Week 11

Context
This plan was submitted in the eleventh week of class for Salaula: The World of Secondhand Clothing and Zambia, by Karen Hansen. The theme for this week was circulations.

Comments
We had an optional makeup class session. I was not able to make it.

Plan
1. In the past I've read articles about the "dandy" sapeurs in Congo, as well as the Herero in Namibia who dress in beautiful Victorian style dresses and suits. These examples demonstrated to me that the use, trade, and production of clothing in Africa is far more complicated than what many of us might first think (ex: the bright printed patterns on the cloth my friends brought back from their fieldwork in Ghana or that is sometimes worn by my friend who is currently part of the Peace Corps in Cameroon). It was interesting to me that the secondhand clothes were described as coming from "outside" versus "the West"; Hansen explained this by writing that "people in Zambia have deal with garments "from the West" for such a long time now that we must recognize the resulting clothing practices as their own... the ready availability of secondhand clothing has redrawn the map of clothing into a global one in which nations do not matter very much" (p. 252). Thinking of my own clothes and where they come from, I see too that they come primarily from Asian countries (China, Bangladesh, India, etc.) but I wouldn't necessarily say that I wear "Asian clothing." In this way then I was better able to understand for myself what Hansen meant in her study of the social life of goods, and how value and meanings change as they move through time and space.

2. Although Hansen does discuss some of the sources of where these secondhand clothes come from and some of the textiles used, I wish we knew more about the specifics of where these secondhand clothes came from and more about the styles/original source. I ask because we see that charities and stores like Goodwill are frequent suppliers to the secondhand clothing demand, but are there any other sources, and [how] are they monitored? For instance, when I was in London five years ago, I witnessed two of the most hectic clothing stores I had ever been in - Topshop and Primark. There, giant hampers were often provided for customers to toss pieces of clothing into, almost like a cart at a grocery store. The clothes were very inexpensive and oftentimes, poorly made. Would the castoffs from these stores make it to Zambia? Do the castigated miniskirts (Chapter 9) come from America and Europe, or elsewhere? (given that there is gender repression and criticizing of women's clothing, why would these clothes then be allowed to be sold?)