Lecture 'Meet the Expert - Church, State and Society in Post-colonial Zimbabwe: Sources, Methods and Concepts'

David Maxwell will discuss his new research project which breaks fresh ground in examining how Christianity has influenced ideas and practices of governance and development in postcolonial Zimbabwe.

Drawing upon hitherto neglected Zimbabwean archives, it seeks to revise the dominant scholarly discourse by giving Christianity the integral place in African politics that it deserves, showing its capacity to shape social and spiritual values that underpin a robust public discourse and foster an active citizenry.

This entails consideration of the personal transformations that religion brings about and examination of the implicit models of behaviour and organisation it generates.

The project will illustrate how the churches have supplemented or supplanted key state functions, offering resources to the population; presented cosmopolitan alternatives to nation-centred identities; provided alternative models of citizenship and shaped initiatives in economic development.