Berghahn Books Crossing Histories and Ethnographies: Following Colonial Historicities in Timor-Leste: 37 (Methodology & History in Anthropology, 37)

The key question for many anthropologists and historians today is not whether to cross the boundary between their disciplines, but whether the idea of a disciplinary boundary should be sustained. Reinterpreting the dynamic interplay between archive and field, these essays propose a method for mutually productive crossings between historical and ethnographic research. It engages critically with the colonial pasts of indigenous societies and examines how fieldwork and archival studies together lead to fruitful insights into the making of different colonial historicities. Timor-Leste's unusually long and in some ways unique colonial history is explored as a compelling case for these crossings. Review "This is an important book, a valuable book, and in many ways, a path-setting book that brings together an impressive group of contemporary social analysts -- from both a historical and anthropological perspective - in a focused consideration of Timor-Leste." - James J. Fox, The Australian National University "The volume offers a strong and interesting set of studies; it is coherent and of value to the ethnography and anthropology of eastern Indonesia specifically and southeast Asian and Oceanic anthropology in general. The introduction offers an excellent overview of the historical turn in anthropology... The dialogue of practice and method gives the book wider interest for all those concerned with historical anthropology, irrespective of the region in which they work."- Nicholas Thomas, Director, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge About the Author Ricardo Roque is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon and currently an Honorary Associate in the Department of History at the University of Sydney. He works on the history and anthropology of human sciences, colonialism, and cross-cultural contact in the Portuguese-speaking world. He has published extensively on the colonial history of Timor-Leste. Elizabeth G. Traube is Professor of Anthropology at Wesleyan University (USA). She began her research with Mambai-speaking people of Aileu when Timor-Leste was still under Portuguese rule and has returned to Aileu several times since renewing her research there in 2000.