The most dramatic change in American society in the last forty years has been the explosive growth of personal rights. This "Rights Revolution" is currently under attack by both mainstream conservatives and intellectual liberals as undermining traditional values of community. In replying to the critics, Samuel Walker details the history of the rise of rights in American society, from the birth of the civil rights movement to today, and provides a spirited defense of its success in actually enlarging and enriching our sense of community in the USA.

The essays in this volume present contemporary anthropological perspectives on Chinese kinship, its historical complexity and its modern metamorphoses. The collection draws particular attention to the reverberations of larger socio-cultural and politico-economic processes in the formation of sociality, intimate relations, family histories, reproductive strategies and gender relations - and vice-versa. Drawing on a wealth of ethnographic material from the late imperial period and from contemporary Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, from northern and southern regions as well as from rural and urban settings, the volume provides unique insights into the historical and spatial diversities of the Chinese kinship experience. This emphasis on diversity challenges the classic 'lineage paradigm' of Chinese kinship and establishes a dialogue with contemporary anthropological debates about human kinship reflecting on the emergence of radically new family formations in the Euro-American context. Chinese Kinship will be of interest to anthropologists and sinologists, as to historians and social scientists in general.

"This atlas covers a variety of social issues in a clear and concise format by presenting for each topic a map, explanatory text, and, in some cases, additional charts as illustrations. . . . Highly recommended."

"--Choice"

Alice C. Andrews and James W. Fonseca, whose Atlas of American Higher Education was hailed for its unique approach to statistical information and whose research for this new Atlas has been prominently featured in the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe, here provide a geographic window onto the most pressing social issues of our time.

Too often, information about America--its culture and politics, affluence and poverty, health and medical care, crime and education--is presented in the form of dry statistics that do not convey critical trends and patterns. In this unprecedented volume, two respected geographers present dozens of maps that depict, at a glance, the topography of America's social well-being. Among the many topics covered are: cultural diversity and immigration; income, poverty and unemployment; lifestyle risks including drug abuse, smoking and auto fatalities; access to medical care; medical costs; status of women, children, and senior citizens; marriage and divorce; teen pregnancy and non-marital births; school dropouts; abortion; death rates from AIDS, cancer, suicide and infant mortality; violent crime and homelessness. The Atlas of American Society maps out a comprehensive picture of an America rarely seen in such breadth.

The line between what is regarded by people as "traditional" and "modern" is constantly being altered by new configurations of power. These essays examine the ways in which such changes are both communicated and created through cultural performances in diverse ethnographic settings. Examples are drawn from a wide range of forms and expressions: divinatory sequences, spirit possession rites, state ceremonials, village feasts, pilgrimages, language-use and craft specialisms. It was Abner Cohen, to whom this volume is dedicated, who first suggested that a dialectical relationship existed between power and symbolism. This concept, as developed in his seminal work, has since become a growing area of study as reflected in this important collection. By questioning some of the directions, the authors make a major interdisciplinary contribution to the study of cultural performance as a key factor in power relationships. The principal stage is Africa, but comparative ethnographic data are drawn from Ireland, Italy, South Asia, and the United Kingdom.

Karen Orr Vered demonstrates how children's media play contributes to their acquisition of media literacy. Theorizing after-school care as intermediary space, a large-scale ethnographic study informs this theory-rich and practical discussion of children's media use beyond home and classroom.

Though power is commonly seen as a special feature of exceptional personalities, van Ginkel argues that power is actually a given feature of all humans, animals, and plants. Each has different power, of a special kind and a special degree. All plant, animal, and human power is sparked and specified by a fusion of varieties of the same four general elements: "Faculty, Object, Effect, and Limit." Unlike animal power, human power rises and falls irregularly, both in history and in individual life. Van Ginkel's straight, logical analysis asserts that a human individual is at any given moment either a dependent impulse-driven agent whose pursuits cause his given power to fall or an independent design-driven agent whose operations cause his given power to rise. The difference between the two is sometimes slight, sometimes dramatic. In the near future all human power may be reduced to zero by such man-made perils as environment devastation, self-dementing addictions, or mass-destructive weapons, unless eductional and governmental power expand on an unprecedented scale. Human power is unlimited as long as it expands within a philosophically or theologically defined limit.

Sound Relations delves into histories of Inuit musical life in Alaska to register the significance of sound as integral to self-determination and sovereignty. Offering radical and relational ways of listening to Inuit performances across a range of genres-from hip hop to Christian hymnody and traditional drumsongs to funk and R&B -author Jessica Bissett Perea registers how a density (not difference) of Indigenous ways of musicking from a vast archive of presence sounds out entanglements between structures of Indigeneity and colonialism. This work dismantles stereotypical understandings of "Eskimos," "Indians," and "Natives" by addressing the following questions: What exactly is "Native" about Native music? What does it mean to sound (or not sound) Native? Who decides? And how can in-depth analyses of Native music that center Indigeneity reframe larger debates of race, power, and representation in twenty-first century American music historiography? Instead of proposing singular truths or facts, this book invites readers to consider the existence of multiple simultaneous truths, a density of truths, all of which are culturally constructed, performed, and in some cases politicized and policed. Native ways of doing music history engage processes of sound worlding that envision otherwise, beyond nation-state notions of containment and glorifications of Alaska as solely an extraction site for U.S. settler capitalism, and instead amplifies possibilities for more just and equitable futures.

In this book, Luis Roniger offers a comprehensive and systematic discussion of the influence of clientelism and clientelistic relationships in social and political life in Mexico and Brazil. The author describes, analyzes, and compares clientelistic arrangements not only in terms of economic development and social differentiation, but also as a strategy of interaction and control over economic and political markets shaped both by structural factors and cultural patterns. Contrary to some theorists who argue that clientelism disappears following industrialization and modernization, Roniger sees clientelistic networks as both a distinct institutional pattern and a major model of structuring social exchange. Thus, he argues that it may be more reasonable to expect changes in the forms of Mexican and Brazilian clientelism, rather than its demise following economic development and political transformation.

Roniger begins with a general discussion of clientelism and trust, exploring the variety of clientelistic bonds, the conditions which lead to the emergence of clientelism, and the dynamics of Latin American clientelism. Following a chapter on the institutional contexts of Mexico and Brazil, the author presents an extended analysis of clientelism in the two countries. In each case, Roniger presents a historical overview, discusses the dominant characteristics of clientelism in that country, and examines clientelism in the rural, urban, labor, and political sectors. Subsequent chapters compare and contrast Mexican and Brazilian variants of clientelism. In the final chapter, Roniger places the Latin American data within its broader cultural context, comparing Mexican and Brazilian clientelism with hierarchical arrangements in Japan, Thailand, and India. He concludes that although political and social change in Mexico and Brazil has led to major transformations in clientelistic patterns, clientelism has been retained as an important element of social exchange in these societies. Sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, Latin American specialists, and students of development will find Roniger's work and incisive portrait of Mexican and Brazilian institutional development and social realities.

Hardbound. Studies of gender and education have been at the forefront of much ethnographic research for several decades, but the interest in sexualities and education is more recent. Indeed, to study sexualities and schooling is, almost in itself, a challenge to many common assumptions about children and what it is 'to be a child'. However, study of the nature and construction of gender and sexuality has now become a recognized and highly productive research area, and one that is highly suited to ethnographic methods. The new research presented in these chapters illustrates some of the range of recent work in the area and the power of ethnography to uncover the complex and contested processes of construction.

This book is intended to make up-to-date information and opinion about Francophonie accessible to English-speaking readers, and to assess how well the international movement of French-speaking nations is placed to face the future. 'Francophonie' can be defined in three ways: as the development and distribution of the French language; as an international movement of nearly fifty countries and regions, similar to, but showing major differences from the Commonwealth; and as a set of cultural and political values which can be shared by other nations for which French is not the only or the main means of communication. Students of French, of international relations, of sociolinguistics and the sociology of language, of politics and economics, and those interested in questions of cultural and linguistic identity will find the book invaluable as a source of reference, as an assessment of the effectiveness of the Francophone approach to world problems, and as an evaluation of France's own role in Europe and Africa.

From landmark court cases on affirmative action to their consequences, a study on why such preferences are morally wrong, unlawful, and indefensible.

Cultural travel and migrancy examines how people in West Java use modern media such as radio, television, and cassettes to give expression to their thoughts and feelings about problems of contemporary life. It describes artistic approaches to globalization, one of the problems that has been felt most pressing during the late New Order and early Reformation. Situating itself at this remarkable turning-point in Indonesian history, it shows that local artists have not been mere victims or products of globalization, but virtual migrants who self-consciously steer the electronic media on their worldwide travels. The book gives an analysis of relevant case-studies and historical debates on culture and representation in Indonesia and the West, and also provides an overview of early developments and recent trends in the Indonesian and West Javanese media landscapes. With its focus on Sundanese language and culture, it is a pioneering and gap-filling complement to the existing literature on media.

Building upon the insights of postmodernism, this book argues for an approach to studying culture that has as its basis the social construction of meaning and reality and emphasizes micro-level processes and emotion. In general, postmodernism privileges the structure of culture and posits that due to identifiable social dynamics, the structure of culture has become fragmented and has left the experience of cultural reality by human actors pluralistic, uncertain, and emotionally flat. This emphasis on structure has been emulated by many of the major contemporary theoretical approaches to culture. This work critiques the structural approach found in postmodernism and current cultural theories that neglects agency, affect-meaning, and the micro-level processes of meaning and reality construction. On the other hand, postmodernism has brought attention to a diverse array of social processes that are at work in late-capitalistic countries. Thus, in the final chapter of the book, the proposed micro-level, affective theory is situated within the macro-level processes of postmodernity. The postmodern critique is grounded and advanced by theoretically linking macro-postmodernism with micro-reality. This book will be of interest to students and faculty in sociology and cultural studies.

Of late, there has been a growing interest in how non-Western peoples have been and continue to be depicted in the literatures of the West. In anthropology, attention has focused on the range of literary devices employed in ethnographic texts to distance and exoticize the subjects of discourse, and ultimately contribute to their subordination. This study eschews the tendency to regard virtually all depictions of non-Western "others" as amenable to the same kinds of "orientalist" analysis, and argues that the portrayals found in such writings must be examined in their particular historical and political settings. These themes are explored by analyzing the voluminous literature by military authors who have written and continue to write about the "Gurkhas", those legendary soldiers from Nepal who have served in Britain's Imperial and post-Imperial armies for more than two centuries. The author discovers that, instead of exoticizing them, the military writers find in their subjects the quintessential virtues of the European officers themselves: the Gurkhas appear as warriors and gentlemen. However, the author does not rest here: utilizing a wealth of literary, historical, ethnographic sources and the results of his own fieldwork, he investigates the wider social and cultural contexts in which the European chroniclers of the Gurkhas have been nurtured.

Pennsylvania is one of the few states that neither contains a reservation nor officially recognizes any Native American group. The stance of state government is that there are no Native Americans in the state. However, there is a large and growing community of Native Americans that is growing more active and more frustrated with the state's position. Invisible Indians is based on three years of research with Native Americans in Pennsylvania. The authors have crossed the state to attend powwows and tribal meetings, as well as interview individual Indians. Based on several, extensive ethnographic interviews, this book provide an extremely insightful account of Native Americans in Pennsylvania. The book also examines the history of Native American/government relationships within the state, as well as critical issues such as casino gambling and state recognition that are the crux of current negotiations. The book is also about the ways Pennsylvania's Native Americans are reinventing their history and their cultures to meet their own social and psychological (identity) needs. This book is a much-needed addition to the literature on Native American identity today--the critical issue in contemporary Native American politics. The book also debunks the official state stance that no Native Americans exist in Pennsylvania. Invisible Indians will be a valuable reference both to social scientists interested in personal identity issues as well as all interested in Pennsylvania cultures and issues.

The history of migration is deeply entangled with colonialism. To this day, colonial logics continue to shape the dynamics of migration as well as the responses of states to those arriving at their borders. And yet migration studies has been surprisingly slow to engage with colonial histories in making sense of migratory phenomena today. This book starts from the premise that colonial histories should be central to migration studies and explores what it would mean to really take that seriously. To engage with this task, Lucy Mayblin and Joe Turner argue that scholars need not forge new theories but must learn from and be inspired by the wealth of literature that already exists across the world. Providing a range of inspiring and challenging perspectives on migration, the authors' aim is to demonstrate what paying attention to colonialism, through using the tools offered by postcolonial, decolonial and related scholarship, can offer those studying international migration today. Offering a vital intervention in the field, this important book asks scholars and students of migration to explore the histories and continuities of colonialism in order to better understand the present.

One, God, Two Goddesses presents three studies, one of Tamil myths of the god Murugan and two of goddess rituals: Gangamma in Tirupati and Paiditalli in Vizianagaram, both in Andhra Pradesh. All three essays search for lineaments of the cosmos that these deities inhabit and shape. These cosmoi are characterised by the dynamism of their incessant interior movement. Should they become still, they would die. Deities activate and regenerate such a cosmos. The dynamism of Murugan's cosmos eliminates the chaotic. Through ritual, Gangamma regenerates her cosmos through feminising it. Through ritual, Paiditalli annually re-grows the historic little kingdom of Vizianagaram, regenerating its kingship. All three studies point to the need to rethink cosmology in South India.

Style, Society, and Person integrates the diverse current and past understandings of the causes of style in material culture. It comprehensively surveys the many factors that cause style; reviews theories that address these factors; builds and tests a unifying framework for integrating the theories; and illustrates the framework with detailed analyses of archaeological and ethnographic data ranging from simple to complex societies. Archaeologists, sociocultural anthropologists, and educators will appreciate the unique unifying approach this book takes to developing style theory.

In Pursuit of English traces how the English language became an object of heated pursuit amid South Korea's rapid neoliberalization, creating the so-called "English fever" of the 1990s and 2000s. Joseph Sung-Yul Park demonstrates that English gained prominence not because of the language's supposed economic value, but because of the anxieties, insecurities, and moral desire instilled by neoliberal Korean society. Park shows how English came to be seen as an index of an ideal neoliberal subject who willingly engages in constant self-management and self-development in response to the changing conditions of the global economy. Bringing together ethnographically-oriented perspectives on subjectivity, critical analysis of conditions of contemporary capitalism, theories of neoliberal governmentality, and sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological frameworks of metapragmatic analysis, In Pursuit of English develops an innovative new direction for research at the intersection language and political economy, challenging researchers to consider subjectivity as the key for understanding the place of language in neoliberalism.

The Exemplary Society examines traditional and modern Chinese beliefs about education, discipline, and social control. It describes the Chinese attitudes towards criminality, sex, youth culture, and other `disorders' of the modernization process. The resulting quest for social control through an exemplary educative and disciplinary society is analysed in this pathbreaking study.

In 1981, the European and World Values surveys started the empirical investigations of value orientations on a global scale. This volume builds on these surveys, which now cover a time period of a quarter of a century. Two chapters discuss basic theoretical and methodological issues of value research, while four chapters focus on contemporary processes of value change: cultural globalization, individualization, secularization and democratization. These analyses of the data from the value surveys give new life to social science classics such as Tocqueville, Durkheim, Marx and Weber. The analyses are also of interest to the practitioners of economic and social development as well as educational and cultural policies. Contributors include: Chris Cochran, Yilmaz Esmer, Ronald Inglehart, Neil Nevitte, Shalom Schwartz, Thorleif Pettersson and Christian Welzel. This book was originally published as Volume 5 no. 2-3 (2006) of Brill's journal 'Comparative Sociology'.

Today more than one million emigres make up the Cuban diaspora, and many, though living in America, still consider themselves part of Cuba. This book captures the struggles and dreams of Cuban Americans. Using this resource, students, teachers, and interested readers can examine the engaging and often controversial details of Cuban immigration. Such details include patterns of immigration, adaptation to American life and work, cultural traditions, religious traditions, women's roles, the family, adolescence, language, and education. Because the author is himself a Cuban American, he does not treat the emigres as mere subjects nor does he tell their story in statistical terms alone. As an "insider," he delves deeply into the soul of the community to illustrate all the dimensions of the Cuban American experience. Gonzalez-Pando's unique vantage point yields not just a detailed account of major events that have influenced the development of the Cuban exile community in the United States, but also a knowledgeable interpretation of the impact of those events. He focuses on the community's self-identification as "exiles," showing how these reluctant emigres have found the strength to succeed in America without surrendering their sense of national and cultural identity. A timeline of Cuban American history, biographical sketches of 20 noted Cuban Americans, a bibliography, and photos complete the text. Like its subjects, this book is thought-provoking and inspiring.

This textbook provides a wide-ranging and accessible examination of the issues of immigration, ethnicity and racism in Britain during the years 1815 to 1945. The study, from the Irish immigration of the mid-19th century to the eve of post-war influxes, examines the key period in British immigration history.

This is the second volume of a two volume work on biosocial approaches to social stratification and human inequality. The volume considers linkages between gender and stratification; between neurohormonal variables and status; and between health, reproduction, and social status. The contributors explore topics that environmentalists shun, and discuss how the effect of biological variables on social stratification may have evolutionary consequences.