Description
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewDentan notes that '[e]thnographies are mountains and endure, theories are mayflies and don’t.' . . . Anyone, irrespective of discipline or area of specialization, who traverses this mountain will gain intellectually. Its methodology is refreshingly experimental and its theoretical orientation eclectic. The arguments presented are persuasive and compelling. The moral lessons conveyed in this elegantly and eloquently expressed ethnography are insightful, pertinent, and significant, particularly for those living in a world in which terror and violence prevail. * Journal of Asian Studies *
Overwhelming Terror, the product of four decades of research among Semai, demonstrates that Semai ways of life are not something rare and strange, but a continuation of the ways of successful ancient egalitarian societies. Robert Knox Dentan, applying lessons learned among Semai to contemporary American problems, succeeds admirably in a way that makes one proud to be an anthropologist. -- Carol Laderman, City College-CUNY
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Writing Someone Else's Life Chapter 1: Spotted Doves at War: The Praak Sangkiil Chapter 2: Regrettable Undertakings: A Dirty Joke, a War, a Vacancy Chapter 3: Responding to Terror: Intellectually, Emotionally, Spiritually Chapter 4: Transforming Demons by Love and Surrender Chapter 5: Ceremonies of Innocence and "Positive" Peace Chapter 6: Freedom: Just Say "No" Chapter 7: For Fear of Finding Something Worse: Raising Kids Chapter 8: Juni Gone Astray Chapter 9: Inconclusion
