ACI Africa Archives | Contending Modernities

Layering Patterns of Authority

Dairou Bouba, Tatiana Fouda, Cecelia Lynch and Nadine Machikou
November 27, 2018December 17, 2018

Any discussion of patterns and practices of authority within communities in Cameroon must take into account the relations of authority, intended or unintended, between these communities and outside actors, especially with the state, the humanitarian world of nongovernmental organizations, and with members of our research team.

Excess of Love in the “Oasis of Peace”

Emmanuel Katongole
August 17, 2018August 17, 2018

Right here in the midst of exile and displacement out of Burundi’s violence, an oasis of peace at a time of desolation, joy in the midst of loss and hatred, a banquet of good food, wine, music, and dance—a celebration of the victory of love over hatred.

Côte d’Ivoire’s Working Definition of Gender Empowers and Excludes

Ludovic Lado
July 24, 2018July 26, 2018

Although Côte d’Ivoire embraces gender equality concerns, the state concept of gender does not include the LGBTQ community and focuses mainly on closing the gender gap between men and women.

On the Theologico-Theatrical: Explaining the Convergence of Pentecostalism and Popular Culture in Nigeria

Ebenezer Obadare
July 10, 2018July 10, 2018

Assurances of salvation may no longer be enough for Nigerian Pentecostalism, where the propulsive energy of Fuji music and commercial imperatives contribute to entangling religion and entertainment.

The Dangerous Hope of Visceral Lament: A Response to Lynch, Ocobock, Cavanaugh and Maluleke

Emmanuel Katongole
August 31, 2017August 31, 2017

What the portraits of Born from Lament reveal is a theology and through that theology the possibility of a non-violent politics of solidarity and compassion born out of the deep experience of suffering in the world.

The Many Faces of Lament

Cecelia Lynch
August 3, 2017August 4, 2017

How do Christians who have experienced the indescribable love of God in their suffering, and from it draw out unfathomable hope, relate to those who also practice lament and seek hope, but are not Christian?

Religious Women Constructing Modernity in Cameroon

Cecelia Lynch and Tatiana Fouda
July 21, 2017

How do religious women in Cameroon navigate their faith vis-à-vis their communities and religious hierarchies?

The Ambivalence of Modernity Seen from Abidjan

Ludovic Lado
May 15, 2017October 18, 2017

Modernity is embraced for its scientific and technological wonders, but is also associated with moral decline especially with regard to family and sexual ethics.

Land and Authority in Postcolonial Cameroon

Elias Bongmba
May 8, 2017May 8, 2017

This is a conflict of authority in a postcolonial state, involving state, traditional, and religious leadership, and as such evokes the transformations that African countries have undergone in the imperial and post imperial age.

Diplomacy as Hypocrisy: The Biya System in Rome and at the Vatican

Ludovic Lado
May 1, 2017May 1, 2017

May the time come when every head of State who goes to meet the Pope and every bishop or priest fears hearing the prophetic message.