Author :  Mahmood Mamdani

Publisher: Princeton, N.J.   Woodstock : Princeton University Press

Call number: DT450.435 .M35 2001

From the Publisher:

“When we captured Kigali, we thought we would face criminals in the state; instead, we faced a criminal population.” So a political commissar in the Rwanda Patriotic Front reflected after the 1994 massacre of as many as one million Tutsis in Rwanda. Underlying his statement is the realization that, though ordered by a minority of state functionaries, the slaughter was performed by hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, including even judges, human rights activists, and doctors, nurses, priests, friends, and spouses of the victims. Indeed, it is its very popularity that makes the Rwandan genocide so unthinkable. This book makes it thinkable.

Rejecting easy explanations of the genocide as a mysterious evil force that was bizarrely unleashed, one of Africa’s best-known intellectuals situates the tragedy in its proper context. He coaxes to the surface the historical, geographical, and political forces that made it possible for so many Hutu to turn so brutally on their neighbors. He finds answers in the nature of political identities generated during colonialism, in the failures of the nationalist revolution to transcend these identities, and in regional demographic and political currents that reach well beyond Rwanda. In so doing, Mahmood Mamdani usefully broadens understandings of citizenship and political identity in postcolonial Africa.

There have been few attempts to explain the Rwandan horror, and none has succeeded so well as this one. Mamdani’s analysis provides a solid foundation for future studies of the massacre. Even more important, his answers point a way out of crisis: a direction for reforming political identity in central Africa and preventing future tragedies.

About the author:

Mahmood Mamdani is the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1974 and specializes in the study of African history and politics. His works explore the intersection between politics and culture, a comparative study of colonialism since 1452, the history of civil war and genocide in Africa, the Cold War and the War on Terror, and the history and theory of human rights. Prior to joining the Columbia faculty, Mamdani was a professor at the University of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania (1973-79), Makerere University in Uganda (1980-1993), and the University of Cape Town (1996-1999).  He has received numerous awards and recognitions, including being listed as one of the “Top 20 Public Intellectuals” by Foreign Policy (US) and Prospect (UK) magazine in 2008. From 1998 to 2002 he served as President of CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Research in Africa). His essays have appeared in the New Left Review and the London Review of books, among other journals.

He teaches courses on: major debates in the study of Africa; the modern state and the colonial subject; the Cold War and the Third World; the theory, history, and practice of human rights; and civil wars and the state in Africa.

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Captured here is stimulating discussion on the challenges and opportunities of higher education in Rwanda with staff and students from representative institutions striving to make a difference. Our panel talk  offers several unique perspectives from members of Generation Rwanda and the Akilah Institute for Women.

Michael Brotchner is Executive Director of Generation Rwanda (formerly known as Orphans of Rwanda), a non-governmental organization dedicated to helping orphans and socially vulnerable young people in Rwanda pursue a university education and become leaders in driving economic development and social reconciliation.  He is joined by Student Ambassadors, Patricie Uwase and Phillip Mulari who reflect on their educational experiences and connection to Generation Rwanda.

Gisele Bahati and Anita Umutoni, students from the newly opened Akilah Institute for Women,  similarly describe their aspirations and experiences. Akilah transforms the lives of young women by empowering them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to find meaningful employment and to serve as leaders in their communities. It opened in February 2010 with an inaugural class of 50 young women ages 18-25.

Referencing Our Panel Talk: Higher Education in Rwanda, Tuesday, 10/19, 7:30-9:30pm

Video by Michelle DeLateur

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