Description
Book SynopsisThe Asian tsunami in December 2004 was reported on exhaustively all around the world. But this is the first full-length examination of the disaster. Providing an in-depth ethnography of the tsunami and its effects on a fishing village on the coast of Tamil Nadu, India, the author shows how disaster survivors have dealt with the tsunami...
Trade Review “…there is much to recommend in this book, not least its subtlety and persuasiveness.” · Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
“…the ethnographic case studies are truly fascinating and memorable. It offers fruitful ways to think about the experiential impacts of the 2004 tsunami in a wider Asian context, comparisons that should definitely be pursued on Indian Ocean shores both near and far.” · Anthropos
“…a well-written ethnography and a welcome contribution to a growing field of study.” · Social Anthropology/Anthropologie sociale
“Hastrup is a promising young anthropologist with a fresh and lively gaze, and this provocative volume augurs well for her future contribution to the field of environmental anthropology.” · American Anthropologist
“This book is a pleasure to read with its combination of intensive ethnography, its austere and almost minimal style of writing and its conceptual innovations. There is no doubt in my mind that this book it constitutes an important contribution to the manner in which we think of disaster and its relation to the everyday not only in the social sciences but also in policy sciences.” · Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University
Table of Contents List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Processing Disaster and Recovery
- The Disaster and the Everyday
- Local Worlds and Recovery
- Figure and Ground in Disaster Anthropology
- Transformation and Future Trajectories
- Book Outline
Chapter 2. The Field: Entrance and Emergence
- Arrival
- Emergent Fields
- Mapping Place and People
- Fieldwork on Foot
- A Walk around the Village
- The Lay of the Land
Chapter 3. The Dwelling: Homes and Hazards
- Build Back Better
- Bereavement and Moving on
- Homing In
Chapter 4. On Forecasting: Wind and Water
- Weather or Not
- The Landfall of Disaster
- Dropping the Anchor
- Forecasts and Precautions
- In a Climate of Changing Tides
Chapter 5. Responsibility: Agents and Agencies
- Local Level Humanitarian Support
- On the Limits of Community
- Recuperating Subjects
Chapter 6. Confusing Hardships: Onslaught and Opportunity
- In Need of Repair
- Certifying the Future
- The Ties That Bind
- Rallying for Safety
- Projecting Progress
Chapter 7. Materialisations of Loss: Monument and Memory
- Monumental Memories
- The Materiality of Loss
- On New Plots
Chapter 8. Everyday Life: Tsunami Time
Bibliography
Index
