Fracturing resemblances : identity and mimetic conflict in Melanesia and the West

Bibliographic Information

Fracturing resemblances : identity and mimetic conflict in Melanesia and the West

Simon Harrison

(The EASA series, v. 5)

Berghahn Books, 2006

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Note

Bibliography: p. [155]-173

Includes index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Western societies draw crucially on concepts of the 'individual' in constructing their images of the ethnic group and nation and define these in terms of difference. This study explores the implications of these constructs for Western understanding of social order and ethnic conflicts. Comparing them with the forms of cultural identity characteristic of Melanesia as they have developed since pre-colonial times, the author arrives at a surprising conclusion: he argues that these kinds of identities are more properly and adequately viewed as forms of disguised or denied resemblance, and that it is these covert commonalities that give rise to, and prolong, social divisions and conflicts between groups.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction: Order, Conflict and 'Difference' Chapter 1. Proprietary Identities Chapter 2. A Phenomenology of Trademark Ownership Chapter 3. Mimesis and Identity Chapter 4. Difference as Denied Resemblance Chapter 5. Property, Personhood and the Objectification of Culture Chapter 6. Cultural Piracy and Cultural Pollution Chapter 7. Cultural Boundaries, Cultural Ownership Chapter 8. Power and the Negotiation of Identity Chapter 9. Identity as a Scarce Resource Chapter 10. The Politics of Alikeness Conclusion: Cultural Constructions of 'Cultural Identity' Bibliography Index

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