Book Reviews 101
This search becomes very complex especially in the chapter on Islamic
architecture as the opening line of the essay notes. "The umma of Islam does not
only mean confessing to the same religion. but also sharing the patterns of daily
life" . Whilst this is a correct observation, one would have expected the analysis to
move beyond the architecture and arts of Islamic society, because this is a
civilisation and culture developing on other already existing forms of tradition
which in turn might constitute the dominant aesthetic value with the Islamic
influence only adopted as an ornamental character. As acknowledged by the
author: "The attempts of Bravmann. Vansina and Prussin to define the expressions
of Islamic art in sub-Saharan Africa have brought to light material and created an
awareness of the problem of the Islamk Ulentity in the arts and architecture in
blackAfnca which is an important point of departureforfurther research in afield
which is still in its infancy" (p143).
The analysis in this book would have yielded more if it had engaged a wider
catchment area of African writers beyond Chinua Achebe and Wole Soyinka for
the perceptions on culture. For example, Bodil Folke Frederiken's chapter on
popular writing in Kenya misses the impact of powerful authors like N'gugi wa
Thiongo and their arguments when it comes to critical discourse on Africa and
African writing. This book ironically commits the very crime it accused Afrocentrism
of committing, namely that is expels and silences. It is instructive to note that
the negotiating entry point to understanding Africa which is postulated as manifold
ranges from functionalist, semiotic, dramaturgical, Weberian, Durkheimian,
Marxian, feminist, to post-structuralist. This has to be done through protagonists
like Wilhelm Dilthey, Antonio Gramsci, Roland Barthes, Erving Goffman, Michael
Weber, Victor Turner, Paul Willis, Michel Faucault, Joan Francois Lyotard,
Jurgon Habemaso and Edward Said. This bias by the editor Raoul Granqvist
destroys a good cause - because what Africa needs is a tolerant post-independence
discourse that can be successfully cleansed and exorcised from the spectre of
European domination and the baggage of the past which is embedded in patriarchy
and tradition.
Reviewed by Thomas Deve. Assistant Editor, Sapes Trust, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Housing Risks and Homelessness Among the Urban Elderly, Keigher, S M
(ed), The Haworth Press, New York, 1991.
The three research reports reflected in this edition by Dr Keigher make very
interesting reading. The description and analysis of the nature, extent and causes
ofhomelessness among poor elderly urban Americans are quite educative, particularly
to the non-American scholars and professionals in the fields of social work
102 Book Reviews
and urban sociology. The editor deserves a commendation for putting together the
reports in a manner which facilitates a better understanding of the problem of
homelessness. The four case descriptions in chapter five could evoke strong
emotions among the the faint-hearted readers. No doubt, the edition is a major
contribution to the ever-expanding volume of literature on homelessness in urban
America.
However, 1would like to make some general comments with reference to the
research methods, and some conclusions and recommendations of the studies. The
general methodology employed in a 1988 Chicago study by Dr Keigher and the
Research Team is quite appropriate in the context of the objectives and the
anticipated problems of data collection. However, the sampling procedures employed,
if at all, for the staff of the SRO Hotel are not clearly defined. The number
of managers; desk clerks; maids, bellmen; and janitors interviewed in each of tHe
27 sample SRO Hotels is not stated. Similarly, it is not clearly stated how the 900
persons screened from the 19 sites were actually selected in a 1988 Detroit Study
by Douglas and Hodgkins. This problem raises some doubts in the representativeness
of the sample, and the reliability and validity of data for the two studies.
Perhaps this could account for the apparent over-representativeness of the black
elderly homeless in the sample of the Detroit Study.
The studies have adequately articulated the economic, political and demographic
factors contributing to the increasing shortage of affordable housing for
poor elderly urban Americans. However there are no specific recommendations on
how the problem could be solved, apart from making passionate appeals to the
policy makers to re-define the housing policies and programmes. Perhaps this is
another area for further research. Comparative housing policy studies at the city,
state and national levels would be most appropriate. Comparative studies of
America with countries in Europe could provide useful information on the policy
strategies for housing elderly homeless Americans.
The two broad areas identified for further research in chapter 9 are essential
against the backdrop of the inadequacies of the current knowledge base as exposed
by the studies. Apart from seeking a better understanding of the incidence of
homelessness and how the formal service agencies are coping with the problem,
there is a need for future studies to focus more on the informal sources of services
for the elderly homeless. The Detroit Study revealed that most black elderly
homeless are willing to stay with relatives and the latter could be willing to provide
the support. However, it is not clear under what conditions, if any, this support
mechanism could work better for both the needy and the service providers.
Early this year, there was a heated debate in the South Korean Parliament and
among the general public on the need to enact a law which could compel the
children and close relatives to assist their needy parents. Itwas morally irreconcilable
for the well-ta-do adult children to abandon elderly parents at the time their
support was most needed. Perhaps, such a debate is long overdue in the United
States of America.
Reviewed by Benson Chisanga. Department of Social Development Studies.
University of Zambia. POBox 32379. Lusaka. Zambia.