Whilst the vast majority of recent research on identity and ethnicity amongst South Asians in Britain has focused upon younger people, this book deals with Bengali elders, the first generation of migrants from Sylhet, in Bangladesh. The book describes how many of these elders face the processes of ageing, sickness and finally death, in a country where they did not expect to stay and where they do not necessarily feel they belong. The ways in which they talk about and deal with this, and in particular, their ambivalence towards Britain and Bangladesh lies at the heart of the book. Centrally, the book is based around the men and womens life stories. In her analysis of these, Gardner shows how narratives play an important role in the formation of both collective and individual identity and are key domains for the articulation of gender and age. Underlying the stories that people tell, and sometimes hidden within their gaps and silences, are often other issues and concerns. Using particular idioms and narrative devices, the elders talk about the contradictions and disjunctions of transmigration, their relationship with and sometimes resistance to, the British State, and what they often present as the breakdown of traditional ways. In addition to this, the book shows that histories, stories and identity are not just narrated through words, but also through the body - an area rarely theorized in studies of migration.

Whilst the vast majority of recent research on identity and ethnicity amongst South Asians in Britain has focused upon younger people, this book deals with Bengali elders, the ‘ first generation’ of migrants from Sylhet, in Bangladesh. The book describes how many of these elders face the processes of ageing, sickness and — finally — death, in a country where they did not expect to stay and where they do not necessarily feel they belong. The ways in which they talk about and deal with this, and in particular, their ambivalence towards Britain and Bangladesh lies at the heart of the book.
Centrally, the book is based around the men and women’ s life stories. In her analysis of these, Gardner shows how narratives play an important role in the formation of both collective and individual identity and are key domains for the articulation of gender and age. Underlying the stories that people tell, and sometimes hidden within their gaps and silences, are often other issues and concerns. Using particular idioms and narrative devices, the elders talk about the contradictions and disjunctions of transmigration, their relationship with and sometimes resistance to, the British State, and what they often present as the ‘ breakdown’ of ‘ traditional’ ways. In addition to this, the book shows that histories, stories and identity are not just narrated through words, but also through the body - an area rarely theorized in studies of migration.

Jase Ellison doesn't remember having acute lymphocytic leukemia when he was three years old. His cancer diagnosis only enters his mind twice a year: once at his yearly checkup at the oncology clinic and one when he attends Camp Chemo in the summer. No one in his "real" life knows about his past, especially his friends at Atlanta West Prep. Mari Manos has never been able to hide her cancer survivorship. She wakes every morning, grabs her pink forearm clip crutches, and starts her day. Mari loves Camp Chemo--where she's developed a healthy crush on fellow camper Jase. At Camp, she knows that she'll never get "the look" or have to explain her amputation to anyone. Jase wants to move on, to never reveal his past. But when Mari transfers to his school, he knows she could blow his cover. That's the last thing he wants, but he also cannot ignore his attraction to her. Mari wants to be looked at like a girl, a person, and not only known for her disability. But how do you move on from cancer when the world won't let you?

Western aid is in decline. Non-traditional development actors from the developing countries and elsewhere are in the ascendant. A new set of global economic and political processes are shaping the twenty-first century. This book engages with nearly two decades of continuity and change in the development industry. In particular, it argues that while the world of international development has expanded since the 1990s, it has become more rigidly technocratic. The authors insist on a focus upon the core anthropological issues surrounding poverty and inequality, and thus sharply criticise what are perceived as problems in the field. Anthropology and Development is a completely rewritten edition of the best-selling and critically acclaimed Anthropology, Development and the Post-Modern Challenge (1996). It serves as both an innovative reformulation of the field, as well as a textbook for many undergraduate and graduate courses at leading international universities.

Western aid is in decline. Non-traditional development actors from the developing countries and elsewhere are in the ascendant. A new set of global economic and political processes are shaping the twenty-first century. This book engages with nearly two decades of continuity and change in the development industry. In particular, it argues that while the world of international development has expanded since the 1990s, it has become more rigidly technocratic. The authors insist on a focus upon the core anthropological issues surrounding poverty and inequality, and thus sharply criticise what are perceived as problems in the field. Anthropology and Development is a completely rewritten edition of the best-selling and critically acclaimed Anthropology, Development and the Post-Modern Challenge (1996). It serves as both an innovative reformulation of the field, as well as a textbook for many undergraduate and graduate courses at leading international universities.

What happens when a vast multinational mining company operates a gas plant situated close to four densely populated villages in rural Bangladesh? How does its presence contribute to local processes of "development?" And what do corporate claims of "community engagement" involve? Drawing from author Katy Gardner's longstanding relationship with the area, "The Gas Field" reveals the complex and contradictory ways that local people attempt to connect to, and are disconnected by, foreign capital. Everyone has a story to tell: whether of dispossession and scarcity, the success of Corporate Social Responsibility, or imperialist exploitation and corruption. Yet as Gardner argues, what really matters in the struggles over resources is which of these stories are heard, and the power of those who tell them. Based around the discordant narratives of dispossessed land owners, urban activists, mining officials, and the rural landless, "The Gas Field" touches on some of the most urgent economic and political questions of our time, including resource ownership and scarcity, and the impact of foreign investment and industrialization on global development.

This is the story of Gemma and me: how I lost her, I suppose. I don't usually tell it to anyone but myself;
I save it for the darkest moments.

Losing Gemma is one of the hottest fiction debuts of the summer. A first novel being compared to Alex Garland's breakthrough novel, The Beach—except the backpacking heroes are girls. And it's already being translated into nine languages.

What makes Losing Gemma truly unforgettable, however, is the read itself; it's as gripping and suspenseful as it is psychologically rich. Two young women have gone looking for adventure, backpacking through India—but only one returns. The other one believes it's all her fault. And the mystery behind what really happened during their fateful visit to a secluded shrine compels the reader forward to a page-turning conclusion that's shocking, strange, and haunting.

Part autobiography, part travelogue, part anthropological study, this is an account of a Western woman living in a Muslim Bangladeshi village for 18 months. On an anthropological level, it demonstrates the beginnings of research in someone else's society, on a more general level, it can be read as a novel or a piece of travel writing. The author writes about the friends she made, the characters she met, the rituals she witnessed, about Islam as practised in that village, and about women living in Purdah. She describes trying, as a Western woman, to live the life of the village women.

Teenager Cason Martin is the youngest ballerina in the Atlanta Ballet Conservatory. She never really had a choice of whether she learned to dance or not. Her mother, the conservatory's artistic director, has made all the decisions in Cason's life. But that's about to change. Cason has been hiding an injury, and it's much worse than anyone imagines. Davis Channing understands all too well what it's like to give up control of your life. He's survived cancer, but his drug addiction nearly killed him. Now he's been sober for seven months and enjoying his community service at the hospital. But just when he thinks he's got it together, Davis's ex-girlfriend, who is still battling her addiction, barrels back into his life. Cason and Davis are not friends. But, as their worlds collide, they will start to depend on one another. Can they both be brave enough to beat the odds?

Long-term migration is one of the most important factors in the formation of cultural identities in the modern world. Katy Gardner looks at the `sending' communities (neglected by academic research) and covers major aspects of Bangladeshi life (land, family structure, marriage, and religion) to show how out-migration has become a central economic and social resource - the route to social, as well as physical, mobility, transforming those who gain access to it.