The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s annual research day will be held on the 16^th June at St. Antony’s College, Oxford (corner of Woodstock/Bevington Road, North Oxford, OX2 6JF).

This year participants will explore the historical and contemporary connections between Zimbabwe and her neighbours. The southern African region, broadly conceived, has a rich and inter-connected history of social, cultural and political movements which transcend national boundaries. During the pre-colonial era, polities and territorial cults cut across areas of land later divided by colonial borders. Colonialism also opened up areas of southern Africa to a greater degree of demographic mobility, producing a rich cultural and political heritage. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the various liberation struggles of southern Africa were closely connected through the formation of governments in exile, expressions of solidarity between nationalist/revolutionary parties, and the establishment of military training camps and bases across borders. Since independence many of these histories have been overshadowed by new political concerns with national security, immigration, and citizenship rights. Still, families, religious groups, economic and political networks continue to stretch across and beyond Zimbabwe’s borders. More recently, as events in Zimbabwe have impacted on the wider region, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has come to play a key role in negotiations to resolve the political impasse.

We are pleased to announce our keynote speakers this year will be Professor Jack Spence, OBE (King’s College London) and Professor Welshman Ncube (Zimbabwe Minister for Commerce and Trade – tbc). Other speakers include: Timothy Scarnecchia; Joseph Mujere; Francis Musoni; Maxim Bolt; Blessing-Miles Tendi; Andrew Mutandwa; Jocelyn Alexander; Hugh Macmillan; JoAnn McGregor; Tinashe Nyamunda and Ushehwedu Kufakurinani.

Publishers Zed Books (Africa Now, African Arguments and Africa in the New Millennium Series) and James Currey will be selling a selection of their books throughout the day and the event will conclude with a book launch and drinks reception (see programme for details). Registration fees (for attendance only): £30 standard; £20 BZS members; £15 students and unwaged. To register in advance please contact Marieke Clarke: mariekefclarke@pop3.poptel.org.uk

Registration and payments can be made on the day. Unfortunately, the BZS cannot accept credit or debit card payments.

Provisional Programme: “˜Zimbabwe and the Region’

8.45 – 9.15 Registration

9.15 – 10.15 Session 1: Regional Histories of Migration

Chair: Zoí« Groves

Joseph Mujere “˜Evangelists, migrants and progressive farmers: Basotho struggles for belonging in colonial Zimbabwe’

Francis Musoni “˜Illegal Migration and the Politics of Labour in Southern Africa, 1913–1953′

10.15 – 11.15 Key Note: Professor Jack Spence “˜Zimbabwe as a Case Study in the Theory and Practice of Intervention’

Break for Refreshments

11.30 – 13.00 Session 2: Exploring Contemporary Zimbabwean Migration

Chair: JoAnn McGregor

Ushehwedu Kufakurinani, “˜Narratives of those left behind: The Impact of Migration on Gender and Family in Zimbabwe 2000-2011′

Tinashe Nyamunda, “˜The State and the displacement in Matabeleland: the rise of the Malaitsha remittance system during the Zimbabwe crisis, 1998-2009′

Maxim Bolt, “˜How transient is life on the South Africa – Zimbabwe Border? Fugitives, farm workers and the politics of permanence’

Andrew Mutandwa, “˜The Loss of Identity: A Traumatised People’

13.00 – 14.00 Lunch

14.00 – 15.30 Session 3: Politics and the Region during the Liberation Struggle and Beyond

Chair: David Maxwell

Hugh Macmillan, “˜The Relationship between the ANC of South Africa and ZAPU, 1967-1981′

Jocelyn Alexander, “˜View from the Liberation Movement Camps in Zambia’

Timothy Scarnecchia, “˜Zimbabwe’s Diplomacy and Foreign Policy in the late 1970s and early 1980s’

Short Refreshment Break

15.45 – 17.15 Session 4: Regional Dynamics since 2000

Chair: Knox Chitiyo

Blessing-Miles Tendi, “˜Rethinking Thabo Mbeki’s “Quiet Diplomacy” on Zimbabwe, 2000-2008′

Professor Welshman Ncube, Zimbabwe Minister for Commerce and Trade (tbc)

17.15 – 17.45 Closing Summary

Diana Jeater

18.00 – 19.00 Book launch and drinks reception

Julie Cairnie and Dobrota Pucherova (eds) “˜Moving Spirit: The Legacy of Dambudzo Marachera in the 21^st Century’, (LIT Verlag, Berlin)

The book is a multimedia collection of creative, scholarly and essayistic reflections on Marechera’s intellectual and artistic legacy, and includes a DVD with films, songs and interviews. Contributors to the book include well-known African literature scholars and publishers such as James Currey, Flora Veit-Wild, Elleke Boehmer, Jane Bryce, Robert Fraser, Memory Chirere, Gerald Gaylard, as well as the Zimbabwean writers and artists Comrade Fatso, Nhamo Mhiripiri, Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Victor Mavedzenge, Heeten Bhagat, and others.

For further details, please contact Zoí« Groves by email: groves.zoe@googlemail.com

Or visit http://britainzimbabwesociety.wordpress.com/

Please RSVP to Marieke Clarke: mariekefclarke@pop3.poptel.org.uk

The Britain Zimbabwe Society’s Research Day 2012 has been generously supported by the African Studies Association UK (ASAUK), the Journal of Southern African Studies, and the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford.