Synopses & Reviews
When forces of globalisation and local culture converge, distinctive social habitats are created. Drawing on detailed case studies of South Asian, East African, Melanesian and European societies, Identity and Affect provides a contextual analysis of the formation and expression of local identities and of the affective self-constitution of social agents. The contributors examine in particular the growing fragmentation of social relations in these areas and the impact this is having on individuals and communities who, forced into an increasingly outward orientation, are initiating processes of cultural redefinition and social realignment.The different effects of colonialism on identity formation are examined in studies of communalism in Sri Lanka, untouchables in India, cargo cults in New Guinea and the substitution of food exchange for cannibalism in Kaluana. Focusing on Italians in London and south Asians in East Africa, the formation and experience of belonging to cultural diaspora is explored from the perspective of the individual and the social collectivity. The authors conclude with an exploration of some of the defining experiences of modernity, specifically how individuals in industrial capitalist societies have come to see their identity as dependent on modern forms of industrial, public sector work.
Synopsis
Analyses the distinctive social habitats that arise from the interpretation of globalisation, and the relationship between identity, culture and political economy.
Synopsis
A rethinking of popular political movements, this book looks at new, emerging, mass visions and analyses their impact and potential in new ways.
About the Author
C.W. Watson teaches in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. He is editor (with Roy F. Ellen) of Understanding Witchcraft and Sorcery in Southeast Asia (1994) and is the author of Kinship, Property and Inheritance in Kerinci, Central Sumatra (1994).
Table of Contents
Preface
1. The Political Economy of Identity and Affect
Alan Rew & John R. Campbell
PART I: 'Becoming .... '
2. Constructing identities in nineteenth century Colombo
R.l. Stirrat (School of African and Asian Studies At the University of Sussex)
3. Responding to subordination: Identity and change among South Indian Untouchable Castes
David Mosse (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London)
4. Feasting friends, eating enemies: Amity & enmity in Kalauna
Michael W. Young (The Research Scholarl)