Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi

dc.contributor.advisorUkah, Franklin-Kennedy
dc.contributor.authorWilks, Tammy Vanessa
dc.date.accessioned2023-09-12T09:33:48Z
dc.date.available2023-09-12T09:33:48Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.date.updated2023-09-12T09:23:25Z
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation is an ethnographic study of how religious communities make and take place in Kibera, a neighbourhood that is also a homeland in the city of Nairobi. Since its establishment in 1907, the debate about who belongs in Kibera and to whom Kibera belongs has shaped how religious communities in Kibera define themselves and relate to each other. This debate is presently intensified by land struggles between religious communities on the one hand, and a series of unannounced bulldozing's on the other, as the Kenyan government advances its project to develop Nairobi into a world-class city. This study asks, how do religious communities in Kibera make religion work and maintain belonging to each other amidst such change and uncertainty, and where the meaning of Kibera ‒ as a neighbourhood, home, and homeland is contested? If the neighbourhood is routinely made and unmade, to what extent is religion the locus of belonging for the residents of Kibera? Through oral, social, and life histories, as well as archival materials, this ethnographic study examines how Kibera became an urban homeland in Nairobi, how the distinction between ‘home' and ‘homeland' creates a different sense of belonging for the religious communities who live there, and what it means for some religious communities to perform their religion in another's homeland. It argues that religious communities make religion in Kibera work by maintaining a sense of belonging to people and places elsewhere and in so doing, invent ways to respond to life in a changing and contested neighbourhood.
dc.identifier.apacitationWilks, T. V. (2023). <i>Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi</i>. (). ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationWilks, Tammy Vanessa. <i>"Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi."</i> ., ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2023. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationWilks, T.V. 2023. Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi. . ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Doctoral Thesis AU - Wilks, Tammy Vanessa AB - This dissertation is an ethnographic study of how religious communities make and take place in Kibera, a neighbourhood that is also a homeland in the city of Nairobi. Since its establishment in 1907, the debate about who belongs in Kibera and to whom Kibera belongs has shaped how religious communities in Kibera define themselves and relate to each other. This debate is presently intensified by land struggles between religious communities on the one hand, and a series of unannounced bulldozing's on the other, as the Kenyan government advances its project to develop Nairobi into a world-class city. This study asks, how do religious communities in Kibera make religion work and maintain belonging to each other amidst such change and uncertainty, and where the meaning of Kibera ‒ as a neighbourhood, home, and homeland is contested? If the neighbourhood is routinely made and unmade, to what extent is religion the locus of belonging for the residents of Kibera? Through oral, social, and life histories, as well as archival materials, this ethnographic study examines how Kibera became an urban homeland in Nairobi, how the distinction between ‘home' and ‘homeland' creates a different sense of belonging for the religious communities who live there, and what it means for some religious communities to perform their religion in another's homeland. It argues that religious communities make religion in Kibera work by maintaining a sense of belonging to people and places elsewhere and in so doing, invent ways to respond to life in a changing and contested neighbourhood. DA - 2023 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Religion LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2023 T1 - Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi TI - Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationWilks TV. Dwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi. []. ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Religious Studies, 2023 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38549en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Religious Studies
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanities
dc.subjectReligion
dc.titleDwelling in diversity: religion and belonging in Kibera, a neighbourhood in Nairobi
dc.typeDoctoral Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoral
dc.type.qualificationlevelPhD
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