Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development 

About: Urban Anthropology and Studies of Cultural Systems and World Economic Development is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Politics & Population. It has an ISSN identifier of 0894-6019. Over the lifetime, 392 publications have been published receiving 3483 citations.

Networks of exchange among Mexicans in the U.S. and Mexico: local level mediating responses to national and international transformations

Abstract: This work focuses upon the local level processes and mechanisms by which Mexicans in Mexico and the United States, in working class and in economically marginalized sectors, create the so- cial platforms through which their political interests may be defended, economic cooperation may be developed, households become clus- tered in dense exchange relations, and a cultural basis emerges for the development of human personality. These social platforms mediate the uncertainty and indeterminacy of the effects of economic disparity, po- litical inequality, and differential institutional access but do not resolve them. This work focuses upon the analysis and description of local level networks and mechanisms of exchange that are created by Mexicans1 in Mexico and the United States, and which serve a variety of important functions. In working class and in economically marginalized sectors, these exchange networks form the basis of the social platforms2 from which subsequent generations are socialized and emerge. As well, these networks of exchange offer some protection against economic disloca- tion and political uncertainty that arise with great national and regional technological transformations.3 These networks counter the lack of po- litical influence at the local level by helping to mobilize political action groups. In addition, these networks serve to mediate the uncertainty and indeterminacy specific to social disadvantage4 as well as that generic to social life in general.5 Last, these networks form the nexus of relations which tie different households in dense clusters of exchange and in- 27

Falling Through The Safety Net: Poverty, Food Assistance And Shopping Constraints In An American City

Abstract: Many anthropological studies of poor communities have neglected the connections between individual circumstances and the external institutional forces that create and perpetuate poverty. This study examines the relationship between the devel- opment and growth of an emergency food assistance network in Wilmington, Delaware, and the transformation of the local and national food retailing industry. A preliminary discussion of the effect of these changes on the lives of low-income city residents follows. The research is part of a statewide, collaborative, multi- methodological examination of hunger and food security. Food security is defined as obtaining a culturally acceptable, nutrition- ally adequate diet through affordable, non-emergency sources. Lack of food security in Wilmington is demonstrated by large increases in the use of emergency food providers and an expansion of the network itself. We also documented a sharp decline in access 93

Who is indigenous? Self-identification, Indigeneity, and Claims to Justice in Contemporary Bolivia

Abstract: Recent events in Bolivia have brought indigeneity to the center of the national stage. More and more people are identifying themselves as indigenous whereas in the recent past they would more likely have seen themselves simply as campesinos, peasants, or urban mestizos. International agencies such as the ILO, UN and World Bank stress the importance of self-identification for indigenous people; and in the last (2001) census just over 20% of the Bolivian population identified themselves as indigenous despite no recorded ethnolinguistic marker that would suggest they would be; others who do not self-identify as indigenous were recorded in the census as being indigenous. This paper explores some of the issues behind self-identification and in particular examines the case of an Aymara-speaking community where people were recorded as indigenous and “ethnolinguistic markers” abound, yet do not self-identify as such. Despite its apparent homogeneity in terms of a strong sense of shared culture and kinship relations, the people of Pocobaya vary considerably in how they identify themselves as ethnic/racial subjects. Whereas outside groups, agencies, and indigenous leaders are creating and recognizing an indigenous identity based on a particular view of history and conquest, many other people have a much more complex sense of who they are.

Coresidence and Resistance: Strategies for Survival among Undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans in the United States.

Abstract: This paper examines variation in coresidence among undocumented Mexicans and Central Americans in San Diego, California. It proposes that by creatively forming and reforming coresident groups, undocumented immigrants strategically and effectively use social organization as a resource which assists them in their struggle to live and work in the United States. The analysis examines aggregated data to establish structural patterns and examines specific cases to suggest underlying processes influencing patterns. It finds that over the course of an individual's life in the U.S. different types of living arrangements may be necessary, or desirable, as a way of coping with limited incomes, minimizing disruption caused by apprehension and deportation, and alleviating personal loneliness and social isolation. Coresidential strategies are the undocumented immigrants' first level of defense against the economic and political constraints on their lives. Research on the settlement of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries has been slow to emerge, at least when compared to research on issues related to the economic impact of undocumented workers. In their influential book LATIN JOURNEY, Portes and Bach (1985) noted that: "In general, there is remarkably little information about the adaptation process in this [undocumented] segment of the immigrant population.11 Though limited, research on undocumented settlers has led to some significant findings. The work by Chavez (1988, 1985), Massey, et al., (1987), Rodriguez (1987), Browning and Rodriguez (1982), Pessar (1982), and Cornelius (1981), has pointed to the importance

The Neoliberal State And The Depoliticization Of Poverty: Activist Anthropology And "Ethnography From Below"

Abstract: The idea of a politically engaged or activist ethnography has received increased attention in recent years. Yet, such social and economic processes as globalization and neoliberalism would seem to militate against the efficacy of an engaged anthropology. In this article, we argue that, although systemic restructuring and related discursive conditions have fundamentally altered the social and political landscape of cities in the United States and around the world, there still remains much potential for carrying out locally based activist ethnographic work. In fact, we argue for a particular type of ethnographic encounter we refer to as an "ethnography from below" which is built on the notion that studying