Role of Sociological Theory in Deconstructing Sociological Phenomena in Africa – the Social Exchange Theory and the Small House in Zimbabwe

Sociological theories continue to illuminate various sociological phenomena found in Africa and act as conceptual and analytical tools in deconstructing sociological knowledge.  This study uses the lens of the social exchange theory to analyse the small house practice in Zimbabwe. The ‘small house practice’ is the trend among married men in Zimbabwe to maintain a single woman as a quasi-permanent sexual partner outside official marriage.  This relationship is considered subsidiary (small) compared to the official marriage yet it is important to the welfare of both man practicing it and the unmarried woman being looked after.  The study reveals that those engaged in small house interactions are rationally seeking to maximize the profits or benefits, especially in meeting basic individual needs of both the man maintaining a small house and the woman being looked after.