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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Human biology & related topics > Biological anthropology > General
""Moving Through and Passing On" rewards the reader with
intimate, sensitive observations on Fulani in transition in the
Greater Accra region. Its insights into coping, adapting, and
change have validity and applicability elsewhere." --Donald E.
Vermeer, "African Studies Review" Based on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, Oppong develops detailed case studies and draws upon over two hundred in-depth life histories to explore issues of mobility, survival, and identity among this spacially dispersed and diverse group. Using perspectives and insights gained from oral life histories, private and public ceremonies, and ethnic associations, she examines the sites and circumstances in which people profess to be the "same" or "different" from one another. The markers of Fulani identity-as recognized by Fulani and non-Fulani alike-are examined. Oppong also explores the factors that allow them, as a distinct ethnic category, to maintain and perpetuate this identity and viability in Greater Accra. The metaphoric analogy of "construction sites" is employed to define the explicit and implicit events and recurring processes through which people conceive of themselves as Fulani. These locations and contexts of action include ethnic associations, public gatherings, and common rites of passage. The recurring processes include genealogical reckoning of kinship and endogamous marriage transactions, and the ways in which ties of descent and filiation are used to enhance individual survival and family development goals. In tracing Fulani mobility, survival, and identity across space and through time, Oppong connects her investigation to universal experiences of migration, social change, education, and family life. "Moving Through and Passing On" will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, and Africa area specialists. Yaa P.A. Oppong received her doctorate in social anthropology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She is a research fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Europe has become a novel experiment in multiple, tiered and
mediated multiculturalisms. It is now a supranational community of
cultures, sub-cultures and trans-cultures inserted differentially
into radically different political cultural traditions. The
consequences of this re-imagining and re-making of a new Europe are
variously seen to be threatening or utopian. In a post-Communist,
post-national era, multiculturalism has been theorized as a
paternalistic, top-down solution to the 'problem' of minorities, a
dangerous reification of 'culture', or a new way forward to a
politics of 'recognition' and 'authenticity'.
From an interdisciplinary perspective based primarily on European ethnology and political economy, this book explores issues and concepts concerning the link between culture and economy. A historical introduction to key theoretical problems is followed by five empirical chapters discussing aspects of development in rural as well as urban locations. The author considers local leadership, looking in particular at part-time farming, counter-urban migration, and pluriactivity. The classification of informal economy is illustrated with examples drawn from fieldwork, and urban poverty and migration are each explored in detail. A discussion of heritage and identity as a resource for development questions whether the concern with the authenticity of culture(s) may be an inappropriate approach to take. The book concludes with a theoretical reflection on the problematic of culture and economy and a call for a return to the roots of European ethnology as an essentially political science.
The discovery in the 1920s of a huge cache of fossils in the Gobi Desert fuelled a mania for dinosaurs that continues to the present. But the original goal of the expedition was to search for the origins of man. Henry Fairfield Osborn (1857-1935), director of the American Museum of Natural History, stood at the forefront of the debate over human evolution and the expedition aimed to prove his theory of human origins. Osborn rejected the idea of primate ancestry and constructed a non-Darwinian theory that the evolution of man was the long adventurous story of individuals and groups exerting personal will-power and inborn characteristics to achieve both biological and spiritual success. It is an idea that still echoes today. Study of Osborn's thinking, however, has been obscured by the perception that racism influenced his theories. Brian Regal paints a different and more textured picture in this book - he shows that Osborn's views on race, like his political ideas, were motivated by his science, itself grounded in religious doctrine. His belief in the Central Asian origins of man, his role as an activist for eugenic reform and immigration controls, his support for Nordicism, his place in the 'New' versus 'Old' biology debate, his role in the Christian Fundamentalist controversy, the Scopes Monkey trial, and finally his construction of the 'Dawn Man' hypothesis - all stemmed from his desire to support his human evolution theory, and point the way to salvation. This biography charts Osborn's intellectual development, from its roots in the eclectic Christianity of his mother, through his student days with Arnold Guyot, James McCosh, and T.H. Huxley, to his mature work at the American Museum. It examines his trials and tribulations, friendships and conflicts, and the world in which he lived: all contributed to the construction of his theory. It is the dramatic story of a man holding onto ideas that for him represented the very meaning of life itself.
Illustrated with prints from a unique archive of glass and celluloid negatives from the Aegean island of Anafi, this book deals with the life of people who were sent into internal exile under the Metaxas dictatorship (1936-1942). Like others before and after, this regime used imprisonment, internal deportation and exile as a means of containing and isolating a wide variety of people who were thought to be 'public dangers'. Drawing on published and unpublished memoirs and on firsthand accounts of former exiles, it gives a vivid picture of a by no means unified collection of people, facing a common set of problems on an island at the borders of the Greek State. During the Occupation, the Anafi exiles faced privation, hunger and finally the dissolution of the commune. This is a human drama which will interest a wide range of readers.
This book provides a concise overview of human prehistory. It shows how an understanding of the distant past offers new perspectives on present-day challenges facing our species - and how we can build a sustainable future for all life on planet Earth. Deborah Barsky tells a fascinating story of the long-term evolution of human culture and provides up-to-date examples from the archaeological record to illustrate the different phases of human history. Barsky also presents a refreshing and original analysis about issues plaguing modern globalized society, such as racism, institutionalized religion, the digital revolution, human migrations, terrorism, and war. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Human Prehistory is aimed at an introductory-level audience. Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the interdisciplinary, scientific study of human prehistory, as well as the theoretical interpretations of human evolutionary processes that are used in contemporary archaeological practice. Definitions, tables, and illustrations accompany the text.
The Circassians have a long history forged in the crucible of their homeland in the mountains and valleys of the Northwest Caucasus. Of the many peoples of the Caucasus, they are notable for their wide and vociferous diaspora, particularly in Turkey and the Middle East. After living for many centuries in comparative obscurity under the shadow of Russia, the Circassians staged a minor comeback after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As was the case with other regions in the Caucasus, this rebirth into nationhood was swiftly stifled, yet today's Circassian territories have been rediscovered as a cultural and political focus for Circassians globally. This book provides an in-depth description by an "insider" of the ancient beliefs, customs and traditions of a remarkable people - offering insights into a fascinating world, much of which until now remained unknown.
This book provides a concise overview of human prehistory. It shows how an understanding of the distant past offers new perspectives on present-day challenges facing our species - and how we can build a sustainable future for all life on planet Earth. Deborah Barsky tells a fascinating story of the long-term evolution of human culture and provides up-to-date examples from the archaeological record to illustrate the different phases of human history. Barsky also presents a refreshing and original analysis about issues plaguing modern globalized society, such as racism, institutionalized religion, the digital revolution, human migrations, terrorism, and war. Written in an accessible and engaging style, Human Prehistory is aimed at an introductory-level audience. Students will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the interdisciplinary, scientific study of human prehistory, as well as the theoretical interpretations of human evolutionary processes that are used in contemporary archaeological practice. Definitions, tables, and illustrations accompany the text.
This rich source book informs its reader in a comparative perspective about the political and social-economic past and present of fifteen Western, Central and Eastern European countries. This includes the economic and social aspects of the development of the nation state, descriptions of the current political structures and institutions, an account of the types of ethnic composition of the populations, definitions of citizenship and a background to the existing political parties and preferences. The countries involved are: the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Britain, France, Spain and Italy. The authors are scholars in the fields of nationalism and ethnic conflict and they were invited to write their country chapters along the lines of a common format, paying special attention to the notion of state and nation building processes, citizenship definitions and minority issues. This book is a comprehensive reference guide for students and scholars in the fields of social sciences, European studies, history and other related disciplines and generally to those who are interested in the past and present of any one of the large number of countries described.
Is TV news racist? If the purpose of local news is to cover
individual communities and to present issues of interest and
concern to local audiences, why are local newscasts so similar in
markets around the country? These are the questions that motivated
Heider's research, leading to the development of this book.
Recognizing that local news is the outlet through which most people
get their news, Heider ventured into the local television newsrooms
in two moderate-size, culturally diverse U.S. markets to observe
the news process. In this report, he uses his insider's perspective
to examine why local television news coverage of people of color
does not occur in more meaningful ways.
Throughout the twentieth century, Spanish people have deployed
conflicting sexual moralities in their struggle for political
supremacy within the state. The Spanish Gypsies or Gitanos, who
live at the very bottom of the Spanish socio-economic scale, have
appropriated this concern with gender morality and, in the process,
have reinvented themselves as the only honourable Spaniards.
Although the Gitano gender ideology has a distinctively Spanish
flavour, it revolves around a conceptualization of the female body
that is radically different from that of other Spaniards.
This text applies a consumption approach to the study of ethnicity and nationalism, thereby challenging the usual "top down" approach to nation-formation. Contributors look at different forms of consumption, including the national lottery, theme parks, museums, cross-cultural handbooks, pop songs and audio-visual material. Chapters span diverse parts of Asia, from Korea, Japan and China to Malaysia and Sri Lanka.
This book develops the concept of racialisation. It argues that a full understanding of racialized discourse must pay attention to both the particular local circumstances in which they appear, and well-established themes which have unfolded over time. An important aspect of the study is the examination of other discourses with which racialized ideas have co-joined, reflecting the way in which notions of 'race' are socially constructed. The final part of the book returns to debates of the 1980's and argues that the racialisation of unrest in that decade was closely intertwined with conservative perspectives which sought to deny socio-economic causes in favour of explanations based upon the supposed cultural or personal proclivities of those involved.
In an increasing number of countries, women are more likely to emigrate to the United States than men. This book examines this trend, comparing selected case studies of Guatemalan women in Los Angeles who chose to immigrate, with a group of women who did not make their own decisions to immigrate, to determine what the conditions are in Guatemala that prompt women's migration. Kohpahl, a recent doctoral student in anthropology at UCLA, includes discussions of which type of woman decides to immigrate and what the conditions are for the women who remain behind.
This book of interdisciplinary readings on Gypsies is sensitive to the Romani point of view and avoids exoticizing or patronizing the Gypsies and their culture. Recurrent themes in the readings include: the historical oppression of the Gypsies including contemporary xenophobia and violence; the nonstatic, heterogeneous nature of Gypsy cultures; the persistence of racist stereotypes; and personal and institutional Gypsy/non-Gypsy relationships. Nearly all of the classic essays updated for this volume tell stories of the persistance of the Roma in the face of savage atrocities and appalling living conditions.
"A provocative and powerful collection of eclectic writings on the central moral issue of our times". -- Jonathan Kozol, author of Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation "Double Exposure delivers a double dose of smart writing, controlled anger, and devasting common sense". -- Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Worst Years of Our Lives: Irreverent Notes from a Decade of Greed This book provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive review of the major topics surrounding our country s most troublesome and seemingly intractable social problem: the intersection of race and poverty. The sixty-three contributions -- by some of the nation's leading thinkers and activists (Nathan Glazer, Roger Wilkins, Senator Bill Bradley, Brent Staples, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Manning Marable, Howard Winant, Benjamin DeMott, Max Frankel, Herbert Gans, Henry Hampton, Julian Bond, and many others), representing a variety of disciplines and backgrounds -- are organized under seven key topics: affirmative action; the "permanence of racism" thesis; the use and utility of racial and ethnic categories; multiculturalism; immigration; the "underclass" debate; and democracy/equality.
The first encyclopedic history of physical anthropology
One can think of the average height reached at a particular age by individuals as the historical record of their nutritional experience. Medical research has confirmed that nutritional status - and thus physical stature - is related to food consumption and therefore to family income, and therefore to wages and to prices and therefore to the standard of living. Thus, height can be used as a proxy for these economic variables, even if it is also affected by the population's degree of urbanization and disease experience. Why should we be interested in this line of research? For example, anthropometric research can illuminate the well-being of some members of a society: women, children, aristocrats, subsistence farmers, and slaves, for whom market wages are seldom available. In addition, it has been shown that the biological standard of living can diverge from conventional indicators of well-being during the early stages of industrialization. The essays in this volume explore the well-being of diverse populations in Europe and America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Trends and cycles in height are explored among slaves, indentured servants, students in the West Point Military Academy, in the A0/00cole Polytechnique (Paris), in The Citadel (Charleston, South Carolina), Carlschule (Stuttgart) as well as in the British and in the Austrian Army.
Sue Jennings and her three children spent two years on a fieldwork expedition to the Senoi Temiar people of Malaysia: Theatre, Ritual and Transformation is a fascinating account of that experience. She describes how the Temiar regularly perform seances which are enacted through dreams, dance, music and drama, and explains that they see the seance as playing a valuable preventative role in people's lives, as well as being a medium of healing and cure. Her account brings together the insights of drama, therapy and theatre with those of social anthropology to provide an invaluable theoretical framework for understanding theatre and ritual and their links with healing.
Clean and White offers a history of environmental racism in the United States focusing on constructions of race and hygiene When Joe Biden attempted to compliment Barack Obama by calling him "clean and articulate," he unwittingly tapped into one of the most destructive racial stereotypes in American history. This book tells the history of the corrosive idea that whites are clean and those who are not white are dirty. From the age of Thomas Jefferson to the Memphis Public Workers strike of 1968 through the present day, ideas about race and waste have shaped where people have lived, where people have worked, and how American society's wastes have been managed. In the wake of the civil war, as the nation encountered emancipation, mass immigration, and the growth of an urbanized society, Americans began to conflate the ideas of race and waste. Certain immigrant groups took on waste management labor, such as Jews and scrap metal recycling, fostering connections between the socially marginalized and refuse. Ethnic "purity" was tied to pure cleanliness, and hygiene became a central aspect of white identity. Carl A. Zimring here draws on historical evidence from statesmen, scholars, sanitarians, novelists, activists, advertisements, and the United States Census of Population to reveal changing constructions of environmental racism. The material consequences of these attitudes endured and expanded through the twentieth century, shaping waste management systems and environmental inequalities that endure into the twenty-first century. Today, the bigoted idea that non-whites are "dirty" remains deeply ingrained in the national psyche, continuing to shape social and environmental inequalities in the age of Obama. |
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