Tsantsa: Journal of the Swiss Anthropological Association, 2022
This special issue aims to shed light on and recognize the full potential of engaged anthropology... more This special issue aims to shed light on and recognize the full potential of engaged anthropology and its place in academia and beyond. It argues for an inclusive approach to be both theoretically enriching and methodologically grounded in diverse practices and forms. The introduction addresses common confusions and obstacles distracting engaged anthropology from its core premises and potentials. As the Interface Commission of the Swiss Anthropological Association (SEG), we seek to deepen the conversation about how engagement bolsters the discipline to stay relevant and robust, and embark on new paths of theoretical reflection. By "repositioning" engaged anthropology at the heart of contemporary anthropology, we seek to overcome unproductive dichotomies on engagements and practices by embracing critical reflexivity in the process of knowledge production and social action.
This ethnography is an account of children's place in social life affected by political and e... more This ethnography is an account of children's place in social life affected by political and economic processes that are transforming the social relations among an unusually multiethnic population which occupies a peri-urban village ethnonymically identified as Wampar, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It examines processes of differentiation and how cultural categories and practices of inclusion and exclusion through which they are realized are used and/or transformed in deployment under circumstances subject to historical contingencies and dynamics of power relations. Drawing on Eric Wolf's analysis of culture and power relations in a historically informed political economy, this study situates the shaping of categories of relations and cultural identity in a population that has long been enmeshed in polyethnic kin relations. It emphasizes the complexity of these processes and the locally obtained outcomes as affected by larger socio-economic forces. It accounts for the...
The first time that I conducted fieldwork in a Wampar1 village in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2009,... more The first time that I conducted fieldwork in a Wampar1 village in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2009, I talked a lot with young interethnic people who spoke about their contested belonging. These were children with a father who was culturally categorised as an ethnic ‘other’ relative to the Wampar, and they were accordingly excluded from inheriting and accessing land of the lineage of their Wampar mother. To be born only with a Wampar mother was no longer a guarantee of incorporation into a Wampar lineage group, which is a reversal of practices in the previous generations. The older generation of the parents explained that economic conditions have changed, which prompted them to make this critical social differentiation. Seven years later, upon my return to the same village in 2016, I observed newer forms of inclusion that, to an extent, are a
Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship... more Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship and identity construction. This article explores the transformative capabilities of children of interethnic marriages, particularly those with non-Wampar fathers. It examines children’s notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship... more Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship and identity construction. This article explores the transformative capabilities of children of interethnic marriages, particularly those with non-Wampar fathers. It examines children’s
notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
The prospect of mineral resource exploitation, in the context
of legal-political pressures on lo... more The prospect of mineral resource exploitation, in the context
of legal-political pressures on local communities to comply
with the bureaucratic visions of mining companies
and the
state, and the narrative construction of community futures,
invariably sets in motion processes of social boundarymaking.
Outcomes are driven not only by discourses
originating in the state or the mining companies, but also
in local and national narratives about the financial benefits
from mining for legally recognised «landowners». Among
the Wampar of Papua New Guinea, circulating narratives
about mining interplay with and are informed by local
social specificities to produce imagined futures that involve
the revival of encompassing groups called sagaseg as a basis
for Incorporated Land Groups (ilgs). Yet, the creation of ilgs
is sensitive to the particularities of kin relations, including
those emerging out of interethnic marriages, thus preserving
the long-standing Wampar emphasis on inclusive sociality
Tsantsa: Journal of the Swiss Anthropological Association, 2022
This special issue aims to shed light on and recognize the full potential of engaged anthropology... more This special issue aims to shed light on and recognize the full potential of engaged anthropology and its place in academia and beyond. It argues for an inclusive approach to be both theoretically enriching and methodologically grounded in diverse practices and forms. The introduction addresses common confusions and obstacles distracting engaged anthropology from its core premises and potentials. As the Interface Commission of the Swiss Anthropological Association (SEG), we seek to deepen the conversation about how engagement bolsters the discipline to stay relevant and robust, and embark on new paths of theoretical reflection. By "repositioning" engaged anthropology at the heart of contemporary anthropology, we seek to overcome unproductive dichotomies on engagements and practices by embracing critical reflexivity in the process of knowledge production and social action.
This ethnography is an account of children's place in social life affected by political and e... more This ethnography is an account of children's place in social life affected by political and economic processes that are transforming the social relations among an unusually multiethnic population which occupies a peri-urban village ethnonymically identified as Wampar, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It examines processes of differentiation and how cultural categories and practices of inclusion and exclusion through which they are realized are used and/or transformed in deployment under circumstances subject to historical contingencies and dynamics of power relations. Drawing on Eric Wolf's analysis of culture and power relations in a historically informed political economy, this study situates the shaping of categories of relations and cultural identity in a population that has long been enmeshed in polyethnic kin relations. It emphasizes the complexity of these processes and the locally obtained outcomes as affected by larger socio-economic forces. It accounts for the...
The first time that I conducted fieldwork in a Wampar1 village in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2009,... more The first time that I conducted fieldwork in a Wampar1 village in Papua New Guinea (PNG) in 2009, I talked a lot with young interethnic people who spoke about their contested belonging. These were children with a father who was culturally categorised as an ethnic ‘other’ relative to the Wampar, and they were accordingly excluded from inheriting and accessing land of the lineage of their Wampar mother. To be born only with a Wampar mother was no longer a guarantee of incorporation into a Wampar lineage group, which is a reversal of practices in the previous generations. The older generation of the parents explained that economic conditions have changed, which prompted them to make this critical social differentiation. Seven years later, upon my return to the same village in 2016, I observed newer forms of inclusion that, to an extent, are a
Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship... more Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship and identity construction. This article explores the transformative capabilities of children of interethnic marriages, particularly those with non-Wampar fathers. It examines children’s notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship... more Among the Wampar in Papua New Guinea, children are active participants in the dynamics of kinship and identity construction. This article explores the transformative capabilities of children of interethnic marriages, particularly those with non-Wampar fathers. It examines children’s
notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
The prospect of mineral resource exploitation, in the context
of legal-political pressures on lo... more The prospect of mineral resource exploitation, in the context
of legal-political pressures on local communities to comply
with the bureaucratic visions of mining companies
and the
state, and the narrative construction of community futures,
invariably sets in motion processes of social boundarymaking.
Outcomes are driven not only by discourses
originating in the state or the mining companies, but also
in local and national narratives about the financial benefits
from mining for legally recognised «landowners». Among
the Wampar of Papua New Guinea, circulating narratives
about mining interplay with and are informed by local
social specificities to produce imagined futures that involve
the revival of encompassing groups called sagaseg as a basis
for Incorporated Land Groups (ilgs). Yet, the creation of ilgs
is sensitive to the particularities of kin relations, including
those emerging out of interethnic marriages, thus preserving
the long-standing Wampar emphasis on inclusive sociality
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Papers by Doris Bacalzo
notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
of legal-political pressures on local communities to comply
with the bureaucratic visions of mining companies
and the
state, and the narrative construction of community futures,
invariably sets in motion processes of social boundarymaking.
Outcomes are driven not only by discourses
originating in the state or the mining companies, but also
in local and national narratives about the financial benefits
from mining for legally recognised «landowners». Among
the Wampar of Papua New Guinea, circulating narratives
about mining interplay with and are informed by local
social specificities to produce imagined futures that involve
the revival of encompassing groups called sagaseg as a basis
for Incorporated Land Groups (ilgs). Yet, the creation of ilgs
is sensitive to the particularities of kin relations, including
those emerging out of interethnic marriages, thus preserving
the long-standing Wampar emphasis on inclusive sociality
notions of belonging and rights through their practices and engagement in the discourses on social boundaries of kinship and ethnicity. Amid changing economic conditions that foster tightening of kinship boundaries and restrictions on land rights, children, who are valued as social capital, shift the balance towards mutuality of rights and benefits. Moreover, they further fluidity in reckoning kinship and the ordering of social relations.
of legal-political pressures on local communities to comply
with the bureaucratic visions of mining companies
and the
state, and the narrative construction of community futures,
invariably sets in motion processes of social boundarymaking.
Outcomes are driven not only by discourses
originating in the state or the mining companies, but also
in local and national narratives about the financial benefits
from mining for legally recognised «landowners». Among
the Wampar of Papua New Guinea, circulating narratives
about mining interplay with and are informed by local
social specificities to produce imagined futures that involve
the revival of encompassing groups called sagaseg as a basis
for Incorporated Land Groups (ilgs). Yet, the creation of ilgs
is sensitive to the particularities of kin relations, including
those emerging out of interethnic marriages, thus preserving
the long-standing Wampar emphasis on inclusive sociality