Books by Julie McBrien
Leuven University Press, 2023
This edited volume is open access. You may download it here:
https://lup.be/products/209268
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University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017
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Published Papers by Julie McBrien
American Ethnologist , 2021
Uiat is a word ubiquitously spoken in Kyrgyzstan. It is
hurled at children to stop improper behav... more Uiat is a word ubiquitously spoken in Kyrgyzstan. It is
hurled at children to stop improper behavior and thrown by
adults to evaluate conduct. It is a relational practice that
textures everyday life, cultivating discomfort in the body
when spoken, gendering and aging those involved in its
practice, and setting the boundaries of propriety. Uiat is
most often translated as “shame.” The earliest work on
honor and shame in anthropology established the
prevalence of shame and outlined its basic work as a social
mechanism of control, but the discussion, especially when
considering Muslim societies, largely died out. Yet shame
remains a prominent practice ripe for investigation. Looking
at uiat as a dense, knotty practice carried out over time
shows how shaming practices, in Kyrgyzstan at least, work
to exert control and why they are so very efficacious.
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Oriente Moderno, 2021
Many Central Asians speak of marriage as important and self-evident despite the fact that marriag... more Many Central Asians speak of marriage as important and self-evident despite the fact that marriage in practice across the region presents a more complicated story. There is not only an extensive array of practices indicated by the single term marriage and a wide variety of things accomplishes by its conclusion and duration, but many non-marital sets of relations in Central Asia similarly realise what marriage does. This may lead one to question whether there is any sense in trying to pin marriage down at all. Yet, this tension-the flexibility of marriage in form and function, and its overlap with nonmarriage on the one hand, and its abiding importance and, at times, self-evidentiary nature, on the other-we suggest, lies at the heart of marriage-as-practice in Central Asia. Following recent turns in kinship studies, and long-standing feminist traditions, this paper envisages marriage as a relational practice of legitimization rather than pinning it down as a particular content. We argue that by focusing on the act of getting married in particular, its particular efficacy, as well as the disputes, questions , and conflicts that sometime arise as a result-in short, the quandaries of getting married-we get not only at this tensional nature of marriage, but at the everyday concerns and major societal issues wrapped up in marriage in Central Asia.
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New Diversities,, 2021
Darieva, T. and McBrien, J., 2021. Urban Religious Pluralisation: Challenges and Opportunities in... more Darieva, T. and McBrien, J., 2021. Urban Religious Pluralisation: Challenges and Opportunities in the post-Soviet South Caucasus–Introduction. New Diversities, 23.
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Hawwa, 2020
In October 2016, the Kyrgyzstani parliament passed a new law regulating marriage amidst a growing... more In October 2016, the Kyrgyzstani parliament passed a new law regulating marriage amidst a growing debate on gender, sexuality, and the integrity of the Kyrgyzstani nation. The amendment, which aimed to tackle the already illegal practices of underage and forced marriage, criminalized involvement in these acts by targeting the practice that in Kyrgyzstan is colloquially called nike, or what might be referred to as a religious or non-state registered marriage. The amendment regulated and recognized nike for the first time. By adopting novel language and using terminology whose meaning differed significantly from common usage, the amendment also subtly religionized nike. The vociferous public debate surrounding the passage of the bill similarly marked nike as something done by the particularly pious explicitly outside of the state’s purview, producing a spurious and politicized reading of the quotidian practice in Kyrgyzstan.
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Ethnographies of doubt: Faith and uncertainty in contemporary societies, 2013
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Anthropology Today, 2011
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Material Religion, 2012
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Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute, 2009
When Mukadas Kadirova changed her mode of dress as an act of religious devotion, she and her fami... more When Mukadas Kadirova changed her mode of dress as an act of religious devotion, she and her family – the self-proclaimed (former) epitome of modern, Soviet citizenry – were confronted with conflicting normative systems. Was Mukadas still a modern woman? Was the family? And what was modernity anyway, they asked: socialist ideals, capitalist consumption, or pious women fashionably tying their headscarves? This paper, based on fourteen months of fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, examines Mukadas's religious transformation; her attempts to map this alteration onto the shifting discursive and material realities of the post-Soviet period; and her play with variant notions of modernity. Mukadas's struggle ultimately shows that while modernity is often characterized by a linear, forward-looking gaze, experiences of modernity are not always marked by this progressive ‘onward’ sense. Modernity can be simultaneously past, present, and future.When Mukadas Kadirova changed her mode of dress as an act of religious devotion, she and her family – the self-proclaimed (former) epitome of modern, Soviet citizenry – were confronted with conflicting normative systems. Was Mukadas still a modern woman? Was the family? And what was modernity anyway, they asked: socialist ideals, capitalist consumption, or pious women fashionably tying their headscarves? This paper, based on fourteen months of fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan, examines Mukadas's religious transformation; her attempts to map this alteration onto the shifting discursive and material realities of the post-Soviet period; and her play with variant notions of modernity. Mukadas's struggle ultimately shows that while modernity is often characterized by a linear, forward-looking gaze, experiences of modernity are not always marked by this progressive ‘onward’ sense. Modernity can be simultaneously past, present, and future.RésuméQuand Mukadas Kadirova a changé de tenue vestimentaire pour manifester sa dévotion religieuse, elle-même et sa famille, incarnation autoproclamée (mais révolue) de la citoyenneté soviétique moderne, se sont trouvées face à un conflit de leurs systèmes normatifs. Mukadas était-elle encore une femme moderne ? Sa famille était-elle moderne ? Et pour commencer, qu’est-ce que la modernité : les idéaux socialistes, le consumérisme capitaliste ou des femmes pieuses qui nouent coquettement leur foulard ? Basé sur quatorze mois de travail de terrain au Kirghizstan, l’article examine la transformation religieuse de Mukadas, ses tentatives d’ajuster ce changement aux réalités discursives et matérielles mouvantes de l’ère postsoviétique, et son maniement de différentes notions de la modernité. Le dilemme de Mukadas montre, en fin de compte, que bien que la modernité soit souvent présentée comme un regard projeté vers l’avant, elle n’est pas toujours marquée, en réalité, par cette impression progressive de « marche en avant ». La modernité peut tout à la fois être le passé, le présent et l’avenir.Quand Mukadas Kadirova a changé de tenue vestimentaire pour manifester sa dévotion religieuse, elle-même et sa famille, incarnation autoproclamée (mais révolue) de la citoyenneté soviétique moderne, se sont trouvées face à un conflit de leurs systèmes normatifs. Mukadas était-elle encore une femme moderne ? Sa famille était-elle moderne ? Et pour commencer, qu’est-ce que la modernité : les idéaux socialistes, le consumérisme capitaliste ou des femmes pieuses qui nouent coquettement leur foulard ? Basé sur quatorze mois de travail de terrain au Kirghizstan, l’article examine la transformation religieuse de Mukadas, ses tentatives d’ajuster ce changement aux réalités discursives et matérielles mouvantes de l’ère postsoviétique, et son maniement de différentes notions de la modernité. Le dilemme de Mukadas montre, en fin de compte, que bien que la modernité soit souvent présentée comme un regard projeté vers l’avant, elle n’est pas toujours marquée, en réalité, par cette impression progressive de « marche en avant ». La modernité peut tout à la fois être le passé, le présent et l’avenir.
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Critique of Anthropology 28 (1): 87-103, 2008
Christian and Muslim religious movements have made significant inroads into post-Soviet Kyrgyzsta... more Christian and Muslim religious movements have made significant inroads into post-Soviet Kyrgyzstani society, and have been seen as a threat by the secular establishment. In this paper we discuss the defence mechanisms that are locally employed to ward off the danger that these ‘new’ religious movements represent. Our focus on secular responses not only fills a gap in the available research (which has focused on religious renewal but largely ignored the ‘secular’ majority), but provides new perspectives on how to view the post-socialist religious landscape. By scrutinizing secular responses we show that what is at stake is not so much atheist ideology but secular understandings of religion that were (inadvertently) promoted by Soviet rule. As such this essay shows the curious effect of Soviet legacies on contemporary notions of religion and culture.
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Critique of Anthropology, 2008
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Central Asian Survey, 2006
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… religious question: faith and power in …, 2006
... Although contemporary global events and political manoeuvrings influence the discursive envir... more ... Although contemporary global events and political manoeuvrings influence the discursive environ-ment, historical narratives play a leading role in legitimating the rhetoric. Moreover, the expansion of alternative interpretations of Islam and the creation of religious space in local ...
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Papers by Julie McBrien
Anthropology News
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Soap operas draw at least part of their success from their clever use of platitudes that may or m... more Soap operas draw at least part of their success from their clever use of platitudes that may or may not be taken seriously by viewers. In this article, the author focuses on Clone, a Brazilian show in which Muslims are depicted in classic, and blunt, stereotypical fashion. While travelling from its intended audience in Brazil to unanticipated, but equally excited, audiences in Kyrgyzstan the soap opera obtained interesting new meanings. Ironically, the stereotypical images contributed positively to local debates on what it means to be Muslim
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Nephrol Dialysis Transplant, 2010
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Anthropology News, 2003
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Book Reviews by Julie McBrien
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Uploads
Books by Julie McBrien
Published Papers by Julie McBrien
hurled at children to stop improper behavior and thrown by
adults to evaluate conduct. It is a relational practice that
textures everyday life, cultivating discomfort in the body
when spoken, gendering and aging those involved in its
practice, and setting the boundaries of propriety. Uiat is
most often translated as “shame.” The earliest work on
honor and shame in anthropology established the
prevalence of shame and outlined its basic work as a social
mechanism of control, but the discussion, especially when
considering Muslim societies, largely died out. Yet shame
remains a prominent practice ripe for investigation. Looking
at uiat as a dense, knotty practice carried out over time
shows how shaming practices, in Kyrgyzstan at least, work
to exert control and why they are so very efficacious.
Papers by Julie McBrien
Book Reviews by Julie McBrien
hurled at children to stop improper behavior and thrown by
adults to evaluate conduct. It is a relational practice that
textures everyday life, cultivating discomfort in the body
when spoken, gendering and aging those involved in its
practice, and setting the boundaries of propriety. Uiat is
most often translated as “shame.” The earliest work on
honor and shame in anthropology established the
prevalence of shame and outlined its basic work as a social
mechanism of control, but the discussion, especially when
considering Muslim societies, largely died out. Yet shame
remains a prominent practice ripe for investigation. Looking
at uiat as a dense, knotty practice carried out over time
shows how shaming practices, in Kyrgyzstan at least, work
to exert control and why they are so very efficacious.