Synopses & Reviews
Ranging from African initiation rituals to Japanese anime, and from sex in virtual worlds to Schubert songs, Henrietta Moore focuses on how best we might approach the relationship between critical thought and politics, as well as the dynamics of intimacy and meaning in contemporary cultural and social life. In this challenging and philosophically minded enquiry, she demonstrates the limits and dangers of the dialectics of subjugation and resistance which have dominated social science thinking in the recent past. By taking up what we might mean by, and what we can learn from, the analysis of hopes, desires, and satisfactions, Moore provides alternative ways of approaching some of the major challenges facing social theory. Developing a theory of the ethical imagination, she explores how ideas about the human subject, and its capacities for self-making and social transformation, should underpin new theoretical thinking in the social sciences.
Still Life explores how the ideas of social analysts and ordinary people intertwine and diverge, and argues for an ethics of engagement based on an understanding of the human need to engage with cultural problems and seek social change.
Review
“A very rich book, both in challenging ideas and in vivid ethnographic examples that help to ground these
ideas. The plea for a more forward-looking notion of culture and more interest in people’s creativity in relation
to new technical and politico-economic developments is most welcome and gives broader relevance to this book.
Its originality and masterful handling of a wide range of theories and ethnographies make this inspiring
material for teaching both at the undergraduate and graduate level.”
Peter Geschiere, University of Amsterdam
Review
"A provocative analysis of globalization from an anthropological perspective, rich in ethnographic cases from Africa to Japan to the virtual world of the Second Life … This is a timely volume that will provide for valuable debates on epistemology in anthropology."
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute"This ambitious and wide-ranging work draws together diverse threads of contemporary social and cultural thought. Its generous readings of recent ethnography and social theory are noteworthy for their emphasis on inventiveness and hope, in contrast to the dark visions that mark many familiar accounts of globalization."
Webb Keane, University of Michigan"A very rich book, both in its challenging ideas and in the vivid ethnographic examples that help to ground these ideas. Most welcome is the plea for a more forward-looking notion of culture and more interest in people's creativity as inspired by new technical and politico-economic developments. The book addresses some major new challenges for anthropology and social science in general. Its originality and its masterful handling of a broad range of theories and ethnographies make it a true source of inspiration."
Peter Geschiere, University of Amsterdam
Synopsis
How adequate are our theories of globalization for analysing the worlds we share with others? In this provocative new book, Henrietta Moore asks us to step back and re-examine in a fresh way the interconnections normally labelled "globalization".
Rather than beginning with abstract processes and flows, Moore starts by analysing the hopes, desires and satisfactions of individuals in their day-to-day lives. Drawing on a wide range of examples, from African initiation rituals to Japanese anime, from sex in virtual worlds to Schubert songs, Moore develops a theory of the ethical imagination, exploring how ideas about the human subject, and its capacities for self-making and social transformation, form a basis for reconceptualizing the role and significance of culture in a global age. In this provocative and philosophically minded enquiry, she scrutinises how the ideas of social analysts and ordinary people intertwine and diverge, and argues for an ethics of engagement based on an understanding of the human need to engage with cultural problems and seek social change.
This innovative and challenging book is essential reading for anyone interested in the key debates about culture and globalization in the contemporary world.
Synopsis
How adequate are our theories of globalisation for analysing the worlds we share with others? In this provocative new book, Henrietta Moore asks us to step back and re-examine in a fresh way the interconnections normally labeled 'globalisation'.
Rather than beginning with abstract processes and flows, Moore starts by analyzing the hopes, desires and satisfactions of individuals in their day-to-day lives. Drawing on a wide range of examples, from African initiation rituals to Japanese anime, from sex in virtual worlds to Schubert songs, Moore develops a theory of the ethical imagination, exploring how ideas about the human subject, and its capacities for self-making and social transformation, form a basis for reconceptualizing the role and significance of culture in a global age. She shows how the ideas of social analysts and ordinary people intertwine and diverge, and argues for an ethics of engagement based on an understanding of the human need to engage with cultural problems and seek social change.
This innovative and challenging book is essential reading for anyone interested in the key debates about culture and globalization in the contemporary world.
About the Author
HENRIETTA L. MOORE is William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, and Director of the Culture and Knowledge Program at the Center for Global Governance, London School of Economics.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements.
Chapter One: Thinking Again.
Chapter Two: Still Life.
Chapter Three: Slips of the Tongue.
Chapter Four: Other Modes of Transport.
Chapter Five: Second Nature.
Chapter Six: Arts of the Possible.
Chapter Seven: New Passions for Difference.
Bibliography.