Cultures of Innovation of the African Poor: On the Articulation of Multiple Modernities in African Societies and African Diasporas in Latin America

Collection article | Sammelwerksbeitrag

The globalized Western culture of innovation, as propagated by major aid institutions, does not necessarily lead to empowerment or improvement of the well-being of the stakeholders. On the contrary, it often blocks viable indigenous innovation cultures. In African societies and African Diasporas in Latin America, cultures of innovation largely accrue from the informal, not the formal sector. Crucial for their proper understanding is a threefold structural differentiation: between the formal and informal sector, within the informal sector, according to class, gender or religion, and between different transnational social spaces. Different innovation cultures may be complementary, mutually reinforcing, or conflicting, leading in extreme cases even to a 'clash of cultures' at the local level. The repercussions of competing, even antagonistic agencies of innovative strategic groups are demonstrated, analyzing the case of the African poor in Benin and the African Diasporas of Brazil and Haiti.

Object Details

• Alternative title: Cultures d'innovation des pauvres d'Afrique: origines communs, traits conjoints, perspectives enchainés? Sur l'articulation des modernités multiples dans les sociétés africaines et les diasporas noires en Amérique latine
• ISBN: 978-3-89645-828-5
• Extent: Seite(n): 241-262
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Auf dem Boden der Tatsachen: Festschrift für Thomas Bierschenk; Mainzer Beiträge zur Afrikaforschung (28)

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie ; Soziologie, Anthropologie ; Ethnologie, Kulturanthropologie, Ethnosoziologie ; Entwicklungsländersoziologie, Entwicklungssoziologie ; Afrika südlich der Sahara ; Diaspora ; Lateinamerika ; Brasilien ; Haiti ; Armut ; kulturelle Identität ; Religion ; Ethnizität ; Globalisierung ; Kulturwandel ; Empowerment ; Glokalisierung ; Innovation

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Kohnert, Dirk
• Event: Herstellung
• (who): Schareika, Nikolaus ; Spies, Eva ; LeMeur, Pierre-Yves
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Köppe
• (where): Deutschland, Köln
• (when): 2011

Further information

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.921535
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-55646-2
• Rights: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Bibliothek Köln
• Last update: 21.06.2024, 4:26 PM CEST