"We Women Worked so Hard": Gender, Urbanization and Social Reproduction in Colonial Harare, Zimbabwe, 1930-1956
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In her thought-provoking and elegantly written study, Teresa Barnes shows how African ideas of gender in colonial Zimbabwe centrally shaped oppositional responses well before the advent of formal political nationalism. Marshaling an impressive collection of oral histories and rich archival detail, Barnes argues that urban African women and men in colonial Harare constructed complex yet coherent identities and durable hopes for themselves in broad moments of gendered conflict and consensus. this study compels readers to rethink urban colonial history and to question social categories in colonial Zimbabwe and throughout southern Africa. The book represents a major contribution to the social historiography of colonialism and to current debates on gender, politics, and family history in Africa. Booknews Barnes (history, University of the Western Cape) shows how African ideas of gender in colonial Zimbabwe centrally shaped oppositional responses well before the advent of formal political nationalism. Marshalling an impressive collection of vibrant oral histories and rich archival detail, she argues that urban African women and men in colonial Harare constructed complex yet coherent identities and durable hopes for themselves in broad moments of gendered conflict and consensus. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
IllustrationsAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Truths of the Past and Truths of the PresentCh. 1Economics and Society in Colonial Harare1Ch. 2African Women's Work and Economic Differentiation before the 1950s21Ch. 3Divisions in Black and White Male Ranks66Ch. 4Paradigms of Righteousness93Ch. 5Conflicts, Complexities, and Complications in the 1950s124Ch. 6Conclusion172Bibliography181Index197
