Across the globe, neoliberal states and economic systems increasingly categorize and stratify citizens, often excluding many from full participation in society. These marginalized individuals, effectively rendered non-citizens, face significant struggles to live with dignity amidst intensifying competition for resources. Young men in Kenya who choose to become acrobats are among such marginalized individuals. They often come from poor families, have limited schooling, belong to oppressed ethnic groups, and frequently endure additional hardships that reflect broader systemic inequities. Forming acrobatic troupes provides a context of solidarity that enables these young men to transcend their predicaments through collective action and an elevated self-image. They mostly perform in the tourism industry and are notoriously underpaid. Nevertheless, acrobatics provides them with a framework for living with dignity and pursuing new opportunities.
Dr. Nina Berman’s presentation is based on an extended ethnographic study of acrobatic troupes performing along Kenya’s south coast. Drawing on a human economies framework, her research highlights systemic factors that propel and impede the success of these performing artists.
Nina Berman is professor in the School of International Letters and Cultures at Arizona State University. Her research and teaching focus centrally on questions of exclusion and inclusion across time and space. Her most recent books are Germans on the Kenyan Coast: Land, Charity, and Romance (Indiana University Press, 2017) and a co-edited anthology (with Rebecca Monteleone) on Disability and Social Justice in Kenya (University of Michigan Press, 2022).
