Introduction: power, marginality and oral literature

Furniss, Graham; Gunner, Liz

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511521164.003

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Performance, poetry and the state Many writers have pointed out the links between performance and the state, or the ruler and the ruled in the African context (among others, Vail and White 1991;Yankah 1995;Furniss and Gunner [1995] 2008; Finnegan [1970Finnegan [ ] 2012. If, in the light of this collection, we revisit this vast African episteme of the making of the performative space in dialogue with the state what is striking is the tense relation between the state and performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Mapping ‘performance and social meaning in Africa’

Gunner

2015

Journal of African Cultural Studies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Mapping ‘performance and social meaning in Africa’

Gunner

2015

Journal of African Cultural Studies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Studies of power thus need to be approached in conjunction with considerations of authority and legitimacy (Fleisher and Wynne-Jones 2010;Monroe 2013). Similarly, symbols of power do not merely "reflect" the political order: they also need to be understood for their performative work as part of the creation, in a contested arena, of meaning, which again is subject to interpretation, acceptance, rejection, and so on (Furniss and Gunner 1995;DeMarrais 2004). Such an approach to power relations benefits from the vantage point of social praxis (Warnier 2007).…”

Section: A Critique Of Current Approaches To the Study Of The Politicmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Moffett

2017

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Africa and elsewhere, producers form a critical dimension to archaeological reconstructions of the political economy. However, few studies address the relationship between producers and the political economy from the vantage point of production sites. This study addresses the position of metal producers in the regional political economy of Iron Age (AD 200-1900) communities in southern Africa through an in-depth analysis of one production locale, Shankare. Shankare is a production and habitation site located in close proximity to the Lolwe mineral body in Phalaborwa. Studying the organisation of production, identity of producers, mechanisms of exchange and evidence of consumption at Shankare provided an important platform to assess producers in the context of the domestic and regional economy. Research at Shankare and surrounding sites revealed that production was characterised by a community of homestead based producers located in proximity to the ore source. Metal production took place in domestic contexts in conjunction with other activities, and with clear evidence of scheduling and cross-crafting overlaps. Producers acted independently and were well connected within a regional exchange system that facilitated the flow of local products and imported items such as glass beads and cowrie shells (Cypraea annulus). The study of producers at Shankare indicates the presence of a decentralised political economy resulting in a high degree of autonomy of producers and consumers in the region. Comparisons between the organisation of metal production at Shankare through time indicate that in both occupational periods, AD 900-1300 and AD 1700-1900, production strategies were contextually negotiated, with no clear correlation between political centralisation and specialised production. This research challenges existing models of control and the enactment of power in the political economy of the Iron Age. It has further potential implications for reconsidering the parameters for identifying power relations utilised in global archaeological theory. I would like to acknowledge a number of individuals and institutions that have made this research possible. Funding for my studies was provided through a grant-holder linked National Research Foundation (NRF) bursary facilitated by Associate Professor Shadreck Chirikure. Additional funding from the Erasmus-Mundus Association allowed me to spend five months at K.U. Leuven in Belgium from which I greatly benefited. Access to Shankare for fieldwork was granted by the Palabora Mining Company. Special thanks to Tim Paxton and the heritage officers Johannes Malatji, Adam Mhlongo, Thembani and Mandla who facilitated our research at Shankare and also contributed towards our understanding of the site. Guy Thomas,

show abstract

“…'Different societies display differing aesthetics in relation to the act of speaking and to verbal art in particular' (Furniss 2004: 70). These aesthetics and how they are formalised will depend, among other things, on the values, norms and functions of oral narratives in a society (see Furniss 2004). While both oral and written narratives use formulas, rhythm, parallelism, alliteration, assonance and special syntactic features, they are not used in the same way, or to the same degree.…”

Section: Oral Narratives and Written Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Folk Stories and Personal Narratives in Palestinian Spoken Arabic

Sirhan¹

2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: power, marginality and oral literature

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Mapping ‘performance and social meaning in Africa’

Mapping ‘performance and social meaning in Africa’

‘Phalaborwa where the hammer is heard’: crafting together the political economy of Iron Age communities in southern Africa, AD 900–1900

Folk Stories and Personal Narratives in Palestinian Spoken Arabic

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About