Britain Zimbabwe Society’s Annual Research Day 2012
The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s Annual Research Day will be held on the
16th June at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford and will showcase research
on ‘Zimbabwe and the Region’. The research day is an annual event
focusing on academic research, but invites contributions from other
practitioners to provide a wider context for academic papers. Priority
is given to researchers from Zimbabwe and doctoral students working on
related topics. Academics and non-academics are equally welcome.
This year participants will explore the historical and contemporary
connections between Zimbabwe and her neighbours through a series of
panels arranged around the following broad areas:
● the making of Zimbabwean identity, regional comparisons and contrasts
● cross-border identities, movements and connections during the
liberation struggle
● Zimbabwe, SADC and the region’s role in resolving the recent political
impasse
● Zimbabwe, the region and beyond
The southern African region, broadly conceived, has a rich and
inter-connected history of social, cultural and political movements
which transcend national boundaries. During the pre-colonial era,
polities and territorial cults cut across areas of land later divided
by colonial borders. Colonialism also opened up areas of southern
Africa to a greater degree of demographic mobility, producing a rich
cultural and political heritage. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the
various liberation struggles of southern Africa were closely connected
through the formation of governments in exile, expressions of
solidarity between nationalist/revolutionary parties, and the
establishment of military training camps and bases across borders.
Since independence many of these histories have been overshadowed by
new political concerns with national security, immigration, and
citizenship rights. Still, families, religious groups, economic and
political networks continue to stretch across and beyond Zimbabwe’s
borders. More recently, as events in Zimbabwe have impacted on the
wider region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has
come to play a key role in negotiations to resolve the political
impasse.
Would those interested in participating please contact either of the
organizers below:
Dr. Zoë Groves – groves.zoe@googlemail.com
Dr. Blessing-Miles Tendi – miles.tendi@sant.oxon.org
Other possible topics include: Pre-colonial territorial cults and
polities; migration; British South Africa Company rule; South Africa
and post-independence destabilization; trade; land reform; literature
and culture.
For further information, please click the follow up link on this site torecieve notifcations of updates and return to this page for the more detailed programme later this year
