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A World of Work: Imagined Manuals for Real Jobs
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A World of Work: Imagined Manuals for Real Jobs
248Hardcover
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Overview
Each chapter in this collection of ethnographic fiction could be considered a job manual. Yet not any typical job manual—to do justice to the ways details about jobs are conveyed in culturally specific ways, the authors adopt a range of voices and perspectives. One chapter is written as though it was a letter from an older sister counseling her brother on how to be a doctor in Malawi. Another is framed as a eulogy for a well-loved village magistrate in Papua New Guinea who may have been killed by sorcery.
Beneath the novelty of the examples are some serious messages that Ilana Gershon highlights in her introduction. These ethnographies reveal the connection between work and culture, the impact of societal values on the conditions of employment. Readers will be surprised at how much they can learn about an entire culture by being given the chance to understand just one occupation.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780801453939 |
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Publisher: | Cornell University Press |
Publication date: | 06/05/2015 |
Pages: | 248 |
Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Introductionby Ilana Gershon1. Letter to a Young Malawian Doctorby Claire Wendland and Chiwoza Bandawe2. What You Need to Know to Be a Fish Farmer in West Norwayby Marianne Elisabeth Lien and John Law3. How to Be a Magician in Parisby Graham M. Jones with Loïc Marquet4. Being a Village Court Magistrate in Papua New Guineaby Melissa Demian5. The Chaplain: Being a Physician of the Soul in a Secular Ageby Winnifred Fallers Sullivan and Christopher Swift6. Being a Crime Scene Technician in Swedenby Corinna Kruse7. Playing Piano without a Piano in Boliviaby Michelle Bigenho8. Making Do in Perpetual Crisis: How to Be a Journalist in Buryatiaby Kathryn E. Graber9. How to Be a Professional Organizer in the United Statesby Carrie M. Lane10. The Character in Question: How to Design Film Costumes in Indiaby Lovleen Bains and Clare Wilkinson11. Reflections from a Life on the Line: How to Be a Factory Workerby Caitrin Lynch and Warren Chamberlain12. How to Be a Cell Phone Repair Technicianby Amanda Kemble, Briel Kobak, Joshua A. Bell, and Joel Kuipers13. Becoming a Professional Wrestler in Mexico Cityby Heather Levi14. The Pains and Peaks of Being a Ballerina in Londonby Helena WulffAfterwordby Jean LaveList of ContributorsIndexWhat People are Saying About This
I read with real pleasure and enjoyment this imaginative collection of essays produced mostly by established anthropologists, and a few others who are practitioners of their crafts, on a quirky diversity of jobs. Charmingly, Ilana Gershon offers this collection as 'a graduation gift to my students, a bouquet of possibilities so that you can start thinking in concrete detail about what you need to know to do many different kinds of unusual jobs.' A very valuable gift indeed for the sorts of job markets that a highly cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse college student body faces today. I was charmed by its imaginative and readable format, and A World of Work is also quite a deep collection on the nature of work in a number of specializations. It is for anyone who enjoys the drama, humor, and achievement of applying learned skills in everyday life.
This delightful book takes the reader into the everyday work lives of people all over the world. What is it like to be doctor in Malawi, a magician in Paris, a crime scene investigator in Sweden? Each chapter is unexpected and engaging. You'll discover your own work and cultural underpinnings by experiencing how different life is for others. This is the most interesting and entertaining job-oriented book I’ve read in a long time.