City of Strangers —— Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain

Name: City of Strangers
Rating: 3.96
ISBN: 9780801462207

----- 陌生人之城：海湾移民与巴林印第安人社区

ISBN: 9780801462207 出版年：2011 页码：202 Gardner, Andrew M Cornell University Press

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内容简介

Excerpt} Unpacking and applying the concept of structural violence is one of the principal tasks of this book. To be clear from the outset, however, in lodging the experiences of the men and women I encountered in the larger rubric of structural violence, I do not intend to imply that we should ignore the agency exerted in the scenario I've just described, or in the scenarios that litter this book: we ought not ignore the basic fact that these scenarios are composed of humans choosing to abuse, exploit, maim, and dominate other humans. Rather, I seek to couple that basic fact with an analysis of the structural forces that cause, permit, encourage, or are in some other way involved in the production of violence between citizen and foreigner in Bahrain. In the final accounting, the episodic violence levied against foreigners in Bahrain becomes one facet of the more comprehensive structural forces that govern foreign labor in the Gulf states. The central mission of the anthropologist remains explication, and typically the explication of lives distant and different from those of the intended reader. The conceptual framework of structural violence, which I explore in detail, provides an analytic foundation from which I work outward in scope and, to some degree, backward in time. From that foundation I peer at the decisions and contexts that brought the men and women I came to know from India to the Gulf, at their experiences upon arrival in Bahrain, and at the strategies they deploy against the difficulties they face while abroad. I also examine the contours of the Bahraini state itself, the ongoing articulation of a particular idea of modernity in the Gulf, and the intricacies of the concept of citizenship as they have evolved in dialectic with the extraordinary flow of foreign labor to the island. Comments The abstract, table of contents, and first twenty-five pages are published with permission from the Cornell University Press. For ordering information, please visit the Cornell University Press This article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/books/62

Amazon评论

Sushil Suresh

I read this book a while ago, and so can't remember all the details. This is a good book on a very important matter. However, I remember feeling that Andrew Gardner's assessment of inter-ethnic/nationality relations in the middle east is very typical of a westerner's views about race relations among non-western people. It's disappointing when one is left wondering if such views arise from rosy ideas stemming from an unquestioning belief in the official propaganda about multiculturalism in the West. The reasons for Andrew's conclusions about inter-nationality relations in the middle east are far more complex and require a book in itself. Precisely because all the examples Andrew mentions in his analysis are not uncommon experiences in the allegedly more tolerant and liberal societies. But the book is quite good. Hopefully this is only a beginning by the author, as the subject requires more extensive work. For those who are aware of this huge problem Gardner's book is really a gem, because the author has done decent field work, and raises some important questions. I wish the book, in this digital age where images are not really hard to generate, had better photos showing the plight of the people labouring in the "Gulf". I wish I could say more about this book, but since my memory isn't all that good I can only say buy it or read it, if you've had anything to do with the regimes of the "Gulf".

L. Riley

It gives the history of Bahrain from the perspective of foreign labor concerns. Its very well put together with current issues as well. It gives a great perspective of current conflicts between foreign workers in Bahrain and how they are treated. Very good book.

Whitney

I thought this book was very boring. I was required to read this book and it was very hard to get through it.

Fabio

everything perfect and in time

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