Serious Youth in Sierra Leone
An Ethnography of Performance and Global Connection
Catherine Bolten
Reviews and Awards
"I read Serious Youth in Sierra Leone at a gallop. Bolten shows us, in graphic detail, how young men's efforts to be taken seriously are deliberately thwarted by older elite men. Competitive politics of masculinity hold center stage in this postwar society."--Cynthia Enloe, Clark University, and author of The Big Push: Exposing and Challenging Persistent Patriarchy
"The writing is excellent, with fully realized portraits of individuals trying to navigate the challenges of a post-conflict society. Bolten has a fine ear and eye for details that bring out the pathos of post-conflict life for young people. The text is very engaging for students; it draws them into larger discussions of modernity, global circulations, economic inequality, and barriers to opportunity."--Mary H. Moran, Colgate University
"Serious Youth in Sierra Leone offers accessible and engaging writing, rich commentary on the upheavals of youth engaging with globalization, and wonderful examples of both youth and adults adapting to the sometimes anxiety-provoking situations of urban life."--Doug Henry, University of North Texas
"Bolten is one of the better storytellers in Africanist ethnography; she writes in a way that students find not only accessible, but captivating."--Danny Hoffman, University of Washington