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Circuits of Compassion: The Affective Labor of Uganda’s Christian Orphan Choirs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2020

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Abstract:

Uganda’s touring orphan choirs engage in a form of charity that is dependent on the mobility not only of money, but also of people and sentiments. Boyd considers the moral economies that underlie this ongoing project of compassionate “circulation.” If a key finding of the work on humanitarian affect has been how such “affective surpluses” mask inequalities between donors and recipients, this article considers how participants in charitable relationships conceive of dependency and indebtedness differently. These differences compel us to understand how moral and religious sentiments give shape to the inequalities inherent in dominant forms of global humanitarian “care.”

Résumé:

Résumé:

La chorale des orphelins en tournée en Ouganda s’engage dans un type de charité qui dépend de la mobilité non seulement de l’argent, mais aussi des personnes et des sentiments. Boyd considère les économies morales qui sous-tendent ce projet de « circulation compatissante. » Si l’une des principales conclusions du travail sur l’effet humanitaire a été la façon dont ces « excédents affectifs » masquent les inégalités entre les bienfaiteurs et les bénéficiaires, cet article examine comment les participants en relations de bienfaisance conçoivent différemment la dépendance et l’endettement. Ces différences pressent à comprendre comment les sentiments moraux et religieux donnent forme aux inégalités inhérentes aux formes dominantes d’aide humanitaires mondiales.

Resumo:

Resumo:

No Uganda, os coros itinerantes de órfãos dedicam-se a um tipo de caridade que depende da mobilidade não só de dinheiro, mas também de pessoas e de sentimentos. No presente artigo, Boyd analisa as economias morais que subjazem a este projeto de “circulação” solidária, presentemente em curso. Uma das principais conclusões da investigação acerca da afetividade humanitária foi a de que os “excedentes afetivos” escondem as desigualdades entre os doadores e os beneficiários, e Boyd analisa os modos diferenciados segundo os quais os intervenientes em relações de caridade concebem a dependência e o endividamento. Estas diferenças levam-nos a compreender que os sentimentos religiosos e morais dão origem a desigualdades intrínsecas às formas predominantes de “prestação de cuidados” humanitários a nível mundial.

Keywords

UgandaHumanitarianismchild sponsorshipborn-again Christianitycharitydependency
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , September 2020 , pp. 518 - 539
Copyright
© African Studies Association, 2020

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