Wiley The Anthropology of the State: A Reader: 9 (Wiley Blackwell Readers in Anthropology)

This innovative reader brings together classic theoretical texts and cutting-edge ethnographic analyses of specific state institutions, practices, and processes and outlines an anthropological framework for rethinking future study of “the state”. Focuses on the institutions, spaces, ideas, practices, and representations that constitute the “state”. Promotes cultural and transnational approaches to the subject. Helps readers to make anthropological sense of the state as a cultural artifact, in the context of a neoliberalizing, transnational world. Review "[Sharma and Gupta] have compiled a timely, useful and dense collection of classical and more recent texts that cover the field, as I know it, pretty well." (Critique of Anthropology, 2009) "The volume presents an innovative and greatly needed introduction to an interdisciplinary research programme between anthropology and political science." (Discourse & Society, February 2008)"[This) volume's refreshing theoretical approach and range of empirical examples should make it a valuable teaching and reference book for all those concerned with the challenging questions posed by the state." (Political Studies Review) Review “This is a nuanced, original framework for thinking about the state as a highly variable phenomenon of emergent world orders. With its expert selection of readings and comprehensive analysis, this volume is bound to become a standard reference and popular teaching tool.” –George Marcus, University of California, Irvine“The Anthropology of the State will be an important resource for teaching and for introducing students to new questions in anthropology. This collection offers a nice balance of historical and contemporary writings and a lucid introduction that advances theoretical claims about the state with the help of ethnographic examples. Contemporary globalization and transnational systems that are redefining the functions of the state make this an opportune moment for a serious reexamination of the processes of governance.” –Veena Das, Johns Hopkins University“One key strength of the volume is its coherence and intertextuality…Recommended.” –K. Brown, Brown University From the Inside Flap The Anthropology of the State introduces some of the most exciting approaches to the study of the state in a transnational world. This volume is unique in that it stresses the interplay between theory, ethnography, history, and critique. It brings together classic and contemporary theoretical examinations of the state along with cutting-edge ethnographic analyses of specific state practices, institutions, and ideas in diverse geographical locations and historical periods. The articles in this volume are presented for students and scholars in a range of disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political economy, and postcolonial studies. From the Back Cover The Anthropology of the State introduces some of the most exciting approaches to the study of the state in a transnational world. This volume is unique in that it stresses the interplay between theory, ethnography, history, and critique. It brings together classic and contemporary theoretical examinations of the state along with cutting-edge ethnographic analyses of specific state practices, institutions, and ideas in diverse geographical locations and historical periods. The articles in this volume are presented for students and scholars in a range of disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political economy, and postcolonial studies. About the Author Aradhana Sharma is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Women’s Studies at Wesleyan University. Akhil Gupta is Associate Professor of Cultural and Social Anthropology at Stanford University. His previous publications include Anthropological Locations: Boundaries and Grounds of a Field Science (ed. 1997), Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology (ed. 1997), Postcolonia