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Pastoralism is a diffused and ancient form of human subsistence and probably one of the most studied by anthropologists at the crossroads between continuities and transformations. The present critical discourse on sustainable and responsible development implies a change of practices, a huge socio-economic transformation, and the return of new shepherds and herders in different European regions. Transhumance and extensive breeding are revitalized as a potential resource for inner and rural areas of Europe against depopulation and as an efficient form of farming deeply influencing landscape and functioning as a perfect eco-system service. This book is an occasion to reconsider grazing communities’ frictions in the new global heritage scenario.
The objective of this project is to encourage new ways of thinking about the meaning and significance of space. It follows a desire that has been expressed and theorized by Henri Lefebvre - and by extension Edward W. Soja - to remove Spatiality from the margin of the "Trialectics of Being" and to bring it into the "Trialectics' fold" alongside with - and of at least equal significance to - Historicality and Sociality. The thesis focuses on how space of the Pilbara region in Western Australia is produced in contemporary Australian writing, film, art and through "lived experience". The thesis argues for an understanding of space as essentially dynamic.
This volume is devoted to aspects of space that have thus far been largely unexplored. How space is perceived and cognised has been discussed from different stances, but there are few analyses of nomadic approaches to spatiality. Nor is there a sufficient number of studies on indigenous interpretations of space, despite the importance of territory and place in definitions of indigeneity. At the intersection of geography and anthropology, the authors of this volume combine general reflections on spatiality with case studies from the Circumpolar North and other nomadic settings. Spatial perceptions and practices have been profoundly transformed by new technologies as well as by new modes of so...
From the erosion of state legitimacy in Lebanon to the use of smartphones in Kyrgyzstan, from a Polish suburb to the music scene in Azerbaijan, this volume attempts to explain why, in a variety of world regions, a substantial number of people tend to ignore or act against state rules. We propose to look at informality beyond simplistic associations of the phenomenon with a single category such as "informal labour" or "corruption". By doing this, we propose to look for a correlation between the emergence, and persistence, of some informal practices and the quality of governance in a given area. We also suggest that a better understanding of the variety of informal practices present in a region can help conceptualising more adequate interventions and eventually improve the socio-economic conditions of its inhabitants.
As essential components of globalization, the study of practices and processes of space formation promotes a nuanced understanding of globalization. How do people create spaces for social action under the global condition, especially since the nineteenth century, when global interconnectedness increased rapidly? We explore the problem through specific case studies. Anthropologists, historians, geographers, sociologists, global studies scholars, and cultural studies scholars examine the agency of, e.g., members and staff of African regional organizations, Indian migrant workers, female GDR activists, Soviet planning experts, or US novelists. By studying elites as well as middle-class and micro-entrepreneurs – i.e. more and less influential actors – we encourage reflection on the relationship between power and space and examine how spatial entrepreneurs attempt to influence the shaping of space and their spatial literacy. The analysis aims at a better understanding of the different globalization projects, their crisis-like clashes, and the resulting conflictual development of spatial orders.
A Wired Most Fascinating Book of the Year “An important book that reminds us that navigation remains one of our most underappreciated arts.” —Tristan Gooley, author of The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs “If you want to understand what rats can teach us about better-planned cities, why walking into a different room can help you find your car keys, or how your brain’s grid, border, and speed cells combine to give us a sense of direction, this book has all the answers.” —The Scotsman How is it that some of us can walk unfamiliar streets without losing our way, while the rest of us struggle even with a GPS? Navigating in uncharted territory is a remarkable feat if you stop to...
Bordering no longer happens only at the borderline separating two sovereign states, but rather through a wide range of practices and decisions that occur in multiple locations within and beyond the state’s territory. Nevertheless, it is too simplistic to suggest that borders are everywhere, since this view fails to acknowledge that particular sites are significant nodes where border work is done. Similarly, border work is more likely to be done by particular people than others. This book investigates the diffusion of bordering narratives and practices by asking ’who borders and how?’ Placing the Border in Everyday Life complicates the connection between borders and sovereign states by identifying the individuals and organizations that engage in border work at a range of scales and places. This edited volume includes contributions from major international scholars in the field of border studies and allied disciplines who analyze where and why border work is done. By combining a new theorization of border work beyond the state with rich empirical case studies, this book makes a ground-breaking contribution to the study of borders and the state in the era of globalization.
This volume provides an overview of research on seemingly, current and former peripheral areas and on processes of peripheralisation in Europe. Particular emphasis is given to questions of local and regional governance, to multiple actors of peripheralisation and residential revitalisation as well as to economic and ecological transformations. --
This is an interdisciplinary volume exploring a range of historical, anthropological and literary ideas and issues in South Asian Borderlands. Going beyond the territorial and geo-political imaginaries of contemporary borderlands in South Asia, chapters in this book engage with the questions of sovereignty, control, policing as well as continuing affections across politically divided borderlands. Modern conceptions of nationhood have created categories of legality and illegality among historically, socially, economically and emotionally connected residents of South Asian borderlands. This volume provides unique insights into the interconnected lives and histories of these borderland spaces and communities.
Current corporate structures based on internationalisation and decentralisation are opposed to the nature of the most important resource: knowledge. The acquisition and exchange of (tacit) knowledge relies on interpersonal interactions and is thus time- and place-dependent. Given that the combination of heterogeneous knowledge stocks furthers innovation, organisations develop strategies to ensure the transfer of knowledge. To enable intra-organisational knowledge flows spatial mobility at the workplace affects a wide range of employees. The study examines in which ways spatially mobile employees, i.e. expatriates, contribute to those knowledge flows. The study of ego networks reveals not onl...