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Papers by Andrew Mathews
Environmental History, 2003
FIRE IS a powerful symbol of chaos, often marking the destruction of order in both the social and... more FIRE IS a powerful symbol of chaos, often marking the destruction of order in both the social and the natural worlds. Fire fascinates the eye and appeals to the imagination, yet forest fires in the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca-in southern Mexico-have all but disappeared from popular ...
Social Anthropology, 2006
Current Anthropology, 2009
Indigenous community leaders and conservationists in Oaxaca, Mexico, believe that deforestation c... more Indigenous community leaders and conservationists in Oaxaca, Mexico, believe that deforestation causes streams to dry up and threatens rainfall, authorizing popular mobilizations against industrial logging. This belief was produced by a combination of indigenous beliefs in nature spirits and early-twentieth-century state-sponsored desiccation theory, which was brought to the Valley of Mexico in the 1920s. Desiccation theory acquires political significance because it allows rural people to build political and epistemic alliances that bypass industrial forestry institutions and find sympathetic urban audiences and environmentalist allies, undermining state claims to reason and scientific authority. These alliances require the skillful translation and mistranslation of local environmental concerns by activists and conservationists, who link the concerns of urban audiences with those of rural people. Popular beliefs about climate and forests in Mexico structure the authority and credibility of the state and will powerfully affect efforts to protect forests to mitigate climate change.
Human Ecology, 2005
For over a century the Mexican state has justified its control of forests by claiming that rural ... more For over a century the Mexican state has justified its control of forests by claiming that rural people are ignorant and destructive fire setters, in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary. Academic and popular stereotypes of the state have tended to assume that official power and knowledge go hand in hand. In an institutional ethnography ofthe Mexican environment
American Anthropologist, 2008
... More recent ethnographies of bureaucracy suggest that officials may ignore government ideolog... more ... More recent ethnographies of bureaucracy suggest that officials may ignore government ideologies and projects; they may carry out rituals of ... things, and social practices, easily destabilized, requiring scientists to engage in skilled rhetoric and constant translation (Latour 1987 ...
Environmental History, 2003
FIRE IS a powerful symbol of chaos, often marking the destruction of order in both the social and... more FIRE IS a powerful symbol of chaos, often marking the destruction of order in both the social and the natural worlds. Fire fascinates the eye and appeals to the imagination, yet forest fires in the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca-in southern Mexico-have all but disappeared from popular ...
Social Anthropology, 2006
Current Anthropology, 2009
Indigenous community leaders and conservationists in Oaxaca, Mexico, believe that deforestation c... more Indigenous community leaders and conservationists in Oaxaca, Mexico, believe that deforestation causes streams to dry up and threatens rainfall, authorizing popular mobilizations against industrial logging. This belief was produced by a combination of indigenous beliefs in nature spirits and early-twentieth-century state-sponsored desiccation theory, which was brought to the Valley of Mexico in the 1920s. Desiccation theory acquires political significance because it allows rural people to build political and epistemic alliances that bypass industrial forestry institutions and find sympathetic urban audiences and environmentalist allies, undermining state claims to reason and scientific authority. These alliances require the skillful translation and mistranslation of local environmental concerns by activists and conservationists, who link the concerns of urban audiences with those of rural people. Popular beliefs about climate and forests in Mexico structure the authority and credibility of the state and will powerfully affect efforts to protect forests to mitigate climate change.
Human Ecology, 2005
For over a century the Mexican state has justified its control of forests by claiming that rural ... more For over a century the Mexican state has justified its control of forests by claiming that rural people are ignorant and destructive fire setters, in the face of abundant evidence to the contrary. Academic and popular stereotypes of the state have tended to assume that official power and knowledge go hand in hand. In an institutional ethnography ofthe Mexican environment
American Anthropologist, 2008
... More recent ethnographies of bureaucracy suggest that officials may ignore government ideolog... more ... More recent ethnographies of bureaucracy suggest that officials may ignore government ideologies and projects; they may carry out rituals of ... things, and social practices, easily destabilized, requiring scientists to engage in skilled rhetoric and constant translation (Latour 1987 ...