Nobody's people : hierarchy as hope in a society of thieves / Anastasia Piliavsky
Series: (South Asia in motion)Publication details: , 2021 Stanford, California : Stanford University PressDescription: XXXIX, 252 p. : il. ; 24 cmISBN:- 9781503604643
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | |
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Biblioteca Central del MAEC Depósito | 60751 | Available | 1077599 |
Bibliografía (p. 209-239)
What if we could imagine hierarchy not as a social ill, but as a source of social hope? Taking us into a "caste of thieves" in northern India, "Nobody's People" depicts hierarchy as a normative idiom through which people imagine better lives and pursue social ambitions. Failing to find a place inside hierarchic relations, the book's heroes are "nobody's people": perceived as worthless, disposable and so open to being murdered with no regret or remorse.
Following their journey between death and hope, we learn to perceive vertical, non-equal relations as a social good, not only in rural Rajasthan, but also in much of the world—including settings stridently committed to equality. Challenging egalo-normative commitments, Anastasia Piliavsky asks scholars across the disciplines to recognize hierarchy as a major intellectual resource.