I am anthropologist having more than 2 years of field experience in Papua New Guinea, where I have studied political processes of state formation (leadership, elections, democracy, bureaucracy) and related issues. I have previously worked in Denmark, where I have studied digitalisation of democracy and voting, and I have developed an interest in the diverse valuations of carbon (as a cultural as much as an economic or a 'natural' object).
Anthropological definitions and demarcations of ‘the field’ remain fundamentally anchored in trop... more Anthropological definitions and demarcations of ‘the field’ remain fundamentally anchored in tropes of location and spatiality, and the association between field and fieldworker is still primarily characterised as being maintained by distance in space. This article argues that ‘the field’ must be regarded as much as temporally constituted as it is normally seen as spatial. By exploring and unfolding the temporal properties of the field (e.g. different tempos, paces, extensions and projections of past, future etc.), it is suggested that the spatially anchored notion of multi-sited fieldwork can be complemented and extended with one of multi-temporal ethnography.
In sociological literature, the most commonly accepted meaning of 'the state' is based ... more In sociological literature, the most commonly accepted meaning of 'the state' is based on a spatial definition that describes it as an entity exercising sovereignty within a bounded territory. However, the state is also made present in time, and state forms have a profound impact on the temporalities of social events and interaction, for instance, through rhythms and schedules. Consequently, this article discusses how the state in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea, can be understood with reference to temporality as much as to spatiality and materiality. Here, the state is seen as being personified in its politicians, who are in control of its resources. In this understanding, the state is both facilitated and limited by the presence, attention, and duration of the politicians, who are obliged to recognize personal relationships through which kin or acquaintances can challenge bureaucratic control of space and of time.
ABSTRACT The treatment of asylum seekers at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua ... more ABSTRACT The treatment of asylum seekers at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has attracted much international attention, but there has been little analysis of its local and transnational impact. This article investigates the repercussions for the communities on Manus Island, on domestic affairs in PNG, and on the relationship between PNG and Australia. Overall, it concludes that the costs arising from the money, manipulation and misunderstanding generated by the centre seem likely to outweigh the purported benefits, particularly for Manusians and other ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Antropologien har naeret en faglig kaerlighed til malanganfigurer fra forste blik. Dette sk... more Antropologien har naeret en faglig kaerlighed til malanganfigurer fra forste blik. Dette skyldes hovedsageligt, at malangan, som en Stillehavets svar pa vanitas-motivet, materialiserer og dermed ogsa repraesenterer sociale og eksistentielle dilemmaer over liv og dod, og tid og forgaengelighed. Samtidig er malangan en 'ting', der har vaeret aestetisk vaerdsat som globalise ret kunst og som vidnesbyrd om lokal kulturel forandring.
Anthropological definitions and demarcations of ‘the field’ remain fundamentally anchored in trop... more Anthropological definitions and demarcations of ‘the field’ remain fundamentally anchored in tropes of location and spatiality, and the association between field and fieldworker is still primarily characterised as being maintained by distance in space. This article argues that ‘the field’ must be regarded as much as temporally constituted as it is normally seen as spatial. By exploring and unfolding the temporal properties of the field (e.g. different tempos, paces, extensions and projections of past, future etc.), it is suggested that the spatially anchored notion of multi-sited fieldwork can be complemented and extended with one of multi-temporal ethnography.
In sociological literature, the most commonly accepted meaning of 'the state' is based ... more In sociological literature, the most commonly accepted meaning of 'the state' is based on a spatial definition that describes it as an entity exercising sovereignty within a bounded territory. However, the state is also made present in time, and state forms have a profound impact on the temporalities of social events and interaction, for instance, through rhythms and schedules. Consequently, this article discusses how the state in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea, can be understood with reference to temporality as much as to spatiality and materiality. Here, the state is seen as being personified in its politicians, who are in control of its resources. In this understanding, the state is both facilitated and limited by the presence, attention, and duration of the politicians, who are obliged to recognize personal relationships through which kin or acquaintances can challenge bureaucratic control of space and of time.
ABSTRACT The treatment of asylum seekers at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua ... more ABSTRACT The treatment of asylum seekers at the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has attracted much international attention, but there has been little analysis of its local and transnational impact. This article investigates the repercussions for the communities on Manus Island, on domestic affairs in PNG, and on the relationship between PNG and Australia. Overall, it concludes that the costs arising from the money, manipulation and misunderstanding generated by the centre seem likely to outweigh the purported benefits, particularly for Manusians and other ordinary Papua New Guineans.
Antropologien har naeret en faglig kaerlighed til malanganfigurer fra forste blik. Dette sk... more Antropologien har naeret en faglig kaerlighed til malanganfigurer fra forste blik. Dette skyldes hovedsageligt, at malangan, som en Stillehavets svar pa vanitas-motivet, materialiserer og dermed ogsa repraesenterer sociale og eksistentielle dilemmaer over liv og dod, og tid og forgaengelighed. Samtidig er malangan en 'ting', der har vaeret aestetisk vaerdsat som globalise ret kunst og som vidnesbyrd om lokal kulturel forandring.
In recent years, ethnographic fieldwork has been subjected to analytical scrutiny in anthropology... more In recent years, ethnographic fieldwork has been subjected to analytical scrutiny in anthropology. Ethnography remains anchored in tropes of spatiality with the association between field and fieldworker characterized by distances in space. With updates on the discussion of contemporary requirements to ethnographic research practice, Time and the Field rethinks the notion of the field in terms of time rather than space. Such an approach not only implies a particular attention to the methodology of studying local (social and ontological) imaginaries of time, but furthermore destabilizes the relationship between fieldworker and fieldsite, allowing it to emerge as a dynamic and ever-shifting constellation.
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Papers by Steffen Dalsgaard