Who Counts?: The Mathematics of Death and Life after Genocide

by Diane M. Nelson

Overview

In Who Counts? Diane M. Nelson explores the social life of numbers, teasing out the myriad roles math plays in Guatemalan state violence, economic exploitation, and disenfranchisement, as well as in Mayan revitalization and grassroots environmental struggles. In the aftermath of thirty-six years of civil war, to count-both numerically and in the sense of having value-is a contested and qualitative practice of complex calculations encompassing war losses, migration, debt, and competing understandings of progress. Nelson makes broad connections among seemingly divergent phenomena, such as debates over reparations for genocide victims, Ponzi schemes, and antimining movements. Challenging the presumed objectivity of Western mathematics, Nelson shows how it flattens social complexity and becomes a raced, classed, and gendered skill that colonial powers considered beyond the grasp of indigenous peoples. Yet the Classic Maya are famous for the precision of their mathematics, including conceptualizing zero long before Europeans. Nelson shows how Guatemala's indigenous population is increasingly returning to Mayan numeracy to critique systemic inequalities with the goal of being counted-in every sense of the word.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780822360056
Publisher:	Duke University Press
Publication date:	11/09/2015
Pages:	322
Sales rank:	509,529
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Diane M. Nelson is Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University and the author of A Finger in the Wound: Body Politics in Quincentennial Guatemala; she is also the author of Reckoning: The Ends of War in Guatemala and coeditor of War by Other Means: Aftermath in Post-Genocide Guatemala, both also published by Duke University Press.

Table of Contents

Preface  xi

-1. Chapter Minus One  1

Part I. When You Count You Begin with 1, 2, 3

0. Bookkeeping  7

1. Before and After-Math  37

Part II. Bonesetting

2. The Algebra of Genocide  63

3. Reunion of Broken Parts  93

Part III. Mayan Pyramids

4. 100% Omnilife  121

5. Mayan Pyramid (Scheme)  157

Part IV. Yes to Life = NO to Mining

6. A Life's Worth  189

7. Beyond Adequacy  227

Notes  265

References  281

Index  297

What People are Saying About This

The Theater of Operations: National Security Affect from the Cold War to the War on Terror - Joseph Masco

"What work do numbers do in calculating catastrophic loss? What other modes of counting are needed to remake the world in light of ongoing violence? No algorithm can capture the conceptual richness or importance of this book. Diane M. Nelson’s special form of bookkeeping is nothing less than a revelation."
 

Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World - Greg Grandin

"'Life is painting a picture not doing a sum,' Oliver Wendell Holmes once said; the diversity of human experience and the complexities of culture can’t be explained by formula (no matter what our social scientists say).  Holmes's observation is wonderfully brought to life by Diane M. Nelson in her compelling new ethnography, Who Counts? Building on her previous path breaking scholarship on Guatemala, Nelson creatively and empathetically documents the many ways in which a postgenocidal society struggles against the stifling cunning of neoliberal regimentation—against, in other words, extinction by other means."
 

Editorial Reviews

"...I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Guatemala, postgenocidal reconstruction, environmental justice movements, or the social embeddedness of economic rationality."--Rebecca Nelson "Anthropology Book Forum" (6/1/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"A must-read for scholars of genocide, human rights, and Indigenous organizing throughout the Americas. . . . In this third book of what Nelson calls a genocide trilogy (263), she masterfully crafts an expansive analysis of Maya lifeways in precarious postwar Guatemala. Readers familiar with her previous work will recognize Nelson's almost dizzying ability to weave together seemingly disconnected and discrete quotidian experiences with divergent theories to render a cogent, layered analysis that is intensified with each page of her book. . . . An ethnography that will resonate throughout the Americas."--Brigittine M. French "Ethnohistory" (4/1/2019 12:00:00 AM)

"Diane Nelson has a special talent for capturing Guatemala's complicated contradictions in artful and compelling ways.... Who Counts? is full of clever observations and insightful analysis. It is that rare academic book that is thoughtful and provocative while also delightful to read."
--Edward F. Fischer "Bulletin of Latin American Research" (10/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

"In the end, it is a meditation on both Guatemala and numbers that Nelson offers, and . . . for me her book succeeds on both counts."--Douglas V. Porpora "American Ethnologist" (5/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

"Without sacrificing intellectual rigor, the book is written in a conversational tone, making it an enjoyable read.... Scholars who study truth commissions and reparations, as well as those who investigate lived experiences of imperialism and neoliberalism, will find the book especially useful. In general, the book is highly recommended for readers interested in how numbers and counting systems organize social life and shape our understanding of the world."--Brandi Townsend "The Latin Americanist" (9/1/2017 12:00:00 AM)

From the Publisher

"Diane Nelson has a special talent for capturing Guatemala’s complicated contradictions in artful and compelling ways.... Who Counts? is full of clever observations and insightful analysis. It is that rare academic book that is thoughtful and provocative while also delightful to read."
 

Bulletin of Latin American Research - Edward F. Fischer

"In the end, it is a meditation on both Guatemala and numbers that Nelson offers, and . . .  for me her book succeeds on both counts."

American Ethnologist - Douglas V. Porpora

"'Life is painting a picture not doing a sum,' Oliver Wendell Holmes once said; the diversity of human experience and the complexities of culture can’t be explained by formula (no matter what our social scientists say).  Holmes's observation is wonderfully brought to life by Diane M. Nelson in her compelling new ethnography, Who Counts? Building on her previous path breaking scholarship on Guatemala, Nelson creatively and empathetically documents the many ways in which a postgenocidal society struggles against the stifling cunning of neoliberal regimentation—against, in other words, extinction by other means."
 

Greg Grandin

"What work do numbers do in calculating catastrophic loss? What other modes of counting are needed to remake the world in light of ongoing violence? No algorithm can capture the conceptual richness or importance of this book. Diane M. Nelson’s special form of bookkeeping is nothing less than a revelation."
 

Joseph Masco

"Without sacrificing intellectual rigor, the book is written in a conversational tone, making it an enjoyable read.... Scholars who study truth commissions and reparations, as well as those who investigate lived experiences of imperialism and neoliberalism, will find the book especially useful. In general, the book is highly recommended for readers interested in how numbers and counting systems organize social life and shape our understanding of the world."

The Latin Americanist - Brandi Townsend

"A must-read for scholars of genocide, human rights, and Indigenous organizing throughout the Americas. . . . In this third book of what Nelson calls a genocide trilogy (263), she masterfully crafts an expansive analysis of Maya lifeways in precarious postwar Guatemala. Readers familiar with her previous work will recognize Nelson’s almost dizzying ability to weave together seemingly disconnected and discrete quotidian experiences with divergent theories to render a cogent, layered analysis that is intensified with each page of her book. . . . An ethnography that will resonate throughout the Americas."

Ethnohistory - Brigittine M. French

"...I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in Guatemala, postgenocidal reconstruction, environmental justice movements, or the social embeddedness of economic rationality."

Anthropology Book Forum - Rebecca Nelson

"'Life is painting a picture not doing a sum,' Oliver Wendell Holmes once said; the diversity of human experience and the complexities of culture can’t be explained by formula (no matter what our social scientists say).  Holmes's observation is wonderfully brought to life by Diane M. Nelson in her compelling new ethnography, Who Counts? Building on her previous path breaking scholarship on Guatemala, Nelson creatively and empathetically documents the many ways in which a postgenocidal society struggles against the stifling cunning of neoliberal regimentation—against, in other words, extinction by other means."
 

Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World - Greg Grandin

"What work do numbers do in calculating catastrophic loss? What other modes of counting are needed to remake the world in light of ongoing violence? No algorithm can capture the conceptual richness or importance of this book. Diane M. Nelson’s special form of bookkeeping is nothing less than a revelation."
 

The Theater of Operations: National Security Affect from the Cold War to the War on Terror - Joseph Masco