Family Matters , livre ebook

332

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Écrit par
Nkiru Uwechia Nzegwu

Publié par
State University of New York Press

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332

pages

English

Ebooks

2012

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

State University of New York Press

Date de parution

01 février 2012

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780791481820

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Prior to European colonialism, Igboland, a region in Nigeria, was a nonpatriarchal, nongendered society governed by separate but interdependent political systems for men and women. In the last one hundred fifty years, the Igbo family has undergone vast structural changes in response to a barrage of cultural forces. Critically rereading social practices and oral and written histories of Igbo women and the society, Nkiru Uwechia Nzegwu demonstrates how colonial laws, edicts, and judicial institutions facilitated the creation of gender inequality in Igbo society. Nzegwu exposes the unlikely convergence of Western feminist and African male judges' assumptions about "traditional" African values where women are subordinate and oppressed. Instead she offers a conception of equality based on historical Igbo family structures and practices that challenges the epistemological and ontological bases of Western feminist inquiry.

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION
Igbo Family Structure and Feminist Concepts

1 Family Politics: Making Patriarchy in a Patrilineal Society

2. Legalizing Patriarchy: Sorting Through Customary Laws and Practices

3. Customs and Misrepresentations: Widows and Daughters in Inheritance Disputes

4. The Conclave: A Dialogic Search for Equality

5. Structures of Equality: In Mono- and Dual-Sex Systems

CONCLUSION
Toward a Balanced Society

Notes
Glossary
References and Bibliography
Index

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Publié par

State University of New York Press

Date de parution

01 février 2012

EAN13

9780791481820

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

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SUNY Series, Feminist Philosophy Jeffner Allen, editor

FAMILY MATTERS

Feminist Concepts in African Philosophy of Culture

Nkiru Uwechia Nzegwu

State University of New York Press

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210–2384

Production by Dana Foote Marketing by Fran Keneston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nzegwu, Nkiru. Family matters : feminist concepts in African philosophy of culture / Nkiru Uwechia Nzegwu. p. cm. — (SUNY series, feminist philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–7914–6743–0 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 0–7914–6744–9 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Igbo (African people)—Kinship. 2. Women, Igbo—Social conditions. 3. Philosophy, Igbo. 4. Sex role—Nigeria. 5. Family—Nigeria. 6. Patrilineal kinship—Nigeria. 7. Feminist theory—Nigeria. I. Title. II. Series.

DT515.45.I33N93 2006 306.87′089′96332—dc22

ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6743-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6744-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

2005014077

In memory of my mother Veronica Umebe Uwechia died 12.13.02

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Acknowledgments

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION Igbo Family Structure and Feminist Concepts

CHAPTER 1 Family Politics: Making Patriarchy in a Patrilineal Society

CHAPTER 2 Legalizing Patriarchy: Sorting Through Customary Laws and Practices

CHAPTER 3 Customs and Misrepresentations: Widows and Daughters in Inheritance Disputes

CHAPTER 4 The Conclave: A Dialogic Search for Equality

CHAPTER 5 Structures of Equality: In Mono- and Dual-Sex Systems

CONCLUSION Toward a Balanced Society

Notes

Glossary

References and Bibliography

Index

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Finally, it is done! This book has gone through numerous conceptual shifts and turns before ﬁnally taking this present form. I wish to express my utmost gratitude to Jeffner Allen, editor of the SUNY series, Feminist Philosophy, who signed on to the project at its very early stages and provided invaluable advice at various stages of the manuscript. I cannot thank her enough for her gen-erosity, encouragement, and vision. I am pleased to thank Jane Bunker and the staff of the State University of New York Press for believing in this project and working with me to bring it to fruition. Although she is no longer with the State University of New York Press, I would like to thank Lois Patton for ﬁrst seeing the potential of this book and contracting it for the State University of New York Press. The anonymous reviewers of the press were extremely help-ful, and their thoughtful criticisms have made this a much better book. I also thank Lindsey Dominguez Reed for an excellent editing job. Without doubt, this book is the outcome of the effort of many additional individuals. In the collegial world of academic subcultures and the conferences that support these subcultures, I have found a number of learned and generous colleagues who have assisted this project in numerous ways. I am particularly indebted to Susan E. Babbitt, who insisted early on that feminism would be en-riched by the experiences of African women and from seeing reality through their prism. I thank her for the encouragement and for providing this philo-sophical challenge. As well, I have to thank her for creating numerous aca-demic meetings, conference panels, and workshops that initiated and facili-tated the expansion of various sections of this book. Additionally, I would like to thank those whose suggestions and criticisms also helped to make this book abetterproduct:OyèrónkéOy˘ewùmí,formanyrewardingtheoreticalconver-sations and her special insight on gender; Rifa’at Abou-El-Haj, for enriching intellectual stimulation and unyielding insistence on the importance of his-toricity; Olufemi Taiwo, for his attention to philosophical content; and Justice Nkem Anunobi Izuako, for providing critical jurisprudential ideas and for procuring elusive court documents. I beneﬁted tremendously from the gen-

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