Böcker av Carola Lentz

First published in 1999. This book examines process of change in African, South African and European countries by analysing the ways in which food is an integral part of ongoing ecological, economic, political and social transformations. It also provides research on dietary changes from direct intervention by people and agencies. The majority of these fascinating case studies are based on original fieldwork, they are quite diverse, as are the nature and scope of changes considered. The authors discuss rural as well as urban modes of food consumption, dietary changes in different societal contexts, and food-based rituals. The cases presented suggest alterative readings of some established models of changing food habits, and contribute to a more comprehensive history of dietary transformations.

Familien spielen eine wichtige Rolle in den umfassenden sozioökonomischen Transformationsprozessen, die die Gesellschaften des Globalen Südens seit dem Zweiten Weltkrieg erfahren haben. An Beispielen aus Nordghana erörtert der Beitrag Dynamiken sozialer Mobilität und Arbeit im Kontext der Koordinaten biographische Zeit¿Familien-Zeit¿historische Zeit (T. Hareven).

Focusing on an area of the savannah in northern Ghana and southwestern Burkina Faso, Land, Mobility, and Belonging in West Africa explores how rural populations have secured, contested, and negotiated access to land and how they have organized their communities despite being constantly on the move as farmers or migrant laborers. Carola Lentz seeks to understand how those who claim native status hold sway over others who are perceived to have come later. As conflicts over land, agriculture, and labor have multiplied in Africa, Lentz shows how politics and power play decisive roles in determining access to scarce resources and in changing notions of who belongs and who is a stranger.

This text examines the integral connection between food and ongoing ecological, economic, political, and social transformations. It also provides research on dietary changes resulting from direct interventions by individuals and food programmes.

Drawing on two decades of research this social and political history of North-Western Ghana traces the creation of new ethnic and territorial boundaries, categories and forms of self-understanding, and represents a major contribution to debates on ethnicity, colonialism and the 'production of history'. It explores the creation and redefinition of ethnic distinctions and commonalities by African and European actors, showing that ethnicity's power derives from a contradiction: while ethnic identities purport to be non-negotiable, creating permanent bonds, stability and security, the boundaries of the communities created and the associated traits and practices are malleable and adaptable to specific interests and contexts.