Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia: Kings, Christians, and Cosmopolitans in Catholic Youth Songs

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When Namibia gained its independence from South Africa in 1990, the new government began dismantling the divisive apartheid state and building a unified nation-state. What does this new nation look like from the perspective of ordinary citizens In Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia, Wendi Haugh provides an ethnographic portrayal of the nation as imagined by people living in the former ethnic homeland of Ovamboland, with a particular focus on the lyrics of songs composed and performed by Catholic youth. The author argues that these youth draw on conflicting ideologieshierarchical and egalitarian, nationalist and cosmopolitanfrom multiple sources to construct a multi-faceted sense of national identity. She reveals how their vision of the nationframed as neutrally nationalis deeply rooted in specific local histories and cultures.

Reviews

Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia is a work of careful, thoughtful scholarship, an exemplar of what anthropology should be: grounded in data collected ethnographically, but speaking to central questions within the discipline. The examination of Namibian Catholic youth in the late 1990s highlights how a particular vision of the nation, or even a feeling of nationalism, is a product of a particular social and historical period, illustrating (yet again) that nationalism is not one thing, but is constructed locally and temporally. Wendi Haugh makes her arguments clearly and helps us understand what nationalism in Africa looks like on the ground, through the eyes of its young people. -- Cati Coe, Rutgers University
A masterpiece of lucid writing , displaying a fine ear for nuance, Haugh shows how a seemingly mundane activity like how Church choral singing by youth groups provides important insights into understanding the nature of nationalism. An invaluable addition for understanding not only Namibian nationalism, but the role of the Church and youth in near-contemporary Africa. -- Robert J. Gordon, University of Vermont
Wendi Haughs ethnographic analysis of Catholic youth songs in northern Namibia offers a unique window on the nation-building process in a newly independent country. Her rich accounting reveals the performative nature of nationalism, wherein singing and song both reflect and shape the new nation. This book makes an important contribution to the study of political transformation in post-apartheid southern Africa. -- John Friedman, University College Roosevelt / Utrecht University
Lyrical Nationalism in Post-Apartheid Namibia taps into the spaces and moments, rarely explored, where young people constructed for themselves what it means to be part of both a nation and a cosmopolitan, global Christian community. By attending to the ethnic and historical particularity of these spaces, Wendi Haugh highlights the local and temporal roots of nationalist discourses. -- Meredith McKittrick, Georgetown University

Author Bio

Wendi A. Haugh is assistant professor of anthropology and African studies at St. Lawrence University.