Les économies alternatives dans les Corbières et la Haute Vallée de l'Aude: vers le travail non aliéné et l'approvisionnement communautaire

The Aude, a rural département in southwest France, is the site of one of the longest-lived European concentrations of counter-cultural practice. Here, villages abandoned by the devastating rural exodus post WWII were discovered by enthusiastic radicals of the '68 generation, who were able to establish themselves because property was cheap. From ethnographic research, we find that a receptive community, inexpensive resources and a strongly interventionist welfare state provide a fertile ground into which practitioners of plenitude may enact a non-normative approach to work and money, which takes root, grows and spreads. We identify a continuum of alternative economic practices encompassing a range of approaches to work itself— some privileging a life of radical simplicity and autonomy, and others interested in developing more successful artisanal businesses. We find a place for neo-medievalists/ruralists who fetishize practices like the horse-drawn plough, and large-scale organic farmers. Finally, we show that the plenitude practices among the Aude alternatifs are tied together by communal reliance—by networks of support and cooperation that rely on being amongst and caring for others. Gifting and 'lending a hand' are key to these economies, enabling them to flourish. While this raises questions about the cost of living for those who do not participate for whatever reason in this exchange network, we see gifting as fundamental to long lasting alternative economies. This case refines our understanding of long-standing debates around the necessity and desirability of selfsufficiency. Key words: alternative economies, communal reliance, sustainable agriculture, l'Aude, alienatio

Building the “Mecca” of Recovery: The St. Paul Sober House Network

This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Toward a Multisited Ethnography of the Zimbabwean Diaspora in Britain

Classical diaspora scholars have constructed diasporic identities in essentialistic and unitary fashion, with phrases like the “Jewish identity,” “Palestinian identity,” and “Irish identity” denoting migrants as homogeneous ethnic communities. Using the author's multisited ethnographic research among Zimbabweans in Britain, the article explores the diverse ways in which diasporic identities are performed, expressed, and contested in Britain. On the basis of data from a pub, a gochi-gochi (barbecue) and the Zimbabwe Vigil, this article argues that the concept of diaspora, by emphasizing a static and singular conception of group identity, removes the particular ways in which diasporic life is experienced. The ethnographic “sites” were chosen to highlight different geographic settings to show the contrast between multicultural global cities and how different spaces of association attracted distinctive diasporic communities of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and legal status. The article identifies a pattern of diasporic identity development that largely uses the homeland as a frame of reference, and this is contrasted with alternative, hyphenated identities that challenge the fixation of identities to a specific place. It can be suggested that these diasporic identities are bottom-up forms of resistance to the institutionally ascribed refugee identity, perceptions of blocked social mobility, racism, and discrimination in the hostland

Global Peace Operations Review : Annual Compilation 2015

Providing the most comprehensive overview of multilateral contributions to peacekeeping, conflict prevention, and post-conflict peacebuilding, the Review aims to initiate and inform discussions on the comparative advantages and appropriateness of different missions, and through constructive analysis to further strengthen existing partnerships necessary for them to succeed