Pat A Caplan | Goldsmiths, University of London (original) (raw)
Papers by Pat A Caplan
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Dec 1, 1999
This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards... more This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards neither concept as fixed, but as constituting a repertoire from which people choose strategically, depending not only upon location and historical time, but also upon social context. The processes of constituting cultures and identities are part of the making of meaning, a process in which, as will be seen, there are important continuities, ruptures and contradictions. With its attention to detail and its ability to give voice to the local, ethnography plays an important role in understanding the construction of both cultures and identities. In this paper, ethnographic examples are drawn both from my own fieldwork on Mafia Island, Tanzania, begun in 1965, and from the work of other anthropologists and scholars who have carried out research on the East African coast and islands.
2005 ‘Towards a feminist ethics of anthropology’ in Lova: Landelijk Overleg Vrouwenstrudies in de... more 2005 ‘Towards a feminist ethics of anthropology’ in Lova: Landelijk Overleg Vrouwenstrudies in de Antropologie/ Tijdschrift voor Feministiche Antropologie (Journal of Women’s Studies in Anthropology / Feminist Anthropology) 26, 2, 3-23.
This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards... more This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards neither concept as fixed, but as constituting a repertoire from which people choose strategically, depending not only upon location and historical time, but also upon social context. The processes of constituting cultures and identities are part of the making of meaning, a process in which, as will be seen, there are important continuities, ruptures and contradictions. With its attention to detail and its ability to give voice to the local, ethnography plays an important role in understanding the construction of both cultures and identities. In this paper, ethnographic examples are drawn both from my own fieldwork on Mafia Island, Tanzania, begun in 1965, and from the work of other anthropologists and scholars who have carried out research on the East African coast and islands. 1 Historically, anthropology in North America has had a four-fold division which includes cultural anthropology, whereas British anthropology has focused more on the social. Today British anthropology includes both social and cultural (as well as physical anthropology, which is less widely taught).
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1975
The reader contains four sections: the first looks at the body and how it is interpreted in anthr... more The reader contains four sections: the first looks at the body and how it is interpreted in anthropology; at ways of thinking and communicating; at how social relations are organised; and at ways of engaging with nature, the environment and human-made objects. The second section illustrates anthropologists' ideas about personhood as socially constituted, and ways of defining social boundaries and groups. The third studies the themes of globalisation (local and global processes); and the fourth the practice of anthropology, including anthropological ethics, methods and investigations.
'Why we eat what we eat?' is a key question for the 1990s, posed again and again in gover... more 'Why we eat what we eat?' is a key question for the 1990s, posed again and again in government departments, in sectors of the food industry, by professionals in health, in education, and in catering, to name a few. It is the same question adopted as the springboard for the UK Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Research Programme on 'The Nation's Diet' (1992-1998), a wide ranging, multi-disciplinary set of co-ordinated basic research projects across the social sciences, including economics, psychology, social anthropology and sociology, as well as education and media studies.
This book considers the themes of modernity, identity and politics on the East African coast and ... more This book considers the themes of modernity, identity and politics on the East African coast and islands. This area is undergoing rapid change as globalisation makes its impact. Tourism, increased monetisation, emigration and immigration and various multinational agencies are all significant factors. The volume also focuses on how the Swahili language, literature and culture have been affected by modernity and the way in which Swahili women continue to live under the strong social constraints that this community place them under.
American Anthropologist, 1987
Women S Studies International Quarterly, 1981
This paper was written in the spring of 2004 for a seminar series at a South African university1.... more This paper was written in the spring of 2004 for a seminar series at a South African university1. It was a moment in time when the war in Iraq had been declared officially over by the President of the United States, but when a War on Terror had been declared by both the US and UK governments. Since that time, events have moved fast: the Madrid train bombings, the growth of the insurgency in Iraq, an election in the UK which saw the Labour Party returned to power with a much reduced majority (largely attributed to discontent over the war), the bombings of July 2005 in London, to name but a few. The editors of AnthroGlobe could have asked me to ‘update’ my paper but they did not do so, wisely in my view. All publications should be read in the context of their time and place, and any publication which seeks to deal with current events risks being out of date between completion and printing. So I have not attempted to ‘update’ the paper - to do so would have required another one.
Feasts, Fasts, Famine: Food for Thought
Page 1. i:i in; Berg Occasional in Anthropology ional Papers ilogy No. 2 mm^m*m*^v*OM*mam*m**Mm... more Page 1. i:i in; Berg Occasional in Anthropology ional Papers ilogy No. 2 mm^m*m*^v*OM*mam*m**Mmil FEASTS, FASTS, FAMINE if Food for Thought PAT CAPLAN Page 2. Page 3. Berg Occasional Papers in Anthropology ...
Review of African Political Economy, 2007
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 17531050701452663, Jul 1, 2007
In recent years, anthropology has paid much attention to the concept of identity. Identity politi... more In recent years, anthropology has paid much attention to the concept of identity. Identity politics is a shifting and complex area, but the trick is to claim the right identity at the right time. This article discusses some of the issues associated with this topic on the coast of East Africa. The quotation in the title is a phrase I
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Dec 1, 1999
This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards... more This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards neither concept as fixed, but as constituting a repertoire from which people choose strategically, depending not only upon location and historical time, but also upon social context. The processes of constituting cultures and identities are part of the making of meaning, a process in which, as will be seen, there are important continuities, ruptures and contradictions. With its attention to detail and its ability to give voice to the local, ethnography plays an important role in understanding the construction of both cultures and identities. In this paper, ethnographic examples are drawn both from my own fieldwork on Mafia Island, Tanzania, begun in 1965, and from the work of other anthropologists and scholars who have carried out research on the East African coast and islands.
2005 ‘Towards a feminist ethics of anthropology’ in Lova: Landelijk Overleg Vrouwenstrudies in de... more 2005 ‘Towards a feminist ethics of anthropology’ in Lova: Landelijk Overleg Vrouwenstrudies in de Antropologie/ Tijdschrift voor Feministiche Antropologie (Journal of Women’s Studies in Anthropology / Feminist Anthropology) 26, 2, 3-23.
This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards... more This article considers what might be meant by Swahili cultures and Swahili identities. It regards neither concept as fixed, but as constituting a repertoire from which people choose strategically, depending not only upon location and historical time, but also upon social context. The processes of constituting cultures and identities are part of the making of meaning, a process in which, as will be seen, there are important continuities, ruptures and contradictions. With its attention to detail and its ability to give voice to the local, ethnography plays an important role in understanding the construction of both cultures and identities. In this paper, ethnographic examples are drawn both from my own fieldwork on Mafia Island, Tanzania, begun in 1965, and from the work of other anthropologists and scholars who have carried out research on the East African coast and islands. 1 Historically, anthropology in North America has had a four-fold division which includes cultural anthropology, whereas British anthropology has focused more on the social. Today British anthropology includes both social and cultural (as well as physical anthropology, which is less widely taught).
De Gruyter eBooks, Dec 31, 1975
The reader contains four sections: the first looks at the body and how it is interpreted in anthr... more The reader contains four sections: the first looks at the body and how it is interpreted in anthropology; at ways of thinking and communicating; at how social relations are organised; and at ways of engaging with nature, the environment and human-made objects. The second section illustrates anthropologists' ideas about personhood as socially constituted, and ways of defining social boundaries and groups. The third studies the themes of globalisation (local and global processes); and the fourth the practice of anthropology, including anthropological ethics, methods and investigations.
'Why we eat what we eat?' is a key question for the 1990s, posed again and again in gover... more 'Why we eat what we eat?' is a key question for the 1990s, posed again and again in government departments, in sectors of the food industry, by professionals in health, in education, and in catering, to name a few. It is the same question adopted as the springboard for the UK Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) Research Programme on 'The Nation's Diet' (1992-1998), a wide ranging, multi-disciplinary set of co-ordinated basic research projects across the social sciences, including economics, psychology, social anthropology and sociology, as well as education and media studies.
This book considers the themes of modernity, identity and politics on the East African coast and ... more This book considers the themes of modernity, identity and politics on the East African coast and islands. This area is undergoing rapid change as globalisation makes its impact. Tourism, increased monetisation, emigration and immigration and various multinational agencies are all significant factors. The volume also focuses on how the Swahili language, literature and culture have been affected by modernity and the way in which Swahili women continue to live under the strong social constraints that this community place them under.
American Anthropologist, 1987
Women S Studies International Quarterly, 1981
This paper was written in the spring of 2004 for a seminar series at a South African university1.... more This paper was written in the spring of 2004 for a seminar series at a South African university1. It was a moment in time when the war in Iraq had been declared officially over by the President of the United States, but when a War on Terror had been declared by both the US and UK governments. Since that time, events have moved fast: the Madrid train bombings, the growth of the insurgency in Iraq, an election in the UK which saw the Labour Party returned to power with a much reduced majority (largely attributed to discontent over the war), the bombings of July 2005 in London, to name but a few. The editors of AnthroGlobe could have asked me to ‘update’ my paper but they did not do so, wisely in my view. All publications should be read in the context of their time and place, and any publication which seeks to deal with current events risks being out of date between completion and printing. So I have not attempted to ‘update’ the paper - to do so would have required another one.
Feasts, Fasts, Famine: Food for Thought
Page 1. i:i in; Berg Occasional in Anthropology ional Papers ilogy No. 2 mm^m*m*^v*OM*mam*m**Mm... more Page 1. i:i in; Berg Occasional in Anthropology ional Papers ilogy No. 2 mm^m*m*^v*OM*mam*m**Mmil FEASTS, FASTS, FAMINE if Food for Thought PAT CAPLAN Page 2. Page 3. Berg Occasional Papers in Anthropology ...
Review of African Political Economy, 2007
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 17531050701452663, Jul 1, 2007
In recent years, anthropology has paid much attention to the concept of identity. Identity politi... more In recent years, anthropology has paid much attention to the concept of identity. Identity politics is a shifting and complex area, but the trick is to claim the right identity at the right time. This article discusses some of the issues associated with this topic on the coast of East Africa. The quotation in the title is a phrase I