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Rethinking class and culture in Africa: between E. P. Thompson and Pierre Bourdieu

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  • Pnina Werbner

Abstract

The article considers the historiography of labour and class studies in sub-Saharan Africa in relation to the contemporary ‘cultural turn’ in sociological studies of class. It identifies three phases: from the 1960s, a highly empiricist Marxist approach which drew on Fanon’s notion of an aristocracy of labour; from the 1980s, a shift to a stress on culture, agency and identity, following E. P. Thompson; the final move has focused on the African middle classes, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of consumption. Research on a public sector manual workers’ union in Botswana exemplifies, the author argues, the Thompsonian approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Pnina Werbner, 2018. "Rethinking class and culture in Africa: between E. P. Thompson and Pierre Bourdieu," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(155), pages 7-24, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:45:y:2018:i:155:p:7-24
    DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2017.1367655
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