612 Pages
    by Routledge

    612 Pages 40 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This wide-ranging volume captures the diverse range of societies and experiences that form what has come to be known as Melanesia. It covers prehistoric, historic and contemporary issues, and includes work by art historians, political scientists, geographers and anthropologists. The chapters range from studies of subsistence, ritual and ceremonial exchange to accounts of state violence, new media and climate change. The ‘Melanesian world’ assembled here raises questions that cut to the heart of debates in the human sciences today, with profound implications for the ways in which scholars across disciplines can describe and understand human difference. This impressive collection of essays represents a valuable resource for scholars and students alike.

    1. Introduction: the challenge of Melanesia  PART ONE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT  2. The archaeology of Melanesia  3. Melanesia: a region and a history  4. Missionaries in the Melanesian World  PART TWO: GEOPOLITICAL, LINGUISTIC AND REGIONAL OVERVIEWS  5. Geo-Political Overview of Melanesia  6. Melanesia as a zone of language diversity  7. Regional Overview: From Diversity to Multiple Singularities PART THREE:  ECONOMY AND LIVELIHOOD  8. Subsistence food production in Melanesia  9. Class, Labour, and Consumption in Urban Melanesia  10. Money Schemes in Contemporary Melanesia  11. Cash Crops and Markets  12. Searching for Melanesian Urbanity  PART FOUR: GOVERNMENT, POLITICS AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS  13. Sovereignty, Civil Conflict and Ethnicity  14. Local Government and Politics: Forms and Aspects of Authority  15. Security Governance in Melanesia - Police, Prisons and Crime  16. Gender Relations and Human Rights in Melanesia  17. Health, Institutions and Governance in Melanesia  18. Owning the Law in Melanesia  PART FIVE: RELIGION, CHURCH, RITUAL AND EXCHANGE PRACTICES  19. ‘Witchcraft’ and ‘Sorcery’ in Melanesia  20. Charismatic Churches, Revivalism and New Religious Movements  21. Cargo Cult Post Mortem  22. Big men, ceremonial exchange and lifecycle events  23. Interpreting initiation in Melanesia: Past and present  PART SIX: ART, MATERIAL CULTURE AND CULTURAL HERITAGE  24. Museums and Cultural Centres in Melanesia: a series of experiments  25. Creation and Destruction in Melanesian Material Culture  26. Contemporary Art in Melanesia. From Grass Roots to National Identity?  27. Melanesian worlds of music and dance  28. The Melanesian World of Paradise Tourism: Reflections on time, travel and cultural performance  PART SEVEN: DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES 29. Places and Paths in Melanesian Landscapes  30. Extractive Industries in Melanesia  31. Climate Change in the Islands and the Highlands: Melanesian Manifestations, Experiences and Actions  32. Western conservation in Melanesia: Biodiversity conservation for whom, by whom, and according to whom?  33. New Media, New Melanesia?  Afterword

    Biography

    Eric Hirsch is a Reader in Anthropology at Brunel University London, UK. He has a long-standing interest in the ethnography and history of Papua New Guinea.







    Will Rollason is a Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at Brunel University London, UK. His research to date has focused on Papua New Guinea and Rwanda.

    "The most important and comprehensive reference published on this region in years, perfect for general orientation. Summing Up: Highly Recommended" - R. Scaglion in CHOICE

    "This is the remarkable kind of book that, if we’re lucky, comes around once in a generation and lays a whole new foundation for a venerable field of study. Creative in conception and comprehensive in coverage, this is now the first place to turn to for orientation in the study of Melanesia."
    Joel Robbins, University of Cambridge, UK

    "A marvellously eclectic, yet thoroughly comprehensive and readable collection, offering an invaluable source on past and present Melanesia. Its diverse chapters represent a valuable collection of interdisciplinary approaches that distil the wisdom, insights and collective expertise of the best scholars on this exciting region, as they trace the evolving and challenging relationships between land, people, culture and ideology."
    John Connell, University of Sydney, Australia

    "The Melanesian World is a real smorgasbord of enticing and distinctive perspectives on what it means to be Melanesian. The chapters range from up-to-date pieces of reference to thought provoking interventions. This makes the work unique and equally useful to those looking for detailed information about the region as much as those seeking theoretical inspiration for the study of human diversity."
    Ton Otto, Aarhus University, Denmark

    "The Melanesian World is encyclopaedic, cultural, historical, contemporary and reflective. It has been several decades since such an important book on Melanesia has been published."
    Clive Moore, University of Queensland, Australia