Labor's Lot: The Power, History, and Culture of Aboriginal Action
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- Synopsis
- How does an Aboriginal community see itself, its work, and its place on the land? Elizabeth Povinelli goes to the Belyuen community of northern Australia to show how it draws from deep connections between labor, language, and the landscape. Her findings challenge Western notions of "productive labor" and longstanding ideas about the role of culture in subsistence economies. In Labor's Lot, Povinelli shows how everyday activities shape Aboriginal identity and provide cultural meaning. She focuses on the Belyuen women's interactions with the countryside and on Belyuen conflicts with the Australian government over control of local land. Her analysis raises serious questions about the validity of Western theories about labor and culture and their impact on Aboriginal society. Povinelli's focus on women's activities provides an important counterpoint to recent works centering on male roles in hunter-gatherer societies. Her unique "cultural economy" approach overcomes the dichotomy between the two standard approaches to these studies. Labor's Lot will engage anyone interested in indigenous peoples or in the relationship between culture and economy in contemporary social practice.
- Copyright:
- 1994
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 340 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780226676746
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780226676739, 9780226676739
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- Date of Addition:
- 01/09/22
- Copyrighted By:
- N/A
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- History, Nonfiction, Australiana, Social Studies
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
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Other Books
- by Elizabeth A. Povinelli
- in History
- in Nonfiction
- in Australiana
- in Social Studies