Behuria, Pritish. "Committing To Self-Reliance And Negotiating Vulnerability: Understanding The Developmental Challenge In Rwanda". PhD Thesis (Department Of Developmental Studies, SOAS, University Of London, 2015).

This thesis highlights the evolution of elite politics, details RPF ideology and develops a historical study of three sectors (coffee, tea and mining). Though previous governments invested in increasing the production of primary commodity exports, very little was done to reduce the vulnerability of the economy to global commodity price fluctuations. In contrast, the RPF’s strategy has targeted reducing vulnerability to international price fluctuations through increasing productivity and embracing value-addition. Such goals work in line with achieving self-reliance. A better understanding of the developmental challenge facing the RPF government is developed through showcasing how vulnerability both motivates and inhibits economic development.

Source: Article's abstract

Moufouli Bello

Visual Artist

Location: Benin

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Ben-Amos, Paula. The Art of Benin. Rev. ed. London: British Museum Press, 1995.

Ben-Amos describes the development of the artwork of the Benin kingdom (Nigeria), its social and religious significance, and the African and European absorption which influenced but never overshadowed the character of the unique masks, jewelry, pottery, and statuary.

[Source: Google Books].

Bengt Sundkler. Bantu Prophets in South Africa. Routledge, 2020 (Copyright year: 1961).

Originally published in 1948 and then updated in 1961, the book outlines the religious and social background of the Zulus and discusses the rise of the Independent Church Movement. It examines the organization and inner workings of the different Churches, their forms of worship, and the personalities of their leaders. It also analyses the blend of old and new which appears in Zulu interpretations of some aspects of Christian doctrine.

(Source: Book description culled from https://www.routledge.com).

Paul Franklin Berliner

Musicologist/Professor Emeritus of Music

John Hope Franklin Center for International and Interdisciplinary Studies, Duke University

paul.berliner@duke.edu

Berman, Esmé. The Story of South African Painting. Cape Town: A A Balkema, 1975.

This book opens in the 19th century: as the narrative unfolds, it charts the course of modern South African artistic endeavour from the descriptive records of the ‘Africana painters’ to the avant-garde expression of the 1970’s.

[Source: Clarke’s].

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Beurden, Sarah Van. Authentically African: Arts and the Transnational Politics of Congolese Culture. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2015.

Drawing on Flemish-language sources other scholars have been unable to access, Van Beurden illuminates the politics of museum collections, showing how the IMNZ became a showpiece in Mobutu’s effort to revive “authentic” African culture. She reconstructs debates between Belgian and Congolese museum professionals, revealing how the dynamics of decolonization played out in the fields of the museum and international heritage conservation. Finally, she casts light on the art market, showing how the traveling displays put on by the IMNZ helped intensify collectors’ interest and generate an international market for Congolese art. The book contributes to the fields of history, art history, museum studies, and anthropology and challenges existing narratives of Congo’s decolonization. It tells a new history of decolonization as a struggle over cultural categories, the possession of cultural heritage, and the right to define and represent cultural identities.

[Source: Ohio University Press].

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Beveridge, Andrew A., and Anthony R. Oberschall. African Businessmen and Development in Zambia. Princeton University Press, 1979. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt13x17q8.

Drawing on their extensive fieldwork in Zambia, the authors address these central concerns: the social origins and motivations of African entrepreneurs, and the determinants of their success; the impact of government policies on business growth; the relative performance of Zambians in business; and the effects of small business on Zambian society.

Source: book description by author