Emerging class in Papua New Guinea : the telling of difference / Deborah B. Gewertz, Frederick K. Errington.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gewertz, Deborah B., 1948- author.

Errington, Frederick Karl, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social classes--Papua New Guinea--Wewak.

Social classes.

Wewak (Papua New Guinea)--Social conditions.

Wewak (Papua New Guinea).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 179 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This accessible 1999 study of social class in contemporary Papua New Guinea deals with the new elite, its culture and its institutions, and its relationship to the broader society. The Papua New Guinea described here is not a place of exotic tribesmen, but a modernising society, shaped by global forces, and increasingly divided on class lines. The authors describes the life-style of the elite Wewak, a typical commercial centre, their golf clubs and Rotary gatherings, and bring home the ways in which differences of status are created, experienced and justified. In a country with a long tradition of egalitarianism, it has become at once possible and plausible for relatively affluent 'nationals' to present themselves in a wide range of contexts as fundamentally superior to 'bushy' people, to blame the poor for their misfortunes, and to turn their backs on their less successful relatives.

Contents:

Cover; Half-title; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Introduction: The twists and turns of difference; 1 The middle class - the (new) Melanesian way; 2 How the grass roots became the poor; 3 The realization of class exclusions; 4 The hidden injuries of class; 5 The problem(s) of the poor; 6 Class and the definition of reasonability; Conclusion On dark nights of the soul; Notes; References; Index

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-172) and index.

ISBN:

1-107-11733-X

1-280-42063-4

0-511-17577-9

0-511-01640-9

0-511-15637-5

0-511-32923-7

0-511-60612-5

0-511-04818-1

OCLC:

70734178