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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology
The indigenous people of Southern Vietnam, known as the Khmer Krom,
occupy territory over which Vietnam and Cambodia have competing
claims. Regarded with ambivalence and suspicion by nationalists in
both countries, these in-between people have their own claims on
the place where they live and a unique perspective on history and
sovereignty in their heavily contested homelands. To cope with
wars, environmental re-engineering and nation-building, the Khmer
Krom have selectively engaged with the outside world in addition to
drawing upon local resources and self-help networks. This
groundbreaking book reveals the sophisticated ecological repertoire
deployed by the Khmer Krom to deal with a complex river delta, and
charts their diverse adaptations to a changing environment. In
addition, it provides an ethnographically grounded exposition of
Khmer mythic thought that shows how the Khmer Krom position
themselves within a landscape imbued with life-sustaining
potential, magical sovereign power and cosmological significance.
Offering a new environmental history of the Mekong River delta this
book is the first to explore Southern Vietnam through the eyes of
its indigenous Khmer residents. Winner of the inaugural European
Association for Southeast Asiean Studies (EuroSEAS) Social Science
Book Prize. Shortlisted for the ICAS Book Prize 2015 for Best Study
in the Social Sciences
The objective of The Oxford Handbook of Migration Crises is to
deconstruct, question, and redefine through a critical lens what is
commonly understood as "migration crises." The volume covers a wide
range of historical, economic, social, political, and environmental
conditions that generate migration crises around the globe. At the
same time, it illuminates how the media and public officials play a
major role in framing migratory flows as crises. The volume brings
together an exceptional group of scholars from around the world to
critically examine migration crises and to revisit the notion of
crisis through the context in which permanent and non-permanent
migration flows occur. The Oxford Handbook of Migration Crises
offers an understanding of individuals in societies, socio-economic
structures, and group processes. Focusing on migrants' departures
and arrivals in all continents, this comprehensive handbook
explores the social dynamics of migration crises, with an emphasis
on factors that propel these flows as well as the actors that play
a role in classifying them and in addressing them. The volume is
organized into nine sections. The first section provides a
historical overview of the link between migration and crises. The
second looks at how migration crises are constructed, while the
third section contextualizes the causes and effects of protracted
conflicts in producing crises. The fourth focuses on the role of
climate and the environment in generating migration crises, while
the fifth section examines these migratory flows in migration
corridors and transit countries. The sixth section looks at policy
responses to migratory flows, The last three sections look at the
role media and visual culture, gender, and immigrant incorporation
play in migration crises.
The 'third wave' of variation study, spearheaded by the
sociolinguist Penelope Eckert, places its focus on social meaning,
or the inferences that can be drawn about speakers based on how
they talk. While social meaning has always been a concern of modern
sociolinguistics, its aims and assumptions have not been explicitly
spelled out until now. This pioneering book provides a
comprehensive overview of the central tenets of variation study,
examining several components of dialects, and considering language
use in a wide variety of cultural and linguistic contexts. Each
chapter, written by a leader in the field, posits a unique
theoretical claim about social meaning and presents new empirical
data to shed light on the topic at hand. The volume makes a case
for why attending to social meaning is vital to the study of
variation while also providing a foundation from which
variationists can productively engage with social meaning.
Communication is vital to the prosperity and survival of the
community, with the quality of communication amongst its members
directly improving or worsening the value of the community.
However, with the increase in immigration and relocation of
refugees, the need to accommodate diverse cultural groups becomes
imperative for the viability and survivability of a community while
posing challenges to communication. Intercultural and interfaith
dialogue can be used constructively to cultivate, manage, and
sustain diversity and wellbeing in particularly deeply divided
communities. Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogues for Global
Peacebuilding and Stability is a critical research publication that
explores the importance of conflict resolution strategies among
populations that include a varied amalgamation of cultural and
religious backgrounds. With the increasing emphasis on
intercultural understanding promoted by governments, civil
societies, and international mediators, this book offers relevant
remedies for major afflictions in the world today, such as
exclusion, marginalization, xenophobia, and racism. It is ideal for
government officials, policymakers, activists, diplomats, lawyers,
international trade and commerce agencies, religious institutions,
academicians, researchers, and students working in a variety of
disciplines including political science, international relations,
law, communication, sociology, and cultural studies.
How does a craft reinvent itself as `traditional' following
cultural, social and political upheaval? In the township of
Dingshu, Jiangsu province of China, artisans produce zisha or
Yixing teapots that have been highly valued for centuries. Yet in
twentieth-century socialist imagination, handicrafts were an
anomaly in a modern society. The Maoist government had clear
ambitions to transform the country by industrialization, replacing
craft with mechanized methods of production. Four decades later,
some of the same artisans identified as `backward' handicraft
producers in the 1950s and made to join workers' cooperatives, were
now encouraged to set up private workshops, teach their children
and become entrepreneurs. By the 2000s ceramic production in
Dingshu is booming and artisans are buying their first cars, often
luxury brands. However, many involvements of the Chinese state are
apparent, from the control of raw materials, to the inscription of
the craft on China's national list of intangible cultural heritage.
In this perceptive study, Gowlland argues that this re-evaluation
of heritage is no less inherently political than the collectivism
of the communist regime. Reflecting that the craft objects,
although produced in very different contexts, have remained
virtually the same over time and that it is the artisans'
subjectivities that have been transformed, he explores the
construction of mastery and its relationship to tradition and
authenticity, bringing to the fore the social dimension of mastery
that goes beyond the skill of simply making things, to changing the
way these things are perceived, made and talked about by others.
Dialogue and the New Cosmopolitanism: Conversations with Edward
Demenchonok stands in opposition to the doctrine that might makes
right and that the purpose of politics is to establish domination
over others rather than justice and the good life for all. In the
pursuit of the latter goal, the book stresses the importance of
dialogue with participants who take seriously the views and
interests of others and who seek to reach a fair solution. In this
sense, the book supports the idea of cosmopolitanism, which-by
contrast to empire-involves multi-lateral cooperation and thus the
quest for a just cosmopolis. The international contributors to this
volume, with their varied perspectives, are all committed to this
same quest. Edited by Fred Dallmayr, the chapters take the form of
conversations with Edward Demenchonok, a well-known practitioner of
international and cross-cultural philosophy. The conversations are
structured in parts that stress the philosophical, anthropological,
cultural, and ethical dimensions of global dialogue. In our
conflicted world, it is inspiring to find so many authors from
different places agreeing on a shared vision.
Chichen Itza, the legendary capital and trading hub of the late
Maya civilization, continues to fascinate visitors and researchers
with unanswered questions about its people, rulers, rituals, and
politics. Addressing many of these current debates, Landscapes of
the Itza asks when the city's construction was completed, what the
purposes of its famous pyramid and other buildings were, how the
city's influence was felt in smaller neighboring settlements, and
whether the city maintained strict territorial borders. Special
attention is given to the site's visual culture, including its
architecture, ceramics, sculptures, and murals. This volume is a
much-needed update on recent archaeological and art historical work
being done at Chichen Itza, offering new ways of understanding the
site and its role in the Yucatan landscape.
Pastoralist Livelihoods in Asian Drylands brings together the work
of scholars from across Asia to discuss the transforming
boundaries, agencies and risks involved in pastoralist livelihoods.
The authors, whose research sites range from Oman to Mongolia,
Syria to Pakistan, share methodological commitment to long-term
field research, participant observation and engagement with local
communities. There is a focus on pastoralist engagements with
governance institutions and the essays collectively argue that
risk, which is often imagined in environmental terms for
pastoralist peoples, often stems from government policies and
political circumstances. The authors challenge common ecological
approaches to understanding social change amongst pastoralist
groups by focusing on the politics of resource distribution and
control. Papers in the volume support an indigenous perspective on
pastoralists and present academic perceptions and assessments of
key issues in their local context.
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