A FREE PUBLIC LECTURE
Friday, December 9th at noon EST
with Prof. Obert Bernard Mlambo
Prof. Obert Bernard Mlambo's Land Expropriation in Ancient Rome and Contemporary Zimbabwe: Veterans, Masculinity and War is a comparative study of the relationship between military veterans and land expropriation in the client-army of the first-century BC Roman Republic and veterans of the Zimbabwean liberation war. The study centers on the body of the soldier, the cultural production of images, and representations of masculinity advancing theoretical discussions on war, masculinity, and violence. The analysis of these diverse cases aims to examine the cultural logic connecting masculinity, violence, and land.
The book employs a transcultural comparative approach based on a persistent factor found in both societies: land expropriation. Land appropriation takes place in the context of war-shaped masculinities, often articulated in a framework of patriarchy. The book fosters a deeper understanding of social processes, adding an important new perspective to the study of masculinity(ies) and military violence, understood in the context of veterans’ claims for rewards and compensation developed in the context of war and its direct consequences – expropriation, confiscations, violence, etc. The study equally reveals that a non-Western cultural perspective can broaden the understanding of Classics, highlighting the discussion of veterans, war, masculinity, violence, land and gender in a classical culture.
About our Speaker
Obert Bernard Mlambo is Associate Professor in Classical Studies and History at the University of Zimbabwe. His research interests cover broad and multidisciplinary perspectives, and relate the Classics to African culture and contexts, while also bringing up connections with other fields such as anthropology, religion, history and politics.
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