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SUMMARY:Spaces of Exile and Solidarity\; Conviviality\, Contention and Tra
 nsnational Activism for Zimbabwe 1965-1980  - Professor Jo Ann McGregor\, 
  Sussex University
DTSTART:20141103T170000Z
DTEND:20141103T180000Z
UID:TALK55566@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Judith Weik
DESCRIPTION:This paper explores spaces of exile and transnational activism
  for majority rule in Zimbabwe following the Rhodesia Front’s Unilateral
  Declaration of Independence in 1965. The focus is on grassroots cultural 
 politics in Britain\, examined through oral histories and archival sources
 . My aim is to bring together and take forward two currently disconnected 
 areas of debate: 1) revisionist perspectives on the role of exile and inte
 rnational solidarity in Southern African liberation struggles\, and\; 2) t
 ransnational understandings of the process and impacts of decolonization o
 n British society\, through African mobilities and the politics of immigra
 tion\, asylum and race. The paper critiques romanticized accounts of grass
 roots solidarity\, by exploring not only the conviviality and convergent i
 nterests of transnational campaigning spaces\, but also the contentiousnes
 s of liberal leftist internationalisms and the fractiousness of national l
 iberation movements in exile. Most Zimbabwean exiles in Britain in this pe
 riod understood themselves as privileged\, took pride in educational disti
 nction and anticipated future leadership roles on their return.  They were
  neither heroes nor victims\, and they were not interested in British citi
 zenship. Their experiences and influence have been occluded both in the pr
 edominant militarised heroism of Zimbabwean nationalism and in histories o
 f the African presence in Britain. The paper argues that the cadres of ret
 urning educated exiles helped shape Zimbabwean postcolonial cultures of pu
 blic service\, professionalism and strong valuation of educational success
 . At the same time\, their forward-looking\, revolutionary ethos contrasts
  with the nostalgia that infuses classic accounts of exile and provides a 
 new transnational dimension to histories of African diasporas in Britain. 
  The networks and alliances fostered through the circulations and internat
 ionalisms of this period have interesting legacies\, including in the most
  recent phase of Zimbabwean emigration\, exile and transnational activism 
 in Britain.
LOCATION:Seminar Room S1 Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge
  CB3 9DT
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