Abstract

Using a “vertical slice” approach, anthropologists critically analyze the relationship between undemocratic uses and abuses of power and the survival of the human species. The contributors scrutinize modern institutions in a variety of regions—from Russia and Mexico to South Korea and the U.S. Up, Down, and Sideways is an ethnographic examination of such phenomena as debtculture, global financial crises, food insecurity, indigenous land and resource appropriation, the mismanagement of health care, andcorporate surrogacy within family life. With a preface by Laura Nader, this isessential reading for anyone seeking solid theories and concrete methods to inform activist scholarship.

“The case studies demonstrate that anthropology has much to offer to the study of power and that the study of power has much to offer to our grasp of contemporary society and culture. The selections range over a wide territory of countries and institutional settings, interestingly not dwelling on anthropology's customary 'traditional' societies but rather focusing on modern state and trans-state systems. It has much to offer the discipline and should inspire much more valuable research and theory.”  ·  Anthropology Review Database

“I really appreciate the way the authors combine the overall concept of social power with its actual application by decision-makers that impact the daily lives of ordinary people, and the way they perceive the realities that they experience in a very wide range of circumstances… This is a well-structured collection by authors who all share the same perspective, but they cover a wide-diversity of areas, both topically and geographically.”   ·  John H. Bodley, Washington State University

“This collection of essays uses the writings, methods, and ideas of Laura Nader to produce an important collection of essays… The clear thematic focus examining “pathways of power” combined with the breadth of the subjects used to examine power relations is the central strength of a collection.”   ·  David H. Price, St. Martin’s University

“The collection offers a persuasive case for [Laura] Nader’s thesis, strong evidence of the violence of power and how it works (historically and in the contemporary world), and a clear illustration of the connections between social phenomena... Thus, the Nader principle allows for a beautiful synthesis, bringing together seemingly disparate topics (from debt and dispossession to food, adoption, repressed memory and health care), revealing their systemic and structural linkages.”   ·  Alisse Waterston, City University of New York

Roberto J. González is Professor of Anthropology at San Jose State University and author of several books including Zapotec Science: Farming and Food in the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca (Texas, 2001), American Counterinsurgency: Human Science and the Human Terrain (Prickly Paradigm, 2009), and Militarizing Culture: Essays on the Warfare State (Left Coast, 2010). He co-produced the documentary film Losing Knowledge: 50 Years of Change and is a founding member of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists.

Rachael Stryker is Assistant Professor in the department of Human Development and Women’s Studies at California State University, East Bay. Her work comparatively explores emotion socialization, with a focus on attachment formation and representation, and her publications include The Road to Evergreen: Adoption, Attachment Therapy, and the Promise of Family (Cornell, 2010), as well as articles for the Childhood, International Migration and Children and Youth Services Review journals.