A Comparative Ethnography Of Alternative Spaces

Many people seek, in various ways, to carve out a space for themselves independently of the existing social and political realities of which they continue to be a part. Through a range of ethnographical cases, the contributors in this book address the innovative and complex ways in which social groups position themselves between cultures, between states, between moralities, and between local communities and state authorities, thus creating new opportunities for agency in the modern world.

Review: In this exciting volume Esther Fihl and Jens Dahl have brought together a group of collaborators to grapple with questions of identity, place, and power in the contemporary world. In developing the concept of alternative spaces the authors help us conceptualize how people around the world are shaping their lives in relation to--but without being dictated by--nation-states, enduring cultural and religious forms, and new technologies.

Ranging from indigenous rights activists in the United Nations to caste councils in South India, from the political struggles of Mexican migrants in the United States to the position of Christians in Syria, and from racecourse gambling in India to the Danish seamen's church in Singapore, each contributor offers a wide-ranging and unique perspective on how groups of people are shaping more or less stable alternative spaces in the wake of globalization.

Most importantly, A Comparative Ethnography of Alternative Spaces rescales ethnographic comparison itself and thus offer a new window into how social life is organized. - Johan Lindquist, Associate Professor, Social Anthropology, Stockholm University