This is a first call for papers to be presented at a Conference scheduled for Lusaka from August 11 – 14, 2005, under the auspices of the Network for Historical Research in Zambia. Launched at the beginning of 2003, the NHRZ is a Zambia-based organisation open to historians and all other social scientists. Its chief aim is to foster the cooperation and exchange of information between researchers and institutions with an interest in Zambian history.

Introduction

Exciting recent initiatives in Zambia are invigorating historical research and publication. A flurry of political memoirs and the new availability of the personal papers of leading political actors are providing unprecedented insights into key questions of late colonial and post-colonial history. New evidence is also coming to light as a result of the strengthening and expansion of the National Archives of Zambia and the activities of its Non-Governmental Archives Unit, which has recently published a long-awaited First Guide to Non-Governmental Archives in Zambia.

Zambian and Western researchers grouped together in the NHRZ believe that this Conference will provide an opportune forum for highlighting both this growing body of historical materials and ongoing research based upon them. The Conference should also help identify new areas which await historical investigation. It is anticipated that some of the papers presented at the Conference will be published in a special volume edited by the convenors.

Themes

Most papers are expected to fall within the following thematic areas, though suggestions of different research subjects are also welcome.

• Zambian Scholarship in Historical Perspective. The influence of the Rhodes-Livingstone Institute’s scholarly output on the development of Zambian studies. The impact of nationalist assumptions on early post-colonial scholarship. The rise and fall of the University of Zambia’s School of Humanities. Conditions for the emergence of a new post-colonial historiography.

• Political Unity & Dissent. The extent and limitations of the political hegemony of the United National Independence Party. Opposition political parties and underground political movements. The emergence and governance of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy. Expressions of dissent in the Third Republic.

• Forms & Meanings of Ethnicity. The ethnic factor in nationalist politics. Ethnicity in post-colonial Zambia: the impact of party politics and changing leadership styles. The legacy of colonial notions of ‘tribalism’. Chiefly authority in post-colonial Zambia.

• The Dynamics of Locality. Centre and periphery dynamics in nationalist and post-colonial politics. Local power-brokers and the control of resources and patronage. District-level perceptions of ‘development’. Divergent patterns of provincial ‘development’.

• Religion & Social Change. The Church and nationalist movements. Religious contributions and responses to changing UNIP ideologies and policies. The rising influence of charismatic churches since the 1980s.

• Economic Expectations & Realities. Nationalism and post-colonial popular expectations. The social and political impact of economic nationalisation. Zambia’s enduring mono-economy and economic decline since the 1970s. Economic liberalisation and privatisation.

• Urban History & Identity. The social and political effects of urban-rural labour migration. De-industrialization and return migration. Zambia’s uniquely urban identity. The city in the village; the village in the city. City-planning and health.

• Health & Healing. Recent developments in anthropological ideas about the ‘meaning in misfortune’ and the realm of the symbolic in religion and healing. Current health challenges in Zambia and their impact on medical anthropology, medical sociology and the history of medicine.

• Cultural Trends & Expressions. The symbolism of a unified Zambia at Independence. The invention and revival of ‘traditional’ ceremonies. Popular culture and changing social mores. Expressions of sexuality and representations of gender.

Network for Historical Research
PO Box 27
UNZA Post Office
Lusaka
ZAMBIA
Email: nhrz@zamnet.zm

Please copy your e-mail to any of the following organisers:

• Dr. Jan-Bart Gewald (African Studies Centre, Leiden), GEWALD@FSW.leidenuniv.nl
• Prof. David Gordon (University of Maryland), dg165@umail.umd.edu
• Dr. Marja Hinfelaar (National Archives of Zambia; Treasurer, NHRZ), marja@zamnet.zm
• Dr. Webby S. Kalikiti (Head, History Dept., UNZA), wkalikiti@hss.unza.zm
• Mr. Miles Larmer (University of Sheffield), mileslarmer@softhome.net
• Dr. Giacomo Macola (Centre of African Studies, Cambridge; Secretary, NHRZ), gmacola@hotmail.com
• Prof. Bizeck J. Phiri (Dean, School of Humanities & Social Sciences, UNZA; Chairperson, NHRZ), bphiri@hss.unza.zm