Cultures of Change in Contemporary Zimbabwe

<p>This book investigates how culture reflects change in Zimbabwe focusing predominantly on Mnangagwa’s 2017 coup but also uncovering deeper roots for how renewal and transition are conceived in the country. Since Emmerson Mnangagwa ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017 he has been keen to defi ne his Second Republic or New Dispensation with a rhetoric of change and a rejection of past political and economic cultures. This multi and inter- disciplinary volume looks to the (social) media language/ discourse theatre images political speeches and literary fiction and non- fiction to see how they have reflected on this time of unprecedented upheaval. The book argues that themes of self- renewal stretch right back to the formative years of the ZANU PF and that despite the longevity of Mugabe’s tenure the latest transition can be seen as part of a complex and protracted layering of postcolonial social economic and political changes. Providing an innovative investigation of how political change in Zimbabwe is reflected on in cultural texts and products this book will be of interest to researchers across African history literature politics culture and post- colonial studies. </p>