Imitation as Transformation of the Male Self

How an Apocryphal Saint Reshapes Zambian Catholic Men

Bibliographic Data

ID3655442
AuthorsAdriaan Van Klinken (0000-0003-2011-5537, University of Leeds, corresponding author), Adriaan S Van Klinken
Year2013
Volume53
Issue209-210
Pages119-142
Publication date2013-05-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCahiers d études africaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-0055 • E-ISSN: 1777-5353
PublisherOpenEdition (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/etudesafricaines.17259
OpenAlexW1560675815
LanguageEN
References cited17

St Joachim, who according to the apocryphal Protoevangelium Jacobi is the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the patron saint of a Catholic Men’s Organization in Zambia which promotes him as model of Catholic manhood. Through a case study of this organization, this article explores the intersections of religion, men and masculinity in a contemporary African Catholic context, in relation to broader discussions on African masculinities. The focus is on the practice of imitation of St Joachim and its effects on masculinity as the symbolic, discursive and performative construction of embodied male gender identity. Two theoretical concepts inform the analysis, being the notion of imitation as a hermeneutical process and Michel Foucault’s conceptualization of the technologies or hermeneutics of the self. The article shows how a sacred text is mobilized and inspires a communal imitative practice through which men are shaped, and shape themselves, after a religious ideal of masculinity

Ethnology · Humanities · Imitation · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · North African History and Literature · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology