Through and Beyond the State: Collaborative Finance and Cosmologies of Solidarity in East Africa

Join the CURA community for the upcoming colloquium featuring work by Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Research Associate, African Studies Center, Boston University on April 17. This year-long conversation brings together an interdisciplinary community of scholars of culture, religion, and world affairs.

Please note: Reading the paper in advance is required for attendance. CURA workshops are dedicated to focused, in depth feedback and discussion. A copy of the paper(s) will be sent to registered participants one week in advance of each session.

Abstract: This study examines how collective ethics and cosmologies of cooperation have shaped economic life, state-building, and everyday survival in East Africa. Focusing on practices of mutual aid and cooperative labor, it traces how these ethical frameworks have informed both state-led projects like Ujamaa in Tanzania and community-based initiatives such as Harambee in Kenya, while adapting to shifting political and economic conditions.