This original, field-changing collection explores the plasticity and unfinishedness of human subjects and lifeworlds, advancing the conceptual terrain of an anthropology of becoming. People's becomings trouble and exceed ways of knowing and acting, producing new possibilities for research, methodology, and writing. The contributors creatively bridge ethnography and critical theory in a range of worlds on the edge, from war and its aftermath, economic transformation, racial inequality, and gun violence to religiosity, therapeutic markets, animal rights activism, and abrupt environmental change. Defying totalizing analytical schemes, these visionary essays articulate a human science of the uncertain and unknown and restore a sense of movement and possibility to ethics and political practice. Unfinished invites readers to consider the array of affects, ideas, forces, and objects that shape contemporary modes of existence and future horizons, opening new channels for critical thought and creative expression.

Contributors. Lucas Bessire, Joao Biehl, Naisargi N. Dave, Elizabeth A. Davis, Michael M. J. Fischer, Angela Garcia, Peter Locke, Adriana Petryna, Bridget Purcell, Laurence Ralph, Lilia M. Schwarcz

About the Author
Joao Biehl is Susan Dod Brown Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University and the author of Vita: Life in a Zone of Social Abandonment and Will to Live: AIDS Therapies and the Politics of Survival.

Peter Locke is Assistant Professor of Instruction in Global Health Studies and the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University.

Reviews
"Unfinished: The Anthropology of Becoming promises to contribute to our understanding of this current moment of political and epistemological uncertainties, and will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and writers from across the social and natural sciences and the humanities." -- Onur Gunay and Heath Pearson * Somatosphere *
"As complex and ambitious as it is masterfully conceived. . . . A sign of renaissance in anthropology." -- Roberto Costa * The Australian Journal of Anthropology *
"Bringing the theme of becoming to the center of the anthropological debate is particularly timely in a context in which institutions, as well as the public, are discussing and interpreting society in ways that rely heavily on deterministic forms of schematism and simplification. . . . Unfinished could be an intriguing choice for professionals looking for a source of inspiration for new analytical approaches to study the dynamism of social phenomena." -- Michele Fontefrancesco * Anthropology in Action *
"Although theoretically complex, the contributors never lose sight of the individuals at the heart of ethnography. . . . What stands out is its intricate and intimate representation of human experience, which imbues it with authority and stays with the reader for a long time." -- Heather Montgomery * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *



Book Information
ISBN 9780822369455
Author Joao Biehl
Format Paperback
Page Count 400
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 567g