In Reclaiming the Discarded Kathleen M. Millar offers an evocative ethnography of Jardim Gramacho, a sprawling garbage dump on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where roughly two thousand self-employed workers known as catadores collect recyclable materials. While the figure of the scavenger sifting through garbage seems iconic of wageless life today, Millar shows how the work of reclaiming recyclables is more than a survival strategy or an informal labor practice. Rather, the stories of catadores show how this work is inseparable from conceptions of the good life and from human struggles to realize these visions within precarious conditions of urban poverty. By approaching the work of catadores as highly generative, Millar calls into question the category of informality, common conceptions of garbage, and the continued normativity of wage labor. In so doing, she illuminates how waste lies at the heart of relations of inequality and projects of social transformation.

About the Author
Kathleen M. Millar is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Simon Fraser University.

Reviews
"A book that brings dignity to people otherwise considered marginal and reveals a progressive potential in work otherwise considered 'rubbish.'" -- Dagna Rams * LSE Review of Books *
"Rich in ethnographic detail and theoretically engaging, Reclaiming the Discarded will surely find a receptive audience in graduate seminars and upper-year undergraduate courses on economic anthropology or the anthropology of work." -- Stephen Campbell * American Anthropologist *
"The end result is a thought-provoking and pleasurable read that will be of value to scholars and students with an interest in Brazil and Latin America, economic anthropology, globalization, and urban anthropology." -- Gustavo S. Azenha * American Ethnologist *
"Reclaiming the Discarded offers rich theoretical and empirical insights into the dynamics of work in the informal sector under the conditions of neoliberal capitalism." -- Ajnesh Prasad and Paulina Segarra * Organization *
"[Reclaiming the Discarded] is an excellent example of what anthropologists do best. Methodologically, it is an ethnography that stands on its own. . . . Textually, the book is a beautiful read from start to finish: clear, concise and full of colour and life. Beyond the prose, the narrative itself shines, as Millar clearly formed deep and meaningful relationships with catadores and the people living around Jardim Gramacho." -- Kirsten Francescone * Anthropologica *
"Reclaiming the Discarded is a rare achievement: incisive, analytically provocative, and thoroughly engaging. Millar uses ethnographic detail to bring the reader close, enabling us to observe with her so that we are drawn into her curiosities and invested in making sense of the complexities she renders." -- Christine Hegel * Anthropology of Work Review *
"This book should be read by anyone interested in the anthropology of labour, informality, precarity and working life in Brazil, Latin America and beyond. Its engaging prose will also be of interest to a wider readership who will appreciate how Millar's writing allows the voices and stories of Rio's waste-pickers to come to the fore." -- Patrick O'Hare * Cambridge Journal of Anthropology *
"The result of Millar's research is an exceptional book, ethnographically thick and theoretically innovative. By sharing the shifting and ambivalent experience of the dump, with its smells, risks, rhythms and values, Millar was able to truly grasp, and skilfully convey, what it means to live as a catadora. . . . Millar's book opens new research avenues into the realms of labour, precarity and beyond." -- Constanza Ragazzi * Journal of Latin American Studies *



Book Information
ISBN 9780822370505
Author Kathleen M. Millar
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 363g