Anthropology Commons^™

The Genius Of The Nation Versus The Gene-Tech Of The Nation: Science, Identity, And Gmo Debates In Hungary, Krista Harper

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

Introduction In the late 1990s, Hungarian politicians, environmentalists, and agricultural lobbyists weighed the pros and cons of allowing genetically modified (GM) food and seeds to enter the Hungarian market. Starting around 1994, a small group of Hungarian environmentalists began researching GM issues. Initially, they feared that as a post-socialist country seeking foreign investment, Hungary would become prey to multinational corporations seeking an ‘emerging market’ with a lax regulatory environment. The terms of the debate were reframed over time, notably following 1998, when a number of European Union member states banned the imports of GM foods and when Hungarian expatriate geneticist …

Judaic Studies And Me, Joel Halpern

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

At the time I carried out my researches in Alaska among the Eskimo, in Balkan villages and in Southeast Asia among the peoples of Laos I must admit that I usually perceived “Self” and ”Other” as distinct categories, and certainly not interactive ones. But, from a contemporary point of view, applying a reflexive approach, I now readily perceive interrelationships which, at that time, seemed remote from one another. This specifically applies to the ways in which Jews and the Jewish experience have not been separated from but really a part of my experiences in distant places.

International Environmental Justice: Building The Natural Assets Of The World’S Poor, Krista Harper, S. Ravi Rajan

Anthropology Department Faculty Publication Series

In recent years, vibrant social movements have emerged across the world to fight for environmental justice –- for more equitable access to natural resources and environmental quality, including clean air and water. In seeking to build community rights to natural assets, these initiatives seek to advance simultaneously the goals of environmental protection and poverty reduction. This paper sketches the contours of struggles for environmental justice within and among countries, and illustrates with examples primarily drawn from countries of the global South and the former Soviet bloc.

This working paper is also accessible at the folllowing URL:

http://www.peri.umass.edu/236/hash/28d064d65f/publication/107/

A newer, revised …

Judaic Studies And Me, Joel Halpern

Joel M. Halpern

At the time I carried out my researches in Alaska among the Eskimo, in Balkan villages and in Southeast Asia among the peoples of Laos I must admit that I usually perceived “Self” and ”Other” as distinct categories, and certainly not interactive ones. But, from a contemporary point of view, applying a reflexive approach, I now readily perceive interrelationships which, at that time, seemed remote from one another. This specifically applies to the ways in which Jews and the Jewish experience have not been separated from but really a part of my experiences in distant places.

In Flanders Fields: Uncovering The Carnage Of World War I, Neil A. Silberman

Neil A. Silberman

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Indigenous Knowledge: Australia's Proposed Communal Moral Rights Bill, Jane E. Anderson Dr

Jane E. Anderson

This article will highlight the complicated political contexts that underpin discussions of intellectual property and Indigenous knowledge within Australia. On one level it aims to provide some contextual information about the development of new intellectual property strategies for protecting Indigenous knowledge. At another level, it explores the inter-relation of global intellectual property development with local articulation of reform. It seeks to respond to an increasing disjuncture: where international discussions draw on national developments but remain distanced from the discrete political contexts informing their emergence and inevitably, their contestation.

The Genius Of The Nation Versus The Gene-Tech Of The Nation: Science, Identity, And Gmo Debates In Hungary, Krista Harper

Krista M. Harper

Introduction In the late 1990s, Hungarian politicians, environmentalists, and agricultural lobbyists weighed the pros and cons of allowing genetically modified (GM) food and seeds to enter the Hungarian market. Starting around 1994, a small group of Hungarian environmentalists began researching GM issues. Initially, they feared that as a post-socialist country seeking foreign investment, Hungary would become prey to multinational corporations seeking an ‘emerging market’ with a lax regulatory environment. The terms of the debate were reframed over time, notably following 1998, when a number of European Union member states banned the imports of GM foods and when Hungarian expatriate geneticist …

Global Civil Society And The Local Costs Of Belonging: Defining 'Violence Against Women' In Russia, Julie D. Hemment

Julie D Hemment

This article contributes to scrutiny of feminist transnationalism by providing an ethnographic investigation of one of its most prominent campaigns. Thanks to the efforts of feminist activists, violence against women is now an international development issue, backed by the UN and prioritized by international donors and NGOs. I consider this success from the perspective of postsocialist Russia, where the first crisis centers have been set up in recent years. I argue that the campaigns have troubling effects: the framing of violence against women screens out local constructions of events, and deflects attention from issues of social justice. Presenting insights gained …

The Riddle Of The Third Sector: Civil Society, Western Aid And Ngos In Russia, Julie D. Hemment

Julie D Hemment

This article examines the forms and logic of political activism encouraged by international development agencies in Russia, by focusing on the project to promote civil society development. The version of civil society that has been brought into being by western design - the third sector - is far from what Russian activists desired and what donor agencies promised. Despite its claims to allow a grassroots to flourish, the third sector is a professionalized realm of NGOs, inaccessible to most local groups and compromised by its links to a neoliberal vision of development. The article pushes beyond some of the recent …