Allen Isaacman

Last updated
Allen Isaacman
NationalityAmerican
Education City College of New York (BA)
University of Wisconsin–Madison (MA, PhD)
OccupationHistorian
Awards Herskovits Prize (1973, 2014)

Allen Isaacman is an American historian specializing in the social history of Southern Africa. He is a Regents Professor of History at the University of Minnesota. In 2015, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. [1] [2]

Contents

Education and career

Isaacman earned his B.A. at the City College of New York in 1964. He next studied African History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under Jan Vansina and Philip D. Curtin, earning an M.A. in 1966 and a PhD in 1970. That same year, he joined the faculty in the Department of History at the University of Minnesota. In 2001, he became a Regents Professor of History at the University of Minnesota.

From 1978 to 1980, Isaacman was the Chaired Professor of Mozambican History at Eduardo Mondlane University, located in Maputo, Mozambique. From 1988 to 1998, he served as the Director of MacArthur Interdisciplinary Program on Global Change, Sustainability and Justice at the University of Minnesota and retained that role, from 1998 to 2011, as the program transitioned to become the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC). [2] Meanwhile, from 1997 to 1998, he was appointed Senior Research Fellow at the University of Zimbabwe, in Harare, Zimbabwe, and in 2009 was named an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Western Cape, located in Cape Town, South Africa.

Academic awards and honors

Isaacman awards includes the National Defense and Education Act, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the African Studies Association (ASA), the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the Gulbenkian Foundation Fellowship, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Guggenheim Foundation, [3] the U.S. Department of Education (Fulbright), the MacArthur Foundation, and the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences [ clarification needed ]. His 1972 book, Mozambique: The Africanization of a European Institution, The Zambezi Prazos, 1750-1902, won the Melville J. Herskovits Award as the most distinguished publication on African Studies for the year 1972, while the 2013 book which he coauthored, Dams, Displacement and the Delusion of Development: Cahora Bassa and its Legacies in Mozambique, 1965-2007, won both the Herskovits Prize [4] and the Martin Klein award from the American Historical Association (AHA). In 2013, Isaacman received the Distinguished Africanist Award from the African Studies Association. [5]

Selected publications

Monographs

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozambique</span> Country in Southeastern Africa

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zambezi</span> Major river in southern Africa

The Zambezi is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers 1,390,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi), slightly less than half of the Nile's. The 2,574 km (1,599 mi) river rises in Zambia and flows through eastern Angola, along the north-eastern border of Namibia and the northern border of Botswana, then along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe to Mozambique, where it crosses the country to empty into the Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samora Machel</span> Former president of Mozambique (1933–1986)

Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican politician and revolutionary. A socialist in the tradition of Marxism–Leninism, he served as the first President of Mozambique from the country's independence in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FRELIMO</span> Ruling party of Mozambique since 1977

FRELIMO is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tete Province</span> Province of Mozambique

Tete is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 98,417 km2 and a population of 2,648,941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cahora Bassa</span> Reservoir in Mozambique

The Cahora Bassa lake—in the Portuguese colonial era known as Cabora Bassa, from Nyungwe Kahoura-Bassa, meaning "finish the job"—is Africa's fourth-largest artificial lake, situated in the Tete Province in Mozambique. In Africa, only Lake Volta in Ghana, Lake Kariba on the Zambezi upstream of Cahora Bassa, and Egypt's Lake Nasser are bigger in terms of surface water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduardo Mondlane</span> Mozambican politician

Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane was a Mozambican revolutionary and anthropolgist, and founder of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO). He served as the FRELIMO's first leader until his assassination in 1969 in Tanzania. An anthropologist by profession, Mondlane also worked as a history and sociology professor at Syracuse University before returning to Mozambique in 1963.

A prazo in Portuguese Africa was a large estate leased to colonists, settlers and traders to exploit the continent's resources. Prazos operated like semi-feudal entities and were most commonly found in the Zambezi River valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozambican War of Independence</span> 1964–1974 armed conflict in Southeastern Africa

The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) and Portugal. The war officially started on 25 September 1964, and ended with a ceasefire on 8 September 1974, resulting in a negotiated independence in 1975.

Articles related to Mozambique include:

The ASA Best Book Prize, formerly known as the Herskovits Prize, is an annual prize given by the African Studies Association to the best scholarly work on Africa published in English in the previous year and distributed in the United States. The prize was named after Melville Herskovits, one of the founders of the ASA. The title of the prize was changed in 2019 in response to efforts to decolonize African studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Studies Association</span> Association of scholars

The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North America, with a global membership of approximately 2000. The association's headquarters are at Rutgers University in New Jersey. The ASA holds annual conferences and virtual events for its members year-round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Republic of Mozambique</span> 1975–1990 country in southeast Africa

The People's Republic of Mozambique was a socialist state that existed in present-day Mozambique from 1975 to 1990. It was established when the country gained independence from Portugal in June 1975 and the Mozambican Liberation Front ("FRELIMO") established a one-party socialist state led by Samora Machel. The state enjoyed close political and military ties with the Soviet Union, which was one of the first nations to provide diplomatic recognition and financial support to the fledgling FRELIMO government. For the duration of its history, the People's Republic of Mozambique remained heavily dependent on Soviet aid, both in financial terms as well as with regards to food security, fuel, and other vital economic necessities. From 1977 to 1992, the country was devastated by a deadly civil war which pitted the armed forces against the anti-communist Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) insurgency, backed by neighbouring Rhodesia and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cahora Bassa Dam</span> Dam in Tete, Mozambique

The Cahora Bassa Dam is located in Mozambique. It is one of two major dams on the Zambezi river, the other being the Kariba. The project began to come online in 1979 after much political debate. This dam uses the Zambezi River water to generate electricity by turning turbines. That energy is then sent to South Africa. The Cahora Bassa Dam forms Cahora Bassa Lake. The dam is jointly owned by Mozambique and Portugal. From independence until 2007, eighteen percent share of the dam and lake was owned by Mozambique and eighty-two percent by Portugal. Portugal sold down its share to 15 percent in 2007. The Cahora Bassa Dam is the largest hydroelectric power plant in southern Africa and the most efficient power generating station in Mozambique.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malawi–Mozambique relations</span> Bilateral relations

Malawi–Mozambique relations refers to the current and historical relationship between the countries of Malawi and Mozambique. As Malawi shares a large border with Mozambique, much of the substance of their foreign relations pertain to the border separating the two nations. Both of the sovereign states have amicably agreed that lacustrine borders on Lake Malawi remain the largest priority between the two countries, as the exploitation of natural resources within the waters of Lake Malawi remain an issue the two countries continue to resolve. The moment considered an act of generosity and sympathy within the two countries relations is when, during the Mozambique Civil War, Malawi housed over one million Mozambican refugees between 1985 and 1995. After this gesture, Malawian relations with Mozambique crumbled under the tenure of Bingu wa Mutharika, notoriously reaching a nadir when Malawian police launched a raid into Mozambique's territory.

Chikunda, sometimes rendered as Achicunda, was the name given from the 18th century onwards to the slave-warriors of the Afro-Portuguese estates known as Prazos in Zambezia, Mozambique. They were used to defend the prazos and police their inhabitants. Many of the chikunda were originally chattel slaves, raised to the status of soldiers, traders or administrators of parts of the prazo as a client or unfree dependent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozambique–Turkey relations</span> Bilateral relations

Mozambique–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Mozambique and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Maputo since March 15, 2011 while Mozambique's ambassador in Rome is also accredited to Turkey.

The Organization of Mozambican Women is the women's section of FRELIMO. Founded in 1973, during the Mozambican War of Independence, in recognition of women's growing roles in the conflict against Portuguese colonialism, the OMM was created as a non-military structure to promote women's education, emancipation and mobilization. Following independence in 1975, the OMM focussed on issues related to women's education, ethnic division, divorce, family planning, adultery and promiscuity, prostitution, and alcoholism. In 1990, the OMM voted to separate from FRELIMO, although shortly thereafter, the organization re-affiliated.

References

  1. ↑ "Allen F. Isaacman". American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
  2. 1 2 "Allen Isaacman". College of Liberal Arts.
  3. ↑ Niemela, Jennifer. "Historian gets elite fellowship". The Minnesota Daily.
  4. ↑ "Herskovits Award Winners". African Studies Association Portal - ASA - ASA. 2 May 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "Distinguished Africanist Award Winners". African Studies Association - ASA. 8 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Opello, Walter C. (1974). "Review of Mozambique: The Africanization of a European Institution, the Zambezi prazos, 1750-1902; Portuguese Africa: A Handbook; Portuguese Africa and the West". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 12 (3): 487–491. doi:10.1017/S0022278X00009757. ISSN   0022-278X. JSTOR   159946.
  7. ↑ Gupta, Anirudha (January 1979). "Book Reviews : Allen F. Isaacman (in collaboration with Barbara Isaacman). The Tradition of Resistance in Mozambique: The Zambesi Valley, 1850-1921. Berkeley and Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, 1976. Pp. xxiv+232. Price $13.75. George W. Shepherd, Jr. Anti-Apartheid: Transnational Conflict and Western Policy in the Liberation of South Africa. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1977. Studies in Human Rights, No. 3. Pp. xii+246. Price $15.95". International Studies. 18 (1): 120–122. doi:10.1177/002088177901800116. ISSN   0020-8817.
  8. ↑ Wright, Marcia (1978). "Allen Isaacman. The Tradition of Resistance in Mozambique: Anti-Colonial Activity in the Zambesi Valley, 1850-1921. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976. xxvi + 267 pp. Maps, tables, appendices, bibliography, index. $13.75". ASA Review of Books. 4: 22–23. doi:10.1017/S0364168600051306. ISSN   0364-1686. S2CID   255893369.
  9. ↑ Chilcote, Ronald H. (1980). "Socialist Transformation in Mozambique". Africa Today. 27 (2): 55–57. ISSN   0001-9887. JSTOR   4185925.
  10. ↑ WhitakerSpring 1984, Jennifer Seymour (28 January 2009). "Mozambique: From Colonialism to Revolution, 1900-1982". Foreign Affairs. 62 (Foreign Affairs Magazine). ISSN   0015-7120.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ Gebissa, Ezekiel (1995). "Review of Confronting Historical Paradigms: Peasants, Labor, and the Capitalist World System in Africa and Latin America". African Economic History (23): 154–156. doi:10.2307/3601736. ISSN   0145-2258. JSTOR   3601736.
  12. ↑ Seligmann, Linda J. (1995). "Review of Confronting Historical Paradigms: Peasants, Labor, and the Capitalist World System in Africa and Latin America". Ethnohistory. 42 (3): 520–522. doi:10.2307/483220. ISSN   0014-1801. JSTOR   483220.
  13. ↑ "Allen Isaacman. Cotton Is the Mother of Poverty: Peasants, Work, and Rural Struggle in Colonial Mozambique, 1938–1961. (Social History of Africa.) Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, or David Philip, Cape Town, or James Currey, London. 1996. Pp. xii, 272. Cloth $60.00, paper $24.95". The American Historical Review. February 1997. doi:10.1086/ahr/102.1.150. ISSN   1937-5239.
  14. ↑ Cramer, Chris (January 1999). "Allen Isaacman, Cotton is the Mother of Poverty: peasants, work and rural struggle in colonial Mozambique, 1938–61. Social History of Africa series, Portsmouth NH: Heinemann; Cape Town: David Philip; London: James Currey, 1996, 272 pp., £35.00, ISBN 0 435 08976 5 hard covers, £15.95, ISBN 0 435 08978 1 paperback". Africa. 69 (1): 163–165. doi:10.2307/1161083. ISSN   1750-0184. JSTOR   1161083.
  15. ↑ Miller, Joseph C. (2005). "Review of Slavery and Beyond: The Making of Men and Chikunda Ethnic Identities in the Unstable World of South-Central Africa, 1750-1920". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 38 (2): 351–353. ISSN   0361-7882. JSTOR   40034931.
  16. ↑ McKITTRICK, MEREDITH (2014). "Review of Dams, Displacement, and the Delusion of Development: Cahora Bassa and Its Legacies in Mozambique, 1965–2007. New African Histories Series". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 47 (1): 153–155. ISSN   0361-7882. JSTOR   24393342.
  17. ↑ Penvenne, Jeanne Marie (May 2016). "ALLEN F. ISAACMAN and BARBARA S. ISAACMAN , Dams, Displacement, and the Delusion of Development: Cahora Bassa and its legacies in Mozambique, 1965–2007. Athens OH: University of Ohio Press (pb $32.95 – 978 0 82142 0 331). 2013, xvi + 291pp". Africa. 86 (2): 355–357. doi:10.1017/S0001972016000139. ISSN   0001-9720. S2CID   147826684.
  18. ↑ Wetzel, Johanna M. (2 January 2022). "Mozambique's Samora Machel: A Life Cut Short". South African Historical Journal. 74 (1): 189–193. doi:10.1080/02582473.2022.2040580. ISSN   0258-2473. S2CID   247486154.
  19. ↑ Fernandes, Carlos (6 September 2021). "A llen I saacman and B arbara I saacman . Mozambique's Samora Machel: A Life Cut Short ". The American Historical Review. 126 (2): 715–718. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhab213.
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