Fracturing Resemblances

by Harrison, Simon

• ISBN13: 9781571816801
• ISBN10: 1571816801
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-30
• Publisher: Berghahn Books

Summary

Western societies draw crucially on concepts of the "individual" in constructing their images of the ethnic group and nation and define these in terms of difference. This study explores the implications of these constructs for Western understanding of social order and ethnic conflicts. Comparing them with the forms of cultural identity characteristic of Melanesia as they have developed since pre-colonial times, the author arrives at a surprising conclusion: he argues that these kinds of identities are more properly and adequately viewed as forms of disguised or denied resemblance, and that it is these covert commonalities that give rise to, and prolong, social divisions and conflicts between groups.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vii
Introduction: Order, Conflict and `Difference'	1	(13)
Proprietary Identities	14	(13)
A Phenomenology of Trademark Ownership	27	(11)
Mimesis and Identity	38	(15)
Difference as Denied Resemblance	53	(12)
Property, Personhood and the Objectification of Culture	65	(17)
Cultural Piracy and Cultural Pollution	82	(15)
Cultural Boundaries, Cultural Ownership	97	(10)
Power and the Negotiation of Identity	107	(13)
Identity as a Scarce Resource	120	(14)
The Politics of Alikeness	134	(14)
Conclusion: Cultural Constructions of `Cultural Identity'	148	(7)
Bibliography	155	(20)
Index	175