Read: Hansen, Salaula: The World of Secondhand Clothing and Zambia

1. Hansen describes young people's use of salaula as follows: "What matters in their clothing selection is not the Western origin of suits and dresses but that these garments have been incorporated into local dress repertoires so long ago that today they are Zambian icons of acceptable wear" (1). How has this happened? Using Bourdieu's notions of cultural, social, and economic capital, as well as habitus, how might we account for Zambian tastes in salaula? Does taste in salaula classify the classifier?

2. Hansen calls for looking at the entire system of provision of salaula. What does she mean, and how does this help us to understand salaula's economic, social, and cultural meanings?

3. Hansen describes salaula as a way to signal modernity in an otherwise compromised situation, be it colonialism or structural adjustment austerity. How does her view differ from that of the narrator of the film T-Shirt Travels?

4. Why does Hansen reject the claim that salaula imports have destroyed local Zambian clothing manufacture? Do you find her argument persuasive? Why or why not?

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu