Zimbabwe Wired Country

Zimbabwe: A Ravaged Country A country burdened with economic instability, a high number of AIDS/HIV cases, and a history of British colonization, Zimbabwe is an uncommon nation for current anthropological research. The most recent article found in American Anthropologist that relates to Zimbabwe is from 1937, when the country was still known as Southern Rhodesia. Additional research published in other academic journals also lists the country as Southern Rhodesia rather than Zimbabwe. Over the last 40 years, Zimbabwe shifted from being a destination country to being one of emigration (Central Intelligence Agency 2017). The reasons why contribute to anthropologists’ reluctance to conduct more research there. By looking at the cultural elements of Zimbabwe, specifically the political history, we can see how and why anthropologists are deterred from performing research there. Anthropologist David Sean Simmons wrote an article describing missionaries that worked in Southern Rhodesia in the mid-1800’s to understand the various tribes and ethnic groups rename them. This intrusion of the missionaries is described as an early attempt to colonize Southern Rhodesia. Unfortunately, more attempts followed, one of which succeeded. The British South Africa Company, which colonized Southern Rhodesia until annexed in 1923, was empowered to trade with African rulers, own banks, own, manage, and distribute land, and to establish police forces. During the …show more content…
With an unstable economy, gender inequality, and so much poverty, it is clear why the most recent American Anthropologist article published on research in the country is from 1937. Unfortunately for the native citizens, it is no place that an anthropologist would willingly go to study, meaning it is a dangerous, scary place to