This book is not about its title. Medusa's Hair is but a flash of an image that triggered... more This book is not about its title. Medusa's Hair is but a flash of an image that triggered the author's flow of creative inquiry. This book is not about its point of take off, "Leach's influential paper, 'Magical Hair' ". The latter is but a false start to which the author never really returns. This book is about matters far
Comparative Studies in Society and History, Jul 1, 1993
At the most manifest level, this paper is about agricultural and agronomic terminology as found i... more At the most manifest level, this paper is about agricultural and agronomic terminology as found in the discourse of Tamil-speaking workers on Sri Lanka's tea plantations or tea estates, as they are called there. My use of the terms agricultural and agronomic in this context is admittedly idiosyncratic. In the tea estates of Sri Lanka, two kinds of agricultural (in the unmarked sense) terminology are in use, one belonging to managerial agriculture and the other to folk agriculture. But by and large, the tea estate is the regime of managerial agriculture. Whereas in village India, folk agriculture prevails. I call the class of terms belonging to managerial agriculture, agronomic terminology, and reserve the term “agricultural terminology” for the domain of folk agriculture. By analyzing four communicative events that I observed and recorded on tea estates in Sri Lanka, I attempt to show how these two terminological worlds interact. The nature of that interaction is such that the dominant terminology of agronomy may be seen to be deconstructed by the subdominant terminology of village agriculture.
If one were to assess the field of sociocultural anthropology by the content of the leading journ... more If one were to assess the field of sociocultural anthropology by the content of the leading journals in the field, this collection of essays might seem to celebrate its breach with the self-assured march of traditional anthropological writings. Suffice it to say that, from the point of view of the ...
INTRODUCTION The identity of a labourer as a coolie, like the identity of anything or anybody, is... more INTRODUCTION The identity of a labourer as a coolie, like the identity of anything or anybody, is complexly constituted and, however exhaustively described, will remain only partially defined. Coolie-identity isasmuch the ...
This book is not about its title. Medusa's Hair is but a flash of an image that triggered... more This book is not about its title. Medusa's Hair is but a flash of an image that triggered the author's flow of creative inquiry. This book is not about its point of take off, "Leach's influential paper, 'Magical Hair' ". The latter is but a false start to which the author never really returns. This book is about matters far
Comparative Studies in Society and History, Jul 1, 1993
At the most manifest level, this paper is about agricultural and agronomic terminology as found i... more At the most manifest level, this paper is about agricultural and agronomic terminology as found in the discourse of Tamil-speaking workers on Sri Lanka's tea plantations or tea estates, as they are called there. My use of the terms agricultural and agronomic in this context is admittedly idiosyncratic. In the tea estates of Sri Lanka, two kinds of agricultural (in the unmarked sense) terminology are in use, one belonging to managerial agriculture and the other to folk agriculture. But by and large, the tea estate is the regime of managerial agriculture. Whereas in village India, folk agriculture prevails. I call the class of terms belonging to managerial agriculture, agronomic terminology, and reserve the term “agricultural terminology” for the domain of folk agriculture. By analyzing four communicative events that I observed and recorded on tea estates in Sri Lanka, I attempt to show how these two terminological worlds interact. The nature of that interaction is such that the dominant terminology of agronomy may be seen to be deconstructed by the subdominant terminology of village agriculture.
If one were to assess the field of sociocultural anthropology by the content of the leading journ... more If one were to assess the field of sociocultural anthropology by the content of the leading journals in the field, this collection of essays might seem to celebrate its breach with the self-assured march of traditional anthropological writings. Suffice it to say that, from the point of view of the ...
INTRODUCTION The identity of a labourer as a coolie, like the identity of anything or anybody, is... more INTRODUCTION The identity of a labourer as a coolie, like the identity of anything or anybody, is complexly constituted and, however exhaustively described, will remain only partially defined. Coolie-identity isasmuch the ...
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