"MAMA AFRICA". HOMMAGE À CATHERINE COQUERY-VIDROVITCH. Éds. Ch. Chanson-Jabeur, O.Goerg. P.: L'Harmattan, 2005. 480 p. (1);

DU GENRE ET DE L'AFRIQUE. HOMMAGE À THÉRÈSE LOCOH. Coord. J. Vallin. P.: Les editions de l'INED, 2009. 666 p. (2)*

In the French historiography of African studies of the twenty-first century, attention is drawn to two significant collective monographs published in honor of outstanding representatives of French scientific thought who devoted their lives and works to the study of the African continent in the last third of the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Catherine Cocry-Vidrovich is a world-renowned French historian, Professor Emeritus at the University of Paris, who has taught African history in the United States (Washington and Princeton) and Australia (University of Canberra). Over the course of more than thirty years of fruitful teaching and more than fifty years of research, 124 dissertations have been prepared under her leadership; she is the author of more than 10 monographs and a huge number of articles on the history of the African continent and the role of women in its historical and socio-economic development, which was once an innovative approach. It also became an innovator in the development of the ideological theoretical and terminological tools of political anthropology, first introduced into scientific use in the field of political anthropology.

* "Mama Africa". In honor of Catherine Cocry-Vidrovich / Ed. by K. Chanson-Jabr, O. Gerg. Paris: Garmatan, 2005. 480 p. (1); On gender and Africa. In honor of Teresa Loko. Coord. J. Wallsn. Paris: INED, 2009. 666 p. (2).

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1969. the concept of the "African mode of production" based on the materials of Central African societies. K. Kokri-Vidrovich was one of the first to create interdisciplinary research groups and numerous "teams" to study current problems of African studies, expressing new unusual ideas and concepts, in particular, being the founder of the economic history of Africa, the history of urbanization of the continent, the formulation and solution of gender problems and a number of other scientific areas. Representing the Marxist trend of French historiography, she was one of the first scientists of the 1960s to declare that the history of Africa is not the history of its colonization and the "civilizing mission" of Europeans: the peoples of the continent have their own historical trajectory, which dates back millennia (and, as the excavations of modern paleontologists have proved, millions of years) of original development. For the first time in France, she began to train future African historians on a permanent basis.

Kokri-Vidrovich has received many awards and prestigious prizes, including the highest award of France, the Legion of Honor, i.e. the highest sign of distinction, honor and official recognition of special merits by the state. Numerous students, followers and colleagues, noting her talent, charisma, energy, and special qualities as a leader of a research team, prepared and published a collective monograph that examines various problems of African studies, including those in the development of which she was the initiator and took a direct part.

The monograph is preceded by an emotional introduction, where, along with the scientific and personal qualities of Kokri-Vidrovich, her willingness to help with business, advice, and high-level consultation is emphasized.

The monograph consists of five sections covering a wide range of issues from the methodology and methodology of studying African studies to issues of social stratification, features of historical development and gender issues. The article "Documentary material in the study of colonial history (French researchers and written sources on the history of Africa in 1900-1920)" by S. Dyuluk, a colleague of Cochrane-Vidrovich, emphasizes the importance of publishing a documentary historical source base - testimonies of travelers of past centuries, archival data, magazines, newspapers and other periodicals published in the penultimate century by French missions in West Africa. Preparation of these materials for publication and introduction into scientific circulation is an important stage in the work of historians who recreate a real and objective historical canvas based on authentic sources. One of the first publications of K. Kokri-Vidrovich was a scientific publication of documentary sources of texts in Arabic and European languages that testified to the long-standing contacts of Arabs and Europeans with the inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa, which had a peculiar historical path of development since ancient times, numerous state formations, cities, active trade, socio-economic, political, cultural, spiritual, and confessional ties. and other well-defined interstate and international relations and traditions.

Dyuluk points out that thus in the middle of the XX century. Kokri-Vidrovich opposed conceptual approaches to the history of the African continent as mainly to the study of historical milestones and stages of colonization and the "civilizational" role of colonizers in Africa, noting the bright original path of both ethnogenesis and socio-economic development of the peoples of the continent. The author emphasizes that historians are now actively using the archival documents and materials dating back to the beginning of the XX century, which were prepared for publication in the late 1950s by a young graduate of the Sorbonne, K. Kokri-Vidrovich.

According to Duluc, at the beginning of the 20th century, French historians created a so-called political history for the needs of the state, which is also called political history for state purposes. Currently, historians use the same archival data, but with different conclusions and different historical approaches; they recreate a more objective historical canvas, not without the ideological and conceptual influence of K. Cockrey-Vidrovich.

In the 19th century, according to Duluc, there was a convergence of professional interests between two different groups of Europeans in French West Africa: scientists-historians and administrators-managers. The logic and tasks of the colonial administration (centralization of state entities, direct control over the population), as well as the logic, tasks and goals of researchers (collecting materials to recreate the most detailed historical canvas) coincided, complemented and supported each other. Duluc believes that although the colonial administration used historical disciplines to its advantage, historians used the needs of the colonial administration to achieve their own goals.

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The needs, interests, and goals of scientists and the administration complemented and reinforced each other, playing in different registers, but merging into a multi-voiced composition.

According to Dyulyuk, those who collected field material generally performed both administrative and scientific functions, since the division of labor between colonization actors and scientific experts has not yet occurred. After independence, along with the use of European and African sources, a new generation of historians simultaneously engaged in a painstaking search for documentary materials collected during the colonial period during the long process of recreating the history and historiography of Africa. And this process was of great importance for updating the historiography and deepening the understanding of the historical past of African peoples: the stories and testimonies of Portuguese travelers of the XVI century, the first newspapers of Brazzaville, the archives of the colonial administration and district leaders in French West Africa remain extremely interesting and important historical documents and sources.

However, when Duluc writes about the convergence of scientific and administrative functions of French researchers at the beginning of the twentieth century, it seems that it takes a purely exculpatory position in relation to the colonization process (as a logical continuation of the process of initial accumulation). Although the overwhelming majority of modern French historians condemn the manifestations of colonial expansion, exploitation and the colonialist "theory of the civilizing mission of the white man", realizing its civilizational and political inconsistency. But from the very beginning of her scientific work in the late 1950s, K. Kokri-Vidrovich drew conclusions from documents from the time of colonialism that were completely different from those that historians of the colonial period came to.

Cochrane-Vidrovich's colleague T. Falola, in his chapter "Reconstructing and Teaching the national History of Africa," cautions against treating and presenting the historical process on the continent only as the history of political classes and States. Since society has a diverse social stratification, the national historical canvas should include and reflect the interests of various strata and groups of the population. According to the author, it is necessary to study the means of strengthening intra-clan and inter-tribal relations, to investigate the causes of conflict and crisis situations and ways to overcome them, and to look for and develop options for state structures that could be really applicable and viable in Africa. It is difficult to disagree with the author's basic concept that the history of individual states and peoples is the main component of world history, despite modern globalization processes; but this is not the only alternative to historical research. Both a continental and a local historical canvas are equivalent and have equal value and the right to exist. In the modern period of globalization, when the fabric of world history is affected by the confrontation of the so-called Western paradigm against Islamic values, the main task of African historians is to preserve the identity and originality of the continent's history in an ever-changing world.

According to T. Falol, the most important issues and problems facing African historians and waiting to be resolved are as follows: :

Will Africa be able to create the foundations of a civil society structure instead of the ethno-national problems/crises and patronage-client relations that are tearing it apart?

How can Africans minimize the flow of national wealth to developed countries?

The problems of gender relations, religious fundamentalism, environmental protection, and many others remain extremely complex. Falola rightly believes that the development of survival policies in the writings of African scientists is likely to be at the forefront in the era of globalization.

In general, in the monograph "Mama Africa...", which consists of several sections devoted to important historical and methodological issues, we can distinguish the section devoted to gender issues, as probably one of the most clearly designed and structured. The chapter by P. Barthelemy is an emotional account of the prominent role played by the first headmistress of the Ecole Normale College for Girls in French West Africa.

Another, harsher and more harshly written chapter by a student of K. Cochrane-Vidrovich, L. Rabearimanana, deals with the militant role of Malagasy women in the 1945-1960's.

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the struggle for independence, in which they took an active part. They tried to avoid a conflict between traditional ideas about the dominant role of men in society and the desire to use their capabilities and abilities in various areas of socio-political life, primarily in education and military affairs, on the fronts of the war of independence from the French mother country.

O. Gerg tells about the difficult situation of African women in urban areas during the colonial period, how they tried to combine household work and involvement in economic life, employment in paid work.

One of the parts of the book is devoted to the issues of culture, education and the emergence of the African educated elite. It also explores the role of US-educated Africans in creating pan-Africanism, the disillusionment of some "evolutionists" with the brutality of the conquerors and the difficulties in dealing with African elites, or the tension between Senegalese pressure groups over the possibility of education for Africans.

The book covers other important topics, including those that were groundbreaking at the time when Kokri-Widrovic was the first to draw attention, for example, to the problem of social mutations under the direct influence of the authorities in the poor neighborhoods of Niamey (Niger) and introduced this topic in her seminars.

In general, the monograph reflects the most important and serious problems of studying the history of Africa. However, not all of them have some humanitarian and thematic gaps. But this book is only a certain stage in the intellectual movement and development of historical science, more precisely, the stages of one of the academic events and initiatives.

A representative selection of the authors of the monograph is of interest. Here you can find both colleagues of Kokri-Vidrovich, and her students who have become famous scientists and teachers, French, European, and African historians and researchers. The book contains a list of dissertation topics defended under her scientific supervision. A huge bibliographic list of her publications, translated into various foreign languages, is a contribution to French and world African studies, reflecting her diverse and versatile research interests.

* * *

K. Kokri-Vidrovich took an active part in the formation of a collective collection of works dedicated to the scientific work of the famous French demographer-Africanist Teresa Loco "On gender and Africa".

T. Loco is the first French demographer to address the socio-psychological aspects of gender issues, in particular, the psychology of family-marriage relationships, child-parent relations, etc. Leading researcher at the National Institute for Demographic Research (Paris), one of the largest research centers in France, where complex sociodemographic and socio-economic issues are raised and studied in detail and developed exclusively on field material anywhere in the world, including on the African continent.

T. Loko has spent more than half a century studying the problems of African families of various typology, classification, linearity, forms, species and subspecies mainly in West Africa, but also in some countries in the north of the continent.

The collective monograph consists of eight parts arranged according to the problem-thematic feature, 42 chapters, two introductory and three final subsections. This review examines the most interesting topics for the reviewer.

The first part," Birth rate, childhood and adolescence", examines, among others, the topic suggested by T. Loko, about the study of the gender ratio of characters and actors in problems, tests, test papers and other materials in primary school textbooks. Mathematics was chosen as one of the most abstract and neutral sciences in terms of gender and gender issues, where these aspects are addressed to a minimal extent. When studying the texts of textbooks, it turned out that the vast majority of characters in tasks, tests, test papers and other tasks were men or boys. The authors call for a review of such pedagogical and methodological approaches that do not encourage girls to improve their professional skills.

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They also focus on the development of educational skills, in particular mathematics, and perpetuate traditional ideas about gender-related social roles in society. This hinders girls ' orientation to the exact and natural sciences, making it difficult for them to access the professions that are most economically and socially important, for which mathematical sciences are the basis for obtaining professional knowledge. There is a clear shortage of adult women's behavior patterns in textbooks. School textbooks reinforce and perpetuate gender inequality and hinder the development of more equal relations in society. Attracting professional and public attention to the problem could contribute to changing the texts of textbooks in the direction of promoting greater gender equality.

In the second part, "The relationship of the sexes, marriage and fertility", among other complex subjects, K. Kokri-Vidrovich examines the problem of female circumcision. This operation in the North African region was testified to as early as the 1st millennium BC by ancient Egyptian sources of the Pharaonic period, Herodotus wrote about it in the V century BC, mentioning the Ethiopians, Egyptians, Phoenicians and Hittites.

Ancient Greek and Roman geographers and physicians mentioned Egyptians, pre-Muslim Arabs, Jews, and Christians who practiced this practice. Kokri-Vidrovich writes about many social, cultural, historical, traditional, medical, psychological and other causes, origins and factors that still determine the survivability of operations that threaten the health and life of young African women. Despite the official legal ban, according to WHO, their victims are about 40% of women from 37 African countries (p. 143-144). The author believes that if women themselves do not step up and unite their actions, the disappearance of this practice will occur extremely slowly, if at all.

And on other continents, where African families migrate in search of work and a better life, this painful practice continues. The male migration of the 1960s was followed ten years later by the flow of female migration. As noted by A. Andro and M. Leclingan, in Europe (Germany, Belgium, France, England, Sweden, Switzerland, etc.), North America (Canada, USA) or Australia, African migrant girls, despite all official prohibitions, are subjected to these operations at the insistence of their parents. that T. Loco participated in the development of policy plans and guidelines for action aimed at eliminating vicious practices in France.

3. Oada-Bedidi points out the primary importance of marriage in the Arab-Muslim tradition on the example of Algeria. But if earlier, in the 1960s, as a rule, the bride married at the age of 18, then in the first decade of the XXI century, each of the three women is still unmarried at the age of 30, 34, and 35 (p.180). The modern era is making its own adjustments to marriage preferences, giving more and more space to personal sympathies, changing traditional child-parent relationships, relationships with relatives of the husband and other behavioral categories in the direction of greater individualization and independence of both the individual couple and the individual.

A number of chapters (for example, in E. Akam) point to improving the level of female education as a crucial factor in reducing the birth rate, reducing gender inequality, and improving the status of African women in the family and society.

In the third part, "Family and household", V. Ertrish in the chapter devoted to the dynamics of family relations among the Malian BWA people, comes to the conclusion that, despite the apparent inertia and stability of African marriage and family ties, especially in rural areas, there are a number of changes in this environment. The main ones are the increasing fragmentation and segmentation of traditional large-family groups and the use of such socio-economic means of survival as labor migration.

M. Pilon and K. Vignikin, in their chapter on the modern history of Togolese households in the last quarter of the 20th century, emphasize that in Loma, moba-gourma households do not show a trend towards nuclearization. Of course, as in many African cities, the number of single-person or female-headed households is increasing, and the number of polygamous unions is decreasing, but as for large, extended households, their number is increasing, confirming the irreplaceable role and importance of social support and hospitality of urban extended households for other relatives and fellow countrymen, which they play. especially the most affluent households with a higher level of education. Neither an individual nor a household in Loma

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they are not independent of other relatives, nor of the community as a whole; their relationships at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries remained strong and versatile. But I wonder, according to the authors, whether the modern socio-economic crisis has transformed them? This question remains to be investigated. Many aspects of the topic need further study: interpersonal relationships, relationships with other relatives, between generations, between households and other social institutions, which requires a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach of demographers, sociologists, anthropologists, historians and other scientists.

M. Muwagha-Sow touches on the acute and painful topic of domestic violence in its most frequent manifestation, namely: husband's violence against his wife. By examining the examples of Gabonese married couples, she concludes that although violence (physical, sexual, psychological, etc.) against women tends to decrease somewhat, according to public opinion polls, it nevertheless remains a common practice in all sectors of society. The most difficult situation is faced by the least educated or illiterate African women, who are financially dependent on their spouse and therefore cannot leave him. They must fulfill all his wishes and requirements-otherwise beatings will follow for any reason. According to other researchers of the problem, a man is unlikely to hit a woman who can leave him. The author emphasizes that it is very important for African women of all social strata to study and cover these subjects in more detail; publicity of the problem significantly increases the possibilities of its resolution.

The fourth part," Labor activity, employment and the economic crisis", tells about some gender aspects of economic issues. Using the example of two African capitals, Dakar (Senegal) and Lome (Togo), Antoine examines the socio-economic situation of a single woman, the head of a household. They conclude that, although the number of such households is constantly increasing, their situation is very difficult; because psychologically, society sees single women, as well as divorced or widowed people, as a threat to the stability of other families. The general population is willing to accept a woman as the head of a household only if she remains single as a result of widowhood. But even in this case, African women have very limited access to financial and economic resources. Women's autonomy and economic independence are at an early stage of development. Nevertheless, an African woman can be economically independent, in particular, in Loma. However, not at any age and not in any activity. Economic autonomy is achieved, as a rule, at a fairly mature age period - from 45 to 50 years, when the period of fertility is already over, and most often in the field of trade.

D. Beguis notes that the beginning of active work with paid work contributes more quickly to the birth of the first child than for women who do not have paid work. Obviously, there is a psychological factor here - an element of socio-economic stability in life. But at the end of the fertile period, women in the service have fewer children than women in the informal economy. Sociopsychological motives are also likely to play a role here. Lack of professional prospects and uncertainty in the future push women to have multiple births in order to have maximum financial, material and moral and psychological support from their surviving children in their old age in the conditions of high child mortality and an underdeveloped health and social security system.

Tunisian economist S. Triki, in the chapter "Economics and Gender: a cross-analysis", notes that under the dynamic pressure of the feminist movement in the 1970s, a scientific movement emerged, founded by feminist economists, who raised a number of fundamental questions in economic theory. This evolution of ideas and phenomena made it possible to implement attempts at economic analysis in gender studies, and as a result, the topics of domestic labor and intra-family division of labor were given a right to exist in economics. Since the early 1980s, when the American Nobel laureate in economics G. Becker wrote the famous monograph "A Treatise of the family", the number of works on the definition and measurement of domestic production and productivity of domestic labor has increased significantly; it has also increased on the gender division of labor in the household, which has become the main contribution of feminist economists in the development of economic theory.

In the fifth part, "Migrations", V. Delaunay and K. Enel writes about young nannies and their life activities in Dakar, representing seasonal female migration, noting that at the end of

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XX century young nannies, in order to arrange their fate, sought to have sexual partners and used two types of contraceptives: medication (pills) and condoms. On these subjects, they had more information than their rural countrymen. The earlier they married, the fewer sexual partners they had. Postponing marriage increased the risk of increasing the number of sexual partners and contracting infectious diseases.

J.-B. Duma, exploring new trends in women's migration to France, emphasizes that currently African women go not only to reunite with their husband, but also quite independently in search of work, as independent migrants, to study, internship, in accordance with their personal goals and interests. Although they come from countries where the status of women is subordinate to that of men, the demographic situation tends to equalize.

V. Pichet and Zh. Reno shows evidence of economic discrimination against immigrants. It is more difficult for them than for local residents to find a job, especially in their specialty and in their profile. The degree of discrimination is highly dependent on the immigrant's background. However, after 10 years of living in France, the differences are felt to a lesser extent.

M. Lututala reflects on how Congolese women manage not only to immigrate to France, but also to stay there. The author shows that it is easier for political refugees to find shelter than for starving people.

The sixth part of the monograph "Public health and mortality statistics". Whereas previously the African continent was characterized by a horrific infant mortality rate, about a quarter of newborns did not live up to one year and about half of the remaining ones did not live up to 5 years (p.11), now these numbers are not so tragic, but still very significant. However, issues of adult mortality are becoming increasingly acute, especially due to AIDS.

D. Valtisperger argues that the crisis has had a negative impact primarily on women's life expectancy, although the general trend around the world is its long duration. And in childhood, girls are biologically more adapted to life, their resistance to infectious diseases is higher. Boys between the ages of 1 and 4 are more likely to die from accidents. This trend peaks in adulthood. Injuries, mental disorders (including due to alcoholism) and other negative factors often break the lives of men.

African adults show gender differences in their health status.

M. Hlat and A. Guillaume consider maternal mortality during childbirth and pregnancy-related mortality. They argue that the latter topic is terra incognita, with which both researchers and the public are very little familiar. But in real life, an unwanted pregnancy can lead to suicide or risky illegal abortions, etc. Pregnancy of young women aged 15-19 out of wedlock can be met with hostility by the family and society, which leads to nervous shocks and breakdowns and/or other risky actions for health. The authors declare the need for in-depth research and attempts to solve the problem, raise acute medical, social and public issues.

Three chapters of this section address the impact of the AIDS pandemic on women, youth and couples in Africa. Currently, AIDS is a major public health problem in Africa, causing the highest mortality rates. Not only the ruling state structures are interested in solving this issue, but also other social groups that are interested in solving the acute problem.

A. Degre du Loup highlights the tragic problem of AIDS infection in married couples. In general, the conditions of a woman's existence, and in particular the psychological ones, are very difficult. She does not have the right to refuse her spouse intimate relations at all. The author examines the question of how the AIDS pandemic has affected marital relationships. It shows that it is obvious that a dialogue between spouses and the need to discuss the problem are inevitable.

Dialogue on this topic in recent decades has led to more partnerships than before the epidemic. Women are now more likely to participate in family health issues and discussions at the family council. Gradually, in a large extended family, recognition of mutual interests begins. As a result, both men and especially women no longer feel completely defenseless against the threat of infection.

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a deadly disease. Condom use is increasing in families. The relationship between spouses is gradually changing, and the author examines from various points of view how AIDS has affected them. But since there are still a lot of features and problems to study in this area, the author emphasizes that only an approach to a complex medical socio-psychological topic is outlined.

Zh. Piso and K. Enel explores one aspect of the matrimonial strategy of the family using the example of matrimony for older and younger sisters in the south-western region of Senegal, Mlope, which includes 11 settlements and villages. According to tradition and the recommendation of their parents, older daughters marry mainly in Mlop, but more freedom is given to the younger ones, as well as the opportunity to marry outside the village. The authors note a tendency for women married in the city of Dakar to send money transfers to their parents, while those married in Mlop do not have the means to support them economically, and do not have any financial autonomy, at least if they do not engage in any very modest commercial activities, which in reality is not the case. it is extremely rare. Professional employment is also different for the sisters in Mlop and Dakar. In general, the overwhelming majority, two - thirds of the sisters who emigrated and married in Dakar, are younger.

In Mlop, the age of first marriage increased at the end of the twentieth century, and it remains so in the twenty-first century. The average age between 1985 and 1999 was 27 years for women and 34 years for men, which is quite surprising for the rural population of West Africa, especially in a country like Senegal.

According to the authors, the processes of migration and monetarization of life and interpersonal relationships are actively developing. In Mlopa, different types of migration flows are very intense and affect both young women and young men equally. The authors emphasize that contacts with the city and money for paid work are important factors in women's emancipation. Moreover, the younger daughters, who are far removed from family influence and pressure, have the opportunity to choose a spouse at their own discretion in a very wide range, both ethnic and professional. Higher levels of education can lead to permanent migration and increasingly exogamous marital relationships. The authors conclude that such a matrimonial strategy clearly demonstrates the social, economic and cultural differences between older and younger sisters and can lead to the construction of different destinies; however, the most significant difference due to migration is manifested in their matrimonial practice.

The eighth part of the monograph - "The Life Path of Teresa Loko" is composed mainly of memoirs and testimonies of her colleagues. In these last chapters, T. Loko's colleagues describe the main stages of her scientific career, which began in 1965 at the Institute of Demography. Then, for more than 10 years (from 1973 to 1984), as a responsible project officer of the United Nations Population Fund, she worked on the African continent in Togo, Benin, Ghana and Cameroon. For the next 13 years, from 1984 to 1997, she was a leading researcher at the CEPED Center for the Study of Developing Countries (Paris), and later, in 1997, she finally returned to the Institute of Demography.

In the early 1980s, she established the first university center for demographic research in Francophone Africa, and in 1986, she actively participated in the formation of the African Inter-university network for the study of population development and other demographic issues. After returning to Paris, at the Institute of Demography, she founded the research center "Tender, Demography and African Societies", becoming its head, and for the first time in France applied the gender approach in demographic science. She actively collaborated with other French and foreign scientists in various scientific projects and many interdisciplinary studies, was the scientific supervisor of dissertations of French and foreign scientists. for African postgraduates, interns and applicants, preparing the African scientific elite both in France and in the countries of the continent.

T. Loko devoted almost half a century to the problems of Africa, the African family, the psychology of intra-family relations, fertility, gender and other vital, relevant and complex complex sociodemographic subjects.

According to numerous colleagues and students of K. Thanks largely to the versatile, progressive research and teaching activities of these two outstanding scientists, the problems of tender have been actively studied in the last 35 years,

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It can be discussed and analyzed in France both in the scientific-teaching and socio-political terms. Their life and scientific work are an indisputable contribution to the development of academic scientific thought and movements for women's equality, the elimination of discrimination against them in all areas of economic, industrial, political, social, social, ethical, psychological, civilizational, moral and moral and many others.

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