Oral History Commons^™

Smallpox Outbreaks And Immunization Policies In Tanzania From The Late Nineteenth Century To The First World War, Lorne Larson

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

An estimated 300 million people died globally from smallpox in the 20th century alone. There was very much a North/South divide in the existence of the disease in that period, with countries across South America, Africa and Asia recording the majority of cases. In 1966 the World Health Organization launched an intensive effort to finally eliminate the disease. The last known endemic case of smallpox was reported in Somalia in 1977, and that outbreak was promptly contained. In 1980 smallpox was declared eradicated – the only infectious disease affecting humans to achieve this distinction. This remains among the most notable …

'Evading The Tax Collector’: Native Responses To The Head Tax In Colonial Njombe, Tanzania, 1920-1960, Peter Chaula, Hezron Kangalawe

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Tax collection was one of the core preoccupations of the colonial government in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and other colonies in the Africa that persisted even after independence. Direct taxation formed the basis of colonial taxation in Tanganyika. Head tax was a dominant form of direct taxation with its burden being borne primarily by Africans. This article uses the colonial Njombe District of Tanganyika to explore the responses of the African taxpayers to the head tax. The available data indicates that colonial head tax policies and practices in Njombe elicited varied responses from Africans with covert forms forming the mainstay of …

Revisiting African Religion As An Academic Discipline In Africa: History And Prospects, Ivan B. Kivinge

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Three main religious traditions—indigenous African beliefs and practices (African religion), Christianity and Islam—have dominated everyday life of communities in Africa today. Scholarship on religion indicates that only African religion originated in Africa— Christianity and Islam are foreign religions. Many Africans today have been active Christians and Muslims, who are sometimes being misleadingly taught that African religion is demonic and forms of paganism. This article employs historical and philosophical approaches to show how the study of African religion has navigated through various historical currents and resultant implications on the way the current generation views it. In the end, the article proposes …

Major Trends In Oral Historiography In Mainland Tanzania, 1960s To The Present: A Review Of Published Sources, Albertus K. Onyiego

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the role of oral methodology in reconstructing historical knowledge in Mainland Tanzania over the last six decades. Although greater attention is paid to the period from the 1960s onwards, efforts have been made to illuminate on the use of oral methodology in the period before. The article is organised into four temporal sections, each representing a distinct phase of oral methodology. The first section explores the role of oral methodology before independence. It will be noticed that the gradual use of oral sources in the writing of history in Mainland Tanzania started way back during German and …

A Society For Professional Archaeologists In Tanzania: A Call For Action, Richard K. Bigambo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This essay discusses the need for an Archaeological Association of Tanzania and provides its general structure. It argues that the proposed association is essential for promoting the country’s development, heritage preservation and conservation, and promotion of archaeological studies. In addition to providing resources and support for research, training, and education, it would facilitate collaboration and networking, help protect and preserve Tanzania's cultural heritage, and increase public awareness and education about archaeology in Tanzania. The essay also discusses the development of archaeology in Tanzania and the history and contributions of archaeological associations worldwide. This structure for the proposed association would enable …

Review Of Water Brings No Harm: Management Knowledge And The Struggle For Waters Of Kilimanjaro, Maxmillian J. Chuhila

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Water Brings No Harm is a key text that enables readers to understand the competing claims to resource control between government authorities and local communities on the ground. Scholarship on the relationship between local knowledge and expert knowledge in resource management and control suggests an asymmetrical relationship in which expert opinion assumes the primary responsibility.1 Bender contrasts traditional and imposed systems of resource ownership and management, arguing that there has been a struggle from both sides, as each side believes it has a rightful claim to ownership and management of water source.

Review Of Decolonising Sociology: An Introduction, Armstrong K. Matogwa

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Decolonizing Sociology is one of the few works in sociology that makes critical assessment of the discipline. It is a kind of self-critique within the discipline that aims to reveal epistemic setbacks that have existed for decades. To arrive to the point, Meghji, has situated his thesis along decolonial sociology, which interrogates dominant sociological theories in the context of imperialism. By so doing, he makes three main arguments as follows; first, what is called sociology is colonial in nature as it is based on the ideas of the Western thinkers namely Marx, Durkheim and Weber which emerged and institutionalized during …

Legal Provisions And Administration Of Land Disputes In Kiteto District, Ca. 1970s – 2000s: The Missing Linkage, Juma Marmo

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

There have been a series of legal interventions on land use in the post-colonial Tanzania to create a good land administration and management in order to end land use conflicts. Scholarship on the legal aspect of land use indicates that legal interventions did not provide lasting solutions to land use conflicts because of their structural and systemic arrangements. In addition, existing scholarship has little focus on the linkage between law enforcement machinery, the peoples’ level of understanding on land laws, and the occurrence of land use conflicts. This paper discusses the violation of laws by peasants, pastoralists, and government officials …

Introduction: Failed Futures? (Post)-Colonial Planning And Future-Making In Tanzania, Ulrike Lindner

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Future-making and planning as social practices are strongly related to the
surrounding society’s political structures and power relations. In this
special issue of ZAMANI, we conceptualize future-making as physical
changes and social practices that shape future conditions by making future
an issue in the present. We analyse how different approaches to the future,
and also surprises and unintended side-effects, have informed the politics
and practices of planning in Tanzania and its various regions.1 When we ask:
“Failed Futures?” we address future in the plural, a term that has diffused
into historical scholarship rather recently and originates from
futurology/future studies, known …

‘Sold Down The River’: Histories Of Production, Trade, And Transport Along The Waterways Of The Kilombero Valley, Tanzania, Jonathan M. Jackson

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article considers the centrality of waterways in the Kilombero Valley of Tanzania to the region’s histories of development from above, particularly in terms of infrastructure, crop production, trade, and transport. Early colonial investigations hoped Kilombero’s riverine system might prove a navigable link from the coast to the Southern Highlands. The British colonial era instead focused more on utilising riverine networks for internal goods transport. Throughout these colonial visions – simultaneously ambitious and naïve – the prevalent dug- out canoe was considered unsafe, inefficient, and replaceable by modernised methods. But the canoe – a symbol of indigenous knowledge and practice …

Nurturing Traditional Midwifery And Medicine: The Entangled Path Of Health Integration In Post-Independence Kilombero, Tanzania, Veronica Kimani

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This paper focuses on the Tanzanian government’s ambitious endeavour to enhance health, particularly midwifery services following independence. The initial strategy by the government involved promoting Western medicine by establishing healthcare facilities and training medical personnel. However, the strain of a burgeoning population and limited resources soon became evident, prompting the government to recognise the need for the incorporation of traditional medicine, previously overlooked. This integration posed its own set of obstacles, as the focus on herbal remedies overshadowed crucial aspects of conventional midwifery, such as rituals. While research has shown the resolve of the government towards medical integration between different …

Health Infrastructure Planning In Tanzania, 1961–1980s: The Problems Of Future-Making, Frank Edward, Ulrike Lindner

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

Between 1961 and 1978, Tanzania invested significantly in the health service provision – from training requisite manpower, provision of health education to building the necessary infrastructure in order to improve health conditions of the population. As existing research indicates, the investment paid off considerably in qualitative terms, for instance, with a gradual increase in life expectancy and a decline in infant mortality. This paper examines the vision of the state of health in Tanzania by using the prism of infrastructure. Its focus is on direct and indirect physical infrastructures, particularly medical buildings and facilities. Through the analysis of archival and …

Front Matter - Zamani 1, No. 1, Editors Note

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This is the maiden issue of Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies. It charts the beginning of a continental journal that is based in an African higher education institution within Africa. It breaks away from the traditional historical journals in Africa of being national or regional and at best being owned and operated by scholars and institutions from Europe and North America. With this maiden issue, the journal seeks to demonstrate that it is part of the bigger knowledge decolonization movement. It seeks to influence historical writing and research by giving more Africanness in ownership, operations, production and knowledge …

Medical Mission Futures: German Protestant Missionaries And Modern Healthcare In Southern Highlands, Tanzania,1891–1940, Luoneko Kaduma

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

The history of colonial missionaries in Tanzania is marked by a complex interplay between evangelical efforts and the provision of Western biomedicine, which functioned as crucial mechanisms for conversion and cultural transformation. Missionaries viewed the improvement of African health as a project aimed at attracting converts and propagating Christianity. However, the available data indicates that, instead of genuinely expressing interest in converting to Christianity, the majority of Africans primarily sought mission medical assistance for medical reasons while maintaining strong connections to their traditional beliefs and healing practices. This paper, drawing from archival documents, ethnographic accounts, and missionary writings, focuses on …

‘Prevention Is Better Than Cure’: Smallpox Vaccination In Postcolonial Tanzania, 1961–1980, Musa Sadock

Zamani: A Journal of African Historical Studies

This article examines the smallpox vaccination programme in postcolonial Tanzania from the 1960s to the early 1980s as part of the postcolonial future making in preventive medicine. The article departs from extant scholarship on smallpox vaccination in postcolonial Tanzania, which depicts the intervention as a success, while relegating to the background challenges associated with the intervention. The article argues that the smallpox vaccination programme registered challenges and successes that offer lessons for combating of future epidemics. The achievements of the programme were due to the adoption of specific public health policies, namely mass vaccination and public health education as well …

Asia In Saint Louis: Synergy Of Library Instruction, Digital Humanities, And Community Engagement, Joan Wang, David Romney

Journal of East Asian Libraries

This article explores the integration of library instruction, digital humanities, and community engagement through the "Asia in Saint Louis" project at Washington University in St. Louis. Led by subject librarians Joan Wang and David Romney, in collaboration with digital humanities specialists and local community organizations, the project aimed to digitally reconstruct and showcase the histories of Asian Americans in St. Louis from the late 19th to the 20th century. Funded by the Missouri Humanities Council, the project employed ArcGIS StoryMap technology to create a series of interactive narratives. These StoryMaps, supported by archival research and community involvement, highlight key themes …

Burn The Sympathy, Gabino Noriega Iii

Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal

Poem

No Back Door: Integrating Wofford College, 1964-1994, Dwain C. Pruitt

Library Exhibits

This exhibit explores the first 30 years of racial integration at Wofford College. It is made possible in part by a Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education “Reframing the Institutional Saga” grant supported by the Council of Independent Colleges and the Lilly Endowment.

Advertising The West: The History Of La Fiesta De Los Vaqueros, Monique Davila

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

In February 1925, Tucson celebrated the first La Fiesta de Los Vaqueros with a three-day rodeo that ended with a huge parade through the city center. Created by Philadelphia-born and new resident of Tucson Frederick Leighton Kramer and other Tucson city boosters, the event became an annual fiesta with the hopes of not only promoting Tucson and a fundraiser for the University of Arizona’s newly established polo team, but also a way to share Kramer’s newfound enthusiasm for Tucson’s beauty and history. However, the history the fiesta presented centered around the Anglo-American pioneers of southern Arizona. This approach ignored the …

Talk Story Prompt Cards, Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Family Literacy Focus Committee, Education Subcommittee, Becky Leathersich (Chair), Nicole Fernandez (Interim Co-Chair), Zoë Bowlus, Jessea Young, Tiffany Lee, Kim Nguyen

Librarian Publications & Presentations

These prompt cards were inspired by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and American Indigenous Library Association (AILA) presentation on “Talk Story: Centering Oral Traditions to Advance Literacy Justice and Transform Community Relationships” at the ALA Annual Conference 2023. One representative from APALA and one from AILA shared an oral storytelling experience. Afterward, a panel discussion was held discussing “Talk Story as a community of practice to recenter youth literacy programs as intergenerational literacy opportunities with an emphasis on oral histories and traditions, intersectional community building, and cultural sensitivities.”¹ The APALA Family Literacy Focus Committee decided it would be …

Black Radio’S Contribution To Collective And Cultural Memory: Personnel Perspectives Of Black Radio History In The United States, Kim Fox

Faculty Journal Articles

This interdisciplinary research investigates the significance of the community connection between Black radio personnel and their audiences through the lens of collective and cultural memory narratives. The study addresses two key research questions. First, how do Black radio personnel’s collective and cultural memories contribute to the Black public sphere? Second, what are the defining characteristics in developing parasocial relationships and interactions between Black radio personalities and their audiences? The qualitative research employs an autoethnographic methodology and a questionnaire, utilizing insights gained from the author’s experiences working at a Black-owned radio network and station. The questionnaire, distributed to key informants in …

Understanding Civic Engagement Through The Perspective And Experiences Of Mixed-Status Latinx Students In Higher Education, Alexandra Alcantar

Honors Capstones

This paper captures the perspectives and experiences of eight Latinx college-aged students from mixed-status families related to civil engagement. This paper identifies varied definitions of civic engagement and shows that students’ experiences within their mixed-status families and their academic experiences shaped how they understood their level of civic engagement and informed their career paths. The eight oral history interviews conducted as part of this project show that most of the participants consider their level of political involvement as insufficient. Interviews reveal an understanding of “civic engagement” that exists on an evolving spectrum of participation. Participants shared that work responsibilities and …

The Contributions Of Nuevomexicanas To New Mexico Lowrider Culture, Traditions, And Rituals: The Significance Of Young Chicana Cultural Pachuca And Chola Aesthetics And Identity Expression In The Albuquerque Lowrider Community, Valerie J. Chavez

Chicana and Chicano Studies ETDs

The lowrider community in Albuquerque creates a space for families and individuals to gather and express themselves within Chicana/o/x culture. Nuevomexicanas have played a significant role in the teaching and preservation of the New Mexican traditions and rituals of lowriding. This research project is a visual and plática-based study. It explores how young Nuevomexicanas express their Chicana identity through la pachuca and chola cultural aesthetics and identity while actively participating in lowrider culture. This project utilizes the research methods of la resolana, querencia, and plática to understand, discover, and document the roles of young Nuevomexicanas in the Albuquerque …

El Nacimiento Del Rock En Español: ¿Cómo Fue Que Este Género De Música Latina Tuvo Éxito?, Alejandro V. Martinez

World Languages and Cultures

This paper titled El nacimiento del rock en español: ¿Cómo fue que este género de música latina tuvo éxito? will cover information regarding the Spanish rock movement. This essay compares what is written in this paper to that of prior scholars to show that although they do bring valid points, there is a lot more than many of us realize. There are various articles and reports written about the movement, but many do not explain the creation of the movement, let alone its survival in the music industry as a new genre that some had never heard of or had …

Editor's Introduction, Marc R. Loustau Ph.D.

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction by Managing Editor Marc Roscoe Loustau to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism in the Age of Pope Francis

Oral History Interview With Ella Anagick Education History, Holly Guise

Oral Histories HIST 300, Fall 2024

Holly Miowak Guise's Survey of Native American History interviews Ella Anagick (Inupiaq) about her education with the Mt. Edgecumbe High School Native boarding school in Alaska, and other topics in Alaska history.

Introduction:Towards An Economic Anthropology Of Catholicism, In The Age Of Pope Francis, Samuel Weeks, George Bayuga

Journal of Global Catholicism

Introduction to Towards an Economic Anthropology of Catholicism, in the Age of Pope Francis.

“Now, What’S One Story I Wanted To Tell You?”: Oral History Exhibition Archives At The Chicago History Museum At The Turn Of The 21st Century, Arianne Nguyen

Swarthmore Undergraduate History Journal

Starting in the 1970s, American history museums have undergone a shift away from seeing themselves collections-focused historical societies acting as “temples to the past.” In the face of broader political challenges—civil rights, increasingly multicultural urban audiences, and the “culture wars” of the 1980s, public historians have sought to reclaim their institutions’ relevance by seeking to share their authority and mission with those “publics” they serve.

While secondary literature on public history has generally agreed that museums pulled off this shift—and museums themselves have touted successful exhibits and outreach—this essay uses a specific case study to complicate the narrative. The Chicago …

Down The Bay Oral History Project Newsletter - Winter 2024, Center For Archaeological Studies, Mccall Library

Down the Bay Oral History Project Newsletter

Public newsletter sharing information about progress and discoveries during the ongoing Down The Bay Project.

Down The Bay Oral History Project Newsletter - Summer 2024, Center For Archaeological Studies, Mccall Library

Down the Bay Oral History Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.