Nathaniel Chimhete at IMAF (Campus Condorcet, Paris)
Stay: 2 December 2024 – 2 February 2025
Profile
Nathaniel Chimhete is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, Heritage and Knowledge Systems at the University of Zimbabwe. His research focuses on the African alcohol industry, African nationalism in Zimbabwe, and the history of mining in Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
His doctoral research examined how gold mining reshaped the moral economy of the Wanyamongo of Northern Tanzania between the 1930s and 2009. More broadly, his work explores the social and economic transformations generated by extractive industries, as well as everyday practices such as alcohol production and consumption. He has published on gold mining in Tanzania and Zimbabwe and on the alcohol industry in Zimbabwe, with a particular interest in the use of oral sources in African socio-economic history. For more information on him click here.
Research Activities at IMAF
During his two-month stay at the Institut des mondes africains (IMAF), Campus Condorcet, Chimhete worked on two main research projects.
The first project, which formed the core of his residency, focuses on shebeens and shebeen queens in Southern Rhodesia. During his stay, he developed a paper titled:
“The Shebeens and Shebeen Queens of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, 1920s–1970s,”
which he presented at IMAF on 16 January 2025. For more information click here.
The paper examines informal alcohol economies and the role of women within them, shedding light on forms of entrepreneurship, regulation, and social life in colonial urban contexts.
Ongoing Research
In addition to this project, Chimhete worked on a co-authored article with Aldrin Magaya, tentatively titled:
“Don’t be a Daddy Chakati Chapera [Housewife] Wife. Go to School, Work and Empower Yourselves”: Kitchen Parties in Harare, Zimbabwe, in the 21st Century.”
This research traces the evolution of kitchen parties—advice-giving ceremonies held before marriage—from 1980 to the present, analysing their changing social meanings and their role in shaping gender norms and expectations.
Listen to his presentation here.
Contribution
Chimhete’s stay contributed to the project’s exploration of gendered labour and informal economies, particularly through his work on alcohol production and distribution and on women’s roles within these systems. His research also brought a strong methodological focus on oral sources and socio-economic history, enriching ongoing discussions within the project.