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Dissertation Information for Shutt Allison Kim

NAME:
- Shutt Allison Kim

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1995)

ADVISORS:
- Edward A. Alpers

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: "We are the best poor farmers": Purchase area farmers and economic differentiation in Southern Rhodesia, c. 1925-1980

Abstract: This study examines the historical role of purchase area farmers in Southern Rhodesia, and argues that, although only a small proportion of the population, these farmers had a direct impact on class formation among Africans. Created as a result of the 1930 Land Apportionment Act, the purchase areas were intended to regulate rural class formation by settling on individual farms those Africans who ploughed too much land in the "communal" reserves. However, the purchase areas attracted elite urban workers and mission-based Africans who longed to buy property on a freehold basis. Within a few years, these farm-owners distinguished themselves from other rural Africans by forming a union for their interests and by demanding, and receiving, special treatment from government. By the third decade of development purchase area farmers thought of themselves as rural landowners first and foremost, shedding much of the urban bias which had defined the early period of settlement. They became, in effect, a rural middle-class.

The first part of the thesis examines the development of the purchase areas from the perspective of institutional history. The purchase areas are placed within the wider colonial debate over land tenure systems best "suited" to Africans. The twin pressures of land shortages and the growth of African nationalism affected government policy towards the purchase areas in contradictory ways, resulting ultimately in the demise of the scheme.

The second part of the thesis turns to the farmers of the first area settled, Marirangwe purchase area. Their various struggles to build a community independent of state intrusion are traced through such issues as education, conservation, taxation, local politics, and trade. A final chapter examines the role of gender and generational disputes in the inheritance process. The thesis concludes by joining together the various themes of development, consciousness, economic differentiation, and class which are relevant to the historical experience of purchase area farmers. A plea is made for more detailed fieldwork and attention to urban-rural links in class formation. This work is based on a variety of sources, including primary documents, government and private papers, newspaper accounts, and interviews.

MPACT Scores for Shutt Allison Kim

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2009-02-01 20:25:08

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Students under Shutt Allison Kim

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None