Archie Mafeje nasceu no território de amaMpondomise, comunidade falante de xhosa na África do Sul. Ainda na escola secundária, foi aluno de Nathaniel Honono, que se tornaria um dos principais líderes do movimento antiapartheid e da Convenção Pan-Africana, que tempos depois veria um dos seus membros, Nelson Mandela, tornar-se presidente do país. Mafeje estudou na Universidade da Cidade do Cabo e, durante o mestrado, foi assistente de pesquisa da antropóloga Monica Wilson (1908-1982), que havia sido aluna de Bronisław Malinowski (1884-1942).
Enquanto cursava o doutorado em antropologia em Cambridge, na Inglaterra, Mafeje se candidatou a uma vaga de professor na universidade em que se graduou, na África do Sul, mas foi impedido de tomar posse em virtude das leis do apartheid, o que provocou uma série de protestos de estudantes sul-africanos que saíram em sua defesa. Assim como Zora Hurston, Mafeje também teve relações ambivalentes e conflitivas com as suas orientadoras acadêmicas (Nyoka, 2017). Em diferentes situações e contextos, ambos sentiram e manifestaram o incômodo que a presença de pessoas negras causava às normas e ambientes acadêmicos de seu tempo. Mafeje devotou muitos esforços para refundar as Ciências Sociais no continente africano, sendo um dos principais articuladores do Conselho para o Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa em Ciências Sociais na África. Ao defender o fim da antropologia, apontou a necessidade de encerrar o projeto de colonização epistemológica dos países africanos e de abandonar o uso de conceitos como os de alteridade, tribo e tribalismo (Borges et al., 2015).
Para saber mais:
BORGES, A. et al. (2015). Pós-Antropologia: as críticas de Archie Mafeje ao conceito de alteridade e sua proposta de uma ontologia combativa. Soc. Estado., vol.30, n.2, pp.347-369. Online
MAFEJE, A. (1971/2020). A ideologia do tribalismo. Pontos de interrogação, 10(2), pp.253-265. Online
MAFEJE, A. (1996/2022). Um comentário sobre Antropologia e África. Ayé: revista de antropologia. Online
NYOKA, B. (2020). The Social and Political Thought of Archie Mafeje. New York: NYU Press. Online
NYOKA, B. (2017). Archie Mafeje: an intellectual biography. University of South Africa, Pretoria. Online
Obras
1963. A chief visits town. Journal of Local Administration Overseas, 2(2):88– 99. Online
1967. The role of the bard in a contemporary African community. Journal of African Languages, 6(3):193–223.
1969. Large-scale farming in Buganda. In M. Pearsall (ed.), The anthropology of development in sub-Saharan Africa. (pp.22-30). Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
1971. The ideology of tribalism. Journal of Modern African Studies, 9(1): 252- 261. Online
1972. The fallacy of dual economies revisited: a case of East, Central and Southern Africa. East Africa Journal, 9(2): 30-34.
1973. Agrarian revolution and the land question in Buganda. The Hague: Institute of Social Studies Occasional.
1973. The farmers: economic and social differentiation. In A. I. Richards, F. Sturrock & J.M. Fortt (eds.), Subsistence to commercial farming in present-day Buganda: an economic and anthropological survey. (pp.198-231). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1973. Mafeje, A. & Richards, A.I. The commercial farmer and his labour supply. In A. I. Richards, F. Sturrock & J.M. Fortt (eds.), Subsistence to commercial farming in present-day Buganda: an economic and anthropological survey. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
1975. Religion, class and ideology in South Africa. In M.G. Whisson & M. West (ed.), Religion and social change in southern Africa: anthropological essays in honour of Monica Wilson. (pp.164-184). Cape Town: David Philip.
1976. The problem of anthropology in historical perspective: an inquiry into the growth of the social sciences. Canadian Journal of African Studies, 10(2): 307-333. Online
1976. Agrarian revolution and the land question in Buganda. In W. Arens (ed.), A century of change in eastern Africa. (pp.23-46). The Hague: Mouton Publishers. PDF
1977. Review: Mahmood Mamdani’s Politics and class formation in Uganda. Canadian Journal of African Studies, 11(1): 171-174.
1977. The legitimacy of the Uganda government in Buganda. In L. Cliffe, J.S. Coleman & M.R. Doornbos (eds.), Government and rural development in east Africa: essays on political penetration. (pp.99-116). The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. Online
1977. Neo-colonialism, state capitalism, or revolution? In P.C.W. Gutkind & P. Waterman (eds.), African social studies: a radical reader. (pp.412-422). London: Heinemann.
1978. Science, ideology and development: three essays on development theory. Uppsala: The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies. PDF
1978. Soweto and its aftermath. Review of African Political Economy, 5(11): 17-30. Online
1980. On technology and organisation of agriculture. Current Anthropology, 21(4): 566-567. Online
1981. On the articulation of modes of production. Journal of Southern African Studies, 8(1): 123-138. Online
1984. The new sociology: strictly for Europeans. Africa Development, 9(4): 16- 32. Online
1985. Development literature and writers from underdeveloped countries: a comment on Ayse Trak. Current Anthropology, 26(1): 97-98. Online
1985. Peasants in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Development, 10(3): 28-39. Online
1986. Studies in imperialism: a discourse in methodology, research methods and techniques. Harare: University of Zimbabwe Department of Economics, Law and Political & Administrative Studies Discussion Paper Series.
1986. The development of the African social science community and the state of the arts. African Association of Political Science Newsletter, Oct-Dec: 5-19.
1986. South Africa: the dynamics of a beleaguered state. African Journal of Political Economy, 1(1): 95-119. PDF
1987. African agriculture: the next 25 years. Africa Development, 12(2): 5-34. Online
1987. Food for security and peace in the SADCC region. In E. Hansen (ed.), Africa: perspectives on peace and development. (pp.183-211). London: Zed Books.
1988. The agrarian question and food production in southern Africa. In K.K. Prah (ed.), Food security issues in southern Africa. (pp.92-124). Maseru: Institute of Southern African Studies Series No.4.
1988. Culture and development in Africa: the missing link. CODESRIA Bulletin, 1: 7-9.
1990. African alternative framework to structural adjustment programmes: an African recovery in thought. CODESRIA Bulletin, 2: 11-14.
1990. The ‘Africanist’ heritage and its antinomies. Africa Development, 15(3/4): 157-183. Online
1991. The theory and ethnography of African social formations: the case of the Interlacustrine Kingdoms. Dakar: CODESRIA Book Series. PDF
1991. African households and prospects for agricultural revival in sub- Saharan Africa. Dakar: CODESRIA Working Paper no.22/91.
1992. In search of an alternative: a collection of essays on revolutionary theory and politics. Harare: SAPES Books.
1993. Tribalism. In J. Krieger (ed.), The Oxford companion to politics of the world. (pp.918-920). New York: Oxford University Press. PDF
1993. Peasant organisations in Africa: a potential dialogue between economists and sociologists – some theoretical/methodological observations. CODESRIA Bulletin, 1: 14- 17.
1993. On ‘icons’ and African perspectives on democracy: a commentary on Jibrin Ibrahim’s views. CODESRIA Bulletin, 2: 19-21.
1994. Beyond academic freedom: the struggle for authenticity in African social science discourse. In M. Diouf & M. Mamdani (eds.), Academic freedom in Africa. (pp.59- 71). Dakar: CODESRIA Book Series.
1994. African intellectuals: an inquiry into their genesis and social options. In M. Diouf & M. Mamdani (eds.), Academic freedom in Africa. (pp.195-211). Dakar: CODESRIA Book Series.
1995. ‘Benign’ recolonisation and malignant minds in the services of imperialism. CODESRIA Bulletin, 2: 17-20.
1995. ‘Recolonisation’ or ‘self-colonisation’ in pursuit of ‘Pax African’: another response to a reactionary thesis. CODESRIA Bulletin, 3: 16-19.
1995. Mafeje, A. & Radwan, S. (eds.). Economic and demographic change in Africa. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
1995. African socio-cultural formations in the 21st century. African Development Review, 7(2): 154-172. Online
1995. Theory of democracy and the African discourse: breaking bread with my fellow-travelers. In E. Chole & J. Ibrahim (eds.), Democratisation processes in Africa: problems and prospects. (pp.5-28). Dakar: CODESRIA Book Series.
1996. Anthropology and independent Africans: suicide or end of an era? Dakar: CODESRIA Monograph Series No.4/96. Online
1997. Who are the makers and objects of anthropology? a critical comment on Sally Falk Moore’s Anthropology and Africa. African Sociological Review, 1(1): 1-15. Online
1997. The anthropology and ethnophilosophy of African literature. Alif: Journal of Comparative Poetics, 17: 6-21. Online
1997. The national question in southern African settler societies. Harare: SAPES Monograph Series No.6.
1997. Democracy and development in Africa: a tribute to Claude Ake. African Journal of International Affairs, 1(1): 79-92. PDF
1998. The beast and the icon: no end to Ali Mazrui’s Pax Africana muddles. CODESRIA Bulletin, 2: 9-11.
1998. Conversations and confrontations with my reviewers. African Sociological Review, 2(2): 95-107. Online
1998. White liberals and black nationalists: strange bedfellows. Southern Africa Political & Economic Monthly (SAPEM), 11(13): 45-48.
1998. Economic models and practice in Africa. Diogenes, 46/4(184): 117-127. Online
2000. Africanity: a combative ontology. CODESRIA Bulletin, 1: 66-71. Online
2000. Apropos ‘African modes of self-writing’: adieu Mbembe. Southern Africa Political & Economic Monthly (SAPEM), 13(12): 33-36.
2001. Anthropology in post-independence Africa: end of an era or the problem self-redefinition. Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
2001. Conceptual and philosophical predispositions. In F. Wilson, N. Kanji & E. Braathen (eds.), Poverty reduction: what role for the state in today’s globalized economy? (pp.15-32). London: Zed Books.
2001. Africanity: a commentary by way of conclusion. CODESRIA Bulletin, 3/4: 14-16.
2002. Multi-party democracy and ethnic divisions in Africa: are they compatible? In A.S. Bujra & S. Adejumobi (eds.), Breaking barriers, creating new hopes: democracy, civil society and good governance in Africa. (pp.53-87). Trenton, NJ. Africa World Press.
2002. Democratic governance and new democracy in Africa: agenda for the future. In P. Anyang’ Nyong’o, A. Ghirmazion & D. Lamba (eds.), NEPAD: a new path? (pp.72-87). Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation. PDF
2003. The agrarian question, access to land, and peasant responses in sub- Saharan Africa. Geneva: UNRISD Civil Society and Social Movements Programme Paper No.6. PDF
2008. The disenfranchised: perspectives on the history of elections in South Africa. Pretoria: Unisa Press.