An edition of Expectations of modernity (1999)

Expectations of modernity

myths and meanings of urban life on the Zambian Copperbelt

by

  • 4 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading
Cover of: Expectations of modernity by James Ferguson, James Ferguson
Preview Only

My Reading Lists:

Create a new list
Notes
  • 4 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading
Notes

Check nearby libraries

Buy this book

Last edited by reshelved
January 28, 2026 | History
Edit
An edition of Expectations of modernity (1999)

Expectations of modernity

myths and meanings of urban life on the Zambian Copperbelt

by

  • 4 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading

"Once lauded as the wave of the African future, Zambia's economic boom in the 1960s and early 1970s was fueled by the export of copper and other primary materials. Since the mid-1970s, however, the urban economy has rapidly deteriorated, leaving workers scrambling to get by. Expectations of Modernity explores the social and cultural responses to this prolonged period of sharp economic decline. Focusing on the experiences of mineworkers in the Copperbelt region, James Ferguson traces the failure of standard narratives of urbanization and social change to make sense of the Copperbelt's recent history. He instead develops alternative analytic tools appropriate for an "ethnography of decline." Ferguson shows how the Zambian copper workers understand their own experience of social, cultural, and economic "advance" and "decline." Ferguson's ethnographic study transports us into their lives—the dynamics of their relations with family and friends, as well as copper companies and government agencies."--

Publish Date
Publisher
University of California Press
Language
English
Pages
326

Check nearby libraries

Buy this book

Previews available in: English

Subjects

Politics and government Urban anthropology Industrialization Copper mines and mining Urbanization Copper industry and trade Economic conditions Social conditions Zambia, politics and government Zambia, social conditions Zambia, economic conditions Industries, africa Anthropologie urbaine Urbanisation Industrialisation Cuivre Industrie Mines et extraction Conditions sociales Conditions économiques Politique et gouvernement SOCIAL SCIENCE Anthropology Cultural POLITICAL SCIENCE Public Policy Cultural Policy Popular Culture Economic history Anthropologie Ethnologie Industrialisierung Kupferindustrie Verstädterung Urbanisatie Industrialisatie Mijnwerkers Antropologia urbana Urbanização

Places

Copperbelt province Zambia

Times

1964-
Edition Availability
Cover of: Expectations of Modernity
Expectations of Modernity: Myths and Meanings of Urban Life on the Zambian Copperbelt
1999, University of California Press
in English
Cover of: Expectations of Modernity
Expectations of Modernity: Myths and Meanings of Urban Life on the Zambian Copperbelt
1999, University of California Press
in English
Cover of: Expectations of modernity
Expectations of modernity: myths and meanings of urban life on the Zambian Copperbelt
1999, University of California Press
in English

Add another edition?

Book Details

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 295-320) and index.

Published in
Berkeley
Series
Perspectives on Southern Africa ;

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
306/.096894
Library of Congress
GN657.R4 F47 1999, 98-47355, GN657.R4 F47 1999eb

The Physical Object

Pagination
xvii, 326 p. :
Number of pages
326

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL384766M
ISBN 10
0520217012, 0520217020
LCCN
98047355
OCLC/WorldCat
45730914, 40119700
LibraryThing
212
Goodreads
2847699
233202

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL1988559W

Source records

Community Reviews (0)

No community reviews have been submitted for this work.

Lists

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation