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Paper long abstract

Relocating the population from refugee camps and urban centres to rural villages is presented as a positive move towards 'rehabilitation' after the war in Northern Uganda in public discourse, dominated by NGOs and government interventions. Moral decay, lack of social relationships and respect and unhealthy living conditions charaterises town-life, while the village-life is a return to family values, health and activities which generate respect in families and individuals. But for young urbanites 'going back' is not always a straight forward move.

'Town' and 'village' have become politicised social spaces where different discourses of the future, 'forward' and 'backward', modernity, and social respect intersect.

This paper explores the representations of the subjunctive in town and village by young singers and musical producers in Gulu town.