Dissertation? Check.
A few weeks ago, I successfully defended and deposited my dissertation. I have since moved from Madison to my new home, Iowa City, where I am now an assistant professor in the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at The University of Iowa. I am excited and humbled to have this opportunity, to say the least.
My dissertation, as now filed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School is titled "Creativity and Constraint in Self-Representational Media: A Production Ethnography of Visual Storytelling in a Nairobi Slum." Here's the abstract:
This study is a media production ethnography of members of a marginalized community constructing and telling stories using visual media. It is based off of 10 months of fieldwork in Kibera, a sprawling slum located in Nairobi, Kenya. In this study, I make three central claims. First, I argue that the dominant discourse about Kibera that is constructed and circulated by authors, journalists, NGOs, and unawares is hyperbolic and simplistic. I explore this discourse by speaking with Kibera residents about the disconnect they see between their lived experiences and the representations of their community offered by non-residents and the media. The prevalence of this discourse results in a valuable opportunity for community media producers to introduce counter-discourses that challenge dominant representations and prioritize the multiple perspectives of community members. Second, focusing specifically on the work of two community-media organizations in Kibera, I argue that media production by economically marginalized people is important both because of the counter-discourses offered in their media products and because the process of producing fictional films, documentaries, and news packages about their community is meaningful for those involved. These media products challenge the dominant discourse by drawing attention to otherwise unreported topics and reframing issues to emphasize community perspectives. Also, participants in these projects find value in this work and often redefine who they are in light of their efforts. Third, I argue that authorship and creative expression in self-representational media is complicated by a number of factors operating at the industry, community, organizational, and individual levels of analysis. While it is tempting to claim broadly and optimistically that these projects enable marginalized groups “to tell their own stories,” what occurs during the process of producing this media is much more complicated and interesting. Creative and constraining factors and forces impact the production of individual media texts as well as the larger systems in which such media are produced. While media production research often focuses on either structural constraints or individual creative expression, I argue scholars need to account for the complex and surprising ways these two forces interact with each other.
I am incredibly grateful to the members of my dissertation committee: Greg Downey, Neil Kodesh, Kirin Narayan, Hemant Shah, and especially my chair, Jo Ellen Fair. I also owe a huge debt of gratitude to those I met and worked with in Kenya and my friends and colleagues in the U.S.
Feel free to contact me if you are interested in learning more about my dissertation. I will continue to work with this research as I prepare it for future publication.
Now, about that tenure process...
Forbes Series on Entrepreneurship in Kibera
The past few months, I've been busy finishing my dissertation and doing little else. Now that my committee is reading the goods and deciding my fate (I defend next week), I wanted to draw attention to an interesting series of posts about Kibera on Forbes.com. The series is a part of their Megacities blog, and the posts are authored by Chelina Odbert. Chelina runs a "public spaces" project in Kibera through an organization she co-founded, called Kounkuey Design Initiative. During my time in Kibera, I met Chelina and visited a KDI public space in Undugu grounds. It's a really cool project. Anyway, here's a rundown of her blog posts (in the order in which they were posted):
Complexity at Urban Edges
This post introduces the series. Take-away quote: "In my experience, Kibera is not unique; slums, like all cities, are complex organisms that operate at nested scales, from the mega-scaled urban level down to a human-scaled street or community. To try to understand them from only the 10,000 foot perspective does a disservice to the individuals that most organizations working in slums are trying to help."
Power to the People: The Black Market for Electricity in Kibera (co-authored with Benjamin Twigg)
A profile of a young man who has a business selling pirated electricity to residents (for more, see Genesis Ngari's post on the same topic). It shows how criminality can be a necessity when the government and private sector fail to provide important public services. Note: There is a miscalculation on the currency exchange. At current rates, 300 KSH is $3-4, not $8-9.
Location, Location, Location: How One Man's Patio is Another Man's Paycheck
A profile of a resident who relocated to the UN-HABITAT "slum upgrading" housing. The post focuses on how one resident converted his patio into a convenient store to meet the needs of his fellow residents, but it's worth noting that any discussion of the KENSUP project is lined with open cans of worms.
The Road to Opportunity: A Family's Entrepreneurial Journey to Financial Stability (co-authored with Brie Hensold)
A story about one family's entrepreneurial journey from selling vegetables on the side of the road to owning a market kiosk to running to a busy restaurant. Toward the end, the story hints at a key challenge of the "slum upgrading" housing: Kibera residents who had thriving businesses near their original homes were put in a difficult spot when they were relocated to new homes on the other side of Kibera. The family profiled in this post now has an hour commute on foot to get to their restaurant.
Taking the High Road? Reformed Youth Turn to Entrepreneurship
I think this is the most interesting post of the series. It focuses on a group of "reformed" criminals who have launched several business ventures, including an informal toll business for passing vehicles. This story demonstrates the normalization and systematization of corruption, something I've written about earlier.
A History of Kibera
Before I first visited Kibera in 2008, I started tracking down books, newspaper articles, and journal articles to learn more about Kibera's history. During this search, I found a couple of real gems. For instance, Timothy Parson's article "Kibra is Our Blood" offers an excellent account of Kibera's history from its founding until Kenyan independence in 1963, focusing particularly on the fascinating relationship between British military authorities and Kibera's first Nubian settlers.
But I also found that most accounts of Kibera's past are quite brief. Plus, there is little out there that discusses Kibera's tremendous growth from independence until the present. So in the past 2+ years, I've continued to track down material to help me acquire a more substantive understanding of Kibera's history.
The 13-page document at the end of this post is the result of those efforts. While this historical account is a part of my yet-to-be-finished dissertation, I wanted to post it here first for a couple of reasons.
One, for those who are interested in learning more about Kibera, I hope this history serves as a primer for this fascinating and complex community. Please check out some of sources on the references page, too. Don't just trust what I have written here.
Two, I'm interested in what others have to say about my account of Kibera's past and present. Are there key moments I missed? Are there any parts of this historical account that you think are off track? I'm very interested in getting feedback from others who live in and study Kibera. Histories always reflect certain perspectives, so I want to hear yours.
While I don't pretend to offer the authoritative account of Kibera's past, I hope this proves to be useful for those just getting familiar with Kibera. I also hope this starts a conversation about the defining moments of Kibera's past and our understanding of its present.
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Update (5/6): My smarter half suggested I change the title of this post from "The History of Kibera" to "A History of Kibera." Her suggestion was spot on. Thanks!
American Remakes of British Television
DePaul University Assistant Professor Paul Booth and I just published the chapter "Translating the Hyperreal (Or How The Office Came to America, Made Us Laugh, and Tricked Us into Accepting Hegemonic Bureaucracy)" in the new book American Remakes of British Television: Transformations and Mistranslations edited by Carlen Lavigne and Heather Marcovitch. In the chapter, we use Baudrillard to examine the American remake of The Office.
Here's an abstract:
The Office stands as one of the most popular “translations” of a British television show to an American audience. The British Office garnered scores of awards during its two-year run; the American Office is currently one of the most popular sitcoms on American television and a key component of NBC’s Thursday night lineup. Many elements of the original series were adopted by the remake with only minor alterations. Both use similar styles of humor: an uneasy, passive-aggressive and sometimes horrifyingly uncomfortable (albeit often realistic) awkwardness of many of the characters. Additionally, both shows follow the exploits of a socially awkward boss, a subservient and obsequious second-in-command, and a good-natured office “drone” who becomes, in a roundabout way, the audience’s hero. Further, both shows employ a “documentary” style of shooting, so that the characters are aware of the TV crew, and the cameras become characters in their own right.
Yet, tellingly, the translation of the show from British to American also creates significant differences. Specifically, we use a reading of Baudrillard’s simulacra to investigate how the British version consciously uses the documentary-style to produce a distinctly hyperreal office, something that is lost in the American remake. At the same time, we argue that the character of Dwight in the American version embodies Baudrillard’s Disneyland, a fantastical exaggeration meant to hide the fantasy of the real. Because Dwight is set up as the extreme bureaucratic archetype, the more mundane bureaucracy of the rest of the office workers becomes normalized. Finally, by comparing the relationships between Gareth and Tim in the British version and Dwight and Jim in the American, we argue that the American The Office actually reinforces its hegemonic bureaucracy, effectively negating any of the subversiveness of the British version.
Same-Same in Mathare
I was doing some dissertation reading today (as I do everyday) when I came across the following passage:
The people of Mathare are neither looking for handouts nor threatening the social and political order of their society. Instead, they are seeking control over their own lives, and ways to solve the daily problems of subsistence. They reject the negative image that outsiders hold of them and will go to great lengths to alter it, given the opportunity. A better understanding of these aspirations will, I hope, result in a more reasonable and humane government orientation toward urban squatters and greater assistance in helping people to help themselves.
This made me think of the Mathare Valley blog, which was set up as an extension project by Map Kibera/Voice of Kibera/Kibera News Network into Mathare. On the site, you can find videos and stories from Mathare residents going to great lengths to alter negative images and provide fuller perspectives of life in Mathare. Some other groups I worked with during my time in Mathare who are doing similar projects are the Mwelu Foundation and the Rebel Film Board
But here's the kicker. The passage is from Marc Howard Ross's The political integration of urban squatters, which was published in 1973. That's almost 40 years ago. Part of me is pleased that so little has changed; Mathare residents still aren't looking for handouts or to overturn the social/political order. The rest of me is astounded that the negative image continues, and it is probably much worse than it ever was when Ross wrote those words.