Suchergebnisse

Dealing with resource problems, energy balance and sustainable climate protection have emerged as subjects of public interest. Indigenous knowledge and concepts, however, are seldom dealt with by western scientists. On the basis of exemplary cases from south-western Ethiopia the interdependence of technical, social and symbolic knowledge and experiences is demonstrated, from which a model can be derived. With the help of the model it can be shown, how, under certain cultural conditions, through controlled mastery of vital resources, a symbiotic relationship between humans and their environment can be developed which does not endanger the particular habitat. The decisive factor in this case is an ethos that places man in a context of space and time which goes beyond his own lifetime and provides a link to past and future generations. Counterexamples show the fragile character of the presented system of relationships.

Review

Review

Der Band befasst sich mit den ethischen Aspekten interkultureller Praxis und ethnologischen Verstehens. Sein Ziel besteht nicht in der abstrakten Definition ethischer Universalien, sondern in der Beschreibung jener Unvereinbarkeiten, aber auch Ergänzungsmöglichkeiten, die sich aus dem Zusammentreffen unterschiedlicher ethischer Traditionen in einer gemeinsamen Lebenswelt ergeben. Die Beiträge nähern sich dem Problem interkultureller und interreligiöser Konflikte daher aus einer anderen Perspektive an als die Debatten um universelle ethische Werte oder um ein gemeinsames Weltethos. Während diese davon ausgehen, dass ethische und kulturelle Differenzen in einer globalen Praxis nur durch die Rückbindung an universelle Prinzipien zu bewältigen sind, loten die hier versammelten Beiträge jene kreativen Spielräume der wechselseitigen Ergänzung und Selbstreflexion aus, die sich aus der Begegnung verschiedener Wissenskulturen und Wertvorstellungen ergeben.

Vol. 1: Ethiopia and Kenya. - 2009. - XII,260 S. : Ill., graph. Darst., Kt., Tab., Lit. S. 241-252, Lit.Hinw. - ISBN 978-1-84545-603-0;

Forms of group identity play a prominent role in everyday lives and politics in northeast Africa. Case studies from Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya illustrate the way that identities are formed and change over time, and how local, national, and international politics are interwoven. Specific attention is paid to the impact of modern weaponry, new technologies, religious conversion, food and land shortages, international borders, civil war, and displacement on group identities. Drawing on the expertise of anthropologists, historians and geographers, these volumes provide a significant account of a society profoundly shaped by identity politics and contribute to a better understanding of the nature of conflict and war, and forms of alliance and peacemaking, thus providing a comprehensive portrait of this troubled region