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On January 23, 2024, The Africa Institute hosted a seminar featuring research scholar, Dr. Melusi Nkomo from Princeton University. The seminar, titled “State Cynicism, Violence, Deaths and the (Im)possibility of Politics in a Zimbabwean Mining Town,” explored the harsh realities of life in Zimbabwe’s gold-mining districts, particularly in the impoverished townships of Kwekwe. Dr. Nkomo’s research revealed the regular occurrence of untimely deaths or near-death experiences due to factors such as violence, decrepit infrastructure, and illnesses.
Dr. Nkomo argued that these experiences foster a cynical approach to politics by the state and hinder the development of a collective politics that could improve the situation for the impoverished communities. He also discussed how informal mining activities contribute to the formation of political identities and subjectivities beyond class or liberal politics.
The seminar, moderated by Grieve Chelwa, an Associate Professor of Political Economy at The Africa Institute, reaffirmed the Institute’s commitment to fostering critical thinkers in African and African Diaspora studies. Dr. Nkomo’s research is part of a larger project investigating the political, social, and network connections that allow extractive labor to become embedded in the local context. His latest article examined how artisan and small-scale mining in Zimbabwe is involved in political mobilization and party-state expansion.
On January 23, 2024, The Africa Institute hosted a seminar featuring research scholar, Dr. Melusi Nkomo from Princeton University. The seminar, titled “State Cynicism, Violence, Deaths and the (Im)possibility of Politics in a Zimbabwean Mining Town,” explored the harsh realities of life in Zimbabwe’s gold-mining districts, particularly in the impoverished townships of Kwekwe. Dr. Nkomo’s research revealed the regular occurrence of untimely deaths or near-death experiences due to factors such as violence, decrepit infrastructure, and illnesses.
On January 23, 2024, The Africa Institute hosted a seminar featuring research scholar, Dr. Melusi Nkomo from Princeton University. The seminar, titled “State Cynicism, Violence, Deaths and the (Im)possibility of Politics in a Zimbabwean Mining Town,” explored the harsh realities of life in Zimbabwe’s gold-mining districts, particularly in the impoverished townships of Kwekwe. Dr. Nkomo’s research revealed the regular occurrence of untimely deaths or near-death experiences due to factors such as violence, decrepit infrastructure, and illnesses.
Dr. Nkomo argued that these experiences foster a cynical approach to politics by the state and hinder the development of a collective politics that could improve the situation for the impoverished communities. He also discussed how informal mining activities contribute to the formation of political identities and subjectivities beyond class or liberal politics.
The seminar, moderated by Grieve Chelwa, an Associate Professor of Political Economy at The Africa Institute, reaffirmed the Institute’s commitment to fostering critical thinkers in African and African Diaspora studies. Dr. Nkomo’s research is part of a larger project investigating the political, social, and network connections that allow extractive labor to become embedded in the local context. His latest article examined how artisan and small-scale mining in Zimbabwe is involved in political mobilization and party-state expansion.
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