ALCOHOL IN AFRICA: MIXING BUSINESS, PLEASURE AND POLITICS

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ALCOHOL IN AFRICA: MIXING BUSINESS, PLEASURE AND POLITICS
Heinemann USA

Deborah Fahy Bryceson ed.

Alcohol in Sub-Saharan Africa has historically been a conduit for religious
and political expression controlled by male elders. Over the past century
and especially during the last two crisis-ridden decades, alcohol's
ceremonial role has been largely displaced. Currently, alcohol is a taboo
subject for donors and African governments alike, yet it is at the nexus of
many of the continent's most pressing problems. Agricultural sector decline,
large-scale labor redundancy, household instability, and AIDS have cause or
effect linkages to changing alcohol usage. This edited collection explores
the economic, political, and social meanings of alcohol usage. The material
is contextualized within a review of existing anthropological, social
history, and social welfare literature on alcohol, and a broad historical
overview of the continental trends in alcohol production and consumption.
Both the pleasure and the pain of alcohol usage emerge, providing insight
into the ambiguity of alcohol in Africa today.

DEBORAH FAHY BRYCESON is a Senior Researcher at the African Studies Centre,
Leiden University, the Netherlands.
ISBN 0-325-07115-2 312pp October 2002 £45.25

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