Jonathan M. Jackson, Research Associate and MSc African Studies alumnus (2011–12) publishes new book with Boydell and Brewer

Visions for an African Valley: Histories of Development in Kilombero, Tanzania since 1877 offers new scholarship within African History and the historiography of development in Africa. Offering fresh insights and approaches, Visions shows Kilombero to be a prism which refracts broader phenomenon regionally, nationally, and internationally across more than a century. By considering past future visions for the reorganisation of rural life in Tanzania, this study reveals how even recent initiatives have suffered through their failure to learn from this history. Taking the notion of development planning as a form of ‘future making’, the book examines the many visions of ‘past futures’ projected onto Kilombero by colonial governments, by international organisations, syndicates, and individuals. It examines how such plans were conceived, evaluates their successes, and analyses their shortcomings against changing political and economic landscapes. Four key themes – agricultural intensification, ecology control, infrastructure, and (re)settlement – are shown to persistently surface and continue to shape the valleyscape today.

The African Studies Centre spoke to Dr Jackson ahead of its publication:

“The latter writing stages of the book coincided with my tenure as an Academic Visitor at the African Studies Centre, and I’m excited to see it published. Visions is the result of deep archival dives in Tanzania and Europe to unearth the many hopes and plans for development once visioned for this one valley region in south-central Tanzania. It is because these were mostly unrealised, however, that traces of their very existence are not found as ruins on the ground but in shelved surveys, reports, confidential correspondence, and public records. The reasons that various plans did not materialise varied and were often unconnected to local factors. Fieldwork in Kilombero itself revealed the lack of both local consultation and contemporary awareness of this long history of development from above, and which is addressed by this chronicle of visions for this valley since the late eighteenth century. I’m grateful to the ASC for its support.”

Published 11 March 2025 - More here.