Suchergebnisse

In light of the uses and misuses of history in Zimbabwean politics in recent years, this research report focuses on how versions of the country's liberation war history have become a site of struggle over the definition of Zimbabwean national identity. As identity politics'often do, Zimbabwean nationalism draws on a wide field of cultural symbols of identity and political discourses of inclusion and exclusion. Therefore, the report takes a cross-disciplinary approach to the issue of national identity by mapping out the imaginary field of Zimbabwean nationalism. This approach opens up the possibility of cross-reading the political discourses of the President and the ruling party ZANU (PF) with opposing voices such as those in the works of the author Yvonne Vera. This cross-reading shows how Vera's novels and the political discourses participate in the struggle over Zimbabwean national identity by offering different versions of the nation's history in the form of patriotic history, feminist nationalism, or narratives of difference. In this way the research report adds to our understanding of power and resistance in Zimbabwean politics of national identity. ; CONTENT -- FIELD OF INTEREST -- Problem definition -- Method -- YVONNE VERA -- A feminist writer -- A writer of history -- A Zimbabwean writer -- Summing up -- DISCOURSES OF NATIONAL HISTORY -- Analytical framework -- A discourse of spiritual history -- Rhodesian settler discourses -- Zimbabwean nationalist discourses -- Summing up -- NATIONALISM AND AFRICANISM -- Analytical framework -- Patriotic history -- Discussion -- MATABELELAND AND NATIONAL UNITY -- Analytical framework -- Ugly history -- Rape: A perversion of dialogue -- The spirit of national history -- Discussion

Taking its point of departure in a photoshoot organized by Danish fat activists, this article explores the relationship between activism, social media, and affect. Through a carnivalesque lens (Bahktin, 1984a), the article illustrates how the Fat Photoshoot as a joyful and festive celebration of fat embodiment challenges prevailing social body norms and understandings of the fat body in society. By including the social media aftermath of the event, the article argues that the Fat Photoshoot's norma- tive upending of fatphobic culture is extended in time and space. By sharing, liking, and re-posting photos from the photoshoot in the following days and months, the article demonstrates how participants re-invoke an affective solidarity (Hemmings, 2012) fostered by the event. Through affective flows on social media, personal expe- rience is placed within a collective and consequently political landscape (Papacha- rissi, 2015), allowing fat activists to not only envision but also make claims for an alternative future for fat bodies.