Description
Book SynopsisPathbreaking studies of the postsocialist transition
Trade Review[Berdahl's] work reinforces the importance of European ethnography and acts as a critical resource on the study of borders, cultural change and social belonging. . . Berdahl's essays are well crafted, infused with feeling, dotted with specific examples, and evoke larger theoretical questions, not just about Eastern Germany, but about understandings of self, memory and belonging. Her writing manages to capture fleeting moments and movements in postsocialist Germany, and the book is both informative and a joy to read. 28. 1 2010
* ANTHROPOLOGY E EUROPE REVIEW *
Scholars interested in meaning, memory, consumption and representation of the East German past will greatly benefit from reading this thoughtful volume. 29.2 2011
* German History *
As a posthumous publication and deserved labour of love, this compilation understandably has some repetitions and loose ends, but also highly suggestive arguments that remain ours to pursue. It is a pleasure to follow Berdahl's lines of thought and growth as a scholar, her consummate fieldwork and writing.
* Anthropological Notebooks *
This highly readable book spans a full life of research and offers researchers and students alike an opportunity to continue the discussions which Berdahl pioneered as the historical events themselves were taking place.
* German Studies Review *
This collection is an excellent introduction to Daphne Berdahl's generous and insightful ethnography... [R]eaders will be rewarded by her perceptive research, skillful prose, and humanizing insights.April, 2011
* H-SAE *
Table of ContentsPreface by Michael Herzfeld
Acknowledgments
Introduction by Matti Bunzl
Part 1. Washington, D.C.
1. Voices at the Wall: Discourses of Self, History, and National Identity at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Part 2. Kella
2. Consumer Rites: The Politics of Consumption in Re-Unified Germany
3. "(N)Ostalgie" for the Present: Memory, Longing, and East German Things
4. "Go, Trabi, Go!": Reflections on a Car and Its Symbolization over Time
5. Mixed Devotions: Religion, Friendship, and Fieldwork in Postsocialist East Germany
Part 3. Leipzig
6. The Spirit of Capitalism and the Boundaries of Citizenship in Post-Wall Germany
7. Local Hero, National Crook: "Doc" Schneider and the Spectacle of Finance Capital
8. Expressions of Experience and Experiences of Expression: Museum Re-Presentations of GDR History
9. Goodbye Lenin, Aufwiedersehen GDR: On the Social Life of Socialism
Notes
References
Index
