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Omotayo Jolaosho

You Can't Go to War without Song: Performance and Community Mobilization in South Africa

You Can't Go to War without Song: Performance and Community Mobilization in South Africa

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  • More about You Can't Go to War without Song: Performance and Community Mobilization in South Africa


Omotayo Jolaosho's book "You Can't Go to War without Song" explores the role of public performance in political activism in contemporary South Africa, highlighting the power of protest songs and dances to unite individuals and create opportunities for community organization.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 310 pages
Publication date: 26 July 2022
Publisher: Indiana University Press



You Can't Go to War without Song delves into the significance of public performance in political activism in contemporary South Africa. Through meticulous ethnographic fieldwork and a thoughtful theoretical framework, Omotayo Jolaosho explores the cohesive power of protest songs and dances within the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF), one of numerous social movements that emerged in the aftermath of South Africa's democratic transition after 1994.

Jolaosho showcases how APF members adapted anti-apartheid songs and dances to create new expressive forms that informed and commented on their struggles for access to water, electricity, housing, education, and health facilities, which had become prohibitively expensive due to privatization.

The book offers profiles of individual activists to reinforce its central argument: social movements like the APF are best understood as the coming together of individuals, and it is the songs and dances of the movement that bind these individuals together and create opportunities for community organization. Chapters on women and youth complicate such understandings of community, illustrating how activists' lives and experiences are shaped by gender and generation.

Through its rich and nuanced analysis, You Can't Go to War without Song provides valuable insights into the role of music and performance in shaping social movements and promoting social change in South Africa. It is a must-read for scholars, activists, and anyone interested in understanding the dynamics of contemporary politics and society.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780253063212

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