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E-book The Lumumba Generation : African Bourgeoisie and Colonial Distinction in the Belgian Congo

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Penilaian

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Aphotograph presents the bourgeois family idyll in Léopoldville. The father,sit-ting in an armchair in the foreground, dominates the livingroom scene. He iswearingawhiteshirt and tie, polished leather shoes and trousers withacreasein them. His elbowsresting on the arms of the chair,heisengrossed in theVoixdu Congolais,anewspaper for thevernacular elite published by theBelgian Con-go’sGeneral Government from 1945onwards.Inthe centre of the picture but inthe background, his wife, wearingadress,isholdingababy in her arms. In frontof her to the left there are twochildren: their daughter is standingwith her faceturnedaway from the camera, and their older son is alsoreading. The livingroom is equipped witharadio andafan, while the tables are decoratedwithflowers and crocheted tablecloths.Atea service sits on the coffee table, aroundwhich the familymembers are arranged.This photograph, commissioned by the General Government’sPress andPropaganda Department in 1952 and titled“AFamilyofCongolese Évolués inLéopoldville”reveals what theBelgian colonial state viewed as exemplary andcivilized family life within the framework of its elite-making. This is just one ex-ample of the countless photographs and articlesrelatingto the modelévoluéthatcirculated after the SecondWorldWarinthe colonial public sphere. The so-calledévoluéswereasmall but elite group of educated Congolese,¹consistingof graduates of mission secondary schools and holders of subaltern posts inthe colonial workingworld. They had made theirvoices heard and articulatedtheir first demands to the colonial state shortlybefore the end of the war,callingfor aspecial legal status, improved living conditions,agreater sayand recogni-tion.“Whatwillbeour place in the world of tomorrow?”²–this is how Paul Lo-mami-Tshibamba’sarticle summedupthe question of their position in the futurecolonial order,with as much apprehension as expectation, in March 1945.

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

960 TOD t

Penerbit

Berlin : De Gruyter Saur., 2021

Deskripsi Fisik

435 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9783110709308

Klasifikasi

960

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

History of Africa

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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