Britain Zimbabwe Society's Annual Research Day 2012

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 go to: http://www.britain-zimbabwe.org.uk/