Afropop

Summary: A concise introduction to the varied landscape of contemporary African music. Features leading artists and bands, musical styles, traditional/acoustic music, cross-cultural sounds as well as a selected discography and a glossary of musical terms.

How are national identities constructed and articulated through music? Popular music has long been associated with political dissent, and the nation state has consistently demonstrated a determination to seek out and procure for itself a stake in the management of 'its' popular musics. Similarly, popular musics have been used 'from the ground up' as sites for both populist and popular critiques of nationalist sentiment, from the position of both a globalizing and a 'local' vernacular culture. The contributions in this book arrive at a critical moment in the development of the study of national cultures and musicology. The book ranges from considerations of the ideological focus of cultural nationalism through to analyses of musical hybridity and musical articulations of other kinds of identities at odds with national identity. The processes of global homogenization are thereby shown to have brought about a transitional crisis for national cultural identities: the evolution of these identities, particularly with reference to the concept of 'authenticity' in music, is situated within broader debates on power, political economy and constructions of the self. Theorizations of practice are employed after the manner of Bourdieu, Gramsci, Goffman, Gadamer, Habermas, Bhabha, Lacan and Zizek. Each contribution acts as a case study to characterize the strategies through which differing modes of musical discourse engage, critique or obscure discourses on national identity. The studies include discussions of: musical representations of Irishness; the relationship between Afropop and World Music; Norwegian club music; the revival of traditional music in Serbia; resistance to cultural homogeneity in Brazil; contemporary Uyghur song in Northwest China; rap and race in French society; technobanda from the barrios of Los Angeles, and Spanish/Moroccan raï. In this way, the book seeks to characterize the ideological configurations that help to activate and sustain hegemonic, amb

The Rough Guide to South Africa is the most comprehensive and informative guide available to this spectacular country. You'll find detailed information on everything from hiking in the mysterious Drakensberg to sampling wine in the many Western Cape's estates. Updated specifically for travellers visiting South Africa for the football World Cup in 2010, Lesotho and Swaziland have been excluded from the book allowing for more in-depth information on how to tackle the World Cup in this edition. Whether you want to wander the pastel-coloured streets of the Bo-Kaap, explore the Garden Route's dramatic Storms River Mouth, or get spine-tinglingly close to lions and other big game in Kruger National Park, this guide will lead you to the best attractions in South Africa. The Rough Guide to South Africa features up-to-date reviews of all the hottest new places to stay from hotels in South Africa to community minded accommodations and tour companies. Find the best restaurants, shops, bars and clubs in South Africa across every price range giving you balanced reviews and honest, first-hand opinions. Explore all corners of South Africa with authoritative background on everything from local cuisine to desert wildlife, relying on practical language tips.

Don't Lose Track is a collection from the widely published arts and culture journalist, Jordannah Elizabeth. The book includes reviews, essays and interviews hand selected by Jordannah from a catalog of over 200 articles.

In this wide-ranging study, Neil Lazarus explores the subject of cultural practice in the modern world system. The book contains individual chapters on a range of topics from modernity, globalization and the 'West', and nationalism and decolonization, to cricket and popular consciousness in the English-speaking Caribbean. Lazarus analyses social movements, ideas and cultural practices that have migrated from the 'First world' to the 'Third world' over the course of the twentieth century. Nationalism and Cultural Practice in the Postcolonial World offers an enormously erudite reading of culture and society in today's world and includes extended discussion of the work of such influential writers, critics and activists as Frantz Fanon, C. L. R. James, Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Samir Amin, Raymond Williams, Paul Gilroy and Partha Chatterjee. This book is a politically focused, materialist intervention into postcolonial and cultural studies, and constitutes a major reappraisal of the debates on politics and culture in these fields.

Cameroon, in Central Africa, has been called Africa in miniature. It is characterized by exceptional social and ethnic diversity, with more than 250 ethnicities now forming five major regional-culture groupings. This volume is the first to encapsulate Cameroon's rich indigenous and modern customs and traditions in depth. The narrative emphasizes those aspects that define its modern nation, its peoples, the unique societies, their institutions, and various lifestyles. The origins of Cameroon's diverse culture are traced back to the various ethnic groups and languages as well as the influence of European colonialism, Christianity, Islam, and other external factors, including globalization. In each topical chapter, examples from ethnic groups are presented to give some sense of the variety of experiences. Cameroon has had a turbulent and eventful modern history with German, English, and French incursions, and students and general readers will be able to understand the current struggle for democracy post independence. The history colors the substantial coverage of the many topics examined, from education, to marriage and women's roles, sports, and holidays, daily life, the arts, and much more. This volume will stand as the definitive, accessible introduction to Cameroon and will be essential for building a well-rounded Africa collection.

The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland is the ultimate travel guide to Africa's most diverse and most traveler-friendly country with clear maps and detailed coverage of all the best South African attractions. Discover South Africa's highlights in full color, with stunning photography and information on everything from the top Cape Town sights, the best KwaZulu-Natal beaches, the most luxurious places to stay in the Cape Winelands and the pick of the safari lodges in the Kruger National Park. Find detailed practical advice on what to see and do in South Africa, relying on up-to-date descriptions of the best hotels, bars, clubs, shops and restaurants for all budgets. The Rough Guide to South Africa, Lesotho & Swaziland also includes detailed coverage of all the best things to do in South Africa and the best places to do them whether whale watching at De Hoop Nature Reserve, shark-cage diving in False Bay or bunjee jumping from the Gouritz River Bridge.