Anthropology of Policy: Perspectives on Governance and Power

by Cris Shore (Editor), Susan Wright (Editor)

Overview

Arguing that policy has become an increasingly central concept and instrument in the organisation of contemporary societies and that it now impinges on all areas of life so that it is virtually impossible to ignore or escape its influence, this book argues that the study of policy leads straight into issues at the heart of anthropology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781134827015
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/16/2003
Series:	European Association of Social Anthropologists
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	597 KB

About the Author

Shore, Cris; Wright, Susan

Table of Contents

Introduction 1 Policy: A new field of anthropology Part I Policy as language and power 2 Writing development policy and policy analysis plain or clear: On language, genre and power 3 The implications of ‘medical’, ‘gender in development’ and ‘culturalist’ discourses for HIV/AIDS policy in Africa 4 Patients’ bodies and discourses of power Part II Policy as cultural agent 5 Free to make the right choice? Gender equality policy in post-welfare Sweden 6 The cultural politics of populism: Celebrating Canadian national identity 7 Governing Europe: European Union audiovisual policy and the politics of Identity Part III Policy as political technology: Governmentality and subjectivity 8 Reform and resistance: A Norwegian illustration 9 Poverty in a ‘post-welfare’ landscape: Tenant management policies, self governance and the democratization of knowledge in Great Britain 10 Managing Americans: Policy and changes in the meanings of work and the Self. Epilogue 11 Anthropology and policy research: The view from Northern Ireland

Editorial Reviews

Argues that policy has become in increasingly central organizing principle in contemporary societies and shows how anthropological approaches to policy can provide insights into a range of contemporary issues, from health care policies in Norway to AIDS policy in Africa. Examines the emerging structures and discourses through which policy operates to introduce new neo-liberal systems of government and new forms of power. Originates from a workshop organized by Anthropology in Action at the 1994 Conference of the European Association of Social Anthropologists held in Oslo. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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