Description
Book Synopsis In this pioneering ethnographic study of identity and integration, author Philipp Schröder explores urban change in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek from the vantage point of the male youth living in one neighbourhood. Touching on topics including authority, violence, social and imaginary geographies, interethnic relations, friendship, and competing notions of belonging to the city, Bishkek Boys offers unique insights into how post-Socialist economic liberalization, rural-urban migration and ethnic nationalism have reshaped social relations among young males who come of age in this Central Asian urban environment.
Trade Review “…rich, detailed, and scrupulous ethnographic descriptions…Bishkek Boys should be read by researchers and students in courses on Central Asia and post-Soviet space, as well as in youth and urban communities studies.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)
“The merit of a micro-ethnography is the ability to document a rich tapestry of interpersonal exchanges, storytelling and self-presentations that assemble and capture emergent social organisation. This is an engaging insight into how community bonds are fragmented and recreated.” • Newbooks.asia
“Meticulously researched, theoretically strong, scrupulously annotated – in other words, this is an excellent book.” · Shirin Akiner, School of Oriental and African Studies, London University
“This attractively written book is a tribute to the realities of urban life in Central Asia, as seen through the perspective of young men in search of respect and authority, while dealing with the fall out of larger socio-political upheavals” · Mathijs Pelkmans, London School of Economics
Table of Contents List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration and Naming
Introduction: The Playground Incident, the Field and a Conceptual Frame
Chapter 1. Authority and Resource: Batyr as a Leader in Shanghai
Chapter 2. Territory: Kanat and the Other Yards
Chapter 3. Disconnection: Bolot and the Generation ‘Off the Streets’
Chapter 4. Respect and Responsibility: Semetei and the Other Bratishki
Chapter 5. Solidarity: Metis, Ulan and Friendship Relations
Chapter 6. Acquaintances: Maks and Interethnic Relations
Chapter 7. Urban Socialization: Tilek and the Newcomers
Conclusion: From Shanghai to Iug-2 and Bishkek’s Postsocialist Trajectory
List of Main Characters
Glossary of Selected Terms
References
Index
