Constructing the Market: Development, Revolution, and History in Ghana’s Urban Markets

In this thesis, I draw on archival materials and oral histories to examine the shifting figurations of urban markets and traders across Ghana’s 20th century. I discuss themes of informality, development, and revolution to argue that markets have been central to historical transformation over this period. From the early Nkrumah years to the demolition of Makola Market in 1979, I consider continuities and transformations of Ghanaian markets across eras of political, economic, and social change.