The Mobile Workshop

The Tsetse Fly and African Knowledge Production

Nonfiction, History, Africa, Science & Nature, Technology, Engineering
Cover of the book The Mobile Workshop by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga, The MIT Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga ISBN: 9780262345866
Publisher: The MIT Press Publication: May 25, 2018
Imprint: The MIT Press Language: English
Author: Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
ISBN: 9780262345866
Publisher: The MIT Press
Publication: May 25, 2018
Imprint: The MIT Press
Language: English

How the presence of the tsetse fly turned the African forest into an open laboratory where African knowledge formed the basis of colonial tsetse control policies.

The tsetse fly is a pan-African insect that bites an infective forest animal and ingests blood filled with invisible parasites, which it carries and transmits into cattle and people as it bites them, leading to n'gana (animal trypanosomiasis) and sleeping sickness. In The Mobile Workshop, Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga examines how the presence of the tsetse fly turned the forests of Zimbabwe and southern Africa into an open laboratory where African knowledge formed the basis of colonial tsetse control policies. He traces the pestiferous work that an indefatigable, mobile insect does through its movements, and the work done by humans to control it.

Mavhunga's account restores the central role not just of African labor but of African intellect in the production of knowledge about the tsetse fly. He describes how European colonizers built on and beyond this knowledge toward destructive and toxic methods, including cutting down entire forests, forced “prophylactic” resettlement, massive destruction of wild animals, and extensive spraying of organochlorine pesticides. Throughout, Mavhunga uses African terms to describe the African experience, taking vernacular concepts as starting points in writing a narrative of ruzivo (knowledge) rather than viewing Africa through foreign keywords. The tsetse fly became a site of knowledge production—a mobile workshop of pestilence.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How the presence of the tsetse fly turned the African forest into an open laboratory where African knowledge formed the basis of colonial tsetse control policies.

The tsetse fly is a pan-African insect that bites an infective forest animal and ingests blood filled with invisible parasites, which it carries and transmits into cattle and people as it bites them, leading to n'gana (animal trypanosomiasis) and sleeping sickness. In The Mobile Workshop, Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga examines how the presence of the tsetse fly turned the forests of Zimbabwe and southern Africa into an open laboratory where African knowledge formed the basis of colonial tsetse control policies. He traces the pestiferous work that an indefatigable, mobile insect does through its movements, and the work done by humans to control it.

Mavhunga's account restores the central role not just of African labor but of African intellect in the production of knowledge about the tsetse fly. He describes how European colonizers built on and beyond this knowledge toward destructive and toxic methods, including cutting down entire forests, forced “prophylactic” resettlement, massive destruction of wild animals, and extensive spraying of organochlorine pesticides. Throughout, Mavhunga uses African terms to describe the African experience, taking vernacular concepts as starting points in writing a narrative of ruzivo (knowledge) rather than viewing Africa through foreign keywords. The tsetse fly became a site of knowledge production—a mobile workshop of pestilence.

More books from The MIT Press

Cover of the book Energy at the Crossroads by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Evolution in Four Dimensions by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Mindvaults by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Gurus and Oracles by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Mental Time Travel by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book System by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Machine Art in the Twentieth Century by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book The Neural Basis of Free Will by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Atari to Zelda by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Positive Computing by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book The Environmental Humanities by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Rogue Archives by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book Digital Apollo by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
Cover of the book The Dash—The Other Side of Absolute Knowing by Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy