Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda
Motorcycle-taxi drivers in Kisoro, a rural district of Uganda, observed various processes around them which they termed “development” or “modernity”. But they also, in many ways, felt excluded from these processes. Through a combination of text and my own painted images, the aim here is to share as...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Africa Research Network
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/564 |
| _version_ | 1797698579237699584 |
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| author | Alexander Öbom |
| author_facet | Alexander Öbom |
| author_sort | Alexander Öbom |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Motorcycle-taxi drivers in Kisoro, a rural district of Uganda, observed various processes around them which they termed “development” or “modernity”. But they also, in many ways, felt excluded from these processes. Through a combination of text and my own painted images, the aim here is to share as many nuances as possible of my interpretations of these drivers’ observations. I argue for the use of images to assist in describing visual experiences, and I compare and discuss the potentials of paintings and photographs, suggesting that paintings can clarify the ever-present subjectivity in social science-related research more expressively than photographs. In addition, I propose that paintings can bring the reader-viewer closer to the experiences of the informants. I conducted anthropological fieldwork among these drivers – locally referred to as Boda Boda drivers – and other workers of similar socioeconomic status in 2017. These young adults, most of them men, waited for more beneficial developments, while struggling to handle their current positions as more or less excluded spectators. In addition to identifying what my informants would need to feel fully included in the modernisation of their society, I discuss ways of improving research-related painting in order to involve informants further in this practice as well.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:56:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e83044c58439471486c1283daf0fb838 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1459-9465 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:56:14Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Africa Research Network |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of African Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-e83044c58439471486c1283daf0fb8382023-09-03T11:54:48ZengNordic Africa Research NetworkNordic Journal of African Studies1459-94652020-12-0129410.53228/njas.v29i4.564Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western UgandaAlexander Öbom0Uppsala University Motorcycle-taxi drivers in Kisoro, a rural district of Uganda, observed various processes around them which they termed “development” or “modernity”. But they also, in many ways, felt excluded from these processes. Through a combination of text and my own painted images, the aim here is to share as many nuances as possible of my interpretations of these drivers’ observations. I argue for the use of images to assist in describing visual experiences, and I compare and discuss the potentials of paintings and photographs, suggesting that paintings can clarify the ever-present subjectivity in social science-related research more expressively than photographs. In addition, I propose that paintings can bring the reader-viewer closer to the experiences of the informants. I conducted anthropological fieldwork among these drivers – locally referred to as Boda Boda drivers – and other workers of similar socioeconomic status in 2017. These young adults, most of them men, waited for more beneficial developments, while struggling to handle their current positions as more or less excluded spectators. In addition to identifying what my informants would need to feel fully included in the modernisation of their society, I discuss ways of improving research-related painting in order to involve informants further in this practice as well. https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/564PaintingsVisual AnthropologyMobilityModernityMotorcycle-taxiDevelopment |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Öbom Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda Nordic Journal of African Studies Paintings Visual Anthropology Mobility Modernity Motorcycle-taxi Development |
| title | Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda |
| title_full | Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda |
| title_fullStr | Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda |
| title_full_unstemmed | Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda |
| title_short | Boda Bodas and painted exclusion in Western Uganda |
| title_sort | boda bodas and painted exclusion in western uganda |
| topic | Paintings Visual Anthropology Mobility Modernity Motorcycle-taxi Development |
| url | https://www.njas.fi/njas/article/view/564 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alexanderobom bodabodasandpaintedexclusioninwesternuganda |