The Modernity Bluff – Crime, Consumption and Citizenship in in Côte d’Ivoire: Crime, Consumption, and Citizenship in Cte d'Ivoire - Hardcover

Newell, Sasha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226575195 ISBN 13: 9780226575193

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2012

Synopsis

The Modernity Bluff In Cote d'Ivoire, appearing modern is so important for success that many young men deplete their already meager resources to project an illusion of wealth. The author argues that they engage a global hierarchy that is profoundly modern, one that values performance over authenticity - highlighting the counterfeit nature of modernity itself. Full description

About this title

Review:

""The Modernity Bluff" takes its place comfortably with the best writing on African youth, cities, and popular culture--Cole, De Boeck, Mbembe, Nyamanjoh, Simone, Weiss, White--and gives an utterly original angle (fashion, conspicuous consumption) for understanding the cultural underpinnings of the current conflict in Cote d'Ivoire. Sasha Newell knows both the contemporary and classic Africanist literatures. He also brings to bear a considerable amount of specialist theory, primarily from linguistic anthropology, to explain the ways the performance of 'bluff, ' seemingly a kind of consumerist simulacrum, can actually create something out of nothing."--Mike McGovern, Yale University

"This is an extremely interesting book that is a valuable and original addition to ethnographic studies of urban Africa. It contributes to the literature on alternative modernities, popular culture, urban societies, and the African postcolony. It will appeal to an academic audience, but also to others, as it is lively, engaging, and clear, a rich and vivid account of the author's immersion in street bars and clubs with disenfranchised youth to acquire the details of how they spend their time getting money to fulfill their aspirations of modernity in the absence of any regular jobs." --Janet MacGaffey, Bucknell University

""The Modernity Bluff" is a stunning exploration of the power of fakery, masking, and performance, set against larger themes of postcoloniality and modernity. It takes us into an African street world of young scenesters and scammers, describing their war of styles against the fine French tailoring of the old postcolonial elite, and their chief weapon: the US-inspired casual look of designer-branded sweatpants and sneakers associated with hip hop and urban warriors. The book's centerpiece describes the perplexing 'art of the surface' that the young people cultivate, an art epitomized in meteoric performances of luxurious cosmopolitan elegance. By taking these seriously in their cultural context as a play of 'bluffs, ' Newell arrives at a penetrating new insight into the power of modernity's mask of success."--Ira Bashkow, University of Virginia (03/12/2012)

"The Modernity Bluff" takes its place comfortably with the best writing on African youth, cities, and popular culture Cole, De Boeck, Mbembe, Nyamanjoh, Simone, Weiss, White and gives an utterly original angle (fashion, conspicuous consumption) for understanding the cultural underpinnings of the current conflict in Cote d Ivoire. Sasha Newell knows both the contemporary and classic Africanist literatures. He also brings to bear a considerable amount of specialist theory, primarily from linguistic anthropology, to explain the ways the performance of bluff, seemingly a kind of consumerist simulacrum, can actually create something out of nothing. --Mike McGovern, Yale University"

"The Modernity Bluff" is a stunning exploration of the power of fakery, masking, and performance, set against larger themes of postcoloniality and modernity. It takes us into an African street world of young scenesters and scammers, describing their war of styles against the fine French tailoring of the old postcolonial elite, and their chief weapon: the US-inspired casual look of designer-branded sweatpants and sneakers associated with hip hop and urban warriors. The book s centerpiece describes the perplexing art of the surface that the young people cultivate, an art epitomized in meteoric performances of luxurious cosmopolitan elegance. By taking these seriously in their cultural context as a play of bluffs, Newell arrives at a penetrating new insight into the power of modernity s mask of success. --Ira Bashkow, University of Virginia (03/12/2012)"

This is an extremely interesting book that is a valuable and original addition to ethnographic studies of urban Africa. It contributes to the literature on alternative modernities, popular culture, urban societies, and the African postcolony. It will appeal to an academic audience, but also to others, as it is lively, engaging, and clear, a rich and vivid account of the author s immersion in street bars and clubs with disenfranchised youth to acquire the details of how they spend their time getting money to fulfill their aspirations of modernity in the absence of any regular jobs. Janet MacGaffey, Bucknell University--Janet MacGaffey (03/12/2012)"

About the Author:

Sasha Newell teaches at the College of the Holy Cross.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0226575195
• ISBN 13: 9780226575193
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 296