Resonance
Subtitle: beyond the words
By: Unni Wikan
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Chicago; London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 368
ISBN-13: 9780226924465; 9780226924472; 9780226924489
Copyright date: 2012
Subjects: Ethnology; Philosophy; Methodology; Fieldwork
Description: "Resonance gathers together forty years of anthropological study by a researcher and writer with one of the broadest fieldwork résumés in anthropology: Unni Wikan. In its twelve essays--four of which are brand new--Resonance covers encounters with transvestites in Oman, childbirth in Bhutan, poverty in Cairo, and honor killings in Scandinavia, with visits to several other locales and subjects in between. Including a comprehensive preface and introduction that brings the whole work into focus, Resonance surveys an astonishing career of anthropological inquiry that demonstrates the possibility for a common humanity, a way of knowing others on their own terms. Deploying Clifford Geertz's concept of "experience-near" observations --and driven by an ambition to work beyond Geertz's own limitations--Wikan strives for an anthropology that sees, describes, and understands the human condition in the models and concepts of the people being observed. She highlights the fundamentals of an explicitly comparative, person-centered, and empathic approach to fieldwork, pushing anthropology to shift from the specialist discourses of academic experts to a grasp of what the Balinese call keneh-- the heart, thought, and feeling of the real people of the world. By deploying this strategy across such a range of sites and communities, she provides a powerful argument that ever-deeper insight can be attained despite our differences."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Preface: A Way in the world; title: Introduction; title: Beyond the words: the power of resonance; title: Toward an anthropology of lived experience; title: The self in a world of urgency and necessity; title: Against the self: for a person-oriented approach; title: Resilience in the megacity: cultural competence among Cairo's poor; title: Man becomes woman: the Xanith as a key to gender roles; title: Shame and honor: a contestable pair; title: The nun's story: reflections on an age-old postmodern dilemma; title: In the Middle Way: childbirth and rebirth in Bhutan; title: "My Son a Terrorist? He was such a gentle boy; title: "; title: On evil and empathy: remembering Ghazala Khan; title: Epilogue: Resonance and beyond; title: Appendix: On writing.