Anthropology of Transformation
From Europe to Asia and Back
by Juraj Buzalka, Agnieszka Pasieka
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The collapse of the Berlin Wall naturally triggered a plethora of analysis and scholarly research. Sociocultural anthropology, with its focus on ethnographic study and on the gradual evolution of social relations, sharply contrasted with the emphasis on dramatic rupture brought about by the 1989 transition.
Continuing in this tradition, this volume, through micro-level analysis of societal transformation from the post-war years to the present day, provides an alternative perspective to the neoliberalist views often encountered in the scholarship on political and economic modernisation. The more nuanced analysis of social transformations proposed here is a particularly useful tool in the investigation of contemporary issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the refugee 'crisis', and the rise of right-wing populism in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
Anthropology of Transformation will be of interest to researchers in the fields of socio-cultural anthropology, religion and economics. Moreover, the book's discussion of issues widely discussed beyond the field of academia such as neoliberalism and the welfare state, and populist and exclusionary politics, will appeal to non-specialist readers. 
Book Description
This collection of essays is the result of the joint efforts of colleagues and students of the leading social anthropology and post-socialism theorist, Professor Chris Hann. With the thirtieth anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 2019 as their catalyst, the authors reflect upon Chris Hann's lifelong fieldwork in the discipline, spanning regions as diverse as East Central Europe, Turkey, and the Chinese north-west.The collapse of the Berlin Wall naturally triggered a plethora of analysis and scholarly research. Sociocultural anthropology, with its focus on ethnographic study and on the gradual evolution of social relations, sharply contrasted with the emphasis on dramatic rupture brought about by the 1989 transition.
Continuing in this tradition, this volume, through micro-level analysis of societal transformation from the post-war years to the present day, provides an alternative perspective to the neoliberalist views often encountered in the scholarship on political and economic modernisation. The more nuanced analysis of social transformations proposed here is a particularly useful tool in the investigation of contemporary issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the refugee 'crisis', and the rise of right-wing populism in Eastern Europe and elsewhere.
Anthropology of Transformation will be of interest to researchers in the fields of socio-cultural anthropology, religion and economics. Moreover, the book's discussion of issues widely discussed beyond the field of academia such as neoliberalism and the welfare state, and populist and exclusionary politics, will appeal to non-specialist readers.
This open book is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY). You can download Anthropology of Transformation ebook for free in PDF format (16.2 MB).
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Voiced versus Acted Trust: Managing Social Uncertainty and Marginalisation in Rural Southern Italy and Central Eastern Europe
Chapter 2
Property Relations and Ethnic Conflict in Post-war Croatia: Reflections on Conceptual Approaches and Research Findings
Chapter 3
The 'Post' in Perspective: Revisiting the Post-socialist Religious Question in Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe
Chapter 4
"We Are Not Believers, We're Workers": The Synchrony of Work, Gender, and Religion in a Priestless Orthodox Community
Chapter 5
The Moral Economy of Consensus and Informality in Uzbekistan
Chapter 6
The Moral Dimension of (Un)Employment: Work and Fairness in an Eastern German Town
Chapter 7
Beyond Blue Eyes?: Xenophobia on the Eastern Margins of the European Union
Chapter 8
Post-Peasant Progressivism: On Liberal Tendencies in the Slovak Countryside
Chapter 9
Swimming against the Tide: Right-wing Populism, Post-socialism and Beyond
Chapter 10
Transoceania: Connecting the World beyond Eurasia
Book Details
Title
Anthropology of Transformation
Subject
Sociology and Social Sciences
Publisher
Open Book Publishers
Published
2022
Pages
282
Edition
1
Language
English
ISBN13
9781800643628
ISBN10
1800643624
ISBN13 Digital
9781800643642
ISBN10 Digital
1800643640
PDF Size
16.2 MB
License
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