Pomo Results Revisited

Denise Obrien (D-OBRIEN@VM.TEMPLE.EDU)
Tue, 10 Oct 1995 12:07:56 EDT

pomo ethnography,has produced results that are strictly comparable to
say, a model of segmentary lineage organization or crosscousin marriage
or an Omaha kinship system--or, seeking something outside kinship, the
relationship between ecology and ritual demonstrated by Rappaport, there
are a growing number of ethnographies that offer new insights on the self
or personhood. In addition to the already cited Kondo (Japan) and Lavie
(Sinai Bedouin), these include.....in no particular order:
Rosaldo, Michelle (1980) Knowledge and Passion: Ilongot Notions of
Self and Social Life.
Crapanzano, Vincent (1980) Tuhami: Portrait of a Moroccan.
Herdt,Gilbert & Robert J. Stoller (1990) Intimate Communications:
Erotics and the Study of Culture. [Sambia, Papua New Guinea]
Stephen, Michele (1995) A'aisa's Gifts: A Study of Magic and the
Self. [Mekeo, Papua New Guinea]
There are probably others that I've overlooked. Some of the
above are more self-consciously pomo than others but all take a very
different approach than the former culture-and-personality studies.
Why this focus on the self? Probably has something to do with pomo's
interrelated concerns with reflexivity and the Other.
Reactions???
Denise O'Brien


BTW, a book I'm currently enjoying--haven't finished it yet--is
The Condition of Postmodernity by David Harvey (1990)

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| DENISE O'BRIEN D-OBRIEN@TEMPLEVM |
| DEPT. OF ANTHROPOLOGY D-OBRIEN@VM.TEMPLE.EDU
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