Fire in the dark Buckler, Sarah (Sal)
2007., 20070515, 2007, 2007-05-15, Volume:
3
eBook
Anthropologists who are employed to change the worlds they are researching find themselves in a potentially contradictory position. Combining the various roles and expectations involved in working ...with Gypsies and local government at the same time as conducting anthropological research, provides the overall perspective of this study. It is an unusual and effective balance of insightful ethnography and anthropological theory with the perspective of someone employed to carry out applied work. An effective and creative use of metaphor structures the entire work and allows complex ideas to be conveyed in an accessible way. Drawing upon traditional anthropological approaches such as kinship and story telling and engaging with the works of major social theorists such as Weber, Bourdieu and Foucault as well as the work of contemporary anthropologists, this work demonstrates the use of anthropology in understanding changing situations and in deciding how best to manage such situations.
Using Kosovo as a case study, the book illuminates the interplay of some of the most controversial concepts in postcolonial times, including humanitarian intervention, peacebuilding, nation-state ...building, and doing development in war torn states. A special focus is on development professionals, mandated to build peace and implement development projects in war-torn or failed states. The book seeks to uncover the complex nature of doing good for others, especially when development efforts are serving the political and economic interests of donor states and when the social status attained by the expatriate development workers tends to improve upon migrating to and working in war-torn states.
The theoretical part of the monograph (' Gender and migration: experiences of women as actors of migration') is based on researching the meaning of gender for understanding migration processes and ...their classifications. By analysing established approaches in migration and related studies the author shows that the definition of the term migrant is related to processed of inclusion as well as exclusion. Through life-stories of female migrants the author tries to explain the wider social context of migration, which, despite the rise of qualitative migration studies in the last two decades, is still lacking in established approaches to migration. The main focus of research is on experiences and perspectives of female migrants. By combining theoretical and epistemological approaches in migration studies as well as in women and gender studies, the monograph contributes to enriching knowledge in both fields.
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