This collection of essays offers some thoughts on alterity/otherness in anthropological praxis viewed through the prism of the Latin American reality. It is neither an exhaustive treatment of the problem of Otherness in anthropological theory nor a definitive analysis of the various forms of represented, practiced, and contested alterities in Latin American history. Rather, the authors have been brought together by several common concerns. The first is an interest in exploring and understanding some of the ways in which Otherness structures social relations at the everyday as well as the national levels. The second is a theoretical and methodological question of how the perspective which foregrounds the Other at the expense of the Self might make the anthropological inquiry more effective and emancipatory. Thirdly, the authors are interested in how they can, as researchers, teachers, and citizens, help overcome cleavages which group identities constantly produce in the body of humanity. The Others that the authors of this book explore include indigenous peoples, mestizos, African slaves, women, insurgent peasants, as well as hybrid groups (re-)claiming a new identity. While each of the eight authors focuses on social phenomena from different time periods and parts of Latin America, they all share as their common denominator the Spanish colonization of the continent which set off a series of events whose consequences eventually exceeded the wildest fantasies of the boldest thinkers of these times. The authors particularly focus on the visual representation and performance of alterity, but also give room to some non-visual ways in which Otherness is established and subverted. Inevitably, this volume presents a diverse selection of contributions which nevertheless share some common problems, concerns and hopes, which in their totality provide a complex picture of Otherness in everyday life in historical and contemporary Latin America.

When revolutions happen, they change the rules of everyday life--both the codified rules concerning the social and legal classifications of citizens and the unwritten rules about how individuals present themselves to others. This occurred in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which laid the foundations of the Soviet state, and again in 1991, when that state collapsed. Tear Off the Masks! is about the remaking of identities in these times of upheaval. Sheila Fitzpatrick here brings together in a single volume years of distinguished work on how individuals literally constructed their autobiographies, defended them under challenge, attempted to edit the "file-selves" created by bureaucratic identity documentation, and denounced others for "masking" their true social identities. Marxist class-identity labels--"worker," "peasant," "intelligentsia," "bourgeois"--were of crucial importance to the Soviet state in the 1920s and 1930s, but it turned out that the determination of a person's class was much more complicated than anyone expected. This in turn left considerable scope for individual creativity and manipulation. Outright imposters, both criminal and political, also make their appearance in this book. The final chapter describes how, after decades of struggle to construct good Soviet socialist personae, Russians had to struggle to make themselves fit for the new, post-Soviet world in the 1990s--by "de-Sovietizing" themselves. Engaging in style and replete with colorful detail and characters drawn from a wealth of sources, Tear Off the Masks! offers unique insight into the elusive forms of self-presentation, masking, and unmasking that made up Soviet citizenship and continue to resonate in the post-Soviet world.

Crafting Identity goes far beyond folklore in its ethnographic exploration of mask making in central Mexico. In addition to examining larger theoretical issues about indigenous and mestizo identity and cultural citizenship as represented through masks and festivals, the book also examines how dominant institutions of cultural production (art, media, and tourism) mediate Mexican “arte popular,” which makes Mexican indigeneity “digestible” from the standpoint of elite and popular Mexican nationalism and American and global markets for folklore. The first ethnographic study of its kind, the book examines how indigenous and mestizo mask makers, both popular and elite, view and contest relations of power and inequality through their craft. Using data from his interviews with mask makers, collectors, museum curators, editors, and others, Pavel Shlossberg places the artisans within the larger context of their relationships with the nation-state and Mexican elites, as well as with the production cultures that inform international arts and crafts markets. In exploring the connection of mask making to capitalism, the book examines the symbolic and material pressures brought to bear on Mexican artisans to embody and enact self-racializing stereotypes and the performance of stigmatized indigenous identities. Shlossberg’s weaving of ethnographic data and cultural theory demystifies the way mask makers ascribe meaning to their practices and illuminates how these practices are influenced by state and cultural institutions. Demonstrating how the practice of mask making negotiates ethnoracial identity with regard to the Mexican state and the United States, Shlossberg shows how it derives meaning, value, and economic worth in the eyes of the state and cultural institutions that mediate between the mask maker and the market.

This collection of essays offers some thoughts on alterity/otherness in anthropological praxis viewed through the prism of the Latin American reality. It is neither an exhaustive treatment of the problem of Otherness in anthropological theory nor a definitive analysis of the various forms of represented, practiced, and contested alterities in Latin American history. Rather, the authors have been brought together by several common concerns. The first is an interest in exploring and understanding some of the ways in which Otherness structures social relations at the everyday as well as the national levels. The second is a theoretical and methodological question of how the perspective which foregrounds the Other at the expense of the Self might make the anthropological inquiry more effective and emancipatory. Thirdly, the authors are interested in how they can, as researchers, teachers, and citizens, help overcome cleavages which group identities constantly produce in the body of humanity. The Others that the authors of this book explore include indigenous peoples, mestizos, African slaves, women, insurgent peasants, as well as hybrid groups (re-)claiming a new identity. While each of the eight authors focuses on social phenomena from different time periods and parts of Latin America, they all share as their common denominator the Spanish colonization of the continent which set off a series of events whose consequences eventually exceeded the wildest fantasies of the boldest thinkers of these times. The authors particularly focus on the visual representation and performance of alterity, but also give room to some non-visual ways in which Otherness is established and subverted. Inevitably, this volume presents a diverse selection of contributions which nevertheless share some common problems, concerns and hopes, which in their totality provide a complex picture of Otherness in everyday life in historical and contemporary Latin America.

With images of African masks alongside contemporary African art, this book presents an original look at the role of the mask in African culture. Based on an exhibition of 180 masks and works by contemporary African artists, it offers a new interpretation of the mask as the universal object that both hides and reveals.

For at least 20,000 years, masking has been a mark of cultural evolution and an indication of magical-religious sophistication in society. This book provides a comprehensive understanding of the mask as a powerful cultural phenomenon--a means by which human groupings attempted to communicate their dignity and sense of purpose, as well as establish a continuum between the natural and supernatural worlds. It addresses the distinctive environments within which masks flourished, and analyzes the mask as a manifestation of art, ethnology and anthropology.

‘This is one of the most important topics today that seemingly no one is talking about: how men can take care of their emotional health in a 21st century that demands it. Crucial reading for any young or struggling man.’ - Mark Manson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck At 30 years old, Lewis Howes was outwardly thriving but unfulfilled inside. He was a successful athlete and businessman, achieving goals beyond his wildest dreams, but he felt empty, angry, frustrated, and always chasing something that was never enough. His whole identity had been built on misguided beliefs about what "masculinity" was. Howes began a personal journey to find inner peace and to uncover the many masks that men – young and old – wear. In The Mask of Masculinity, Howes exposes: · The ultimate emptiness of the Material Mask, the man who chases wealth above all things; · The cowering vulnerability that hides behind the Joker and Stoic Masks of men who never show real emotion; and · The destructiveness of the Invincible and Aggressive Masks worn by men who take insane risks or can never back down from a fight. He teaches men how to break through the walls that hold them back and shows women how they can better understand the men in their lives. It's not easy, but if you want to love, be loved and live a great life, then it's an odyssey of self-discovery that all modern men must make. This book is a must-read for every man – and for every woman who loves a man.