John Aerni-Flessner, an Associate Professor in the Residential College of Arts and Humanities and the Department of History at Michigan State University, recently published a dictionary and a chapter.
With two collaborators, Aerni-Flessner co-edited the Historical Dictionary of Lesotho, Third Edition, a reference book that explains historical figures, historical culture, and contemporary events, politics, and culture in Lesotho.
The Historical Dictionary of Lesotho, Third Edition includes more than 500 cross-referenced entries on specific individuals as well as broad thematic entries on topics like politics, the economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. The dictionary serves as a reference resource for scholars, researchers, and development practitioners who want to better understand the country.
According to Aerni-Flessner, this edition of the dictionary asks the reader to engage more with the language, people, and culture of Lesotho by incorporating more terminology in Sesotho, Lesotho’s language, and reducing comparisons to western institutions.
Read the publication here.
In addition to the dictionary, Aerni-Flessner also co-edited the recently published Migration, Borders, and Borderlands: Making National Identity in Southern African Communities.
This edited collection came out of work Aerni-Flessner did during a Fulbright year at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Aerni-Flessner’s co-editors were also collaborators on a research project investigating the history of the Lesotho-South Africa border, and the collection looks at the history borders, borderlands, and people who cross borders all over the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Read Migration, Borders, and Borderlands Making National Identity in Southern African Communities: here.
