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This book is a highly original exploration of what life could and
should be. It juxtaposes a philosophical enquiry into the nature of
the good life with an ethnography of people living in a small Irish
town. Attending carefully to the everyday lives of these
people, the ethnographic chapters examine topics ranging from
freedom and inequality to the creation of community and the purpose
of life. These chapters alternate with discussions of similar
topics by a wide range of philosophers in the Western tradition,
from Socrates and the Stoics through Kant, Hegel and Heidegger to
Adorno, Rawls, MacIntyre and Nussbaum. As an ethnography, this is a
book of praise that reveals just how much we can learn from a
respectful acknowledgment of what ordinary modest people have
achieved. By creating community as a deliberate and social project
that provides the foundation for a more fulfilling life, where
affluence has not led to an increase in individualism, the people
in this town have found a way to live the good enough life. The
book also shows how anthropology and philosophy can complement and
enrich one another in an inquiry into what we might accomplish in
our lives.
Few modern innovations have spread quite so quickly as the cell
phone. This technology has transformed communication throughout the
world. Mobile telecommunications have had a dramatic effect in many
regions, but perhaps nowhere more than for low-income populations
in countries such as Jamaica, where in the last few years many
people have moved from no phone to cell phone. This book reveals
the central role of communication in helping low-income households
cope with poverty. The book traces the impact of the cell phone
from personal issues of loneliness and depression to the global
concerns of the modern economy and the transnational family. As the
technology of social networking, the cell phone has become central
to establishing and maintaining relationships in areas from
religion to love. The Cell Phone presents the first detailed
ethnography of the impact of this new technology through the
exploration of the cell phone's role in everyday lives.
Ranging from the classic discussions of a century and more ago, to
evidence for the diversity of consumption at the beginning of the
21st century, this set is a foundation for a rapidly growing area
of contemporary academic study. The volumes reflect a major
transformation in consumption studies. Gone are the simple debates
as to whether consumption is in general a good or bad thing, and
equally simple technical definitions. Instead these volumes
demonstrate the maturity of its subject: that consumption is a
foundation to most people's lives in most parts of the world. The
contents are inter-disciplinary with approaches ranging from
anthropology and media studies, to geography and business studies.
Each discipline provides its own theories, perspectives and
methodologies for studying this topic. These volumes are also
concerned to make use of the rapid increase in studies of actual
consumption across the globe so that many of the examples come from
areas such as China, Japan, India and South America and break free
of what had previously been debates almost exclusively concerned
with Europe and the United States.
This book is a highly original exploration of what life could and
should be. It juxtaposes a philosophical enquiry into the nature of
the good life with an ethnography of people living in a small Irish
town. Attending carefully to the everyday lives of these
people, the ethnographic chapters examine topics ranging from
freedom and inequality to the creation of community and the purpose
of life. These chapters alternate with discussions of similar
topics by a wide range of philosophers in the Western tradition,
from Socrates and the Stoics through Kant, Hegel and Heidegger to
Adorno, Rawls, MacIntyre and Nussbaum. As an ethnography, this is a
book of praise that reveals just how much we can learn from a
respectful acknowledgment of what ordinary modest people have
achieved. By creating community as a deliberate and social project
that provides the foundation for a more fulfilling life, where
affluence has not led to an increase in individualism, the people
in this town have found a way to live the good enough life. The
book also shows how anthropology and philosophy can complement and
enrich one another in an inquiry into what we might accomplish in
our lives.
In Like Leaven in the Dough: Protestant Social Thought in Latin
America, 1920-1950, Carlos Mondragon offers an introduction to the
ideas of notable Protestant writers in Latin America during the
first half of the twentieth century. Despite their national and
denominational differences, Mondragon argues that Protestant
intellectuals developed a coherent set of ideas about freedom of
religion and thought, economic justice, militarism, and national
identity. This was a period when Protestants comprised a very small
proportion of Latin America's total population; their very
marginality compelled them to think creatively about their identity
and place in Latin American society. Accused of embracing a foreign
faith, these Protestants struggled to define national identities
that had room for religious diversity and liberty of conscience.
Marginalized and persecuted themselves, Latin America's Protestants
articulated a liberating message decades before the appearance of
Catholic Liberation Theology.
How do parents and children care for each other when they are
separated because of migration? The way in which transnational
families maintain long-distance relationships has been
revolutionised by the emergence of new media such as email, instant
messaging, social networking sites, webcam and texting. A migrant
mother can now call and text her left-behind children several times
a day, peruse social networking sites and leave the webcam for 12
hours achieving a sense of co-presence. Drawing on a long-term
ethnographic study of prolonged separation between migrant mothers
and their children who remain in the Philippines, this book
develops groundbreaking theory for understanding both new media and
the nature of mediated relationships. It brings together the
perspectives of both the mothers and children and shows how the
very nature of family relationships is changing. New media,
understood as an emerging environment of polymedia, have become
integral to the way family relationships are enacted and
experienced. The theory of polymedia extends beyond the poignant
case study and is developed as a major contribution for
understanding the interconnections between digital media and
interpersonal relationships.
How do parents and children care for each other when they are
separated because of migration? The way in which transnational
families maintain long-distance relationships has been
revolutionised by the emergence of new media such as email, instant
messaging, social networking sites, webcam and texting. A migrant
mother can now call and text her left-behind children several times
a day, peruse social networking sites and leave the webcam for 12
hours achieving a sense of co-presence. Drawing on a long-term
ethnographic study of prolonged separation between migrant mothers
and their children who remain in the Philippines, this book
develops groundbreaking theory for understanding both new media and
the nature of mediated relationships. It brings together the
perspectives of both the mothers and children and shows how the
very nature of family relationships is changing. New media,
understood as an emerging environment of polymedia, have become
integral to the way family relationships are enacted and
experienced. The theory of polymedia extends beyond the poignant
case study and is developed as a major contribution for
understanding the interconnections between digital media and
interpersonal relationships.
In this book, Daniel K. Miller articulates a new vision of human
and animal relationships based on the foundational love ethic
within Christianity. Framed around Jesus' parable of the Good
Samaritan, Animal Ethics and Theology thoughtfully examines the
shortcomings of utilitarian and rights-based approaches to animal
ethics. By considering the question of animals within the Christian
concept of neighbourly love, Miller provides an alternative
narrative for understanding the complex relationships that humans
have with other animals. This book addresses significant
theological questions such as: Does being created in the image of
God present a meaningful distinction between humans and other
animals? What does it mean for humans to have dominion (Gen. 1:28)
over animals? Is meat eating a moral problem for Christians? In
addition to drawing out the significance of Christian theology for
field of animal ethics this book also engages environmental and
feminist ethics. Miller brings a theological perspective to such
questions as: Should care for animals be distinguished from care
for the environment, and what role should human emotions play in
our ethical dealings with other animals? As the title suggests,
this book provides fresh insight into the theological significance
of human relationships with other animals.
Although so much of the life we care about takes place at home,
this private space often remains behind closed doors and is
notoriously difficult for researchers to infiltrate. We may think
it is just up to us to decorate, transform and construct our homes,
but in this book we discover a new form of 'estate agency', the
active participation of the home and its material culture in the
construction of our lives. What do the possessions people choose to
take with them when moving say about who they are, and should we
emphasize the mobility of a move or the stability of what movers
take with them? How is the home an active partner in developing
relationships? Why are our homes sometimes haunted by 'ghosts'?.
This intriguing book is a rare behind-the-scenes expose of the
domestic sphere across a range of cultures. Examples come from
working class housewives in Norway, a tribal society in Taiwan, a
museum in London, tenants in Canada and students from Greece, to
produce a genuinely comparative perspective based in every case on
sustained fieldwork. So Japan, long thought to be a nation that
idealizes uncluttered simplicity, is shown behind closed doors to
harbour illicit pockets of disorganization, while the warmth inside
Romanian apartments is used to expel the presence of the state.
Representing a vital development in the study of material culture,
this book clearly shows that we may think we possess our homes, but
our homes are more likely to possess us.
In this book, Daniel K. Miller articulates a new vision of human
and animal relationships based on the foundational love ethic
within Christianity. Framed around Jesus' parable of the Good
Samaritan, Animal Ethics and Theology thoughtfully examines the
shortcomings of utilitarian and rights-based approaches to animal
ethics. By considering the question of animals within the Christian
concept of neighbourly love, Miller provides an alternative
narrative for understanding the complex relationships that humans
have with other animals. This book addresses significant
theological questions such as: Does being created in the image of
God present a meaningful distinction between humans and other
animals? What does it mean for humans to have dominion (Gen. 1:28)
over animals? Is meat eating a moral problem for Christians? In
addition to drawing out the significance of Christian theology for
field of animal ethics this book also engages environmental and
feminist ethics. Miller brings a theological perspective to such
questions as: Should care for animals be distinguished from care
for the environment, and what role should human emotions play in
our ethical dealings with other animals? As the title suggests,
this book provides fresh insight into the theological significance
of human relationships with other animals.
Presenting a unique study of shopping, the life of shopping centres and the nature of shoppers, this book offers new understanding of the significance of place and the construction of identity. From an historical and thematic survey of the nature of consumer societies and their implications for identity, the authors examine the commercial and historical background of two London shopping centres - Brent Cross and Wood Green. Drawing on their own primary research on shoppers from particular streets, focus groups and survey questionnaires, the authors examine particular issues that arise in the action of locating identity through shopping. Shopping, Place and Identity engages with key debates in contemporary consumption and identity studies, yet presents a firmly grounded study that will complement the more speculative writing about shopping, place and identity that has developed in recent years.
This volume is an ethnographic study of material cultures.
Incorporating local and global dimensions, a team of scholars
explore the changing experiences of cultures in locations as
disparate as the Philippines and Northern Ireland. Material culture
and consumption studies have undergone something of a renaissance
recently. This study provides an up-to-date analysis of a
developing field in sociological and anthropological based
courses.; This book is intended for undergraduate/MA courses on
material culture and consumption within cultural studies and
anthropology degree schemes.
The nature of power - one of the central concerns in social science
- is the main theme of this wide-ranging book. Introducing a much
broader historical and geographical comparative understanding of
domination and resistance than is available elsewhere, the editors
and contributors offer a wealth of perspectives and case studies.
They illustrate the application of these ideas to issues as diverse
as ritualized space, the nature of hierarchy in non-capitalist
contexts and the production of archaeological discourse. Drawing on
considerable experience in promoting interaction between
archaeology and other disciplines concerned with ideology, power
and social transformation, the editors have brought together a
stimulating book that will be of widespread interest amongst
students of archaeology, ancient history, sociology, anthropology
and human geography.
Worlds Apart is concerned with one of the new futures of anthropology, namely the advances in technologies which r eate an imagination of new global and local forms. It also analyses studies of the consumption of these forms and attempts to go beyond the assumptions that consumption either localises or fails to effect global forms and images. Several of the chapters are written by anthropologists who have specialised in material culture studies and who examine the new forms, especially television and mass commodities, as well as some new uses of older forms, such as the body. The book also considers the ways in which people are increasingly not the primary creators of these images but have become secondary consumers.
The nature of power - one of the central concerns in social science - is the main theme of this wide-ranging book. Introducing a much broader historical and geographical comparative understanding of domination and resistance than is available elsewhere, the editors and contributors offer a wealth of perspectives and case studies. They illustrate the application of these ideas to issues as diverse as ritualized space, the nature of hierarchy in non-capitalist contexts and the production of archaeological discourse. Drawing on considerable experience in promoting interaction between archaeology and other disciplines concerned with ideology, power and social transformation, the editors have brought together a stimulating book that will be of widespread interest amongst students of archaeology, ancient history, sociology, anthropology and human geography.
Series Information: The Uses of Knowledge: Global and Local Relations: ASA Decennial Conference Series
Anthropology is usually associated with the study of society, but
the anthropologist must also understand people as individuals. This
highly original study demonstrates how methods of social analysis
can be applied to the individual, while remaining entirely distinct
from psychology and other perspectives on the person. Contributors
draw on approaches from material culture to create fascinating
portraits of individuals, offering analytical insights that convey
ethnographic encounters with often extraordinary people from
Turkey, Spain and Britain to Albania, Cuba, Jamaica, Mali, Serbia
and Trinidad. Exploring relationships to places and spaces such as
social networking sites, to persons such as parents, to ethical
concerns such as fairness and to concepts such as the ideology of
struggle, Anthropology and the Individual shows how the study of
the individual can provide insights into society without losing a
sense of the particularity of the person.
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