{"product_id":"embodied-engineering-laura-ann-twagira-9780821424681","title":"Embodied Engineering: Gendered Labor, Food Security, and Taste in Twentieth-Century Mali","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eForegrounding African women's ingenuity and labor, this pioneering case study shows how women in rural Mali have used technology to ensure food security through the colonial period, environmental crises, and postcolonial rule.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy advocating for an understanding of rural Malian women as \u003ci\u003eengineers\u003c\/i\u003e, Laura Ann Twagira rejects the persistent image of African women as subjects without technological knowledge or access and instead reveals a hidden history about gender, development, and improvisation. In so doing, she also significantly expands the scope of African science and technology studies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUsing the Office du Niger agricultural project as a case study, Twagira argues that women used modest technologies (such as a mortar and pestle or metal pots) and organized female labor to create, maintain, and reengineer a complex and highly adaptive food production system. While women often incorporated labor-saving technologies into their work routines, they did not view their own physical labor as the problem it is so often framed to be in development narratives. Rather, women's embodied techniques and knowledge were central to their ability to transform a development project centered on export production into an environmental resource that addressed local taste and consumption needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Laura Ann Twagira\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0821424688\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780821424681\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ohio University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/17\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 344\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2022","brand":"Laura Ann Twagira","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43990571745535,"sku":"9780821424681","price":36.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_1a837138-b10f-45d8-a3f6-90a1dad7553e.jpg?v=1683305433","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/embodied-engineering-laura-ann-twagira-9780821424681","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}