Indian agriculture is widely believed to be in crisis. There is broad consensus among scholar, policymakers and activists that economic hardships and the changing climate have made sustaining a... Show moreIndian agriculture is widely believed to be in crisis. There is broad consensus among scholar, policymakers and activists that economic hardships and the changing climate have made sustaining a livelihood through farming increasingly untenable. There is a strong sense that something has to be done to help farmers deal with the crisis, and in recent years agricultural insurance has been presented as a possible fix for rural distress. This dissertation studies how a new agricultural insurance scheme called PMFBY becomes part of everyday social interactions and experiences. Insurance companies often assert that quantified procedures can accurately - and fairly - calculate the extent of agricultural risk, attach a price tag to it and protect against it. Can quantification really be the antidote to crisis? To answer this question I explore how insurance numbers translate to the everyday experiences of rural people in central Maharashtra. I find that, when seen from the perspective of those encountering them in their daily lives, the numbers are anything but straightforward. The effects of quantification were often arbitrary, and despite promises of transparency, they had a tendency to obscure rather than clarify. In short, the numbers turned out to be inconsistent and ambiguous. The dissertation describes how people attempt to make sense of this ambiguity through their moral understandings. It focusses on the (often heated) discussions, the collective pondering such discussions led to, the personal dilemmas it posed as well as the dreams and aspirations numbers became entwined with. I explore how such quandaries unfold and argue that a focus on the morality of quantification brings to light the social life of numbers beyond their 'objective' factuality. Show less
New Edge. Technology and Spirituality in the San Francisco Bay Area is a study of the way that technologists, artists, writers and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area negotiate the events... Show moreNew Edge. Technology and Spirituality in the San Francisco Bay Area is a study of the way that technologists, artists, writers and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area negotiate the events that have characterized this region since World War II: the rise of the computer industry and of New Age spirituality. The book argues that some of these negotiations have led to a New Edge culture, consisting of high-tech New Agers seeking to produce ways of being, acting and thinking that transcend the modernist assumption that technoscience and spirituality exclude each other. As the chapters progress it becomes clear that the assumed tension between technology and spirituality does not New Edge life sufficiently. New Edge has grown in relation to several other paradoxes that inform everyday life in one of the most high-technological regions in the world. Tracing New Edge back to the 1960s counterculture, this dissertation explores how New Edgers negotiate life in a society that calls itself secular but also believes in ultimate truth, that is both in and out of control, that invites passive consumption as well as active engagement, and that celebrates communal living as much as an individualistic ‘Do It Yourself’ ethic. Show less
This rich ethnographic study explores the life and work of successful marabout women in Dakar. it is set against the background of their private family lives, of developments in Senegalese society,... Show moreThis rich ethnographic study explores the life and work of successful marabout women in Dakar. it is set against the background of their private family lives, of developments in Senegalese society, and of global changes. While including female experts in spirit possession and plant-based healing, it also gives a rare insight in the work of women who offer Islamic knowledge such as Arabic astrology, numerology, divination and prayer sessions. With the analysis of marabout women's work this study sheds light on the ways in which women's authority is negotiated, legitimated, and publicly recognised in Dakar. The study focuses especially upon marabout women's strategies to gain their client's trust. Reference to rural areas is a significant element in this process. This study thus contributes to an understanding of a gendered way in which trust ans skepticism are related to marabout's work and of the the role of a connection between Dakar and the rural areas therein. Show less
Negotiating Life analyzes the funerals of the Garo, a matrilineal hill society of the Indian State of Meghalaya. Garo funerals serve to dispose of the corpse, and to guide the soul of the deceased... Show moreNegotiating Life analyzes the funerals of the Garo, a matrilineal hill society of the Indian State of Meghalaya. Garo funerals serve to dispose of the corpse, and to guide the soul of the deceased to the afterworld. In addition, the rituals allow for the reorganization of social relationships among people and their Houses. Mortuary rituals are instrumental in the transformation of the dead from social persons into anonymous ancestors. Particularly in the latter sense, the dead are a source of authority and prestige, and play an important role in structuring social relationships among people. The author argues that Garo mortuary rituals derive much of their significance from the transfer of gifts between representatives of the deceased and the people who attend a mortuary ritual. The kind of gifts that can be offered depend on the relationship that people trace to the deceased. The acceptance and rejection of these gifts is decided in processes of negotiation. Consequently, gift exchange plays an important role in defining and (re)constructing social relationships. It is shown that people's participation in rituals of death is of structural importance to Garo society and allows them to reconstruct life in the context of death. Show less
