Melissa Elbez/Elbaz | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (original) (raw)
I am a Doctor in Social Anthropology, specialized in Political Anthropology, Religious studies, Anthropology of Globalization and Anthropology of the Future.
I graduated from the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences of Paris (EHESS), and completed part of my studies in Mexico (CIESAS, UDLA). I am currently a Lady Davis a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI).
My main areas of interest are:
- the identity building processes in a globalized and mediatized world.
- millenarian and eschatological expectations, and more broadly relationship to future.
- the ability of ordinary people to affect politics through lifestyle choices, mobility practices, rumors spreading, networking, and cultural initiatives.
- the dynamics of national identity formation and transformation in relation with migration and tourism.
My current research "The New Jews of Latin America: an Ethnography of Conversion journeys in the Digital Age" is about the growing community of Latin Americans who move to Israel in order to convert to Orthodox Judaism.
I have written on:
- the rumor around the alleged end of the Mayan calendar on December 21st 2012 as a transnational tool for political expression.
- the subversive and yet lasting “hippy” tradition in Mexico, its networks, itineraries, moral values, social codes, modes of sociability and transgenerational transmission.
- the historical emergence of “Mayaness” as a cultural and ethnic identity, in the framework of processes of colonial and national domination, of heritage construction and of tourism development.
- patrimonialization and cosmopolitization of cultural identities as joint processes.
- tourism and multicultural policies as forces of nationalization, based on the history of Tulum and Quintana Roo (Mexico).
- the Dynamic Anthropology of Georges Balandier, and its ability to overcome dead ends social science researchers are facing today.
Methodology:
- I am in favor of a reflective and dialogical ethnography, which shows the active presence of the researcher in his fieldwork. This translates into a writing style that gives ample room to individuals and anecdotes.
- I believe that the postmodern demand to take into account the changing, plural and complex aspects of social life, does not prevent the production of an overview of societies. This is what I intended to show in drawing up a "dynamic monograph" of the city of Tulum (Mexico) in my PhD thesis.
- In an interdisciplinary perspective, I use notions of social geography such as territoriality, hyper-place, amenity migrants, and others, that I consider heuristic for the anthropological discipline.
To learn about my teaching, academic and professional activities, see my CV.
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Papers by Melissa Elbez/Elbaz
Maya América, 2022
When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history o... more When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history of Quintana Roo teaches us that tourism and migration can be forces of nationalization. This article invites us to revisit the history of the southeast Yucatan peninsula, in order to understand the mechanisms that presided over its inclusion into the Mexican nation and the logic of the resistance movement that was opposed to it. Furthermore, this article delves into the ritual practices, social organization and territoriality inherited from the Cast War, that are kept alive by the rebels' descendants (Cruzoob), unbeknownst to the gaze of the tourists and migrants who currently inhabit the region. How did the Cruzoob negotiate an identity as Indigenous to the nation, without losing sight of their sense of territorial sovereignty? At the time of the development of the Mayan Train, what are the challenges of the potential touristification of the Cast War? These are some questions that this article proposes to shed light on, in conversation with historical and anthropological readings, and drawing on ethnographic material collected in Tulum.
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Terrains/Théories, 2022
Miguel is a former agricultural worker from Oaxaca who, once settled in the region of Cancun, has... more Miguel is a former agricultural worker from Oaxaca who, once settled in the region of Cancun, has been employed in a tourist park as a « Mayan warrior ». In this context, he was trained in prehispanic dance and discovered the Mexicanidad spiritual movement, of which he quickly became a regional leader. Starting from his singular path, this paper intends to show the complementarity between some social logics which are commonly considered as mutually exclusive, or at least as hardly compatible: firstly between spiritual quest and economic pursuit, secondly between strategic situation-bound identities and the making of a consistent subjectivity, and thirdly between inexperience and cultural innovation. It invites to think together migration, market activity and spiritual practice, with a view to understand the building process of a complex and singular subjectivity shaped by the actor involved.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Cultura en venta. La razón cultural en el capitalismo contemporáneo, 2019
A partir de un trabajo etnográfico realizado en Tulum (Mexico) y de varias fuentes mediaticas y a... more A partir de un trabajo etnográfico realizado en Tulum (Mexico) y de varias fuentes mediaticas y antropológicas, este articulo invita a interpretar la expectativa transnacional de un acontecimiento para el día 21 de diciembre del 2012, como la expresión social de un deseo colectivo de que se produzca un cambio en el orden mundial. En la primera parte, resalto la dimensión política de los discursos ordinarios sobre el 2012, y menciono casos de recuperación política explícita de este rumor. En la segunda parte, expongo la lucha ideológica emprendida por el líder New Age, José Argüelles, para cambiar el mundo al cambiar de calendario. Al exponer elementos de su obra y observaciones realizadas entre sus adeptos, evidencio que su doctrina se presenta como un remedio a la crisis temporal que estamos atravesando a nivel global, como resultado del paradigma evolucionista y de la forma neoliberal de la globalización. Por otra parte, muestro que la creencia en el 2012 se apoyó en teorías pseudohistóricas que son reveladoras de procesos de instrumentalización presentista de la historia e imagen de los pueblos precolombinos, en nuestros tiempos de desacreditación de la ideología del progreso.
En una tercera parte,conclusiva, inscribo el rumor del 2012 en el marco de un milenarismo cristiano que se ha proyectado sobre los mayas desde la Colonia y que ha sobrevivido hasta hoy bajo formas más secularizadas, para luego terminar con una reflexión sobre las contradicciones internas en las teorías del 2012, las cuales impidieron que la espera milenarista se convirtiera en un movimiento político.
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Boletín Colegio de Etnólogos y Antropólogos Sociales, 2017
Pese a que lo maya no corresponda a una identidad cultural claramente definida, constituye una re... more Pese a que lo maya no corresponda a una identidad cultural claramente definida, constituye una representación polisémica dotada de un increíble poder performativo en términos de estructuración social, de de-sarrollo económico y de innovación cultural. Si bien el Estado ha desempeñado un papel fundamental en su conformación como categoría étnica, su sentido sigue siendo debatido y reinventado cotidianamente por actores sociales múltiples, con respecto a sus situaciones, aspiraciones e interacciones. En este artículo, me propongo ilustrar lo anterior con documentos históricos así como una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2016 (Quintana Roo, Mexico).
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Lorsque l’on évoque l’anthropologie de Georges Balandier, deux axes sont généralement mis en exer... more Lorsque l’on évoque l’anthropologie de Georges Balandier, deux axes sont généralement mis en exergue comme caractéristiques de sa pensée: la considération du politique comme une potentialité latente de toute activité sociale, et l’attention portée aux marges de manœuvre des acteurs sociaux. S’il est parfois fait mention de l’importance qu’il accordait à la dimension historique de la culture et à la processualité de la vie sociale, la question de la performativité socioculturelle du rapport au futur n’a pas fait couler d’encre. Pourtant, la lecture croisée de ses écrits anciens et récents révèle qu’il s’agit d’un axe central de sa réflexion, qui est non seulement indispensable pour comprendre la cohérence entre son œuvre africaniste et ses travaux sur la surmodernité, mais qui est essentiel à la mise en œuvre d’une anthropologie véritablement dynamique et politique. C’est pourquoi j’invite la nouvelle génération de chercheurs à prêter attention à la performativité du futur : un outil conceptuel d’une valeur inestimable pour quiconque souhaite développer une anthropologie à la fois politique et non déterministe du monde contemporain.
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Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines, 2017
Georges Balandier and “the Children of Chernobyl”. What to do with his Heritage? In this paper, ... more Georges Balandier and “the Children of Chernobyl”. What to do with his Heritage?
In this paper, I call for a reconsideration of some dimensions of Georges Balandier’s work. While I investigate the modalities of its transmission over two generations, I attempt to show that his reflections on the implications of new technologies and globalization are not only heuristic, but that they tie in with his Africanist work. Indeed, I propose to consider his Africanist disengagement as a political commitment. In addition, I endeavor to highlight the centrality of the question of the “future” in his anthropology—which seems to me worthy of our attention—, and I emphasize Balandier’s interest in indivi- dual trajectories. Finally, I reveal the logical interdependence between his proposal for political anthropology and these two elements.
Dans cet article, j’invite à repenser plusieurs dimensions de l’œuvre de Georges Balandier. Tout en interrogeant les modalités de sa transmission sur deux générations, je m’efforce de montrer que ses réflexions sur les implications des nouvelles technologies et de la mondialisation sont non seulement heuristiques, mais qu’elles se situent dans la continuité de son œuvre africaniste. De fait, j’invite à considérer son désengagement africaniste comme un engagement politique. En outre, je m’attache à mettre en exergue la centralité de la question du « futur » dans son anthropologie — qui me semble mériter toute notre attention —, et je souligne l’intérêt que Balandier portait aux trajectoires individuelles. Enfin, je révèle le lien d’interdépendance logique qu’entretient sa proposition d’anthropologie politique avec ces deux éléments.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Español: A partir de una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2015 sobr... more Español:
A partir de una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2015 sobre las modalidades diversas de referencia a lo maya, este artículo pretende esclarecer unas paradojas implícitas al proceso de patrimonialización de identidades indígenas. Por una parte, muestra que la necesidad de hacer de lo indígena un escaparate de la nación, ha llevado a la valorización turística de lo maya y a la desacreditación conjunta de unas formas contemporáneas de ser maya, lo que fomenta la discriminación de los ciudadanos mayas cuyos modos de vida no concuerden con el imaginario patrimonial sobre esta identidad. Sin embargo, a pesar de la presión normativa ejercida por las representaciones patrimoniales sobre los habitantes mayas de Tulum, estos últimos hacen uso de su agencia para oponerles denominaciones alternativas e interpretaciones propias, que tienen tanto que ver con sus memorias históricas como con sus aspiraciones individuales. Por otra parte, mis observaciones han revelado que, al hacer de lo maya un concepto definido por unas prácticas y una estética específicas, el discurso patrimonial abre el acceso a esta identidad a personas ajenas a la península de Yucatán. En efecto, mientras que las representaciones patrimoniales de lo maya siguen cumpliendo con su meta de proporcionar ascendentes indígenas a la nación, su difusión vía las industrias culturales, turísticas, mediáticas y unas teorías New Age, ha dado lugar a un proceso de cosmopolitización de la identidad maya, noción por la cual me refiero a su ingreso en el registro de las alteridades apropiables por personas de todo el mundo en el marco de bricolajes identitarios singulares. Combinando las perspectivas históricas y antropológicas, este artículo interroga la forma en que elementos históricos y recientes, de escala local, nacional y global se articulan para dar lugar a una configuración identitaria compleja y apasionante.
English:
From ethnographic observations carried out in Tulum between 2009 and 2015 about the diverse modalities of reference to the Maya, this paper seeks to to enlighten paradoxes that are implicit in the process of patrimonialization of indigeneous identities. Firstly, this paper shows how the need to make a showcase of the indigenous for the nation, has led to touristic enhancement of the Maya and to the joint discreditation of contemporary ways of being Maya, which encourages the discrimination of Mayan citizens whose lifestyle is not consistent with the imaginary identity attributed to them. However, despite the normative pressure exerted by heritage representations on the Mayan inhabitants of Tulum, they use their agency to counter their own alternative denominations and interpretations, that have as much to do with their historical memories as with their individual aspirations. Secondly, my observations revealed that by making the Maya a concept defined by specific practices and aesthetics, heritage discourse opens access to this identity to people from outside the Yucatan Peninsula. Indeed, while heritage representations of the Maya continues to meet its goal of providing indigenous ancestors to the nation, its broadcast through cultural, touristic, mediatic industries and some New Age theories has led to a process of cosmopolitanization of Mayan identity; concept by which I refer to its entry in the register of alterities likely to be appropriated by people from all over the world in the framework of singular identity bricolages. In combining historical and anthropological perspectives, this paper questions how both historical and recent elements from local national and global scales, merge to lead to a complex and fascinating identity configuration.
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Tulum is a small tourist town on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Former stronghold for the Cast Wa... more Tulum is a small tourist town on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Former stronghold for the Cast War rebels, Tulum is mainly populated by national and international migrants, and became the subject of heritage policies that aim to inscribe it within the tourist geography of the « Mayan world ». Yet, the efforts undertaken by the authorities to provide the city with a Mayan identity in line with the nationalist imagination face a cosmopolitan version of local identity, which prevails among the population. Besides, while the heritage imagination about the Mayan excludes most of the Mayan inhabitants from this category, it allows some New Age spirituality lovers to gain access to it, benefiting thus from social recognition in the local tourist setting. Based on ethnographic fieldworks carried out between 2010 and 2015, this paper analyses the way public policies interact with the popular debates about Tulum local identity, and with its inhabitants’ multiple, innovative and nonexclusive modes of identity construction, which reveal rivalries as well as they potentially lay the foundations for a common identity.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Qu'en était-il du futur, avant ? De l'utopie communiste au gage néolibéral de prospérité globale,... more Qu'en était-il du futur, avant ? De l'utopie communiste au gage néolibéral de prospérité globale, les habitants du XXème siècle pensaient l'avenir comme une promesse. Mais voilà qu'un drame survint: forts de leur foi en le Progrès, ils crurent l'avoir atteint. Pris dans l’euphorie cérémoniale de la chute du mur de Berlin, un chercheur du nom de Fukuyama annonça la victoire planétaire de la démocratie libérale, la fin des conflits et la fin de l’Histoire. Et ils le crurent. Puis vint le lendemain...
Texte publié en juillet 2013 dans le numéro 17 de la revue Tohu Bohu, pp.13-15.
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Book Reviews by Melissa Elbez/Elbaz
Le dernier recueil d'essais d'Arjun Appadurai, publié en traduction française, mêle réflexions an... more Le dernier recueil d'essais d'Arjun Appadurai, publié en traduction française, mêle réflexions anthropologiques et propositions éthiques. Face aux inégalités engendrées par l'échange global des marchandises, l'auteur invite à une prise de responsabilité des sciences sociales et à une « anthropologie du futur ».
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Interviews by Melissa Elbez/Elbaz
Quand le passé remplace l'avenir Entretien avec Jean-Loup Amselle Publié en juillet 2013 dans le... more Quand le passé remplace l'avenir
Entretien avec Jean-Loup Amselle
Publié en juillet 2013 dans le numéro 17 de la revue Tohu Bohu, pp.16-17
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Maya América, 2022
When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history o... more When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history of Quintana Roo teaches us that tourism and migration can be forces of nationalization. This article invites us to revisit the history of the southeast Yucatan peninsula, in order to understand the mechanisms that presided over its inclusion into the Mexican nation and the logic of the resistance movement that was opposed to it. Furthermore, this article delves into the ritual practices, social organization and territoriality inherited from the Cast War, that are kept alive by the rebels' descendants (Cruzoob), unbeknownst to the gaze of the tourists and migrants who currently inhabit the region. How did the Cruzoob negotiate an identity as Indigenous to the nation, without losing sight of their sense of territorial sovereignty? At the time of the development of the Mayan Train, what are the challenges of the potential touristification of the Cast War? These are some questions that this article proposes to shed light on, in conversation with historical and anthropological readings, and drawing on ethnographic material collected in Tulum.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Terrains/Théories, 2022
Miguel is a former agricultural worker from Oaxaca who, once settled in the region of Cancun, has... more Miguel is a former agricultural worker from Oaxaca who, once settled in the region of Cancun, has been employed in a tourist park as a « Mayan warrior ». In this context, he was trained in prehispanic dance and discovered the Mexicanidad spiritual movement, of which he quickly became a regional leader. Starting from his singular path, this paper intends to show the complementarity between some social logics which are commonly considered as mutually exclusive, or at least as hardly compatible: firstly between spiritual quest and economic pursuit, secondly between strategic situation-bound identities and the making of a consistent subjectivity, and thirdly between inexperience and cultural innovation. It invites to think together migration, market activity and spiritual practice, with a view to understand the building process of a complex and singular subjectivity shaped by the actor involved.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Cultura en venta. La razón cultural en el capitalismo contemporáneo, 2019
A partir de un trabajo etnográfico realizado en Tulum (Mexico) y de varias fuentes mediaticas y a... more A partir de un trabajo etnográfico realizado en Tulum (Mexico) y de varias fuentes mediaticas y antropológicas, este articulo invita a interpretar la expectativa transnacional de un acontecimiento para el día 21 de diciembre del 2012, como la expresión social de un deseo colectivo de que se produzca un cambio en el orden mundial. En la primera parte, resalto la dimensión política de los discursos ordinarios sobre el 2012, y menciono casos de recuperación política explícita de este rumor. En la segunda parte, expongo la lucha ideológica emprendida por el líder New Age, José Argüelles, para cambiar el mundo al cambiar de calendario. Al exponer elementos de su obra y observaciones realizadas entre sus adeptos, evidencio que su doctrina se presenta como un remedio a la crisis temporal que estamos atravesando a nivel global, como resultado del paradigma evolucionista y de la forma neoliberal de la globalización. Por otra parte, muestro que la creencia en el 2012 se apoyó en teorías pseudohistóricas que son reveladoras de procesos de instrumentalización presentista de la historia e imagen de los pueblos precolombinos, en nuestros tiempos de desacreditación de la ideología del progreso.
En una tercera parte,conclusiva, inscribo el rumor del 2012 en el marco de un milenarismo cristiano que se ha proyectado sobre los mayas desde la Colonia y que ha sobrevivido hasta hoy bajo formas más secularizadas, para luego terminar con una reflexión sobre las contradicciones internas en las teorías del 2012, las cuales impidieron que la espera milenarista se convirtiera en un movimiento político.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Boletín Colegio de Etnólogos y Antropólogos Sociales, 2017
Pese a que lo maya no corresponda a una identidad cultural claramente definida, constituye una re... more Pese a que lo maya no corresponda a una identidad cultural claramente definida, constituye una representación polisémica dotada de un increíble poder performativo en términos de estructuración social, de de-sarrollo económico y de innovación cultural. Si bien el Estado ha desempeñado un papel fundamental en su conformación como categoría étnica, su sentido sigue siendo debatido y reinventado cotidianamente por actores sociales múltiples, con respecto a sus situaciones, aspiraciones e interacciones. En este artículo, me propongo ilustrar lo anterior con documentos históricos así como una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2016 (Quintana Roo, Mexico).
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Lorsque l’on évoque l’anthropologie de Georges Balandier, deux axes sont généralement mis en exer... more Lorsque l’on évoque l’anthropologie de Georges Balandier, deux axes sont généralement mis en exergue comme caractéristiques de sa pensée: la considération du politique comme une potentialité latente de toute activité sociale, et l’attention portée aux marges de manœuvre des acteurs sociaux. S’il est parfois fait mention de l’importance qu’il accordait à la dimension historique de la culture et à la processualité de la vie sociale, la question de la performativité socioculturelle du rapport au futur n’a pas fait couler d’encre. Pourtant, la lecture croisée de ses écrits anciens et récents révèle qu’il s’agit d’un axe central de sa réflexion, qui est non seulement indispensable pour comprendre la cohérence entre son œuvre africaniste et ses travaux sur la surmodernité, mais qui est essentiel à la mise en œuvre d’une anthropologie véritablement dynamique et politique. C’est pourquoi j’invite la nouvelle génération de chercheurs à prêter attention à la performativité du futur : un outil conceptuel d’une valeur inestimable pour quiconque souhaite développer une anthropologie à la fois politique et non déterministe du monde contemporain.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines, 2017
Georges Balandier and “the Children of Chernobyl”. What to do with his Heritage? In this paper, ... more Georges Balandier and “the Children of Chernobyl”. What to do with his Heritage?
In this paper, I call for a reconsideration of some dimensions of Georges Balandier’s work. While I investigate the modalities of its transmission over two generations, I attempt to show that his reflections on the implications of new technologies and globalization are not only heuristic, but that they tie in with his Africanist work. Indeed, I propose to consider his Africanist disengagement as a political commitment. In addition, I endeavor to highlight the centrality of the question of the “future” in his anthropology—which seems to me worthy of our attention—, and I emphasize Balandier’s interest in indivi- dual trajectories. Finally, I reveal the logical interdependence between his proposal for political anthropology and these two elements.
Dans cet article, j’invite à repenser plusieurs dimensions de l’œuvre de Georges Balandier. Tout en interrogeant les modalités de sa transmission sur deux générations, je m’efforce de montrer que ses réflexions sur les implications des nouvelles technologies et de la mondialisation sont non seulement heuristiques, mais qu’elles se situent dans la continuité de son œuvre africaniste. De fait, j’invite à considérer son désengagement africaniste comme un engagement politique. En outre, je m’attache à mettre en exergue la centralité de la question du « futur » dans son anthropologie — qui me semble mériter toute notre attention —, et je souligne l’intérêt que Balandier portait aux trajectoires individuelles. Enfin, je révèle le lien d’interdépendance logique qu’entretient sa proposition d’anthropologie politique avec ces deux éléments.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Español: A partir de una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2015 sobr... more Español:
A partir de una investigación etnográfica llevada a cabo en Tulum entre 2009 y 2015 sobre las modalidades diversas de referencia a lo maya, este artículo pretende esclarecer unas paradojas implícitas al proceso de patrimonialización de identidades indígenas. Por una parte, muestra que la necesidad de hacer de lo indígena un escaparate de la nación, ha llevado a la valorización turística de lo maya y a la desacreditación conjunta de unas formas contemporáneas de ser maya, lo que fomenta la discriminación de los ciudadanos mayas cuyos modos de vida no concuerden con el imaginario patrimonial sobre esta identidad. Sin embargo, a pesar de la presión normativa ejercida por las representaciones patrimoniales sobre los habitantes mayas de Tulum, estos últimos hacen uso de su agencia para oponerles denominaciones alternativas e interpretaciones propias, que tienen tanto que ver con sus memorias históricas como con sus aspiraciones individuales. Por otra parte, mis observaciones han revelado que, al hacer de lo maya un concepto definido por unas prácticas y una estética específicas, el discurso patrimonial abre el acceso a esta identidad a personas ajenas a la península de Yucatán. En efecto, mientras que las representaciones patrimoniales de lo maya siguen cumpliendo con su meta de proporcionar ascendentes indígenas a la nación, su difusión vía las industrias culturales, turísticas, mediáticas y unas teorías New Age, ha dado lugar a un proceso de cosmopolitización de la identidad maya, noción por la cual me refiero a su ingreso en el registro de las alteridades apropiables por personas de todo el mundo en el marco de bricolajes identitarios singulares. Combinando las perspectivas históricas y antropológicas, este artículo interroga la forma en que elementos históricos y recientes, de escala local, nacional y global se articulan para dar lugar a una configuración identitaria compleja y apasionante.
English:
From ethnographic observations carried out in Tulum between 2009 and 2015 about the diverse modalities of reference to the Maya, this paper seeks to to enlighten paradoxes that are implicit in the process of patrimonialization of indigeneous identities. Firstly, this paper shows how the need to make a showcase of the indigenous for the nation, has led to touristic enhancement of the Maya and to the joint discreditation of contemporary ways of being Maya, which encourages the discrimination of Mayan citizens whose lifestyle is not consistent with the imaginary identity attributed to them. However, despite the normative pressure exerted by heritage representations on the Mayan inhabitants of Tulum, they use their agency to counter their own alternative denominations and interpretations, that have as much to do with their historical memories as with their individual aspirations. Secondly, my observations revealed that by making the Maya a concept defined by specific practices and aesthetics, heritage discourse opens access to this identity to people from outside the Yucatan Peninsula. Indeed, while heritage representations of the Maya continues to meet its goal of providing indigenous ancestors to the nation, its broadcast through cultural, touristic, mediatic industries and some New Age theories has led to a process of cosmopolitanization of Mayan identity; concept by which I refer to its entry in the register of alterities likely to be appropriated by people from all over the world in the framework of singular identity bricolages. In combining historical and anthropological perspectives, this paper questions how both historical and recent elements from local national and global scales, merge to lead to a complex and fascinating identity configuration.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Tulum is a small tourist town on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Former stronghold for the Cast Wa... more Tulum is a small tourist town on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Former stronghold for the Cast War rebels, Tulum is mainly populated by national and international migrants, and became the subject of heritage policies that aim to inscribe it within the tourist geography of the « Mayan world ». Yet, the efforts undertaken by the authorities to provide the city with a Mayan identity in line with the nationalist imagination face a cosmopolitan version of local identity, which prevails among the population. Besides, while the heritage imagination about the Mayan excludes most of the Mayan inhabitants from this category, it allows some New Age spirituality lovers to gain access to it, benefiting thus from social recognition in the local tourist setting. Based on ethnographic fieldworks carried out between 2010 and 2015, this paper analyses the way public policies interact with the popular debates about Tulum local identity, and with its inhabitants’ multiple, innovative and nonexclusive modes of identity construction, which reveal rivalries as well as they potentially lay the foundations for a common identity.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Qu'en était-il du futur, avant ? De l'utopie communiste au gage néolibéral de prospérité globale,... more Qu'en était-il du futur, avant ? De l'utopie communiste au gage néolibéral de prospérité globale, les habitants du XXème siècle pensaient l'avenir comme une promesse. Mais voilà qu'un drame survint: forts de leur foi en le Progrès, ils crurent l'avoir atteint. Pris dans l’euphorie cérémoniale de la chute du mur de Berlin, un chercheur du nom de Fukuyama annonça la victoire planétaire de la démocratie libérale, la fin des conflits et la fin de l’Histoire. Et ils le crurent. Puis vint le lendemain...
Texte publié en juillet 2013 dans le numéro 17 de la revue Tohu Bohu, pp.13-15.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Le dernier recueil d'essais d'Arjun Appadurai, publié en traduction française, mêle réflexions an... more Le dernier recueil d'essais d'Arjun Appadurai, publié en traduction française, mêle réflexions anthropologiques et propositions éthiques. Face aux inégalités engendrées par l'échange global des marchandises, l'auteur invite à une prise de responsabilité des sciences sociales et à une « anthropologie du futur ».
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Quand le passé remplace l'avenir Entretien avec Jean-Loup Amselle Publié en juillet 2013 dans le... more Quand le passé remplace l'avenir
Entretien avec Jean-Loup Amselle
Publié en juillet 2013 dans le numéro 17 de la revue Tohu Bohu, pp.16-17
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact