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Monday, February 3

Race, Science, and Technology in the Global African World
Crafting Spaces of Value: Special Economic Zones, Infrastructure, Energy, and Extractive Practices in Nigeria
Time:
2:00 pm
Presenter:
Omolade Adunbi
Location:
4130 Posvar Hall
Sponsored by:
Center for African Studies along with Africana Studies Department

In the last two decades, there has been an exponential increase in the number of countries setting up economic zones (SEZ). SEZs aim to remove hindrances to trade and create opportunities for economic growth. While much of the academic literature on SEZs focuses on teh state practices in establishing SEZs, no attention is paid to other practices that bear semblance to SEZs. Drawing on the ethnographic fieldwork in Nigeria, Omolade Adunbi explores the notion of SEZs as an exclusive state regulatory practice. Using the example of artisanal refineries organized by youths in the Niger Delta, this lecture seeks to rethink SEZs and their relationship to oil extraction and state regulatory practices.