Local & Remote Anthropology ~ with Maria Lepowsky ~
11.21.06 ~ 10:30 - 5:00 ~
reading: 'Indian Revolts and Cargo Cults: ritual violence and revitalization in California and New Guinea' / Lepowsky, Maria / 2004 / In Reassessing Revitalization: Perspectives from Native North America and the Pacific Islands / Michael Harkin, ed. / Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press / Chapter 1 / Pages 1-60.
The article is a comparative one, based on my research both in Native Southern California and on Vanatinai, a remote island east of mainland New Guinea. While the piece is long, it has a strong narrative, so feel free to read it as a story.
Our class discussion next Tuesday will focus on several interrelated themes, which are also interwoven in the article:
*concepts of homeland, relations to place
*journeys, expeditions, and migrations, personal and collective
*personal autonomy, individuality, creativity, and vision versus collectivity and culture
*intercultural encounters and their consequences
*personal and cultural transformations
I would like to ask each of you to write a short response paper - one page or less - to this reading. In your response paper, please comment on one or more of the themes I've listed above.
Please bring your response paper with you on Tuesday and be ready to share your thoughts with the group. We will talk about how the themes I've listed here relate to our own lives and creative projects as we move among various communities.
~
Sarah: Wow. It’s hard to write a brief description about this class. It was so different from the rest of the classes and it was more recent so maybe that’s why it’s standing out so much in my mind. From our domed vantage point, Maria point out the mountains and informed us of the names they were called before they were renamed Mt. Washington, etc. I remember that Verdugo means executioner and that I want to learn more about Toypurina.
also from Sarah about this day:
my response to “Indian revolts and cargo cults”
The image of a tourist on the charles bridge in prague, czech republic calls to mind the deep difference between the person gazing at the 18th century plaster statue and the person on his way to work.
after nine months of living in prague i stopped being the tourist standing in the middle of bridges taking pictures. and on my way to school one morning, i came across a group of tourists lurching over the bridge craning to see something just beyond their gaze. their cameras outstretched in hopes of catching it. i stopped, curious, and stood behind them to take in whatever they were taking in. maybe someone fell in! maybe they were waving to a friend. maybe it was some freak solar eclipse. i remember thinking that i was going to get to see something cool and boy was i glad i stopped. it turned out, they were just taking a picture of what was there - and it was gorgeous of course, the light on the water, the boats passing under etc. i found myself feeling elated in that moment because i was not viewing the city as they were anymore. after 9 months things looked different to me than the 2 day traveler who has just been to budapest and is on their way to berlin.
Michael –an historical approach to the questions we have of culture and documentation. We view history, but we want to create ourstory.
Qusai--Maria Lepowsky's visit and her writing about ritual violence have left me with pondering:
What is the role of ritual violence today?’
Has it transformed into cultural violence?
Is the rise of fundamnetalism, especially in islam, an example of ritual violence on a global scale?
Why does it continue even though it fails?
What is the role of the sacred, of the otherworldly, today?
What does science do to these beliefs?
Is science fiction possibly the new sacred?
In an age of increased information, personal agency and few heroes, Can people still believe one person’s visions?
Why does the San Gabriel Mission, full of graves and build on a bloody history, still feel calm and serene once you are inside it?