They Lie, We Lie - Getting on with Anthropology

Peter Metcalf gives an engaging account of his fieldwork in Borneo, telling the story of his tortuous relationship with Kasi, a formidable old lady who, for twenty years, tried to strictly control what he learnt about her community.

List of contents

CHAPTER ONE: LIES 1. Something spoken which is not true 2, They lie, we lie 3. Getting on with anthropology CHAPTER TWO: STRUGGLE 1. Learning experiences 2. Kasi's pre-emptive strike 3. The polite fictions of research proposals 4. Kasi throws up her defenses 5. The siege 6. My fifth column CHAPTER THREE: POWER 1. Hearts and minds 2. Colonial involvements 3. Going into the villages 4. People invisible to the state CHAPTER FOUR: ETHNICITY 1. Lelakness 2. The vanishing point 3. Foregrounding the Berawan 4. Lost tribes 5. The true Berawan 6. Keeping things in perspective CHAPTER FIVE: CLOSURE 1. Lelak 2. Throwing away the old way 3. Kasi's vanishing 4. Cultural obituaries 5. Indignities 6. Demolishing Upriver 7. Constructing Upriver People 8. No closure FOOTNOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY

About the author

Peter Metcalf has conducted research in Borneo for over two decades. He is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Virginia, USA.

Summary

Peter Metcalf gives an engaging account of his fieldwork in Borneo, telling the story of his tortuous relationship with Kasi, a formidable old lady who, for twenty years, tried to strictly control what he learnt about her community.

Product details

• Authors: Peter Metcalf, Metcalf Peter
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 25.10.2001
• EAN: 9780415262590
• ISBN: 978-0-415-26259-0
• No. of pages: 164
• Dimensions: 138 mm x 216 mm x 13 mm
• Weight: 470 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general); Cultural Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography, Social groups, Social and cultural anthropology, Social groups, communities and identities