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The study illustrates how the German-speaking author Cătălin Dorian Florescu challenges simplistic identity constructs in his short story collection Der Nabel der Welt (2017), thus transcending the label of a writer who merely exoticizes the Eastern-European other, as some critics have previously asserted. Employing Lotman's model of the semiosphere as framework for analysis, this paper offers an interpretation of Florescu's fictionalized border areas as spaces of cultural bilingualism and signification recoding for the ›Self‹ (i.e., the Western European elite culture) and the ›Foreign‹ (i.e., the migrant milieu from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How might one make sense of the intimate but often assumed connection between social inequality and social death? In this paper, I offer an answer. It develops in stages. First, I set out in some detail an account of person prominent in sub-Saharan African thought systems, specifically the version of it found in the writings of Ifeanyi Menkiti. Second, I show how this account entails both that persons are social entities and that consequently they belong in a social ontology. Third, I suggest a perspective on Orlando Patterson's notion of social death and then show how Menkiti's account of persons as psycho-social entities can provide ontological grounding for the phenomenon of social death. Roughly, the overarching claim is that rather than merely disrespect their victims, oppressive forms of social inequality essentially depersonalise them in the sense at issue in Patterson's social death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bibliotheksdienst is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper addresses the issue of the relative absence of anthropologists in the formulation of HIV/AIDS policy and research in Africa. Initially, taking an historical perspective, it looks at the development of the main policy-making forums in the USA before turning to the more recent establishment of UNAIDS and its dominant role in setting the agenda for Africa. The implications for anthropological research are then considered in order to shed light on the reluctance which can be discerned in the discipline to get involved in research on AIDS. Turning to specific case material, the paper then examines AIDS educational strategies in Botswana to provide an illustration of the potential insights anthropology can bring to explain the success or failure of such campaings. Stressing the importance of the cultural constructions of the disease, it shows how the western AIDS message is interpreted by local populations not as neutral scientific „fact“ but as an aspect of political and ideological domination. In turn, this discussion raises the issue of the coexistence of different belief systems, especially in the sphere of medicine, their interrelations and the social contexts in which response to western messages is antagonistic as opposed to complementary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces this issue of the journal, which discusses environmental factors, particularly global environmental change, of migration patterns and movements, with several contributions focusing on Africa.

Reviews and announcements of publications, conferences, and other events in the social sciences are presented, including about an exhibition about social movements in Munich, Germany, in the 1970s, entitled "Wem gehört die Stadt?" and on view until September 1, 2013, in Munich, the World Social Forum conference in Tunis, Tunesia, from March 26-30, 2013, and the working paper "Wie mit Homophobie Politik gemacht wird: Menschenrechte und Verfolgung von LSBTI-Aktivist_innen in Afrika," by Rita Schäfer and Eva Range, part of the FES Internationale Politikanalyse series.

The establishment of a military command for Africa (US AFRICOM) symbolizes the radical repositioning of the US military. Facilitated by the consensus in contemporary Western foreign policies - that there can be no development without security - over the last ten years the US military has expanded its activities into civilian domains including development and conflict prevention. As a reaction to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, recent US military doctrines on counterinsurgency and stability operations have singled out the need for more civilian and long-term activities as a precondition for success. AFRICOM has put most of these „military innovations" into practice. Due to the command's focus on development activities, on civil-military coordination and its proposed engagement in non-war situations, in military circles AFRICOM is seen as a role model for future military practices. This paper problematizes the military's expanding mandate and discusses its implications. It argues that the military's increasing engagement in issues of governance and development deeply blurs the normative boundary between the military and the civilian and exposes development as a technology of security. Furthermore, the military's repositioning follows the dominant securitization of so- called „fragile states" and classifies social spaces along Western strategic interests. As a consequence, targeted communities find it hard to separate development efforts aimed at countering poverty and those aimed at countering insurgency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After ending their migration to the Great Lakes Area, estimated around 1500, the Hima (= Tutsi) established a supremacy, based on their culture as livestock herders. Milk containers played an important role in their myths and rituals. Wooden Hima containers, carefully carved and of special shape, express the "ethnic superiority" in terms of remembering the Hima as having been "superior". In some societies like the Nyoro kingdom in Uganda, they expressed the social distinction between the Hima and the Hutu, the indigenous agriculturists. The containers were also "holy" objects. Several of them, collected between 1895 and 1902 by two Germans, Richard Kandt and Karl Paul Kollmann, are part of the African collection of the Ethnological Museum Berlin and some of them are described in the article. The container shapes also show the impact of the Hima supremacy within the region: they "migrated". Wooden containers act as cultural witnesses but also give an example of East African design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most theorists of development the peripheral states are weak by definition and their weakness is a significant factor in the syndrome of underdevelopment. Recently, especially the states of the African continent are keen as paradigmatically „weak or „failed" or „collapsed" or „decaying" states. Therefore, the paper uses African case material to discuss the thesis of the structural weakness of the peripheral state. The conclusion is that African states are weak only insofar as their „regulative power" is concerned; insofar as their power to guarantee the accumulation of riches in the ruling classes is concerned, in contrast, they are definitely strong states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the panel "Grenzmissverständnisse in der Globalgeschichtsschreibung (ca. 1500-1900)" at the Deutscher Historikertag (Annual Meeting of the Verband der Historiker und Historikerinnen Deutschlands [VDH, German Historians' Association]), from September 28 to October 1, 2010, in Berlin. Several papers on the concepts of borders and frontiers in European imperialism and colonialism in Asia, Africa, and Australia, from the perspective of global history, were presented.

This article deals with the emerging local currency bond markets in Africa. It begins by exploring why these bond markets are a key element in the general project of deepening peripheral financial markets and an important building block for any further market-based development finance. In this context, the article also discusses the political, economic, and social consequences of these bond markets. Building on this, the text highlights the prominent role of German institutions in establishing these bond markets in Africa and interrogates the underlying interests. The article discusses the thesis that German capital factions have an interest in deepening peripheral financial markets in order to recycle their own surplus capital and open up new markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By focussing on two objects originating from the former German colony in East Africa, this article showcases an entangled Tanzanian- British-German history. The objects in question are human remains; or, to be more precise, a skull and a tooth. Firstly, the article traces their itineraries. Secondly, it demonstrates how human remains, which were taken as colonial trophies, could become objects of faith and attain their own ›life‹ in Europe. Their interpretation as objects of faith is supposed to challenge the prevailing understanding of the collection of human remains as part of a history of knowledge. Instead, the article offers a different reading which emphasises an African-European dialogue of meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses links between environmental issues, particularly desertification, and migration in the Sahel region of Africa. The authors propose a methodological approach based on local perspectives from Mali and Senegal. Issues addressed include thick descriptions as modes of analysis in the history of migration, rural-urban migration in the two countries, particularly to the capital cities of Bamako, Mali, and Dakar, Senegal, and local knowledge about climate and weather changes, particularly in agriculture.

An article on the cultural history and ethnology of Africa is presented in which the author discusses the philosophical roots of ethnological research in the writings of late 1920s German ethnologist Leo Frobenius including "Documenta Africana". The author examines the memorial culture and monuments of postcolonial Nigeria, Senegal, and Mali and discusses the practice of iconoclasm and imperial violence associated with certain historical artifacts. The importance of visual media of various formats in Nigerian memorial culture is examined.

In this article the author analyzes how the development of photography in the 19th century made it easier for missionaries and other people living in the European colonies to visually communicate and explain what they were doing there to their European audience. Several topics are discussed such as what the intent, interpretation, and iconography of the photographs taken in the European colonies was, how the images of the colonial schools, class room lessons, and studying students were taken mainly to further illustrate missionary writings, as well as how the indigenous people in Africa interpreted the images of the Europeans. Also mentioned are several congresses that have taken place in the late 20th century that have discussed the subject of colonial photography in African history.

Leading protagonists of the nascent scientific disciplines ethnology and anthropology in 19th century Germany such as Adolf Bastian or Gustav Fritsch were much aware of the importance of photography for their work. The camera, so it was understood, meticulously and truthfully recorded what was observed and described thus avoiding the pitfalls of subjective representation through drawing or painting. Principles for the production of standardized and consequently comparable ethnographic and particularly anthropological photographs were made public by Gustav Fritsch in 1872. However, the claim for such photographs was answered neither by Gustav Fritsch's Eingeborene Süd-Afrika's from 1872 nor by two photo albums which were commissioned and produced by the "Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte" and the "Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Erforschung AequatorialAfrikas" between 1873 and 1876. Even though there was observably a progress in control and comparability of the photograph over time, Julius Falkenstein as the last of the three producers also failed at his attempt to fully conform to Fritsch's principles. In reality people often bluntly refused to give in to the photographer's request to remove their clothes or to have their body measured. And the latter, on the other hand, did not yet have the means of control and coercion to force their visàvis to obey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of planning and development paradigms during World War II is discussed. Special attention is paid to views on the so-called "development potential" of areas in Africa and Asia. It is noted that thinkers during the period around World War II believed that developing countries' economies could improve with good planning. The teachings of Saint Lucian economist Arthur Lewis regarding developing countries' potential for economic progress are discussed. Additionally, a description is given of the planning history for colonial administrations in Africa from World War II to the 1960s.

The resurgence of religion and its return into politics has accelerated the decline of African states. As the Sharia conflict in Nigeria illustrates, Muslims and Christians have begun organizing their communities according to their own divine rules, without respect to the laws of the state. Citizens of different faiths no longer share legal and moral principles which might serve as a common ground to regulate their co-existence. Conflicts cannot be solved by democratic majority decisions but, at best, by negotiations between religious and ethnic elites. Compromises reached in this way are, however, not stable and reliable, as they are not based on rules of fairness and reciprocity but on shifting power relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiological analysis of injury patterns and mechanisms help in identifying the expertise that military surgeons need in a combat setting and also in adjusting training requirements accordingly. This paper attempts to assess the surgical specialties and skills of particular importance in the management of casualties in crisis areas., Methods: MEDLINE (1949-2007) and Google search were used. Causes of death among casualties in Afghanistan and the Iraq war were analyzed., Results: The leading causes of injury were explosive devices, gunshot wounds, aircraft crashes, and terrorist attacks. Of the casualties, 55% died in hostile action and 45% in nonhostile incidents. Chest or abdominal injuries (40%) and brain injuries (35%) were the main causes of death for soldiers killed in action. The case fatality rate in Iraq was approximately half as high as in the Vietnam War. In contrast, the amputation rate was twice as high. Approximately 8-15% of the deaths appeared to be preventable., Conclusions: Military surgeons must have excellent skills in the fields of thoracic, visceral, and vascular surgery as well as practical skills in neurosurgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery. It also is of vital importance to ensure the availability of sufficient medical evacuation capabilities. Furthermore, there is a need for a standardized registration system for all injuries similar to the German Trauma Registry.

Health Care Systems Clutch at a Straw: The health care systems of sub-Saharan Africa are facing a global crisis which is severely challenging their survival. Currently, alternatives to the traditional financing of health care by government grants and/or "fee for service" are sought. Otherwise the vast majority of poor rural inhabitants of these countries will lose access to Western medicine at the end of this century, making appropriate medical care a privilege of a small number of rich urbans. One approach to solving this crisis is the introduction of a health insurance system. However, the culture of African people must also be considered if one attempts to design and implement an insurance scheme. This paper reflects some of the problems of health insurance in an African context. Since the author contributed to the design of a "Community Based Health Insurance" of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tansania, this scheme is used here as an example.

The review paper summarizes our knowledge on the influence of the intake of mycotoxin containing foodstuffs on human health. The greatest attention is given to the aflatoxins. The results of epidemiological studies on the occurrence of primary liver cancer in Thailand and different regions of middle and southern Africa are described.