Book Launch: "The rise of Africa’s middle class: Myths, realities and critical engagements"

  • DATE

    10 August 2017

  • TIME

    15:00 - 17:00

  • VENUE

    Seminar Room 1-09, Old College House, Hatfield Campus, University of Pretoria

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, in conjunction with the Human Economy Programme and the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation, extend this invitation to the launch of Professor Henning Melber's edited volume.

Book title: The rise of Africa’s middle class: Myths, realities and critical engagements
The editor of the book, Henning Melber is senior adviser and director emeritus of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation. He is extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Political Sciences and at the University of the Free State’s Centre for Africa Studies, as well as senior adviser at the Nordic Africa Institute.

Book summary
Featuring a wide array of case studies from across sub-Saharan Africa and covering highly topical issues, including black middle-class support for the ANC in South Africa and anti-government activism in Nigeria, this collection looks at the realities behind the idea of Africa rising. Across the continent, the narrative of ‘Africa rising’ has taken root in a burgeoning middle class.
Ambitious and increasingly affluent, this group symbolises the values and hopes of the new Africa, and they are regarded as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. The book argues that this narrative obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies.
The rise of Africa’s middle class brings together a diverse range of economists, political scientists and development experts to provide a much-needed corrective, overturning the received wisdom within development circles and providing a fresh new perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa.

Date 10 August 2017
Time 15:00 to 17:00
Venue Seminar Room 1-09, Old College House, Hatfield Campus, University of Pretoria
RSVP Cecelia Samson email: [email protected]

NB: The book will be available for sale in cash and credit card facilities at a discounted rate (less 20% off the retail price).

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