Paper short abstract:

Urban-rural relations of African societies were often discussed in the context of (job) migration, ethnicity or politics of belonging. In this panel we highlight them with a temporal perspective: with the focus on life courses.

Paper long abstract:

Urban-rural relations of African societies were often discussed in the context of (job) migration, ethnicity or politics of belonging. In this panel we highlight them with a temporal perspective: with the focus on life courses.

We regard "the city" or the "Hinterland" as flexible and changing social and spacial unities, interconnected by flows of people, goods, objects and ideas. The literature describes "the urban" in Africa as spaces of cultural production, political activities, social mobility and rapid change. In contrast, rural areas or "the village" appear as hardly changing places characterized by agricultural actions. With the emphasis of the life course of people, who are still majoritarian born in rural areas, we want to scrutinize this dichotomy. Further, we want to contribute to the discussion of life courses in African societies stressing the role of urban-rural relations.