Travel, Humanitarianism, and Becoming American in Africa [electronic resource] /
Mathers, K.author.
Travel, Humanitarianism, and Becoming American in Africa uses observations of American travelers to southern Africa to ask: why is Africa so important to Americans? These travel stories show how encounters with Africans lead to a problematic desire to save Africa. Kathryn Mathers argues that this is then seen as a way to resolve the tensions between aspirations for a globally responsible America and the current reality of its geopolitical role. This book draws fascinating new conclusions about the connections and disconnections on which contemporary American identity is formed.
Description based upon print version of record.
Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 Moving Fieldwork: Traveling with Americans to and from Africa; 2 Vexed Ties: Africa in and out of America; 3 Back to Nature: Americans' Great African Adventure; 4 Through the Glass: Encountering the Unexpected in Africa; 5 Disrupting the Hyphen: Identity and Belonging in America; 6 "How Do They Know I am American?" Travel and the Discovery of Home; 7 Suffering Beauty: How to Save Africa without Changing It; Conclusion: Saving Africa: Love in the Time of Oprah; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Travel, Humanitarianism, and Becoming American in Africa uses observations of American travelers to southern Africa to ask: why is Africa so important to Americans? These travel stories show how encounters with Africans lead to a problematic desire to save Africa. Kathryn Mathers argues that this is then seen as a way to resolve the tensions between aspirations for a globally responsible America and the current reality of its geopolitical role. This book draws fascinating new conclusions about the connections and disconnections on which contemporary American identity is formed.
Culture—Study and teaching.
Ethnography.
Anthropology.
Ethnology.
Economic development.
Social service.
Regional and Cultural Studies.
Ethnography.
Anthropology.
Cultural Anthropology.
Development Studies.
Social Work and Community Development.