Suchergebnisse

This work is part of an investigation into the contemporary dynamics of development and modernization in the southern and far southern coastal areas of Chile, specifically the shoreline of the northern part of the Aysen Region. The objective is to propose a theoretical-conceptual reflection to enable ethnographic data to be framed as a problem and interpreted as a function of a political reading which - why not say so? - could transform the world of the southern and far southern coastal zone. The central argument of the text is hypothetical: the dilemmas of development, in the current circumstances of the coasts of the Aysen Region, are susceptible of resolution (at least up to a point) from a conscious, reflexive change of perspective on culture as the word is understood in anthropology. ; Este trabajo se enmarca en una investigación sobre las dinámicas contemporáneas del desarrollo y la modernización en las costas sur-australes de Chile, específicamente en el litoral norte de la región de Aisén. A partir de un conjunto de datos etnográficos se propone una reflexión teórico-conceptual que permita problematizar e interpretar esos datos en función de una lectura política y, por qué no decirlo, transformadora del mundo costero sur-austral. El argumento central del texto tiene carácter hipotético: las encrucijadas del desarrollo, en las actuales coyunturas de las costas aiseninas, son susceptibles de ser resueltas (al menos hasta cierto punto) a partir de un giro reflexivo y consciente sobre eso que en antropología llamamos cultura.

AbstractSeveral studies have looked at "Africa" in the Western imagery, and explored how it is constructed for Americans through popular media. This article offers a preliminary query into whether Chinese popular media functions in a similar way by examining a 2004 Hong Kong-produced soap opera that uses a medical humanitarian mission in Kenya to advance its plot and central themes. While many tropes regarding Africa found in Western media are repeated, there is a conscious effort in this production to embody a more enlightened approach. Nevertheless, the core relationship is marked by humanitarianism, and necessarily one embodying unequal power relations. The soap opera thus avoids critical questions of development, globalization or even post-colonial solidarity, and instead rests more on older, safer paradigms of modernization. Still, an analysis of the drama reveals contradictions and unresolved tensions in which the relationship with Africa parallels Hong Kong's relationship with mainland China. This study posits that popular culture can offer unique insights into understanding dynamics affecting the evolving relationship between China and Africa.