Boni, Tanella. What Does Being in the World Mean? Thinking Life and Domestic Bonds in the Twenty-First-Century Africa
2021, in Bidima, J. G. and Hengehold, L. (eds.), African Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century: Acts of Transition. 1st ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Added by: Björn Freter & Marc Gwodog
Abstract:
This paper explores the mutations of the domestic bonds in contemporary Africa. Tanella Boni argues that the economic and social globalization led to a transformation of familial relations. These changes have forced a redefinition of the nature of positions and relationships within families. The desire to cope with these changes has led to the implementation of adaptive strategies, producing familial entities characterized by more complex relationships but still retaining their hierarchical structures and inequalities.
This paper explores the mutations of the domestic bonds in contemporary Africa. Tanella Boni argues that the economic and social globalization led to a transformation of familial relations. These changes have forced a redefinition of the nature of positions and relationships within families. The desire to cope with these changes has led to the implementation of adaptive strategies, producing familial entities characterized by more complex relationships but still retaining their hierarchical structures and inequalities.
Comment (from this Blueprint): In this paper, Tanella Boni provides an analysis of the social dynamics in Africa based on its smallest unit, the family. She explains how bonds and positions within families are reinterpreted to adapt to changes in African societies.