{"product_id":"modernity-and-its-malcontents-jean-comaroff-9780226114408","title":"Modernity and Its Malcontents: Ritual and Power in Postcolonial Africa","description":"What role does ritual play in the everyday lives of modern Africans? How are so-called \"traditional\" cultural forms deployed by people seeking empowerment in a world where \"modernity\" has failed to deliver on its promises? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSome of the essays in \u003ci\u003eModernity and Its Malcontents\u003c\/i\u003e address familiar anthropological issues--like witchcraft, myth, and the politics of reproduction--but treat them in fresh ways, situating them amidst the polyphonies of contemporary Africa. Others explore distinctly nontraditional subjects--among them the Nigerian popular press and soul-eating in Niger--in such a way as to confront the conceptual limits of Western social science. Together they demonstrate how ritual may be powerfuly mobilized in the making of history, present, and future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAddressing challenges posed by contemporary African realities, the authors subject such concepts as modernity, ritual, power, and history to renewed critical scrutiny. Writing about a variety of phenomena, they are united by a wish to preserve the diversity and historical specificity of local signs and practices, voices and perspectives. Their work makes a substantial and original contribution toward the historical anthropology of Africa. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe contributors, all from the Africanist circle at the University of Chicago, are Adeline Masquelier, Deborah Kaspin, J. Lorand Matory, Ralph A. Austen, Andrew Apter, Misty L. Bastian, Mark Auslander, and Pamela G. Schmoll.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jean Comaroff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0226114406\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226114408\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/01\/1993\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.06h x 6.04w x 0.59d","brand":"Jean Comaroff","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43913421193471,"sku":"9780226114408","price":34.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/products\/img_2a050e07-692a-4b38-ab9f-c8261cbf7d83.jpg?v=1680620316","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/modernity-and-its-malcontents-jean-comaroff-9780226114408","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}