Mehitabel Iqani

The proposed research project for this fellowship aims to explore the cultural politics of the marketing of high-end luxury consumer goods (many of which are designed, if not also produced, in Europe) in African markets. The research will seek to understand how luxury European brands perceive African markets and to critically analyze their marketing approaches on the continent. This work will be done in order to gain deeper insight into certain practices of media production, to contribute to more nuanced theories of aspiration and consumption in Africa, and to explore the links and tensions with these ideas and more “traditional” research on African political-economies and cultures.