Jamie Monson

Professor, Michigan State University

“Learning by Heart: Practice as knowledge building along the TAZARA Railway in late Twentieth Century Mang’ula”

Friday, November 4, 4:00 – 6:00 PM

CEAS Room 319 (1155 E 60th St)

Professor Monson’s presentation will include photographs and video clips demonstrating her ethno-historical methodology. Her paper can be found on the East Asia: Transregional Histories Website. 

This paper explores the transmission of knowledge from Chinese experts to African workers during the construction of the TAZARA railway in Mang’ula, Tanzania. Using a practice called shou ba shou (literally “hand holding hand”), the Chinese experts taught local workers how to use drills and lathes to build railroads. Monson’s ethno-historical research reveals that such processes “spanned and charted major upheavals of the mid-twentieth century in the global history of work, technology and politics.” This railway project bridged the divide between China’s socialist internationalism and Cultural Revolution, on the one hand, and Tanzania’s socialist experiment on the other. As Monson states, “the meeting of Chinese experts and African workers in the secluded mountain stronghold of Mang’ula formed a connection between two frontline landscapes of railway building during the Cold War – from the frontiers of Sichuan and Yunnan to the rugged escarpment of the Udzungwa mountains.“

As always, first-time attendees are welcome. Light refreshments and snacks will be served.

If you have any questions or require assistance to attend, please contact Jessa Dahl at jdahl@uchicago.edu or Erin Newton at emnewton@uchicago.edu.