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The Anthropology of Violence and the Speech of Victims
Author(s): Veena Das
Source: Anthropology Today, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Aug., 1987), pp. 11-13
Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
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T h e Anth ropology of Viole nc
and th e spe e ch of victims
T h e colle ction of pape rs byDavid Rich e s' on
anth ropological approach e s toviole nce of f e rs us an
opportunitytoconside rth e e ntire inte lle ctuale nte rprise
of unde rstandingth e nature of viole nce , wh ich re mains
obscure e ve ntoday. T h e task of conce ptualizingviole nce
is dif f icult. Itis th e re f ore notsurprisingth atth e se tof
e ssays colle cte d h e re doe s noth ave a unity. T h e yh ave
notonlybe e nwritte nf rom ve rydif f e re ntpe rspe ctive s,
butth e yunde rstand th e ve ryde f initionof viole nce f rom
dif f e re ntpoints of vie w. Some of th e e ssays de f ine
viole nce ina narrow se nse of inf lictinginjuryth rough
use of f orce . Oth e rs e xplore me taph oric me anings, as
inth e e ssayonJapane se f ilm wh e re viole nce appe ars
as a prote stagainstth e passage of time .
One e ncounte rs dif f e re ntse ts of conce rns inth e se
e ssays. Some give se nsitive portrayals of symbolic and
ritualaspe cts of viole nce , as f ore xample inth e Spanish
bullf igh t(Marvin) orth e rh e toric of viole nce inmyth ,
lite rature and f ilm (Moe ran, Ove ring). Oth e rs are
conce rne d with th e cause s of viole nce , inpopulation
de nsityorinclass structure (McKnigh t, Dunning,
Murph yand Williams). Af e w pose issue s of le gitimacy,
e spe ciallyth e que stionas towh olabe ls wh ose be h aviour
as viole nt(G. McFarlane , Rich e s).
Invie w of th is dive rsity, th e e ssaybyDavid Rich e s,
bywayof anintroduction, ne e ds tobe conside re d insome
de tail. Rich e s e mph asize s th atviole nce mayh ave both
'practical' and 'symbolic' goals, stre ssingth e importance
of th e latte r. He points outth atinmanyculture s viole nce
maybe done byinvisible f orce s such as witch craf tand
magic, and th atanundue pre occupationwith Anglo-
Saxonusage maypre ve ntus f rom re cognizingsuch
ph e nome na as pe rtainingtoth e domainof viole nce .
Howe ve r, alth ough th e re ade ris assure d th ate qual
importance is be inggive ntoconce ptions of viole nce in
dif f e re nt kinds of culture s, th e ove rall f rame work
pre se nte d byth e auth orof th is e ssaybe lie s th is promise .
Rich e s state s th atboth 'practical' and 'symbolic' goals
maybe accomplish e d byth e use of viole nce , butf ails
tose e th atth e ve ryassimilationof th e cate goryof th e
symbolic toa goal appropriate s ittoth e mode l of
instrume ntalaction. T h e atte mpttodistinguish be twe e n
a ne ce ssaryconditionand a suf f icie ntconditionf or
de f iningviole nce give s onlyth e impre ssionof rigour.
Inf actwh atis include d unde rne ce ssaryconditions, viz
th atallacts of viole nce h ave a core purpose , and unde r
suf f icie ntconditions th atviole nce se rve s a varie tyof
goals and purpose s, is soge ne ralth atitcannotintroduce
th e kind of conce ptual rigourth atth e language of
propositional calculus assume s. Furth e r, itle ads toa
privile gingof th e instrume ntalove rth e e xpre ssive . For
instance , Rich e s state s th at'if anactof viole nce h as no
instrume ntal aim, it would not be pe rf orme d!
T h is assume s th atissue s of signif icance and me aning
maybe pre se ntonlyincontiguity, wh ich is insh arp
contrasttoth e unde rstandingof viole nce e laborate d in
some of th e oth e re ssays. Forinstance , one maycontrast
th is vie w with th atof Cope t-Rougie r, wh ois much more
impre sse d byth e ambiguitie s inth is conce pt. 'Viole nce ,
sh e says, 'th atpe rpe tuate s th e social orde rcontains
with initse lf barbarous f orce s of de struction'. Itis th e
ambiguityinth e re lationbe twe e npowe rand viole nce
wh ich e xplains, accordingtoh e r, wh ysome pe ople are
le d th rough th e strange ne ss of th e e ve nttoth e ide a of
be autyinviole nce .
Rich e s goe s ontode ve lopa triadic institutional
structure , accordingtowh ich one maydistinguish
be twe e nth e points of vie w of th e pe rf orme r, th e victim
and th e witne ss. T h e discussionth e nsh if ts toth e
que stionof h ow a viole ntactmaybe le gitimize d. T h us,
th e pe rf orme rwould trytole gitimize viole nce as a pre -
e mptive strate gy, wh ile f orth e victim itis pre se nte d as
anille gitimate , orille galact. T h e witne ss mayvaryin
h is re actions toth e act. T h e se ductive simplicityof th is
mode l, h owe ve r, is ach ie ve d atth e costof de f iningaway
th e mostve xingph ilosoph icalissue s such as th atof moral
age ncy. As somanystudie s of colle ctive viole nce h ave
sh own, we h ave todistinguish be twe e nth e instrume nt
of viole nce , wh ich maybe a crowd, and th e age nts of
viole nce wh ich maybe th e organize rs wh oh ave
th e mse lve s not e ngage d inth e inf lictionof injury.
Furth e r, th e re is a comple te surre nde r to th e
instrume ntalistpe rspe ctive . I could notse e h ow th e
viole nce inf licte d inritual, as inth e e ssays byHe ald or
Marvin, maybe unde rstood inte rms of th e ge ne ralmode l
propose d h e re . I wish toadd th atth e same triadic mode l
was de ve lope d byE. V. Walte r2 as a dramaturgicalmode l
wh ich was much more se nsitive toproble ms of
signif icance inth e inf lictionof viole nce and te rror. T h e
e le me ntof spe ctacle - as inth e bullf igh t, th e Spanish
insurge ncie s orinth e de taile d re pre se ntationof viole nce
inf ilm - willsimplynotle nd itse lf toth e institutional
mode l propose d byRich e s. T h e symbolic cannotbe
th ough tof as analogicaltoth e instrume ntaland th e n
analyse d bysimilarinstitutionalmode ls. I suspe ctth at
unde rlyingboth th e 'symbolic' and 'practical' goals,
Rich e s th inks of one 's re lationtoth e bodyas primarily
aninstrume ntalone . Ye twh e nviole nce is pre se ntas
spe ctacle , itis th e 'te rritoriality' of th e bodywh ich
provide s clue s toth e unde rstandingof th e style s of
viole nce . Byth e te rritorialityof th e body, I me anth at
justas ph ysicalspace s are orde re d inte rms of syste ms
of me aning, sois th e bodyorde re d soth atth e dif f e re nt
parts, mode s of move me nt, orways of arrangingth e
body, conve yme aning.
Le tme take twoe xample s of th is. BrianMoe ranquote s
f rom th e f amous Japane se nove l, Diaryof a Mad Old
Man, inwh ich th e h e rois a f ootf e tish ist, wh of e e ls h is
blood pre ssure rise wh e ne ve rh is daugh te r-in-law allows
h im tolick h e rf e e t. Alth ough h e f e e ls pe rilouslyclose
todying, h e cannotstoplickingh e rf e e t. Oth e re xample s
of torture and de ath are give ntosh ow th atth e re is a
strongre pre se ntationalre lationbe twe e nse x and de ath .
Appre ciationof be auty, th e se xual climax and th e
mome ntof de ath be come me ans of conque ringtime and
ach ie vingcommunitas. Similarly, Marvinde scribe s th e
ae sth e tics of th e bullf igh tas be ingintune with th e social
value s wh ich th e e ve ntrituallydramatize s. 'Wh atis of
primaryconce rnis h ow th e matadorcomports h imse lf
as h e f ace s th e bull. All notions of be auty, of
appre ciations of style , and inde e d, all ae sth e tic
judgme nts are base d onth e re lationsh ipbe twe e nth e man
11
VEENADAS
Ve e na Das is Prof e ssorof
Sociology, Unive rsityof
De lh i.
1. Rich e s, David
(e d.).1986. T h e
Anth ropologyof Viole nce .
Oxf ord, Blackwe ll, ?25.
2. Walte r, E. V. 1969.
T e rrorand Re sistance : A
Studyof Political
Viole nce . London, OUP.
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and bull, as me diate d byth e cape ' And again, 'T h e
matadorwh omake s a bad job of killingbe cause h e is
conce rne d with h is ownsaf e tywillbe conde mne d as an
ase sino(murde re r), th atis as a sociallyunacce ptable
kille r'. Itis notonlyinritualbutalsoinoth e rkinds of
spe ctacle s - conside rth e case of f ootball h ooligan
be h aviour, orth e de portme ntof th e bodyina conte xt
of insurge ncie s - th atone f inds th ataninstrume ntal
re lationtoth e bodyis subordinate d toide as aboutits
te ritoriality. Accordinglyitis notth e instrume ntally
e f f icie ntgoalorme th od th atis ch ose nbutone wh ich
re sonate s with th e culture .
Se ve rale ssays sugge stth ata se miologyof viole nce
willnotde ve lopas longas ourconce ptualf rame works
acce ptth e dich otomous distinctions of instrume ntal
ve rsus e xpre ssive , orpracticalve rsus symbolic; f orde spite
th e irappare ntsymme try, one te rm come s tof unction
as a marke d te rm and th e oth e rbe come s a re sidualone .
T h us th e cate goryof instrume ntal actionmaybe
primary, as inth e e ssaybyRich e s, and th e cate goryof
symbolic ore xpre ssive maysimplybe come th e re sidual
cate goryth atwill take e ve ryth ingwh ich cannot be
accommodate d with inth e cate goryof th e instrume ntal.
T h atth e e ditorof th e volume doe s notinte nd itto
h appe n, points toth e f orce with wh ich such h abits of
th ough timpose th e mse lve s uponus.
T h is volume raise s se ve ralimportantque stions about
me th od. Inth e pre f ace toth e volume , itis state d th at
th e distinctive me th ods of anth ropologicalre se arch are
e vide ntinallth e ch apte rs since th e contributor's f indings
ste m f rom f ie ld studie s inwh ich th e ywe re imme rse d in
th e 'community' or'smallgroup' le ve lof socie ty, 'in
wh ich sociallif e is live d...'. Itgoe s ontostate th atnow
th atanth ropologists h ave re alize d th atanth ropological
te ch nique s maybe applie d notonlyine xaminingnon-
industrial and T h ird World socie tie s, but alsoin
inve stigatingcommunitylif e inth e 'We ste rn' milie u, an
ove rlapof inte re sts with sociologyis bound toarise .
Wh atwould be th e nature of th is ove rlap? Firstof all,
itse e ms tome th at'T h ird World' socie tie s is h ardlyan
anth ropological cate goryand its f re que nt use to
distinguish be twe e nanth ropologicaland sociological
me th od mustsure lyde rive f rom th e f actth atitpre se nts
a 'th irdne ss' toanth ropologists of th e 'f irst' world. Se e n
inth e th ird pe rson, th atworld canbe tre ate d as both
pe rsonand obje ct, a pe rspe ctive th atwould notbe
possible if th e ywe re be ingtre ate d as se cond pe rsons in
a dialogical re lationsh ip. And itis be cause of th is
'th irdne ss', pe rh aps, th at th e yh ave be e nre lative ly
re luctanttodocume ntth e viole nce inf licte d byth e
proce sse s of mode rnstate s, byide ologie s of de ve lopme nt
orbyth e proje cts of capitalistand socialiste xpansions
wh ich h ave alte re d th e nature of th e smallcommunitie s
th atth e yh ave be e nstudying.
Eve nsympath e tic anth ropologists canbe e mbarrasse d
wh e nth e yare le d tocriticize th e 'mode rnist' e nte rprise .
Fore xample , inane ssayonth e impactof population
de nsityonf igh tinginAboriginalsupe rcamps, McKnigh t
f inds itne ce ssarytore sortof counte rf actuals inh is
argume nt. Havingpointe d toth e strange ne ss of th e
situationinwh ich missionarie s came toe xe rcise gre at
controlove rth e Aborigine s, toth e e xte ntof be ingable
totake awaych ildre nf rom th e pare nts - a powe rth at
th e ydid note xe rcise amongEurope anAustralians - th e
auth orgoe s ontoimplyth atcriticism of th e missionarie s
would be pe rh aps unjustf or'. . . h ad itnotbe e nf or
th e missionarie s th e re would h ave be e nve ryf e w
Aborigine s le f tonMorningtonIsland orinmanyoth e r
parts of Que e nsland'. He alsoadds th e f ootnote :
I would re gre tif mycomme nts aboutth e missionwe re to
be inte rpre te d as anattack uponth e missionarie s. Many
missionarie s are we llaware th atth e irpolicie sdid notalways
h ave be ne f icialre sults. Aprope re valuationof th e policie s
of th e missionarie s must take h istorical conte xt into
account. Placingch ildre nindormitorie sse e msh arsh today,
butinth e 1920sinAustralia I dare sayth atth iswasre garde d
as th e be stwayof e ducatingch ildre n. Duringmymain
pe riod of f ie ldwork onMorningtonIsland itwas quite
obvious th atth e Supe rinte nde nt, th e Re v. Douglas Be lch e r,
did h is be sttomove with th e time s. Inde e d inmanyways
h e was we llinadvance of th e policie s of th e Que e nsland
Gove rnme ntand th e Pre sbyte rianBoard of Missions. He
did allh e could toh e lppre se rve th e pe ople 's traditional
culture . He and h is wif e are h e ld inh igh re gard byth e
MorningtonIslande rsand I am inde bte d toth e m f orth e ir
warm h ospitality.
If th e obje cts of th is studywe re tobe miraculously
transf orme d intospe akingsubje cts th e ymaywe llask
wh yth e anth ropologistis h e sitanttocriticize We ste rn
notions of e ducation, and of th e ide ologywh ich
de stroye d wh ole ways of lif e byth e e xe rcise of pastoral
mode s of powe r. Sh ould notth e 'th irdne ss' of th e se
socie tie s be atle astconve rte d intoa 'se condne ss' by
wh ich th e ycane nte rintoa dialogicalre lationsh ipwith
th ose wh ose conce ptions of knowle dge h ave made th e m
intoobje cts of knowle dge and victims of totallyne w
f orms of powe r?
From th is pointof vie w, I we lcome d th e e ssaybyDavid
Parkinwh ich addre sse s th e que stionof mute d viole nce
use d byth e age ncie s of th e state and th atbyJoh nCorbin,
wh ich provide s good insigh ts intoth e viole nce involve d
inth e proce sse s of buildingth e mode rnstate se e nf rom
th e pe rspe ctive of th ose wh odonotbe lie ve inth e nation
state ide ologie s. Parkinsh ows h ow a comparison
be twe e nmate rialdrawnf rom British socie tyand f rom
Af ricansocie tymake s us re conside rnotions aboutth e
moral age ncyinacts of viole nce , e spe ciallyabout
h armf ulf orce s wh ich are autonomous of th e individual
and e xte rnaltoh im. He sh ows h ow Giriama notions of
viole nce th atare outside individualcontrolcorre spond
toth e vie ws of some pe ople aboutth e tyrannyof th e
state inpoliticallyce ntralize d socie tie s. His vie ws about
totalizationas cumulative obje ctif icationof dif f e re nt
individuals is e spe ciallyre le vantf orth e unde rstanding
of viole nce , and sh ould provide animportantcorre ctive
toth e atomize d individualof much of social action
th e ory. I wish th e se th e me s h ad f ound some re sonance
insome of th e oth e re ssays. Parkin, Corbinand Cope t-
Rougie rh ave sh ownways of e volvinglanguage s bywh ich
th e pe rspe ctive of communitie s and smallgroups onth e
invisible and mute d viole nce of th e state , th e f actory,
orof artif iciallycre ate d camps canbe narrativize d
th rough anth ropologicalsch olarsh ip.
Alth ough th e pre f ace toth e book state s th atallth e
contributions ste m f rom th e e xpe rie nce s of
anth ropologists f rom lif e as itis live d inth e small
communitie s, th is is inf actnotstrictlycorre ct. T h e e ssay
byBrianMoe ranis base d onth e analysis of ce rtain
ge nre s inJapane se cine ma; th e e ssaybyEric Dunning,
Patrick Murph yand Joh nWilliams onf ootball
h ooligans is onth e basis of inte rvie ws
-
th e auth ors do
not de scribe th e e ve ntstructure of a f igh tas dire ct
witne sse s; Grah am McFarlane provide s f olk
e xplanations of viole nce inruralNorth e rnIre land on
th e basis of inte rvie ws conducte d af te rth e e ve nts; and
Corbin's e xce lle nte ssaygive s a comparisonbe twe e ntwo
h istoricalpe riods. T h is raise s importantque stions about
th e re lations be twe e ntime and th e narrative of viole nce .
If we th ink of th e pastnotonlyas a dime nsionin
re lationtoth e pre se ntand th e f uture , notsimplyas th e
conditionf orth e re alizationof th e pre se nt, butalsoas
12
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th e crystallizationof me mory, th e nwe are le d toask
que stions aboutth e re lationbe twe e nnarrative truth and
h istoricaltruth . Once viole nce h as be come a partof a
syste m of re pre se ntations wh ich give f orm tome mory,
it se e ms tome th atth e crucial que stionis h ow it
transf orms th e e xpe rie nce of viole nce . Ye tth e auth ors
h ave be e nsome wh atre luctantinaddre ssingth e se issue s.
Fore xample , doe s th e lapse of time transf orm absurd
de ath intoh e roic de ath , as f ore xample inth e case of
re volutionaryorte rroristde ath s? T h e re lationbe twe e n
narrative , me moryand f orms of re pre se ntationis
e spe ciallyimportantwh e nwe conside rtraumatic e ve nts
such as viole nce . Ane xample f rom McFarlane 's e ssay
contrastingsocialscie nce mode ls of viole nce with f olk-
mode ls inruralIre land maymake th is pointcle are r.
McFarlane sh ows th atwh e ne xtre me viole nce occurs,
th e communityproduce s atle astone sh are d ve rsionof
th e e ve nts inwh ich de tails wh ich we re toogrue some are
mulle d ove r. Wh e re as h e wonde rs wh e th e r
anth ropologists h ave notch ose ntoe mph asize th e more
positive vie wpoints of th e irinf ormants, h e f ails to
provide a mode lof h ow a sh are d ve rsionof grue some
e ve nts is produce d. If re pre ssionand f orge ttingtake place
inproducing th e se sh are mode ls, th e n sure ly
anth ropologists ne e d tolook intoth e nature of th is
re pre ssionand its re pre se ntationallogic. Furth e r, th e re
is a dif f e re nce be twe e na distantwitne ss and one wh o
was inte nde d as witne ss bype rpe trators of viole nce . One
maypointtoth e case s discusse d byFanorf inh is book
wh e re witne sse s of grue some viole nce done tosignif icant
pe rsons inth e irlive s appe are d tobe able toe xorcize th is
viole nce onlybyf urth e rviole nce . Astudyof such
witne sse s would, pe rh aps, produce dif f e re ntaccounts
of viole nce f rom th e sanitize d ve rsions inMcFarlane 's
e ssay.
Rich e s h ad state d th at'T h e anth ropologist's conce rn
is, of course , nottodwe llonth e e th icalmatte rs re lating
toe ve nts wh ich some pe ople f ind disturbing! I wonde r
wh e th e rth is bland state me ntcanbe supporte d in
situations wh e re butf orth e anth ropologicalaccount,
th e voice of th e victim migh th ave disappe are d with out
le avinga trace . We now acknowle dge th atinre ading
h istorywe mustle arnh ow tore ad sile nce s, f orth e victim
rare lyge ts anopportunitytore cord h is orh e rpointof
vie w. Inanth ropologyalsowe ne e d toaddre ss th e
que stionof h ow we canmake th e world-vie w of th e
victim e xplicit. Butth atwould re quire ane ngage me nt
with ourf ie ld th atre -ope ns th e e ntire que stionof e th ics.
I te nd toth ink th atth e spe e ch of th e victim mustoccupy
th e ce ntralplace inth e narrative of th e anth ropologist.
3. Fanon, Franz. 1966
T h e Wre tch e d of th e Earth
London, Pe nguin.
Muse ums, tourism and th e de
Burlington
Garde ns
T RIST AN PLAT T
Wh ate xactlyis th e purpose of muse ums?, I aske d myse lf
againas I le f tth e gloriously-name d Muse um of Mankind
last T h ursday. I re me mbe re d h ow th e National
Eth nograph ic Muse um inLa Paz h ad se tupe xh ibitions
inwh ich Bolivian indiangroups addre ss th e ir
compatriots with th e e xclusive 'we ', wh ile e lse wh e re th e
indige nous pastis tre ate d as a commonf und of re gional
or national ide ntity. Again, th e re ce nt CADW
ce le brations atCae rle on's Le gionaryFortre ss inSouth
Wale s h ad sh ownth e We lsh te llingth e British about
'ourRomanpast': h e re one tacitaim atle astwas th e
uph illtask of e ducatingth e English . Butth e e xh ibitions
I h ad glimpse d inLondon(partiallye xce ptingT h e
Hidde nPe ople s of th e Amazon, cle arlyth e be st-f unde d)
h ad le f tme painf ullyaware of culturaldistance , of th e
disconne cte d f ace ts of th ath umancrystalwh ich th e
me tropolis h olds inits Invisible Hand, rath e rth anof
anyre alunive rse of h umancommunicative possibilitie s.
T h e impre ssionwas notcorre cte d byEduardoPaolozzi's
bricolage -game s inth e LostMagic Kingdoms e xh ibition,
amidstclaims th at'itwas f rom Paris th atI le arne d
e ve ryth ingabouttre ating"primitive art" se riously'
(note th e claim of 'se riousne ss', inspite of Malcolm
McLe od's disclaime rinA.T . June 1987). He re th e aim
appe ars tobe th e appropriationof myste rious me aning-
f ragme nts f rom af arf orne w ae sth e tic purpose s de f ine d
inth e me tropolis.
Se ve ralbits of Mankind are curre ntlyonof f e rat
BurlingtonGarde ns f or'se rious' conside rationbyth e
me tropolitan palate . T h e y include th e re al-lif e
constructionof anIndone sianrice barn, Nige rianFace s
of th e De ad, and th e Arab World; butitwas th e f unding
of BolivianWorlds byLuf th ansa, and of Madagascar,
Island of th e Ance stors byAirMadagascar(both airline s
cle arlyinte re ste d inboostingth e irtouristbookings to
e ach country), th atre minde d me of th e uncomf ortable
continuum be twe e ne th nograph yand th e trave l-
broch ure . . .Could I pe rsuade myse lf th at th e se
arte f acts we re inf acttobe pe rce ive d as 'ambassadors'
of th e irpe ople s toth e English capitalof Britain?
T h e main'ambassadors' atth e BolivianWorlds
e xh ibitionce rtainlye njoywe ll-e stablish e d cre de ntials
inBolivianlite rature and e th nograph y. T h e ye voke th e
de pth s of th e SanJosa tin-mine s atOruro('Oruiro,
Folkloric Capitalof Bolivia', as th e touristposte rs say):
th e Ande an'De vilof th e Mine sh af t' (h is painte d ph allus
h e re de corouslycove re d f orth e British Public) and h is
te mptre ss consort, a we avingsculpte d ove rh e rnake d
sh oulde rs and bre asts. Inanaccompanyingte xt
(inge nuouslyh e ade d 'T h e Culture of Pove rty'), th e
De vilis ide ntif ie d as supay(a ge ne ric name f orde vilish
be ings inBolivia), and h is mate is le f tanonymous e xce pt
f ora conf usingre f e re nce toth e Virginof th e Adit.
Both are se ate d stonily, side byside , inaninse tgrotto,
e ach with a pairof e ncruste d h orns re ach ingtoth e
e nclosingroof . T h e yoccupyth e ce ntre of th e vie we r's
se micirculartour, and th e ygave me a th rill, th ough th e
space allotte d toth e m is small - just a diabolic
roadsh rine , staringoute nigmaticallyintoth e spotligh ts.
Mostof th e e xh ibitionis intraditional'glass-case '
style , inte rspe rse d with ph otos and le ngth ypassage s of
smallprint. Wh ata misse d opportunity! We could h ave
T h e auth oris Re se arch
Fe llow atth e Institute of
LatinAme ricanStudie s
(Unive rsityof London),
and is atpre se ntworking
with th e ESRC/CNRS-
f unde d Franco-British
re se arch proje ct
(1985-1987) on'State
controland socialre sponse
inth e Ande s, 16th -20th
ce nturie s'.
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