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This book provides an anthropological exploration of the ways in
which crime is perceived and defined, focusing on notions of truth,
intentionality, and evidence. The chapters contain rich
ethnographic case studies drawn from work in the Middle East,
Africa, India, Mexico and Europe. A variety of instances are
discussed, from court proceedings, police reports and newspapers to
moments of conflict resolution and reconciliation. Through analysis
of this material, the authors reflect on how perception of an act
as a crime can differ and how the definition of crime may not be
shared by all societies. The approach takes into consideration
local standards as well as social, legal and contextual
constraints.
This book provides an anthropological exploration of the ways in
which crime is perceived and defined, focusing on notions of truth,
intentionality, and evidence. The chapters contain rich
ethnographic case studies drawn from work in the Middle East,
Africa, India, Mexico and Europe. A variety of instances are
discussed, from court proceedings, police reports and newspapers to
moments of conflict resolution and reconciliation. Through analysis
of this material, the authors reflect on how perception of an act
as a crime can differ and how the definition of crime may not be
shared by all societies. The approach takes into consideration
local standards as well as social, legal and contextual
constraints.
"The Mafia? What is the Mafia? Something you eat? Something you
drink? I don't know the Mafia. I've never seen it." Mafiosi have
often reacted this way to questions from journalists and law
enforcement. Social scientists who study the Mafia usually try to
pin down what it "really is," thus fusing their work with their
object. In Mafiacraft, Deborah Puccio-Den undertakes a new form of
ethnographic inquiry that focuses not on answering "What is the
Mafia?" but on the ontological, moral, and political effects of
posing the question itself. Her starting point is that Mafia is not
a readily nameable social fact but a problem of thought produced by
the absence of words. Puccio-Den approaches covert activities using
a model of "Mafiacraft," which inverts the logic of witchcraft. If
witchcraft revolves on the lethal power of speech, Mafiacraft
depends on the deadly strength of silence. How do we write an
ethnography of phenomena that cannot be named? Puccio-Den
approaches this task with a fascinating anthropology of silence,
breaking new ground for the study of the world's most famous
criminal organization.
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