Technology Transfer at Work in China-Africa Development Assistance: The TAZARA Railway, 1968-1986

FAIN: RZ-51096-09

Macalester College (St. Paul, MN 55105-1899)
Jamie Monson (Project Director: November 2008 to November 2014)

Funding details:
Original grant (2009) $145,000.00
Supplement (2012) $6,000.00

A study of the history of work and technology transfer during the construction by Chinese and African workers of the TAZARA railway in Tanzania and Zambia. (16 months)

The proposed research project examines the history of work and technology transfer during the construction by Chinese and African workers of the TAZARA railway in Tanzania and Zambia, including the ten-year period of technical cooperation with China. Technology and labor intersected within a specific historical context that included China's domestic experience of the Cultural Revolution; Tanzania and Zambia's emergence as newly independent African nations in the era of decolonization; and the international rivalries of the Cold War. To illuminate the social and political history of work and technology in China-Africa development assistance from 1968-1986, a team of American, Chinese, and African scholars will, between August 2009 and November 2010, use archival, documentary, and oral history methods to conduct collaborative research in Tanzania and Zambia. The team will present its findings at a series of workshops in those countries, in China, and at a professional conference.