The concepts of ‘modernity’ and ‘modernization’ have gained currency within and outside of academic discourse for decades, and continue to inspire political, social, and scientific actors. The propaganda campaign for Joseph Kabila, sitting president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, summarized his politics as ‘the revolution of modernization’, as Congolese can see on numerous billboards, leaflets, print, and audiovisual media. This volume, co-edited by Peter Bloom, Stephan Miescher, and Takyiwaa Manuh, is comprised of 15 chapters (by historians, media scholars, literature specialists, and anthropologists) preceded by an introduction, offering an incisive look into ‘the original context for the conception, implementation, and uneven effects of modernization’ (p. 3). Most chapters are situated in Africa in the 1950s and 1960s, while some (Smyth and Windel) return to the 1920s–30s and several others stretch into the contemporary era (Miescher, Hecht, and Wilson-Tagoe). The result is a fine-grained exploration of the various actors (scientists, artists, politicians, industrial leaders, and workers) involved in processes of modernization, the tools (media, dance, theatre, water dams, industry, and gliders) mobilized to produce ‘modern African subjects’, and the ideologies, beliefs, contestations, expectations, and frustrations accompanying these processes.
In a sense, all the chapters illustrate ‘the package’ of modernization discourse; that is, the idea that societal transformation to a ‘modern condition’ should occur on multiple societal domains: economy, politics, culture, and religion (p. 3). ‘Spectacle’, a key term of this book, thus allows the integration of propaganda and a new aesthetic and cultural order in the analysis.
A minor criticism on this wonderful collection is that the concept of ‘spectacle’ merits a deeper exploration than currently offered in the introduction. Hidden in a footnote, the editors reject Debord's theory of spectacle in society and claim to follow Apter's and Barber's usages of ‘spectacle’, without defining, discussing, and applying either theoretical approach.
The first part introduces two critical approaches to Western ideas about modernization. Hintzen explicates the intimacies between modernization, globalization, and capitalist accumulation, while Apter situates his father's monograph The Politics of Modernization within the contemporary American academy. He also discusses the weaknesses in that book, especially the myth of tradition.
In the second part, devoted to media, we learn from Smyth how media (not only film) has been an instrument of modernization and social change in Africa ever since the early 1920s, when colonizers and missionaries promoted new methods in agriculture and health care. Smyth further situates the first generation of African nationalists within adult literacy and development communication programs. Windel's chapter takes the package idea further by pointing at the common ground of colonial film propaganda. Radio is the topic of the following two chapters. Chikowero, asking whether propaganda is modernity, convincingly shows how colonial subjects in Southern Africa during the ‘Federation’ era of 1953–63, contested radio broadcasts. Bloom's reflection on ‘the voice’, accent, and ‘right pronunciation’ as transmitted through the apparent disembodied voices of BBC radio announcers, supports his argument that spoken English was a theatrical form of entertainment, instruction, and governance (p. 146).
The third part deals with infrastructure. Two chapters critically analyze the sociopolitical effects of the construction of water dams, in Zimbabwe and Ghana respectively. Tischler's study of the sociopolitical background of the Kariba dam brings in an idea of modernization as a racist development: how it defines new boundaries of exclusion and inclusion. Miescher's description of so-called ‘Akosombo stories’ nuances the history of modernization through the implementation of new types of infrastructure by unearthing experiences of marginalization and of accomplishment – depending on one's role in the dam construction. Hecht discloses life and work on the first Gabonese yellow cake plant (COMUF) and the various kinds of spectacle on the work floor and beyond. Her discussion of accidents, ecological pollution, and disease as consequences of the COMUF most compellingly exhibit ‘the danger of modernization’.
The fourth part is devoted to Ghana, the first African independent nation. Three excellent chapters describe how gliding (Allman), dance (Plageman), and science (Manu) became critical, though not uncontested, spaces for Nkrumah's ambitions to build the ideal ‘Ghanaian citizen’ and position Ghana as a leader in the quest for a modern African identity.
The final part defines literature as a foundational space of a national and pan-African consciousness. McMahon critically examines the first cultural festival of Negro Arts in Dakar and Cesaire critiques Senghor's elitist approach to modernization, while Wilson-Tagoe and Mbowa analyze the writing strategies of African authors from the early 1960s until today, thus bringing Northern and Eastern African voices into the conversation on black aesthetics.
All the chapters are based on thorough research, are wonderfully written, and are exemplary of how good research is done. This book will be read and re-read for years to come. It will find a wide audience, especially among those interested in Africa's history, media and cultural studies, politics, and/or globalization.
