Description
Book SynopsisIn focusing on rural Kenyans as they actively sought access to aid, Moskowitz offers new insights into the texture of political life in the decolonizing and early postcolonial world. Her account complicates our understanding of Kenyan experiences of independence, and the meaning and form of development.
Trade Review“Expertly researched, superbly written…. Smashing the boundaries between the colonial and independence periods, Seeing Like a Citizen is a fascinating and much-needed exploration of the complex and shifting ways that rural African communities experienced development and understood citizenship…. [A] benchmark study.” * Journal of African History *
“Impeccably researched and fluently written,
Seeing Like a Citizen is the work of a skilled and diligent historian. It is a welcome and timely reorientation of the historiography of decolonizing Kenya away from some familiar themes. It is a fitting addition to the illustrious New African Histories series.”
"This book represents the best of African history. In telling history ‘from below’, Moskowitz has managed to write a social history of Kenya in the independence and post-independence periods that also draws from and gives great insight into political, environmental, economic, and gender history. The ambition of the book is vast, and it cogently ties together oral history interviews with an institutional history of World Bank and international development agency projects, government ministry efforts, changing crop cultivation patterns, the shifting roles of women in agricultural production, and the history of price controls, among others. That Moskowitz pulls this all off in a coherent narrative that moves along crisply is a tremendous accomplishment, especially for a first book. * Journal of Contemporary History *
“Well-researched and impeccably written…. [A] powerful contribution to the discussion on decolonization and development in the early postcolonial world. It will be of interest to any scholar interested in deepening their knowledge of development, statecraft, and citizenship.” * H-Africa, H-Net Reviews *
