Overview

In December 2004 the Indian Ocean tsunami devastated coastal regions of Sri Lanka. Six months later, Michele Ruth Gamburd returned to the village where she had been conducting research for many years and began collecting residents' stories of the disaster and its aftermath: the chaos and loss of the flood itself; the sense of community and leveling of social distinctions as people worked together to recover and regroup; and the local and national politics of foreign aid as the country began to rebuild. In The Golden Wave, Gamburd describes how the catastrophe changed social identities, economic dynamics, and political structures.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michele Ruth Gamburd
Publisher:   Indiana University Press
Imprint:   Indiana University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.70cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.499kg
ISBN:  

9780253011381

ISBN 10:   0253011388
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   23 December 2013
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Political Ethnography of Disaster Wijitha's Story 1. That day: Chaos and Solidarity Dr. Priyanka's Story 2. Deaths: Fate and Vulnerability Pradeep and Manoj's Story 3. Short-term Camps: Chaos and the Crafting of Order Sumendra's Story 4. Housing: Temporary Shelters, Permanent Homes, and the Buffer Zone Lalitha's Story 5. Dangerous Liaisons: The Power, Peril, and Politics of Mediating between Donors and Recipients Jagath's Story 6. Business Recovery: Tourism and Construction Dayawansa's Story 7. Reconstructing Class: Discourse on Theft, Loot, Cheating, and Gifts Fazmina's Story 8. The Politics of Corruption: Accusations and Rebuttals Tharindu's Story 9. Citizenship and Ethnicity: The Tsunami and the Civil War Conclusion

Reviews

<p> [Provides] a rich human context to a catastrophic event too often reduced by statistics and policy analysis to an exemplary abstraction (or by sensationalism to a kind of voyeurism).... I can well imagine general readers picking it up to try to figure out why the tsunami was 'golden' and getting hooked by the many stories. --Mark Whitaker, University of Kentucky--Mark Whitaker, University of Kentucky

This is the best kind of microstudy. It merits much praise for its thick description and authenticity... Highly recommended. Choice

[Provides] a rich human context to a catastrophic event too often reduced by statistics and policy analysis to an exemplary abstraction (or by sensationalism to a kind of voyeurism).... I can well imagine general readers picking it up to try to figure out why the tsunami was 'golden' and getting hooked by the many stories. --Mark Whitaker, University of Kentucky--Mark Whitaker, University of Kentucky

Gamburd s political ethnography of this disaster is brilliant, poignant, and will help anthropology in its nascent theorizing of disaster, and will help all of those who want to understand how people make sense and recover from disaster. David L. Brunsma, Virginia Tech--David L. Brunsma, Virginia Tech

Author Information

Michele Ruth Gamburd is Professor and Chair of Anthropology at Portland State University. She is author of The Kitchen Spoon's Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka's Migrant Housemaids and Breaking the Ashes: The Culture of Illicit Liquor in Sri Lanka and editor (with Dennis B. McGilvray) of Tsunami Recovery in Sri Lanka: Ethnic and Regional Dimensions.

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