Afrika südlich der Sahara
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Urban life-worlds in motion: In Africa and beyond
(2010)
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Hans Peter Hahn
- Although throughout the history of anthropology the ethnography
of urban societies was never an important topic, investigations on cities
in Africa contributed to the early theoretical development of urban studies in
social sciences. As the ethnography of rural migrants in towns made clear,
cultural diversity and creativity are foundational and permanent elements of
urban cultures in Africa (and beyond). Currently, two new aspects complement
these insights: 1) Different forms of mobility have received a new
awareness through the concept of transnationalism. They are much more
complex, including not only rural–urban migration, but also urban–urban
migration, and migrations with a destination beyond the continent. 2) Urban
life-worlds also include the appropriation of globally circulating images and
lifestyles, which contribute substantially to the current cultural dynamics of
cities in Africa. These two aspects are the reasons for the high complexity of
urban contexts in Africa. Therefore, whether it is still appropriate to speak
about the “locality” of these life-worlds has become questionable. At the
same time, these new aspects explain the self-consciousness of members of
urban cultures in Africa. They contribute to the expansive character of these
societies and to the impression that cities in Africa host the most innovative
and creative societies worldwide.
