Melancholia of Freedom by Thomas Blom Hansen
Offers an analysis of the uncertainties, dreams, and anxieties that have accompanied postapartheid freedoms in Chatsworth, a formerly Indian township in Durban. This title tells the stories of ordinary Indians whose lives were racialized and framed by the township, and how these residents domesticated and inhabited this urban space.
Finalist for the 2013 Melville JHerskovits Award, African Studies Association "Hansen's analysis of the 'mutual nonrecognition' between citizens of India and African origin and his critical interrogation of the concept of diaspora are especially powerful... The book will be an asset to scholars and students seeking to understand urban South Africa, transnationalism, and religious transformation."--Choice "Hansen's book is definitely a very important one... [S]tudents of segregation, ethnic conflict, urban space, identity, religion, migration, music and cinema will all find something of interest here. More generally, Melancholia of Freedom offers a fascinating insight into the fate of minority groups, and the boundary work they engage in... Hansen's account allows us to better understand the processes through which minorities maintain identity and sociability in difficult contexts."--Juliette Galonnier, booksandideas.net "As depressing as this conclusion is, the author makes a compelling case for his interpretation. He brilliantly weaves the present into the past, and explains convincingly the foundation of anxieties that prevail in Chatsworth."--Surendra Bhana, Journal of Natal and Zulu History
Thomas Blom Hansen is professor of anthropology and the Reliance-Dhirubhai Ambani Professor of South Asian Studies at Stanford University, where he also directs the Center for South Asia. His books include The Saffron Wave and Wages of Violence (both Princeton).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691152967 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691152969 |
| Title | Melancholia of Freedom |
| Author | Thomas Blom Hansen |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2012-07-22 |
| Number of pages | 384 |
| Prizes | Commended for African Studies Association Melville J. Herskovits Award 2013 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |