The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art
... Por eso, la obra final será siempre más que la simple suma de sus partes (Pearce, 1994). La selección depende de la colecta, y ella de los valores, gustos, predilecciones e intereses de su autor, ya que, en un universo infinito de potenciales coleccionables, solo algunos cumplen con los requisitos para ser coleccionados (Clifford, 1988;Coquet, 1999). El orden y arreglo de las partes en la conformación de la colección obedece a las nociones más íntimas y profundas de su autor respecto de sus unidades, lo que acerca y distingue a cada una de ellas, especialmente sus relaciones y conexiones, su naturaleza y esencia (Akin, 1996). ...
... Ahí reside su carácter colectivo y social, cuya singularidad se expresa únicamente en el individuo que lo practica. La verdad es que en el coleccionismo no caben los estereotipos y habrá tantos como colecciones existan (Clifford, 1988(Clifford, , 1997Pomian, 1990). ...
... Ahí reside su carácter colectivo y social, cuya singularidad se expresa únicamente en el individuo que lo practica. La verdad es que en el coleccionismo no caben los estereotipos y habrá tantos como colecciones existan (Clifford, 1988(Clifford, , 1997Pomian, 1990). ...
Ballester, B. 2024 Redes del coleccionismo y montajes del presente. En Redes del coleccionismo. El rol de coleccionistas, museos y objetos precolombinos en el montaje del presente, editado por B. Ballester, pp. 15-35. Ediciones de la Subdirección de Investigación del Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural, Santiago.
... The American historian James Clifford (1980) reprimanded Said's key mode of argumentation in Orientalism. For him (1980), Said's scathing censure of Orientalism has an inherent contradiction, that is, its "relapse into the essentializing modes it attacks," and also that it is "ambivalently enmeshed in the totalizing habits of Western humanism." ...
... In essence, for Clifford, Said's approach was paradoxical, as he was representational while simultaneously critiquing representation. Moreover, Clifford (1980) questions whether alternatives exist to this dichotomizing and essentializing process: "Said frankly admits that alternatives to orientalism are not his subject. He merely attacks the discourse from a variety of positions, and as a result his own standpoint is not sharply defined or logically grounded" (p. ...
When an American man is asked about Iraqi woman there is a surge of stereotypical clichés that
Iraqi woman is obsequious, a 'site of sexual attraction’, or to use a term ubiquitous in Victorian
England: ‘angel in the house’. So from where do these stereotypes originate? One can contend
that these clichés are ingrained in the Americans' consciousness, wielded by the fulsome
representation of Iraqi woman in media and by politicians, predominantly in the aftermath of
the 9/11, America's war on Iraq, and ISIS overtaking parts of Iraq. Thus, Iraqi women are linked
to Middle Eastern women and Afghan women. They are therefore in dire need of saving.
However, this, by and large, is not the real case. Iraqi women are, for the best of reasons,
outspoken and have contributed a stupendous amount to the fabric of Iraqi society. As such, the
study means to accomplish many objectives, one of which is to provide a conspicuous
amplification of post-orientalism. Post-Orientalism is a theoretical framework within
which non-Westerners can represent their voices. Additionally, it aims to throw some light on the
status of Iraqi woman and Iraqi theatre. This thesis dismantles the false stereotypes of Iraqi
women entrenched in American consciousness and show how resilient and stupendous the Iraqi
women are. Within a similar framework, the thesis makes use of Nadje Al-Ali’s promulgation
which infers that Iraqi women are far from being passive victims. The examined plays include 9
Parts of Desire (2004), Noura (2018) by Heather Raffo, Ishtar in Baghdad (2009) by Rasha
Fadhil, and A Strange Bird On Our Roof (2013) by Abdul Razaq Al-Rubai. The thesis is
divided into three chapters and a conclusion.
... By the late 1980s and into the 1990s, however, all previous theories, including practice theory among them, were summarily sideswiped and rejected (some would say 'swamped') by postmodern and reflexive or experimental approaches in anthropology (e.g., Clifford 1988;Clifford and Marcus 1986;Marcus and Fischer 1986). These new critiques considered anthropology especially through the fact and style of its writing and representation. ...
... In terms of changed perspectives about time, anthropology increasingly considered not just changes across time, but differences in the temporality of lived experience itself. This occurred both 'objectively', in the temporal dimensions of others' practices or customs (e.g., Bourdieu 1977), and 'subjectively', in the critique of anthropological writing that assumed a privileged omnipresent perspective (e.g., Clifford 1988;Greenhouse 1996). It may be noted that this more reflexive and self-critical view of authorship-in-time occurred at the same time that digital communication and time-space compression grew in the Western world and in anthropology-including the shift from the typewriter to the computer as the primary mode of scholarly production, and the shift from hard-copy letters and publications to e-mail and online resources. ...
In recent decades, anthropology has been characterized by an experiential turn that connects scholarship increasingly with practical application, on the one hand, and critical reflexivity, on the other. This article throws these trends into historical relief by synoptically considering past emphases in anthropology from the 1830s through the present. These prior developments contextualize recent trends vis-à-vis long-term patterns and permutations in the history of anthropology. In significant respects, current trends reprise in newly critical and reflexive ways aspects of anthropology that were prominent when it was first becoming a scholarly discipline in the mid-nineteenth century. Anthropology's present experiential turn is especially important as our field faces an increasingly uncertain future into the mid-twenty-first century, including dire challenges of funding for new anthropological research and teaching positions, and the risks of being deprofessionalized.
... En ese sentido, la perspectiva intercultural es fundamental para la práctica decolonial en los museos. Esto se debe a que, como ya se mencionó anteriormente, si los museos de antropología funcionan como mecanismos o dispositivos de poder creadores de identidades (Anderson, 1983), a la vez que marcan una superioridad autoritaria sobre sus colecciones (Bennett, 1995;Clifford, 1988), entonces, es fundamental hacerse cargo de estas relaciones asimétricas provocadas por historias de colonización, comenzando desde el reconocimiento del problema. Dentro de este marco, Ángel Villa Gonzáles (2020), aplica las teorías de interculturalidad a los procesos de descolonización en contextos museográficos, destacando los muchos desafíos a los que se enfrentan los museos de antropología europeos y sus narrativas, que aún se plasman desde la visión occidental. ...
... Sobresalen en este período los trabajos del antropólogo James Clifford (1988), que aborda esta temática en The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art con el que se cierra este pequeño repaso histórico a los cambios en las narrativas o enfoques de los museos antropológicos, puesto que parece una de las bases a seguir considerando para abordar los retos del presente en estos museos. En este libro, fundamental para la antropología actual, el autor advierte sobre las implicaciones que la «representación del Otro» puede tener. ...
Este artículo tiene como objetivo profundizar en los diversos cambios ocurridos. tanto en su conceptualización como en la práctica decolonial, dentro de los museos de antropología. En base a al análisis de una muestra significativa entre los principales museos antropológicos del mundo y una extensa revisión bibliográfica sobre los retos actuales de la descolonización a los que se enfrentan estos museos, este texto reflexiona sobre las diversas maneras en que estas instituciones intentan aportar soluciones. Estas se dividen principalmente en las siguientes prácticas: a) reconocimiento del pasado colonial y sus implicaciones; b) transformaciones en los conocimientos y discursos; y c) participación de las comunidades de origen o sus herederas más directas. Finalmente, con la intención de aportar un ejemplo clásico, se presenta un resumen de la experiencia realizada en el Museo Nacional de Antropología de Madrid, España. Se trata de un caso idóneo para formular propuestas para mejorar el tratamiento de estos aspectos en museos, ya que es un centro que pretende transformar su exposición permanente mediante un proceso participativo. En dicho proceso trabajan las autoras junto al equipo del museo a través de dos proyectos liderados por el grupo de investigación Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Además del estado de la cuestión, la conclusión más relevante del presente artículo para la práctica decolonial gira en torno a la importancia de la generación de nuevos espacios dialógicos y co-creados gracias a procesos participativos diseñados a medida con objetivos transformadores para la gestión de los museos.
... El Austral continuará cubriendo la noticia y exponiendo en sus fotografías al Wenüfoye ( anteriores al despojo de la soberanía mapuche a fines del siglo XIX) incentiva una libre circulación de la bandera, en tanto objeto alejado de ese copyright natural que gozan los productores indígenas de objetos "tradicionales" (Comaroff & Commaroff 2009:37). Al mismo tiempo, lo anterior también convierte en irrelevante cualquier cuestionamiento sobre "calidad", "autenticidad", "procedencia" u otras categorías con las que los compradores suelen examinar con particular tenacidad los mundos materiales indígenas (Clifford 1988). En este sentido, si bien la primera referencia a venta masiva del objeto parece haber sido asumida por la agencia mapuche 5 , con el tiempo se hizo evidente que su comercialización podría ser ejecutada por cualquier persona 6 y su diseño plasmado en distintos objetos nada tradicionales. ...
Resumen Desde su inauguración el Wenüfoye, la bandera del pueblo mapuche, describe una ascendente popularidad, transitando desde ser ondeada en manifestaciones indígenas hacia una gran proliferación de contextos de uso y diversidad de objetos en las que su diseño es expuesto. Sin embargo, las condiciones que posibilitaron dicha trayectoria, las repercusiones en la bandera y su implicancias en la sociomaterialidad mapuche no han sido objeto de análisis histórico ni interpretativo. El presente trabajo articula algunos conceptos de la semiótica, teoría postnacional y teoría populista con un cuerpo variado de fuentes (prensa, periódicos mapuche, fuentes digitales) cuya diversidad, cualitativa y cuantitativa, se condice con las múltiples facetas que el Wenüfoye ha ido desplegando a lo largo de su biografía. Se dibujan 3 momentos interrelacionados, a veces yuxtapuestos, pero diferenciables de este objeto: desde 1992 hasta 1999, inicio de su apertura material o "carrera icónica"; desde 1999 hasta el 2010, cuando en su alero se agruparon heterogéneas demandas proindígenas o "carrera hegemónica"; post 2010, cuando la bandera adquiere la capacidad de ser expuesta en prácticamente una infinidad de contextos, sin precondiciones sociopolíticas. Se finaliza discutiendo la importancia del mundo material en la concepción de una etnicidad no tradicional, sino como categoría política. Palabras clave: Wenüfoye, bandera mapuche, bandera indígena, pueblo mapuche, iconología, populismo, materialidad, historia mapuche. Abstract Since its inauguration, the Wenüfoye, the flag of the Mapuche people, has seen rising popularity, transitioning from being waved in indigenous demonstrations to widespread use in various contexts and objects. However, the conditions enabling this trajectory, its repercussions on the flag, and its implications for Mapuche sociomateriality have not been historically or interpretatively analyzed. This work combines concepts from semiotics, post-national, and populist theory with diverse sources (press, Mapuche newspapers, digital sources) that reflect the multiple facets of Wenüfoye's biography. Three interconnected, sometimes overlapping but distinguishable phases of this object are outlined: from 1992 to 1999, the beginning of its material opening or "iconic career"; from 1999 to 2010, when it grouped diverse pro-indigenous demands under its banner or "hegemonic career"; post-2010, when the flag gained the capacity to be displayed in virtually countless contexts, without sociopolitical preconditions. The work concludes by discussing the importance of the material world in conceiving ethnicity not as a traditional but as a political category. En octubre del 2019 miles de personas, en todas las ciudades de Chile, salieron a las calles a demandar cambios en la estructura socioeconómica del país. Durante estas jornadas de protesta callejera hubo un objeto que parecía estar siempre presente, destacando en la postal más memorables de dicha revuelta: el Wenüfoye, o bandera del pueblo mapuche. La presencia de esta bandera en protestas y luchas sociales no es un fenómeno nuevo; en efecto, de un tiempo a esta parte, el Wenüfoye es un objeto cuya presencia parece obligatoria en manifestaciones políticas. Actualmente, sin embargo, la bande-ra no solo figura en contextos de disputa política, sino también en conciertos de música, encuentros deportivos, espectáculos de televisión, y una gran plétora de instancias, en todo Chile. ¿Cómo fue que una bandera creada por un grupo de personas mapuche a principios de la década de 1990 alcanzó tamaña popularidad? Durante la exitosa biografía del Wenüfoye ¿Cómo se ha relacionado la bandera con distintas esferas de la vida pública chilena? ¿Qué significados moviliza? En este artículo examino cómo la identidad étnica y demandas políticas pueden encontrarse en un proceso de mutua creación a través de los usos de algunos objetos materiales, los contex-tos donde estos se emplazan, y los significados que a estos se les asocian. Considerando a la bandera como una forma material de "narrar la nación" (Bhabha 1994), describiré algunos mo-mentos de su biografía desde una yuxtaposición de conceptos de la semiótica de C. Pierce y de la teoría populista de E. Laclau.
... The objective is to capture the complex and often contradictory ways tourism reshapes the cultural landscape, reflecting both internal adaptations and external influences. Furthermore, the study integrates elements of cultural critique, as proposed by Clifford [5], emphasizing the fluid and hybrid nature of cultural identity as local traditions interact with global tourism forces. By centering on the experiences and perceptions of hosts and tourists, the research endeavors to uncover the multifaceted dimensions of cultural transformation and tourism sustainability. ...
In recent decades, the expansion of global tourism has significantly impacted ethnic minority communities, particularly in rural areas where cultural heritage and local identity are often transformed under the pressures of commercialization and modernization. Santichon Village, a Yunnan Chinese community in northern Thailand, provides a unique case study of how tourism development intersects with cultural preservation. This research was conducted to better understand how such communities navigate the dual imperatives of sustaining their cultural traditions while pursuing economic growth through tourism. By focusing on the cultural construction and transformation of Santichon Village, the study investigates the complex interplay between internal community dynamics and external tourism forces. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and participatory observation, the paper analyzes how the village responds to tourism through four key perspectives: dynamic adaptation, human-nature interaction, cultural diversity promotion, and community empowerment. The findings reveal that Santichon Village has adopted a strategic approach to cultural innovation—transforming traditional Yunnan customs, cuisine, and architecture to meet modern tourist expectations, while retaining core cultural values. Additionally, eco-friendly infrastructure and inclusive community governance have played vital roles in ensuring equitable participation and benefit-sharing among residents. The study argues that tourism development in ethnic rural communities can be sustainable when rooted in local participation, cultural pride, and environmental consciousness. Santichon Village’s experience illustrates a model of culturally sensitive tourism that aligns with the broader goals of social equity and cultural resilience. The insights gained from this case provide practical implications for other rural and ethnic communities grappling with the tensions between cultural continuity and economic modernization.
... Some of Gill and Chippindale's observations and arguments had been prefigured in anthropology by James Clifford (1988) and Sally Price (2001) in their separate discussions of "tribal" or "primitive" art. The tribal art in question comprises non-Western objects that have been misappropriated and, like Cycladic figurines, have been "by turns curiosities, ethnographic specimens, major art creations" (Clifford 1988:189). ...
This article explores archaeological practice as regards the study and publication of unprovenanced artifacts, particularly elements of ancient arms and armor. It describes the reasons why publication is thought to be prejudicial for archaeological research and considers the possible utility of some counterarguments by way of an examination of the publication policy of the European Association of Archaeologists. It concludes by arguing that archaeologists in favor of study and publication need to do more to validate their position.
... Other scholars who examined the literary study of texts are Avni (1990), Johansen (1993), Kalaga (1986Kalaga ( , 1997, Riffaterre (1983), Ruthrof (1992Ruthrof ( , 1997Ruthrof ( , 1999, Scholes (1982), Sheriff (1989Sheriff ( , 1994, Silverman (1983), Rorty (1979Rorty ( , 1982, Foucault (1965Foucault ( , 1977, Kuhn (1970), White (1978White ( , 1987, Geertz (1973Geertz ( , 1983, Clifford (1986Clifford ( , 1988, Marcus (1992), Tyler (1987), Feyerabend (1975. ...
Literature is a mirror image of societal realities. It is an expression of arts, politics, economics, and the social order of the human world. Literature may be poems, novels, plays, performances, and popular literature. It is also individual experiential realities and collective archetypal societal experiences. On the other hand, science is empirical or statistical data-based. Science advances the cause of human development and growth through a well-organized system of facts and figures. These facts and figures are often complex to comprehend by lay people outside the domain of science. However, many researchers have examined literature from the vantage point of politics, arts, performance, humour, and entertainment to the neglect of its deeper scientific literary expressions. Therefore, this article examines the semiotics of climate change, environmental degradation and disasters, and Greenhouse Disasters. This is in a bid to give insight, and impactful knowledge and, at the same time, make the world of science explainable to lay people outside the domain of science. Three poems are purposively selected from Adekunle Idowu James' poetry collection from The Web's Largest Resources for Poets, poems, and Poetry ofStands4 Network. Semiotic theory is used to analyze the data. Data were subjected to literary analyses.
... It is this abstraction that is held culpable for law's insensitivity to life. Abstract rights, especially, rely on a stability and continuity that conflicts with the more malleable sense of self found among individuals and communities (Clifford 1988). They trap people into static definitions by essentializing their identity (Speed 2008), discipline them into conforming to oppressive ideals of citizenship (Povinelli 2002), and endanger forms of life of minority communities (Rifkin 2011). ...
With conventional avenues of civic participation increasingly unavailable to religious minorities in contemporary India, this article follows community workers developing new strategies for articulating political claims. Based on ethnographic research in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, I document three key shifts in their advocacy: toward constitutional education, women's participation, and capacity‐building. These strategies draw upon the abstraction of legal form to engage the state while circumventing the challenges posed by religious identity. Contrary to the longstanding anthropological critique of legal abstraction as flattening social realities, I argue that it provides a productive mode of political embodiment in a milieu where religious difference has become a disqualifying mark. This analysis invites a revaluation of abstraction in anthropological thinking, suggesting its potential to challenge a politics of visibility while offering an alternative to withdrawal from representation.
... However, the weight and relevance for the decision varied. Clifford (1988) provided a verbatim account of the 41 days of testimony, analysing the arguments presented and the types of witnesses utilised, and contrasted the trial's evidence with his own perspective. He argued that identity encompasses two dimensions: one related to individual self-perception and another tied to collective, social meaning. ...
... Rather than smoothing over the inherent messiness of culture and human experience, the ambiguities themselves reveal important truths about social life that would be lost in superficial representations of coherence. It is by grappling with the messy complexities that ethnographers are able to provide deeper insights into the nuances of culture and the human condition (Clifford, 1988;Clifford & Marcus, 1986;Tyler, 1987). ...
This dissertation explores the complexities of Western digital research in non-Western contexts through an illustrative case study in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. In addressing these challenges, it calls for more pluralistic, site-specific co-design approaches to create inclusive and just digital futures.
... Rather than smoothing over the inherent messiness of culture and human experience, the ambiguities themselves reveal important truths about social life that would be lost in superficial representations of coherence. It is by grappling with the messy complexities that ethnographers are able to provide deeper insights into the nuances of culture and the human condition (Clifford, 1988;Clifford & Marcus, 1986;Tyler, 1987). ...
This chapter provides a reflection of the methodological approach taken in my research collaboration with the Amazigh community. I aim to elaborate on the ethos that guided our fieldwork and examine key decisions we made regarding research methods and ethical considerations. A central principle underlying our methodology is a commitment to sustained community engagement and relationship building as the basis for mutual partnership.
... Rather than smoothing over the inherent messiness of culture and human experience, the ambiguities themselves reveal important truths about social life that would be lost in superficial representations of coherence. It is by grappling with the messy complexities that ethnographers are able to provide deeper insights into the nuances of culture and the human condition (Clifford, 1988;Clifford & Marcus, 1986;Tyler, 1987). ...
... Rather than smoothing over the inherent messiness of culture and human experience, the ambiguities themselves reveal important truths about social life that would be lost in superficial representations of coherence. It is by grappling with the messy complexities that ethnographers are able to provide deeper insights into the nuances of culture and the human condition (Clifford, 1988;Clifford & Marcus, 1986;Tyler, 1987). ...
The character of rural Morocco is changing due to increasing tourism and social media usage. This paper outlines the different consequences of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage among people working in the tourism sector as part of the transitional economy in a remote area. In this region, tourism has grown into one major income sources for a few valley inhabitants—mostly men with a school education, digital and language skills, and who are financially stable.
... I felt somewhat disappointed, however, that a linear historical narrative (beginning with allusions to the mythical foundation of Tenochtitlán and ending with the Conquest as well as a coda alluding to contemporary excavations in Mexico City) had been chosen as a guiding principle for physical movement through the exhibition since this appeared to undermine the claims for curatorial innovation. Having said that, the curators had striven to make the visitors' experience much more than a traditionally visual one. 1 For while the majority of the objects on display do demonstrate how the institutional categories of 'document of historical memory', 'artifact' and 'artwork' might coexist in one decontextualized and isolated object (and, incidentally, as I shall go on to explain, also become a commodity, …and even a logo) (Clifford 1988) (Gell 1999) behind a glass case, and thus, conform to traditional conceptions of the ocularcentric museum, the curators added an atmospheric wind-like-flute sound to accompany the exhibition. Along with the eerie soundtrack, use of stark lighting and shadow created a spooky effect around the most gruesome looking stone figures, while the erection of four illuminated replicas of stairways leading, presumably, up to the top of a pyramid, convinced visitors that they were perhaps to be the next sacrificial victims. ...
Unpublished review of the Moctezuma Exhibition at the British Museum in 2009/10
... For, if in the Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler exhibition, the curators had undertaken the standard transformation of sacred objects, tools and ornaments into aesthetic works for contemplation, here in Revolution on Paper, the decontextualization of essentially propagandistic works gave the overall impression of a series of solemn archival documents. At the same time, the exhibited pieces demonstrated how the institutional categories of 'document of historical memory', 'artifact' and 'artwork' might coexist in one de-contextualized and isolated object behind a glass case, and thus, conform to traditional conceptions of the ocularcentric museum (Clifford 1988). The pieces on view bring to mind the fact that although the earliest European sensory experiences in museums had been tactile as well as visual, the latter sense, with its emphasis on passive contemplation had won the day by the late nineteenth century, and become characteristic of acceptable social behavior when the visitor was confronted by a displayed object (Classen and Howes 2006). ...
Review of the Revolution on Paper exhibition at the British Museum in 2010
... En respuesta a esta historia, en la última parte del siglo xx, los antropólogos renovaron su relación con sus sujetos de estudio, principalmente comunidades indígenas, creando nuevos métodos de conocimiento y comprensión. Redefinieron radicalmente su disciplina para generar conocimiento de manera ética y en relación con aquellos que investigan, desarrollando entonces un modelo no jerárquico de comprensión (ver, por ejemplo, Clifford, 1988;Geertz, 2008). El objetivo de dicho libro fue, por tanto, aplicar este enfoque a la comprensión del arte y su historia. ...
El artículo se centra en el proyecto de creación artística de una pintura de gran formato en la sala de Arqueología del Mundo del Museo de Arqueología y Antropología de la Universidad de Cambridge, iniciado en 2023. El objetivo del proyecto fue dinamizar la sala y enriquecer la experiencia museal, interrogando las colecciones como resultado de momentos de encuentro y desencuentro entre diferentes audiencias y el museo, a lo largo del tiempo y en diferentes espacios. Se buscó explorar la complejidad de las relaciones entre lo tangible y lo imaginario, el presente y el pasado, lo institucional y lo personal, así como lo individual y lo histórico. El método consistió en la participación activa de diversos grupos, incluyendo el equipo de servicios al público, personal del museo, estudiantes y grupos coordinados que participaron en talleres y actividades especiales. Los participantes fueron alentados a reflexionar sobre sus propias relaciones con objetos específicos presentes en la sala, en depósitos, en otros museos o en colecciones personales y familiares. Las fuentes del proyecto incluyeron los objetos arqueológicos de la sala, las experiencias y memorias de los participantes, y las colecciones asociadas tanto institucionales como personales. La conclusión más relevante del proyecto es que la intervención artística de esta pintura a gran escala permitió revisar críticamente la inclusión de prácticas alternativas y ejercicios multivocales en la creación de espacios museales. Estos enfoques resultaron propicios para ofrecer experiencias significativas y relevantes para los visitantes, logrando así una reinterpretación y resignificación de los objetos exhibidos. El artículo discute los logros, desafíos y dificultades del proceso, subrayando la importancia de estas prácticas en la transformación de la experiencia museal.
... While this chapter focuses on things in ethnographic museums, it is not about the ethnographic museum as an institution. Yet it is informed by recent and ongoing debates about ethnographic museums as institutions related to the formation of the colonial state and their need to change (Clifford 1988;Lonetree 2012;Phillips 2011), particularly: the nature of museum relationships with communities and related power dynamics; the authority of museums to represent cultures; and issues of ownership, which continue to be questioned in museological theory (Boast 2011;Clifford 1997;Karp et al. 1992;Krmpotich and Peers 2013;Peers 2019;Peers and Brown 2003). Overall, an aspect that has emerged from ongoing attempts to decolonise the museum was the realisation that museums have a social responsibility towards their various museum communities, which requires collaborative and polyvocal approaches (Brown 2017). ...
... The oppressive architecture of Tzenah, with its exotic landscape and deteriorating structures, serves as a metaphor for the entangled constraints faced by women. As Clifford (1988) observes, cultural representations often oscillate between fascination and dehumanization. In Out Past the City Gates, this oscillation is evident in the juxtaposition of the exotic allure of Moroccan spaces with the harsh realities of confinement and erasure experienced by its women. ...
This study examines the issues of rescue, oppression, and agency in reclaiming Moroccan gendered identities through a comparative reading of S. Benson's Thamar: The Jewess of Fez (1874), Alec Dawson's Out Past the City Gates (1900), and A Moorish Hero and Juanita (1900). My aim is to investigate how these colonial tropes intertwine to frame women, during colonial Morocco, within the structure of oppression while offering insights into resistance and agency. This article also highlights the thematic resonance and divergence of the short stories under scrutiny, exposing how the interplay of gender, power, and identity is constructed, contested, and re-imagined. These out-of-print travel narratives elucidate the multilayered socio-historical realities of colonial Morocco, revealing the ways in which local patriarchal practices intersect with colonial ideologies to marginalize women. Benson and Dawson's portrayals of female characters mirror Orientalist tendencies, though they also offer moments of resistance and agency, in which women reclaim their voices. By exerting their agency and recasting themselves from the pressurized roles of victim and savior, these female characters challenge and subvert oversimplified readings of domination through acts of resistance. Through its combination of feminist and postcolonial theories, this paper places these narratives within the discourse of identity, power dynamics, and representation. Furthermore, this article adds to the body of literature that foregrounds the complex roles of women as active agents and shows how these out-of-print short narratives remain vital to reshaping historical and literary understandings of gendered identities.
... (...) Se a autenticidade é relacional, não pode haver essência exceto como uma invenção política, cultural, em uma situação tática. (...) É mais do que nunca crucial que diferentes povos formem imagens concretas e complexas uns dos outros, bem como das relações de conhecimento e poder que os conectam; mas nenhum método científico soberano ou postura ética pode garantir a verdade de tais imagens (Clifford, 1988). ...
Os modos, epistemologias, objetos e problemas diferenciais de psicanálise e antropologia tendem a distanciar os dois campos. No entanto, eticamente e em alguns parâmetros de problemas de fundo de enunciação das duas disciplinas, elas também se aproximam. Este artigo investiga essas dissociações e articulações. Por fi m, ele propõe uma utilização mais consequente e própria da psicanálise por antropólogos, no nível da investigação e partilhamento dos próprios sonhos com os outros, fontes humanas de suas observações.
... This focus can result in static and reductionist representations of societies, neglecting the fluid and evolving character of cultural and economic practices. Clifford (1988) cautioned against the perception of cultural practices as immutable, underscoring the importance of contextualizing ceremonial exchanges within their historical and political frameworks to achieve a more nuanced analysis. ...
Ceremonial economics explores how traditional values, myths, and rituals intersect with economic practices and institutions. It differentiates between “ceremonial” practices based on tradition and cultural values and “instrumental” practices based on efficiency and problem-solving capabilities. This field, rooted in institutional economics, emphasizes the tension between preserving established social orders and fostering innovation. Scholars can gain insights into the broader implications of economic systems by understanding how ceremonial practices influence economic behavior and social cohesion. This pluralistic approach comprehensively analyzes how ceremonial and instrumental practices interact within various economic systems. The main goal of this study is to develop a detailed and all-encompassing framework for ceremonial economics. A key aspect of this will involve comparing ceremonial economics principles with institutional economics. Additionally, the study will delve into various aspects of ceremonial economics, specifically focusing on cultural and social aspects. Furthermore, the study conducts four examples to provide practical insights into the application of ceremonial economics.
... In addition to Geertz, other prominent figures in symbolic anthropology include Victor Turner, Mary Douglas, and David Schneider, who have significantly contributed to the development of this field. 8 For further readings on postcolonial criticism, see: Asad, 1973;Said, 1978;Fanon, 1961;Spivak, 1988;Clifford, 1988;Hall, 1990;Bhabha, 1994;McClintock, 1995;Appadurai, 1996;Cooper and Stoler, 1997. 9 For further readings on feminist anthropology, see: Ortner, 1972;Rosaldo & Lamphere, 1974;Rubin, 1975;Reiter, 1975;Leacock, 1981;Ortner & Whitehead, 1981;Strathern, 1988;Butler, 1990;Abu Lughod, 1993;Visweswaran, 1994. ...
In this article, I critically examine the anthropocentric attitudes that have historically shaped ethnography, focusing on their influence on key concepts such as researcher, researched agent, culture, and field. These perspectives, which took root during the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries as the West grew increasingly fascinated with “the other,” persisted well into the 19th century. Ethnographers like Lewis Henry Morgan, Edward Burnett Tylor, and Johann Jakob Bachofen conceptualized culture as humanity’s dominion over nature. Similarly, the second generation of ethnologists—including Bronisław Malinowski, Edward E. Evans-Pritchard, and Claude Lévi-Strauss—continued to approach their fieldwork through an anthropocentric lens, often neglecting the agency of non-human actors. This article also engages with contemporary critiques informed by posthumanism, veganism and object-oriented ontology, which challenge the entrenched nature-culture dichotomy. Drawing on the works of scholars such as Philippe Descola, Anna Tsing, Eduardo Kohn, and Donna Haraway, I advocate for a redefinition of "the field" that includes non-human actors. Transcending anthropocentric boundaries necessitates an ethical and methodological reevaluation of foundational concepts like culture, the field, and the researcher/researched dynamic. It also calls for a broader transformation in interdisciplinary qualitative research practices. By emphasizing the indispensability of multispecies approaches, this article argues for a shift away from anthropocentric research paradigms. Such approaches are essential for achieving a more inclusive and comprehensive ethnographic analysis, one that better reflects the complex interrelations between human and non-human actors.
... In addition to Geertz, other prominent figures in symbolic anthropology include Victor Turner, Mary Douglas, and David Schneider, who have significantly contributed to the development of this field. 8 For further readings on postcolonial criticism, see: Asad, 1973;Said, 1978;Fanon, 1961;Spivak, 1988;Clifford, 1988;Hall, 1990;Bhabha, 1994;McClintock, 1995;Appadurai, 1996;Cooper and Stoler, 1997. 9 For further readings on feminist anthropology, see: Ortner, 1972;Rosaldo & Lamphere, 1974;Rubin, 1975;Reiter, 1975;Leacock, 1981;Ortner & Whitehead, 1981;Strathern, 1988;Butler, 1990;Abu Lughod, 1993;Visweswaran, 1994. ...
In this article, I critically examine the anthropocentric attitudes that have historically shaped ethnography, focusing on their influence on key concepts such as researcher, researched agent, culture, and field. These perspectives, which took root during the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries as the West grew increasingly fascinated with "the other," persisted well into the 19th century. Ethnographers like Lewis Henry Morgan, Edward Burnett Tylor, and Johann Jakob Bachofen conceptualized culture as humanity's dominion over nature. Similarly, the second generation of ethnologists-including Bronisław Malinowski, Edward E. Evans-Pritchard, and Claude Lévi-Strauss-continued to approach their fieldwork through an anthropocentric lens, often neglecting the agency of non-human actors. This article also engages with contemporary critiques informed by posthumanism, veganism and object-oriented ontology, which challenge the entrenched nature-culture dichotomy. Drawing on the works of scholars such as Philippe Descola, Anna Tsing, Eduardo Kohn, and Donna Haraway, I advocate for a redefinition of "the field" that includes non-human actors. Transcending anthropocentric boundaries necessitates an ethical and methodological reevaluation of foundational concepts like culture, the field, and the researcher/researched dynamic. It also calls for a broader transformation in interdisciplinary qualitative research practices. By emphasizing the indispensability of multispecies approaches, this article argues for a shift away from anthropocentric research paradigms. Such approaches are essential for achieving a more inclusive and comprehensive ethnographic analysis, one that better reflects the complex interrelations between human and non-human actors.
The article explores the relevance of Wacław Sieroszewski’s work, Korea. Klucz Dalekiego Wschodu [Korea: The Key to the Far East] (1905). It focuses on the documentation of selected significant locations, such as traditional villages, important cities, historical sites, etc. The analysis is conducted with an aim to determine to what extent, and perhaps also why, some locations treated by Sieroszewski with particular attention still prove to be significant indicators of Korean cultural identity. It is also an attempt to discover the fascinating interplay between Sieroszewski’s practical and James Clifford’s theoretical approaches to entering a new culture.
Культурна революція, яку називають «культурно-цивілізаційною війною», дедалі більше впливає на суспільства. Глобальні, регіональні та національні зрушення в соціальній, культурній, економічній та політичній сферах сприяють кризам ідентичності та аксіологічній дезорієнтації. Постмодерністська культура відкидає антропологічні основи Загальної декларації прав людини та пов'язаних з нею правових документів, загрожуючи греко-юдео-християнській спадщині Європи. У цьому контексті новомова постає як політично заряджений мовний інструмент, що принижує комунікацію та формує нові, нав'язані моделі мислення. Вона сприяє переосмисленню основних понять, таких як «сім'я», «шлюб», «материнство» та «гендер», змінюючи людське саморозуміння. Ця стаття має на меті продемонструвати, як поточна культурна революція, переплетена з постмодернізмом та постмодернізмом, переосмислює фундаментальні поняття та цінності, впливаючи на ідентичність, сім'ю та права людини в умовах глобалізації та міграції. Методологія. Основний метод дослідження включає критичний аналіз наукової літератури та джерельних документів з використанням когнітивного мислення, синтезу, дедукції та індукції. Цей міждисциплінарний підхід, що спирається на філософію, соціологію та право, дозволяє провести нюансований аналіз того, як новомова та культурні наративи змінюють права людини та соціальні норми. Новизна. Це дослідження пропонує оригінальну перспективу, пов'язуючи появу новомови з процесами глобалізації та культурної трансформації. Воно розкриває напруженість між традиційними європейськими цінностями та постмодерністськими/постгуманістичними тенденціями, підкреслюючи зростаючу невизначеність у визначенні ключових категорій ідентичності. Висновки. Автори стверджують, що культурна революція, рушійна сила якої – постмодерністські течії, трансформує аксіологічні та соціальні основи. Глобальна міграція посилює цей зсув, сприяючи мультикультурним реаліям та індивідуальній дезорієнтації. Результати закликають до поновлення уваги до людської гідності та нормативної узгодженості у світі, що швидко змінюється.
Regardless of the way multicultural policies and philosophies are portrayed, in recent years across Europe it has become popular to think about the necessity of their retreat. One of the main critiques sounds that the over-emphasis on recognition of ethnocultural diversity has been responsible for a breakdown in social and political solidarity. Another popular critique is that a minority right discourse should deny ambiguity and fix difference in the realms of identity, or cultural practice, in defense of distinct cultures. However, since cultures tend to be patriarchal, multicultural policies that protect distinct cultures encourage the subordination of women. This critique has been influentially formulated by Susan Moller Okin and has launched a fierce debate where feminist authors argue that multiculturalism, despite its well-meaning ambitions, is bad for women. In this article, we elaborate the critique and illustrate why it does not necessarily affect the position of liberal multiculturalism as defended by Will Kymlicka.
In the edginess of our predicament, violences of the-isms (capitalism, colonialism, imperialism) impact life: ecological degradation and inequalities are some matters of concern and care, regionally and planetary. Such crisis accentuates the call for relational education, a worlding process emerging within and being immanent to practice, probing power-relations, decentring the human and highlighting the enmeshment of peoples and environment. Wilding pedagogies is one way of responding to such call. This contribution, a postqualitative assemblage, attends to the formation of wild as a philosophical concept emerging in-practice working the relationality of theory, artmaking and storying. It defamiliarizes domesticated visions of education by mapping the movement of practices of peoples and conditions of life in (and beyond) Southeast Mediterranean. In so doing, it problematises new materialist, Deleuzoguattarian and indigenous philosophies and cosmologies and suggests such frictions crucial for environmental education. I re-visit and re-enliven-in Karen Barad's discussion-projects with children, communities, and the more-than-human world in Southeast Mediterranean through artistic (urban sketching) and teaching-pedagogical practice probing wildings as dynamic, unfolding process refuting isolation and fixity. Wildings emerges as differentiating process reworking ethical relations, intensifying and nuancing wild pedagogies and re-imagining environmental education.
Ethnography, a means of representing the culture of a people graphically and in writing, as well as ethnographic museums, institutions devoted to conserving, contextualizing, and displaying indigenous heritage for wider audiences, strive to portray cultures adequately and on their own terms. However, given that the ethnographic enterprise has virtually always been carried out by and within non-indigenous scientific structures, its products are at a high risk of being tinged by the Western lens, in particular Western scientific theory and practice. This article focuses on the ethnographic record of South American fire fans-defined by ethnographers as tools for fanning cooking fires-to demonstrate how such biases can be removed by taking stock of the entirety of the relevant ethnographic heritage and analyzing it through the prism of the documented practices in which such objects are enmeshed, including the very practice of ethnography. In the light of such practices, the ethnographic record of fire fans deconstructs into a corpus of historical documents revealing the momentary, yet meaningful, technological choices made by the indigenous craftsmen who produced the objects and exposing Western categories, Kulturkreise mentality, and culture-area schemata imposed on them. Resumo: A etnografia, enquanto meio de representar a cultura de um povo graficamente e por escrito, bem como os museus etnográficos, instituições dedicadas a conservar, contextua-lizar e exibir o patrimônio indígena para um público mais amplo, se esforçam para retratar as culturas de forma adequada e em seus próprios termos. No entanto, dado que o fazer etno-gráfico quase sempre foi realizado por e dentro de estruturas científicas não indígenas, seus produtos correm o risco de serem tingidos pelas lentes ocidentais, em particular pela teoria e prática científicas ocidentais. Este artigo trata do registro etnográfico de abanos para fogo sul-americanos-definidos por etnógrafos como instrumentos para abanar fogueiras-para demonstrar como tais preconceitos podem ser removidos fazendo um balanço da totalidade do patrimônio etnográfico relevante e analisando-o através do prisma das práticas nas quais tais objetos estão enredados, incluindo a própria prática etnográfica. À luz de tais práticas, o registro etnográfico dos abanos para fogo se desconstrói em um corpus de documentos históricos revelando as escolhas tecnológicas momentâneas, mas significativas, feitas pelos artesãos indígenas que produziram os objetos e expondo as categorias ocidentais, a mentali-dade Kulturkreise e os esquemas de tipo 'áreas culturais' impostos sobre eles. Palavras-chave: coleção; abanos para fogo; planícies da América do Sul. Konrad Rybka 122 INDIANA 37.2 (2020): 121-146 To see ethnography as a form of culture collecting (not, of course, the only way to see it) highlights the ways that diverse experiences and facts are selected, gathered, detached from their original temporal occasions, and given enduring value in a new arrangement. Collecting-at least in the West, where time is generally thought to be linear and irreversible-implies a rescue of phenomena from inevitable historical decay or loss. The collection contains what "deserves" to be kept, remembered, and treasured. The Predicament of Culture, James Clifford (1988, 231)
Pacific Research Methodologies have been used to acknowledge relationality and responsibilities to research participants. In the context of the University of British Columbia where Pacific peoples are not represented, vakaturaga (a Fijian methodology about practicing chiefly obligations to others) can be applied to support the assertion of Fijian epistemology in diaspora, invite the tracing of kinship to place the researcher in a lineage of those who have come before, and challenge the reader and researcher to actively envision long-term responsibility to participants. Vakaturaga can be practiced using collaborative poetry that outlines kinship and reminds the reader and researcher of their responsibilities, alongside outlining explicit commitments to the application of the research findings. Overall, vakaturaga can support the continued practice of obligations to participants’ shared stories and can support the work of representing the Pacific at the University of British Columbia.
16. yüzyıl Avrupa’sında skolastik bilginin sarsıldığı, deneyimin otorite kazandığı Rönesans hümanizmi ve Reform atmosferinde seyahat yazını, yeni bilgi biçimlerinin üretildiği önemli bir alana dönüşmüştür. Bu makale, 16. yüzyılda Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nu ziyaret eden iki Avrupalı seyyahı, Hans Dernschwam’ın Tagebuch’u (Seyahat Günlüğü) ile Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq’in Turcicae Epistolae’sini (Türk Mektupları) karşılaştırmalı olarak inceleyerek, erken modern seyahat yazınının tarihi belge niteliğinin yanı sıra etnografik-anlatısal bilgi üretim pratikleri içerdiğini de ileri sürmektedir. Çalışmanın amacı, bu seyahatnameleri tarihsel-etnografik malzemeler olarak konumlandırmak ve seyahat anlatılarının kültürel temsil biçimleri ile söylemsel stratejilerini analiz etmektir. Karşılaştırmalı metin analizi yöntemiyle gerçekleştirilen çalışmada, Busbecq’in Osmanlı’yı reformcu bir model olarak sunan pragmatik anlatısıyla, Dernschwam’ın Protestan ahlâkının perspektifinden Osmanlı’yı dini ve kültürel yozlaşmanın simgesi olarak dışlayan yaklaşımı arasındaki söylemsel gerilim ortaya konmaktadır. Bu metinlerin, yalnızca bireysel izlenimlerden ibaret olmayan; ideolojik, kültürel ve epistemolojik kodlarla örülü metinler olduğu savunulmaktadır. Makale, Dernschwam ve Busbecq karşılaştırması üzerinden, erken modern seyahat anlatılarının modern etnografi için bir “saha” oluşturduğunu savunarak, örnek metinlerin tarihsel-etnografik yöntemle okunmasının, günümüz Osmanlı araştırmaları ve kültürel çalışmalar alanı için sunduğu özgün metodolojik ve teorik katkılara dikkat çekmektedir.
Drawing on anthropological and ethnographic developments in the study of urban tourism, this essay offers a description of Sarajevo’s tourist landscapes from the perspective of an ethnographic tourist, detailing how time is inscribed in the cityscape and how the events of the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ensuing war of the 1990’s affected not only the landscape but also the presentation of the city’s most visited tourist attractions. Through tourist trajectories and tourist landscapes, the essay offers an ethnographic account on how collective memory takes place when the social worlds of locals and tourists collide. Through the figure of the modern contemporary tourist and the notions of hauntology and nostalgia as guiding concepts, questions about the commodification and consumption of heritage, collective memory and expressions of tourism, particularly dark tourism, highlight the social and political organisation of post-Dayton Bosnia and Herzegovina – the ethnopolis – but also some discontinuities and important components of our global present times.
Cet article met en exergue les bénéfices du dialogue entre art et anthropologie à partir d’une recherche-création co-créée entre l’auteure et un danseur sénégalais. Quelle est la valeur pour la connaissance (anthropologique et artistique) lorsque la création chorégraphique et l’ethnologie se rencontrent ? En interrogeant les différences et les convergences en matière de processus de création et de représentation d’une performance, l’auteure met en lumière les enjeux interculturels au sein de la création, en miroir avec les logiques sociales. Les mécanismes d’exclusion et de racisme structurel au sein du champ chorégraphique (suisse) ainsi que dans la société y sont visibilisés. Visant à contribuer aux connaissances sur la créativité, la genèse du geste et la transmission du mouvement par un exemple venu d’ailleurs, l’article rend compte d’une ethnographie collaborative éthique, soulignant le potentiel de la recherche-création pour amenuiser la violence épistémique inhérente à la rencontre ethnographique, notamment dans le rapport enquêté-enquêteur.
Given the dramatic impact of human action on the environment, evidenced in climate change and biodiversity loss, it has been widely recognized that humanity needs to reimagine its environmental relations. Yet, the deeply entrenched separation of concepts of “culture” and “nature” in Western thought and museums forms a major impediment. Western institutions and legal frameworks define and govern sites of “natural” and/or “cultural” significance; meanwhile, museums promote “cultural” and/or “natural” heritage. Reflecting recent and ongoing efforts to deconstruct the “nature/culture” divide, and to creatively reimagine museum collections as archives of environmental knowledge, this special issue considers how the museums of the future might lead the way in reimagining and reconceptualizing human–environment relations. Advocating a cross-disciplinary approach across anthropology, the arts, and natural history, the authors explore three pressing questions: (1) As knowledge-generating institutions, how were museums historically implicated in the conceptual and actual segregation of “natural” and “cultural” knowledge, and to what extent does this continue to be the case? (2) How can we access materialized human–environment relations conserved in material things, such as Indigenous “artifacts” and “specimens,” and generate novel insights across different systems of being and knowing, such as Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies? (3) In what ways can innovative forms of scholarly engagement, curatorship, and experimental exhibitions reactivate historical collections as creative technologies, and so promote the reimagination of human–environmental relations on a larger scale?
This article examines animated films produced in Britain for oil companies in the mid-twentieth century and their representation of, and contribution to, the international and transnational geography of petroleum extraction. Within these films, the graphic basis of hand-drawn animation meant it was often used to display and propel into motion cartographic and diagrammatic representations derived from a range of disciplinary and intermedial contexts, which served to navigate and construct spatial and power relationships around oil industries. A case study of the film Full Circle , released in 1953 by British Petroleum, demonstrates these characteristics but also documents the specific postcolonial context of the nationalization of oil in Iran in this period. Production materials for Full Circle held at the BP Archive provide a unique insight into the way this animated film changed during these events and how it became a central tool for oil company and government deliberation on their relationship with Iran and other oil-rich states. As such, this article recognizes the importance of animation at the intersection of three fields of study: environmental and energy humanities; useful cinema; and animated documentary. It argues that studying the entwined history of the animation and oil industries can help us to understand the role of media in our dependence on fossil fuels, and the present-day climate crisis resulting from this dependence.
מאמר זה משיב את הדיון בדוקומנטה חמש־עשרה משערוריית האנטישמיות שהשתררה על השיח סביב התערוכה וצמצמה אותה לעניין אחד, גרמני במובהק, וכך השיבה אותה למערכי האמנות האירופיים המוכרים, אל התערוכה עצמה והמהלכים שהתקיימו בה. מול הבנתה השגורה כתערוכה דה־קולוניאלית שמציגה סוגיות שונות של הדרום הגלובלי, אנו טוענים כי דוקומנטה חמש־עשרה התייחדה לא בתכניה ובטענותיה אלא במערכיה ובאופני פעולתה: במבנה הארגוני השיתופי שלה, בחלוקת המשאבים לפרויקטים השונים, בפנייתה מן התערוכה כהיצג אמנותי, ובאסטרגיות האנטי־אוצרותיות של רואנגרופה. אנו מראים כיצד התערוכה נקשרה לכמה מהלכים חשובים בשדה האמנות של העשורים האחרונים – ביקורת המוסד המוזיאלי, השתתפותיות, אמנות חברתית ואמנות גלובלית – כיצד המשיכה ומיצתה אותם, אבל גם כיצד חרגה מהם, מפוליטיקת הייצוג של זהויות ומתיאוריות חברתיות של אנטגוניזם וקונפליקט שעליהן התבססו מהלכים אלו. תחת זאת, אנו מצביעים על שלושה היסטים שהתרחשו בתערוכה: מהעירוני אל הכפרי, מהכתב אל העל־פה, ומההשתתפותי אל הריטואלי. שלושת אלו היפכו את הפרדיגמות המודרניות של ההתפתחות ואת מרבית הכתיבה הביקורתית עליהן, והפכו את דוקומנטה חמש־עשרה לאירוע אמנותי שאיננו נושא ברמה פעם נוספת את ביקורת המערב, כי אם פותח אפשרויות של עשייה יצירתית וחברתית פוזיטיבית בתנאים של דיכוי פוליטי, ניצול כלכלי ומחסור במשאבי קיום, וכך מסמן את הדרך מן הדרום הגלובלי אל העולם כולו.
In this article, I want to find a terminology for curating the indigenous and coastal peoples’ art in the Arctic and North Atlantic and give some examples. From an aesthetic viewpoint, these artistic expressions correspond to the question of identities in a perspective that can be defined as postcolonial. This means that by reworking our ideas concerning identities, we might discover a new source for the arts, which I think could replace inner or outer colonial gazes. I also want to show how dialogic spaces can solve the paradoxes of “blind spots” and how this relates to the question of ethno-aesthetics, in the sense given by Pia Arke in her essay Etnoæstetik ( Ethno-Aesthetics ) (1995, 2010). A substantial excerpt of this text will follow this article.
The article presents observations on the intricate processes of localizing peoples and cultures, drawing on their spatial mapping, a practice known since antiquity. The introducing part outlines general views on the causal relationship between culture and environment. The Enlightenment put forward the hypothesis of environmental determinism, which provided a rationale for linking people, cultures, and geographies well into the 20th century, particularly in anthropogeography and culturearea research. The isomorphism of space/place and culture characterized research until the late 20th century when the postmodern turns called it into question. The theory of practice and the spatial turn proved particularly influential in anthropology and ethnology. In this field, the central concept of culture has been deconstructed; this has stimulated debates about ethnography as a genre of ?writing culture? and fieldwork as a locally grounded research practice. The second part of the text shows how Slovenian ethnology in the 20th century pursued cultural area research shared with other European regional or national ethnologies that focus on the national territory. However, research has not shown a clear correspondence between cultural and ethnic/national boundaries. In this respect, ethnology has maintained a critical distance from cultural essentialization. On the other hand, it has not particularly reflected upon space; space has functioned as the natural environment, the obvious background of culture. In this respect, the reception of the spatial turn brought a particular sensitivity to studying spatial practices and experiences and refining research methodologies.
Antropolojinin insanlığa yaptığı en önemli katkılardan birinin “öteki”ni anlamaya yardımcı olabilecek yolları sunmak olduğu iddia edilebilir. Bu anlama girişimine yönelik farklı yaklaşımlar ve paradigmalar, farklı epistemolojik ve metodolojik yollar önerilmektedir. Evrensellik-tikellik, kuramsal-empirik gibi kimi sorunsalların ve tartışmaların, antropoloji bir bilim olarak adlandırılmadan önce felsefe ve bilim içinde tartışıldığı görülmektedir. Bu tür tartışmalar sosyal/kültürel bilimcilerin kültür nosyonunu nasıl inşa ettiklerine ilişkin konularda yol gösterici olmaktadır. Dijital Çağ’ın getirisi olan görsel medya toplumunda dijital ve medya kültür nosyonun inşa ediliş şekillerine ve bugün öteki gibi görünen Z, Alfa kuşağına paralel bu yeni toplumun ve kültürünün metin ile olan ilişkisi irdelenmiştir. Wilhelm Dilthey’ın hermenötik kuramını etnografide ilk kez uygulayan Clifford Geertz’in yorumcu antropoloji yaklaşımından yararlanılarak elde edilen veriler çerçevesinde dijitalleşme, yeni medya ve yeni gerçeklik türlerinin ilişkisiyle şekillenen “metin” kavramının artık bilinegelen “metin” kavramı ve anlayışından “hiper-metin” veya “elektronik metin” kavramına evirildiği söylenebilir. Dolaysıyla 21. yüzyılda “metin” kavramı ele alınırken dijital çağın yeni medyalarının etkisiyle görselliğin öne çıktığı, görsel dilin başat kılındığı elektronik zeminde üretilen “hiper-metin” şeklinde düşünülmelidir. Bu yeni “metin” Dilthey’ın ve Geertz’in dikkat çektiği kültür-gerçeklik ilişki kapsamına giren bir yapı sergileyerek dijital kültür içinde algılamaya çalışmaktan ziyade anlamayı gerektiren bir sistemi işaret eder.
This article explores the ways a work by Nêhiyaw (Cree) artist Tamara Cardinal (including performance art and a material item: a jingle dress with natural clay cones) takes an active role in transforming museum collection management. I argue that Cardinal's art, taken in context of Indigenous and museum interaction and some movements in performance art, transforms museum practice through its collection as a work of art.
Scholars in medical anthropology note that, despite more than 25 years of anthropological studies on cancer, much of this scholarship remains marginal in mainstream public health approaches. This paper examines social practices, biases, and unnoticed assumptions in mainstream global health research culture that prevents anthropology from having a more influential role in cancer research and policy agendas. It focuses on the day-to-day, ordinary, micro academic practices in which differential power distribution exacerbates inequity within the field, ignoring the role played by approaches with disciplinarian, epistemological and geopolitical peripheries. Inspired by a Bourdieusian epistemic reflexivity, this autoethnography systematized and analyzed through decolonial lenses some deterrents within real-world-research practices, including as the corpus own studies on cancer and inequalities studies that were based on collaborative ethnography (2013-2024). Six categories account for such deterrents in the global field: 1) Public health mainstream-centrism and the lack of recognition of anthropological knowledge principles; 2) Restrictive conception of ethics; 3) Similis Simili Gaudet biases - to be inclined to select what is alike; 4) Ethnocentric and naïve assumptions in relation to the road from evidence to practice; 5) Unconsidered dimensions of collaborations: Strengthening citizenship; 6) The moral economy of (only) professional trajectories interests and hidden priorities. It concludes by noting that anthropology has a lot to provide in the search for a genuinely democratic, plural, and decentralized knowledge in global cancer equity debates strengthening paradigms of dialogue, still so fragile and invisible in the field of cancer and public health in general.
This essay discusses the diverse places, images and functions of the Crimean Peninsula within the identity of the demographically small Tatar community in present‑ day Vetovo, Bulgaria. Although the paper follows a multidisciplinary approach, anthropological fieldwork conducted with respondents of different profiles constitutes the backbone of the research. Based on Jan Assmann’s influential paradigm of „cultural memory”, the text places special emphasis on the various mechanisms of reproduction of different notions and representations across generations. Following this framework, the author argues that Crimea is experienced differently depending on the individual’s personal or family background. Nevertheless, in the long‑ term, the peninsula remains a main point of reference (as „the ancient homeland”) as well as a source of identification (because „we came from Crimea”) for the local community in the context of an assimilative, Turkish‑ dominated environment.
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