Terence Ranger Books
Terence Ranger (1929–2015) was a British African historian whose research focused on Zimbabwe and the invention of African traditions.
Known for: The Invention of Tradition
Books by Terence Ranger
The Invention of Tradition
This influential collection of essays explores how many traditions that appear or claim to be old are often quite recent in origin and sometimes invented. The contributors analyze how such traditions are constructed to serve political, social, or cultural purposes, examining examples from British monarchy rituals to African colonial practices.
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Defining 'Invented Traditions': From Custom to Modern Simulation
The heart of our exploration begins with definition. When I speak of ‘invented traditions,’ I mean practices that seek to instill certain values and norms of behavior through repeated action, and simultaneously imply continuity with a historic past. Yet this continuity is often illusory. Unlike ‘cus...
From The Invention of Tradition
Constructing British National Traditions in the Nineteenth Century
Nowhere was this process more visible than in nineteenth-century Britain. At a time when industrial capitalism and urban life were dissolving old communal bonds, British elites engineered rituals to reknit the social fabric. The monarchy, once politically marginal, became the centerpiece of national...
From The Invention of Tradition
About Terence Ranger
Terence Ranger (1929–2015) was a British African historian whose research focused on Zimbabwe and the invention of African traditions.
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Terence Ranger (1929–2015) was a British African historian whose research focused on Zimbabwe and the invention of African traditions.
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