When the Hands Are Many : Community Organization and Social Change in Rural Haiti / Jennie M. Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Jennie M., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Folk songs, Creole--Social aspects--Haiti--Grand'Anse (Department).

Folk songs, Creole.

Social values--Haiti--Grand'Anse (Department).

Social values.

Community organization--Haiti--Grand'Anse (Department).

Community organization.

Peasants--Haiti--Grand'Anse (Department)--Societies, etc.

Peasants.

Peasants--Political activity--Haiti--Grand'Anse (Department).

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 229 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In an ethnography that challenges standard approaches to understanding the poor and disempowered, Jennie M. Smith's descriptions of peasant activity change what constitutes a democratic society. Through their civil institutions and artistic expression, Haitian peasants, widely known as some of the world's most impoverished, politically disempowered, and illiterate citizens, debate the meanings of development, democracy, and the public good.Smith offers a historically grounded overview of how the Haitian state and certain foreign powers have sought to develop rural Haiti and relates how Haitian peasants have responded to such efforts through words and deeds. The author argues that songs called chante pwen serve as "melodic machetes," a tool with which the peasants make their voices heard in many social circumstances.When the Hands Are Many illustrates the philosophies, styles, and structures typical of social organization in rural Haiti with narrative portraits of peasant organizations engaged in agricultural work parties, business meetings, religious ceremonies, social service projects, song sessions, and other activities. Smith integrates these organizations' strengths into a new vision for social change and asks what must happen in Haiti and elsewhere to facilitate positive transformation in the world today.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Acronyms

1. Introduction

2. Persistent Legacies

3. Melodic Machetes

4. Hoes Striking in Unison: Cooperative Labor and Community Spirit

5. The Atribisyon

6. The Sosyete

7. The Gwoupman Peyizan

8. Beyond "Democracy" and "Development"

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-223) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 20. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

1-5017-1797-9

OCLC:

1080550134