance was also a way to punish insubordination through withdrawing access to land.

Klopp, Jacqueline M.1
[1]School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University,

The article discusses masquerade politics in Southeastern Nigeria in the 21st century. The article mentions the Igbo tribe and its revival of masquerade festivals and burial ceremonies following the Nigerian Civil War. The article discusses the concept of modern Nigerian identity, ethnic elements of Nigeria, and a localized sense of identity. The article mentions an increase of money coming into Nigera in the late 20th century as a result of oil revenues, and the parallel increase in Nigerian masquerades, rural festivals, and burial ceremonies. The article mentions the presence of Christian and evangelical churches in Nigeria, and it theorizes an increase in hostility towards traditional culture as a result.

Bentor, Eli1Email: bentore@appstate.edu
[1]Appalachian State University, United States

The article discusses the Yoruba ancestor cult, which is located primarily in southern Benin, specifically in the region of Abomey. The article analyzes the Yoruba as a means of understanding how society interacts with the past. The article mentions “Yoruba authenticity,” nostalgia, and the ways in which social actors relate, in a non-monolithic way, to the past. The article gives a history of the region of Benin, which is located in western Africa. The article mentions “egun” or “egungun” cults, masquerades, shrines, identity, and authenticity. The article also references the Guèdègbe lineage and the artist Bernard Maupoil.

Noret, Jo#235?l1,2Email: jnoret@ulb.ac.be
[1]Research Associate, Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS, Belgium);[2]Member, Laboratoire d’Anthropologie des Mondes Contemporains (LAMC), Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)

The article discusses masquerade and masking traditions in Africa as being a primary topic of African art studies in the 20th century. The article mentions precolonial pasts, traditions of visual practice, and the interest of European modernist artists in African art. The article mentions the modernist painting “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” by Pablo Picasso, and the mask-like visuals featured in the work. Artists mentioned include Ben Enonowu, Uche Okeke, Keith Piper, Eddie Chambers, and Ras Ishi Butcher. The article also mentions the term “Ethnographic,” as well as the circumstances of production, distribution, and consumption of African art traditions.

Gore, CharlesEmail: cg2@soas.ac.uk