Crafting masculine selves: culture, war, and psychodynamics in Afghanistan
Historical and ethnographic background -- Rohullah: shifting subjectivities and the crafting of a private masculinity -- Umar: the making, and un-making, of a religious militant -- Baryalay: between cultural and personal representational worlds -- Rahmat: the dilemmas of a "perfect" Pashtu...
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| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York, NY
Oxford University Press
[2020]
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| In: | Year: 2020 |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Keywords: | |
| Related Items: | Erscheint auch als:
168468367X |
| Summary: | Historical and ethnographic background -- Rohullah: shifting subjectivities and the crafting of a private masculinity -- Umar: the making, and un-making, of a religious militant -- Baryalay: between cultural and personal representational worlds -- Rahmat: the dilemmas of a "perfect" Pashtun -- Between what "was" and what "is": four tales -- Conclusion: the search for "meaning" within a shared psychic reality. Against the backdrop of four decades of continuous conflict in Afghanistan, the Pashtun male protagonists of this book carry out their daily effort to internally negotiate, adjust (if at all), and respond to the very strict cultural norms and rules of masculinity that their androcentric social environment enjoins on them. Yet, in a widespread context of war, displacement, relocation, and social violence, cultural expectations and stringent tenets on how to comport oneself as a "real man" have a profound impact on the psychological equilibrium and emotional dynamics of these individuals. This book is a close investigation into these private and at times contradictory aspects of subjectivity. Stemming from five years of research in a southeastern province of Afghanistan, it presents a long-term, psychodynamic engagement with a select group of male Pashtun individuals, which results in a multilayered dive not only into their inner lives, but also into the cultural and social environment in which they live and develop. Behind the screen of what often seems like outward conformity, Andrea Chiovenda is able to point to areas of strong inner conflict, ambivalence, and rebellion, which in turn will serve as the seeds for cultural and social change. These dynamics play out in a setting in which what was considered legitimate and justifiable violence on the battlefield has now spilled over into everyday life, even among non-combatants |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-250) and index |
| Physical Description: | ix, 259 Seiten 25 cm |
| ISBN: | 9780190073558 0190073551 |