Description
Explore the profound and gripping journey through violence and survival in contemporary Sri Lanka with this essential ethnographic work. In his acclaimed book, the author, Valentine Daniel, delves into the complexities of human experience amid turmoil, providing a deeply reflective perspective on how violence shapes life in a conflict-ridden nation. This scholarly yet accessible trade binding edition, published by Princeton University Press in 1997, poses critical questions about the role of the ethnographer and the ethical responsibility of recounting traumatic narratives. Daniel's unique approach to anthropology, dubbed 'anthropography,' challenges traditional methods, urging readers to consider the emotional and psychological truths behind violent acts without sensationalizing their impact. This ground-breaking exploration invites you to understand the delicate balance between observation and empathy, making it a must-read for scholars, students, and anyone interested in ethnographic methodologies and contemporary social issues. Each page draws you into the heart of Sri Lanka's struggles, revealing the resilience of those who endure it. Don’t miss the chance to own this brand new copy, complete with the ISBN: 9780691027739. Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be canceled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691027739
Format: Trade binding
Year: 1997
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
How does an ethnographer write about violence? How can he make sense of violent acts, for himself and for his readers, without compromising its sheer excess and its meaning-defying core? How can he remain a scholarly observer when the country of his birth is engulfed by terror? These are some of the questions that engage Valentine Daniel in this exploration of life and death in contemporary Sri Lanka. In 1983 Daniel "walked into the ashes and mortal residue" of the violence that had occurred in his homeland. His planned project--the study of women's folk songs as ethnohistory--was immediately displaced by the responsibility that he felt had been given to him, by surviving family members and friends of victims, to recount beyond Sri Lanka what he had seen and heard there. Trained to do fieldwork by staying in one place and educated to look for coherence and meaning in human behavior, what does an anthropologist do when he is forced by circumstances to keep moving, searching for reasons he never finds? How does he write an ethnography (or an anthropography, to use the author's term) without transforming it into a pornography of violence?In avoiding fattening the anthropography into prurience, how does he avoid flattening it with theory?
The ways in which Daniel grapples with these questions, and their answers, instill this groundbreaking book with a rare sense of passion, purpose, and intellect.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691027739
Format: Trade binding
Year: 1997
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
How does an ethnographer write about violence? How can he make sense of violent acts, for himself and for his readers, without compromising its sheer excess and its meaning-defying core? How can he remain a scholarly observer when the country of his birth is engulfed by terror? These are some of the questions that engage Valentine Daniel in this exploration of life and death in contemporary Sri Lanka. In 1983 Daniel "walked into the ashes and mortal residue" of the violence that had occurred in his homeland. His planned project--the study of women's folk songs as ethnohistory--was immediately displaced by the responsibility that he felt had been given to him, by surviving family members and friends of victims, to recount beyond Sri Lanka what he had seen and heard there. Trained to do fieldwork by staying in one place and educated to look for coherence and meaning in human behavior, what does an anthropologist do when he is forced by circumstances to keep moving, searching for reasons he never finds? How does he write an ethnography (or an anthropography, to use the author's term) without transforming it into a pornography of violence?In avoiding fattening the anthropography into prurience, how does he avoid flattening it with theory?
The ways in which Daniel grapples with these questions, and their answers, instill this groundbreaking book with a rare sense of passion, purpose, and intellect.