Description
Book SynopsisFocusing on the problem of time—the paradox of time's apparent universality and cultural relativity—Carol J. Greenhouse develops an original ethnographic account of our present moment, the much-heralded postmodern condition, which is at the same time a reflexive analysis of ethnography itself.
Trade ReviewGreenhouse moves from the idea that perceptions of time and what time plans are culturally specific to the idea that cultural notions of time are linked to cultural notions about how the world works, or 'agency.' She includes discussions of the anthropological theories of time and their relationship to beliefs about death, a critique of the notion of social structure, and case studies that show the relationship of official assumptions of time-as-history to the responses of state elites toward challenges brought against them from below. These challenges to state legitimacy arise from the increasing diversity of populations within the state. The illustrative cases cover a wide range: the late-20th-century US, China 2,300 years ago, and early-16th-century Mexico. They show that official views of time and history are important in establishing and maintaining political legitimacy.
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Table of ContentsPreface
IntroductionPart I
1. Time, Life, and Society
2. Relative Time and the Limits of Law
3. Agency and AuthorityPart II
4. Time and Territory in Ancient China
5. Time and Sovereignty in Aztec Mexico
6. Time, Life, and Law in the United StatesConclusion: Postmodemity This TimeNotes
References
Index
