
Colonialism and Violence in Zimbabwe
A History of Suffering
Heike I. Schmidt(Author)
James Currey (Publisher)
Published on 21. February 2013
Book
Hardback
303 pages
978-1-84701-051-3 (ISBN)
Description
A highly original treatment of significant topics in African Studies and beyond: violence, colonialism, landscape, memory and religion.
Suffering, the experience of violation brought on by an act of violence or violent circumstances, is omnipresent in today's world - if only indirectly through global media representation. Despite this apparent immediacy, understanding how a person makes sense of his or her suffering tends to be fragmentary and often elusive. This book examines this key question through the lens of rural Zimbabwe and a frontier area on the border with Mozambique. It shows how African women, men, and children fashioned their life-worlds in the face of conflict.
Historian Heike Schmidt challenges the apparently inseparable twin pairing of Africa and suffering. Even in situations of great distress, she argues, individuals and groups may articulate their social desires and political ambitions, and reforge their identities - as long as the experience of violence is not one of sheer terror. She emphasizes the crucial role women, chiefs, and youths played in the renegotiation of a sense of belonging during different periods of time. Based on sustained fieldwork, Colonialism and Violence offers a compelling history of suffering in a smallvalley in Zimbabwe over the course of 150 years.
Heike Schmidt is Lecturer in Modern History, University of Reading.
Suffering, the experience of violation brought on by an act of violence or violent circumstances, is omnipresent in today's world - if only indirectly through global media representation. Despite this apparent immediacy, understanding how a person makes sense of his or her suffering tends to be fragmentary and often elusive. This book examines this key question through the lens of rural Zimbabwe and a frontier area on the border with Mozambique. It shows how African women, men, and children fashioned their life-worlds in the face of conflict.
Historian Heike Schmidt challenges the apparently inseparable twin pairing of Africa and suffering. Even in situations of great distress, she argues, individuals and groups may articulate their social desires and political ambitions, and reforge their identities - as long as the experience of violence is not one of sheer terror. She emphasizes the crucial role women, chiefs, and youths played in the renegotiation of a sense of belonging during different periods of time. Based on sustained fieldwork, Colonialism and Violence offers a compelling history of suffering in a smallvalley in Zimbabwe over the course of 150 years.
Heike Schmidt is Lecturer in Modern History, University of Reading.
Reviews / Votes
An admirable collection of accounts of the history of conflict and suffering that have been an almost constant feature of life for the Valley's inhabitants as long as anyone can remember. * INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
16 s/w Abbildungen, 4 s/w Zeichnungen
16 b/w, 4 line illus.
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84701-051-3 (9781847010513)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
02/2013
1st Edition
De Gruyter
€48.99
Available for download
Person
Heike I. Schmidt
Content
Introduction
Living on the Frontier: Opportunity and Danger
Imagining Foreign Lands: Landscapes of Violence
The Frontier Society Under Threat: Politicization and Militancy
War Rages Hot: Insurgency and Counter-insurgency
After Violence: Healing the Wounds of War
Epilogue: Violence That Does Not Haunt
Living on the Frontier: Opportunity and Danger
Imagining Foreign Lands: Landscapes of Violence
The Frontier Society Under Threat: Politicization and Militancy
War Rages Hot: Insurgency and Counter-insurgency
After Violence: Healing the Wounds of War
Epilogue: Violence That Does Not Haunt