Needlework in Africa: Stitching Identities and Histories - Couverture souple

9781997461005: Needlework in Africa: Stitching Identities and Histories

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1997461005 ISBN 13 : 9781997461005

Editeur : Wits University Press, 2026

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This beautifully crafted book explores needlework; encompassing sewing, embroidery, weaving, quilting, tattooing and more; as a lens for understanding gendered and marginalised histories and identities. Through case studies from across Africa, it highlights the work of fashion designers, weavers, seamstresses, LGBTQI activists and artists. Their work reveals how needlework shapes and challenges identities, gender roles and social structures, offering a platform for selfexpression and historical storytelling. This collection also shows how embroidery, specifically, has enabled economic agency.
Far from trivial, needlework serves as an alternative archive, uncovering voices often sidelined. The book examines how practices like beadwork, tapestry and crochet reflect complex ideas of gender, identity and belonging in African contexts. Each chapter illustrates how these crafts empower makers to tell their stories, blending artistry with cultural and historical significance.
With striking visuals, this volume invites readers to see needlework anew; not as mere craft, but as a vital tool for documenting and reimagining history. It challenges assumptions about its importance, showing how these everyday acts of creation amplify marginalised perspectives. Needlework in Africa is an engaging read for those interested in how textiles and craftsmanship weave powerful narratives of identity and resilience.

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� propos des auteurs

Senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

Professor of History at the University of Toulouse and a former director of IFAS-Recherche in Johannesburg (Institut Fran�ais d’Afrique du Sud).

Research project manager at the French Research Centre of South Africa, IFAS-Research.

Brenda Schmahmann is Professor in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture at the University of Johannesburg.

PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

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