Fracturing Resemblances by Simon Harrison

Fracturing Resemblances by Simon Harrison

Western societies draw on concepts of the individual in constructing their images of the ethnic group and define these in terms of difference. This study explores the implications of these constructs for Western understanding of social order and ethnic conflicts, and compares them with the forms of cultural identity characteristic of Melanesia.

"This book offers a counterintuitive and innovative approach to the politics of cultural difference and social orderThe appeal of Harrison’s argument is enhanced because he shows that currently dominant approaches to the politics of identity and difference are likely to be misguided, but does not resort to a wrongheaded appeal to universalism that simply collapses difference."  ·  Anthropological Forum

“Simon Harrison has written a thoughtful short book. It is clearly written and well argued. It uses diverse ethnography to explore proprietary forms of identity, where culture is a form of property to be possessed or selectively given out to others. The book is comparative anthropology at its best…a powerful thoughtful book, [whose] controversial ideas deserve serious debate.”  ·  Dialect Anthropol

 

"I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is clearly and convincingly written, covers a large number of fascinating and diverse ethnographic cases, and its central theoretical propositions are well worthy of consideration and debate."  ·  American Anthropologist

Simon Harrison is Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Ulster, and has carried out ethnographic fieldwork among the people of Avatip in Papua New Guinea. He has published extensively on Melanesian warfare, ethnopsychology, cultural identity, and indigenous forms of intellectual property.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781845450977
ISBN 10	1845450973
Title	Fracturing Resemblances
Author	Simon Harrison
Series	Easa Series
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Berghahn Books
Year published	2006-12-01
Number of pages	192
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.