The Modernity Bluff: Crime, Consumption, and Citizenship in Côte d’Ivoire - Couverture souple

Newell, Sasha

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0226575209 ISBN 13 : 9780226575209

Editeur : University of Chicago Press, 2012

Synopsis

The Modernity Bluff In Cote d'Ivoire, appearing modern is so important for success that many young men deplete their already meager resources to project an illusion of wealth. The author argues that they engage a global hierarchy that is profoundly modern, one that values performance over authenticity - highlighting the counterfeit nature of modernity itself. Full description

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

In Côte d’Ivoire, appearing modern is so important for success that many young men deplete their already meager resources to project an illusion of wealth in a fantastic display of Western imitation, spending far more than they can afford on brand name clothing, accessories, technology, and a robust nightlife. Such imitation, however, is not primarily meant to deceive—rather, as Sasha Newell argues in The Modernity Bluff, it is an explicit performance so valued in Côte d’Ivoire it has become a matter of national pride.

Called bluffeurs, these young urban men operate in a system of cultural economy where reputation is essential for financial success. That reputation is measured by familiarity with and access to the fashionable and expensive, which leads to a paradoxical state of affairs in which the wasting of wealth is essential to its accumulation. Using the consumption of Western goods to express their cultural mastery over Western taste, Newell argues, bluffeurs engage a global hierarchy that is profoundly modern, one that values performance over authenticity­—highlighting the counterfeit nature of modernity itself.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: University of Chicago Press
• Date d'édition: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0226575209
• ISBN 13: 9780226575209
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 318