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Structures, feelings andsavoir faire

Ghana's middle classes in the making

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2103545
AutoresR Spronk (0000-0002-5207-711X, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen90
Número3
Páginas470-488
Fecha de publicación2020-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAfrica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0001-9720 • E-ISSN: 1750-0184
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0001972020000030
OpenAlexW3026787324
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas6
Referencias citadas33

The concept of 'middle class' in African societies has been recognized recently but at the same time it resists clear-cut definition. Rather than seeking clearer classification, I propose to embrace its contested nature as productive, seeing 'middle class' not as a category that we can find 'out there' and measure, but as a classification-in-the-making. Middle-class status, or a particular idea of the good life, is a position people strive towards, but what this entails depends on context and place. The study of the pursuit of social mobility in Ghana during colonialism, independence and the post-Cold War period - of those who have successfully improved their livelihoods - provides knowledge about the middle class in the making in different eras and under different conditions. I propose a three-pronged approach to study this processual nature: Raymond Williams' notion of 'structures of feeling' helps unravel the shifting affective qualities of the changing political economy, while Sara Ahmed's focus on the 'feelings of structure' zooms in on agency as an important tool to analyse how middle-class trajectories unfold over time. Lastly, the availability of advantageous conditions is not enough to stimulate change; one needs thesavoir faireto enact them

Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Class (philosophy · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Everyday life · Feeling · Independence (probability theory · Livelihood · Middle class · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · History · Law · Political Economy and Marxism · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Psychology

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Obras citantes distintas6
Citas por año1,2
Intervalo de citas2021 - 2025 (5)
Velocidad de citaciónrecent
Altamente citadoNo
Tipos de citaNeutras: 6
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