There is no question that globalization has a significant impact on Africa. Yet, the nature of this impact is not homogeneous, and not only because globalization is a complex process, but also because of African diversity. Most African nations have high levels of cultural and linguistic diversity that offer them a rich array of possibilities. Nation building has therefore faced the challenges of integrating multicultural traditions with globalization. This volume focuses explicitly on the affects of globalization on African familial structures.

Family structures or kinship models are the result of local cultural histories as well as global cultural ideals disseminated through global institutions and media. Understanding how these two realities interact can be challenging. In the face of universal declarations about the role, nature, and status of the family in public life, this volume illustrates how African family structures and kinship models do not fit in easily with Western models or understanding of the family, but also that they are manifested in very diverse ways within the continent itself.  To that end, the editors have gathered together a collection of essays that offer an assessment of the affects of globalization on family structures in Africa. The contributors to this volume are drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, including anthropology, sociology, law, political science, and literary theory.

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Ana Marta Gonzalez is Professor of Ethics and Social Anthropology at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. She is the author and editor of several books, including Contemporary Perspectives on Natural Law: Natural Law as a Limiting Concept, Gender Identities in a Globalized World (with Victor Seidler), and Fashion and Identity: A Multidisciplinary Approach (with Laura Bovone).

Dr. Florence Oloo is Deputy Vice Chancellor of Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.  Dr. Oloo received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Nairobi, followed by a Masters of Science degree in chemistry from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She received her doctorate in chemistry from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Laure DeRose is a research affiliate with the Maryland Population Research Center. Her research centers on the demography of underdevelopment, specifically demographic outcomes and decision-making processes in disadvantaged contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently the director of research for the World Family Map Project, which is assembling comparable cross-national data on causes and outcomes of family strength. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University in 1995.

CATEGORY
Sociology, Women’s Studies/AFRICA