Sports & Modernity in Late Imperial Ethiopia

Sports in Ethiopia have a long history, dating back to the imperial era. This book is the first academic study of the history of modern sports in Ethiopia during the twentieth century. It argues that sports offer new possibilities to explore the meanings of modernity in Africa, and provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sports in modern educational institutions, volunteer organizations, and urbanization processes. It also examines sports' function as a political propaganda tool during the Italian fascist occupation and in representations of successful modernization under Haile Selassie.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 15 April 2022
Publisher: James Currey

Sports in Ethiopia have always been more than just a recreational activity. They have been a way to enjoy and define fun, as new modes of behavior emerged that showcased what it meant to be a modern man or woman. This book is the first academic study of the history of modern sports in Ethiopia during the twentieth century. It demonstrates how agents, ideas, and practices linked societal improvement and physical improvement. The innovative study argues that modern sports offer new possibilities to explore the meanings of modernity in Africa. Bromber provides an in-depth analysis of the role of sports in modern educational institutions, volunteer organizations, and urbanization processes. She examines how sports functioned as a political propaganda tool during the Italian fascist occupation (1935–1941) and in representations of successful modernization under Haile Selassie (1930–1974). The integration into global networks of ideas about the fit colonized body linked Ethiopia, which was never colonized, to the legacy of colonialism. Institutions such as schools, civilian sports clubs, and volunteer organizations were not only loaded with coercive procedures but also instituted modes of behavior that developed into certain styles and affirmation of the self, as well as their contestation. Examining the locations for practicing sports in organized forms, informal leisure, and practices consumption in Ethiopia, this book contributes to recent debates on the role of sports in the history of urbanization in Africa and those on global modernity.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781847012920