At a time when thousands of refugees risk their lives undertaking perilous journeys by boat across the Mediterranean, this multidisciplinary volume could not be more pertinent. It offers various contemporary case studies of boat migrations undertaken by asylum seekers and refugees around the globe and shows that boats not only move people and cultural capital between places, but also fuel cultural fantasies, dreams of adventure and hope, along with fears of invasion and terrorism. The ambiguous nature of memories, media representations and popular culture productions are highlighted throughout in order to address negative stereotypes and conversely, humanize the individuals involved.

At a time when thousands of refugees risk their lives undertaking perilous journeys by boat across the Mediterranean, this multidisciplinary volume could not be more pertinent. It offers various contemporary case studies of boat migrations undertaken by asylum seekers and refugees around the globe and shows that boats not only move people and cultural capital between places, but also fuel cultural fantasies, dreams of adventure and hope, along with fears of invasion and terrorism. The ambiguous nature of memories, media representations and popular culture productions are highlighted throughout in order to address negative stereotypes and conversely, humanize the individuals involved.

The central focus of "Reclaiming Canadian Bodies" is the relationship between visual media, the construction of Canadian national identity, and notions of embodiment. It asks how particular representations of bodies are constructed and performed within the context of visual and discursive mediated content. The book emphasizes the ways individuals destabilize national mainstream visual tropes, which in turn have the potential to destabilize nationalist messages.

Drawing upon rich empirical research and relevant theory, the contributors ask how and why particular bodies (of Estonian immigrants, sports stars, First Nations peoples, self-identified homosexuals, and women) are either promoted and upheld as "Canadian" bodies while others are marginalized in or excluded from media representations. Essays are grouped into three sections: Embodied Ideals, The Embodiment of "Others," and Embodied Activism and Advocacy. Written in an accessible style for a broad audience of scholars and students, this volume is original within the field of visual media, affect theory, and embodiment due to its emphasis on detailed empirical and, in some cases, ethnographic research within a Canadian context.

On 13 December 1948, a small ship carrying 347 Estonian refugees fleeing Soviet rule arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax. In "Photography, Memory, and Refugee Identity, " anthropologist Lynda Mannik analyzes the refugee experience through the photographic record of those who made that harrowing voyage across the Atlantic more than sixty years ago.

Drawing on a collection of photographs taken during the voyage and at the Pier 21 detention centre, Mannik asks surviving passengers to describe their migration, their reception in Canada, and their feelings about the terms refugee and boat person. She explores to what extent the photos reflect the passengers' experiences as they remember them and how those experiences compare with representations of refugees in news media, in government rhetoric, and at the Pier 21 Museum in Halifax. Ultimately, Mannik demonstrates that the photographs in the SS "Walnut" collection bear witness to the refugee experience even as the meanings attached to them have changed over time and in shifting contexts.

Building on the "studying up" trend in anthropology, this book offers a theoretically informed guide to ethnographic methods that is practical in its approach while reflecting the challenges and concerns of contemporary ethnography. Students draw from vignettes, all situated within North America, to learn how various methods work in the real world. Practicing ethnography in a contemporary context that is familiar to students allows them to engage in experiential learning that will not only build useful research, organizing, and writing skills, but which will also link to important theoretical concepts in anthropology and the social sciences. The book emphasizes an inductive, ethnographic approach to research. Each chapter offers an overview of a particular method, methodological issue, or research trend, followed by an extended ethnographic vignette by a contemporary anthropologist about their fieldwork experiences. These highly readable vignettes, written exclusively for this volume, showcase how ethnography informs contemporary anthropological theory. They offer a unique way to discuss major concepts, methods and methodologies, and encourage students to practice what they have learned in their own ethnographic projects.