Suchergebnisse

Ernest Gellner's understanding of the social role of absurdity is discussed & illustrated with examples of how different kinds of irrationality have social consequences. Gellner notes that anthropologists often attempt to explain away apparent incongruities with two principles of charitable interpretation: elastic contextualization & underlying structuralism. It is argued that moral & cognitive uncertainty is universal & expressed through incoherence. Absurdity may also be the consequence of a mistake or stupidity. Carlo M. Cipolla's (1989) useful analysis of stupidity is shown to be widely applicable. There is considerable reluctance to call stupid incoherence perceived by ethnographers, but not their hosts. It is argued that the recognition of absurdity is often superior to the principle of charity when interpreting societies. 28 References. H. von Rautenfeld

The material & symbolic meanings of knowledge, resource, & conceptual transfers from Western to Eastern Europe are discussed in a case study analysis of a Danish-funded civil society foundation's attempts to assist Albanian nongovernmental organizations. The privatization & democratization efforts currently pursued in Eastern Europe are largely the result of Western intervention. Through foreign aid programs, government support, & international development agencies, programs, symbols, & resources are transferred from West to East. The efforts to export Danish civil society involve not only the transfer of resources, but also conceptual models & representations. Power brokers in both regions have the ability to alter these representations, & Western models of civil society are naturally transformed in new social, cultural, & political contexts. Although this inequal relationship can & has been exploited by both East & West, it is concluded that Danish projects have helped in the creation of foundations for a productive & distinctly Albanian form of civil society. T. Sevier