Modern Papua New Guinea.

Modern Papua New Guinea. Edited by Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi. Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is a city in Adair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 16,988 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Adair CountyGR6. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that is comprised of Adair and Schuyler counties. : Thomas Jefferson University Press. 1998. Pp: vi + 424. Price: $40 cloth, $25 paper. Edited by Laura Zimmer-Tamakoshi, Modern Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea(păp`ə, –y is awelcome series of essays on contemporary Papua New Guinea, highlightingmany of the social problems but also the potential of the country. Ittackles many issues that have largely escaped anthropologicalconsideration such as refugees from Irian Jaya Irian Jaya,province, Indonesia: see Papua. , sex work, plantationexperiences, suburban comminuting, or education. There are 22contributors, with 19 articles together with the editor's briefintroduction and listing of major historical moments leading to thegenesis of this nation-state today. The essays are presented in foursections, each with its own brief introduction. These are 'Thestate and national identity', 'Economic development','The new society' and 'The people's welfare'.The first two should be self-evident and build upon an alreadysubstantial literature. The 'new society', is largely taken upwith issues of inequality and change, while the last section concerns agamut of issues such as changing sexualities, the nature and rol e ofeducation, law and order, together with mining and environmental issues. While everyone interested in the complexities of this nation willfind material of interest, the editor tells us (p. 3) the major reasonbehind the collection is for educational purposes, clearly in coursesthat do not endeavour to replicate the Last Unknown syndrome ofcomparative social structures unaffected by capitalism or the state,traditional gender roles or the like. Given the stated reason behind thecollection, it is significant that most of the papers are succinct andclearly written, though some, such as Lawrence Hammer's chapter onsex work at 39 pages may well test the endurance of many undergraduatesdespite the topic. As each chapter has its own references, individualarticles may be used in isolation for teaching purposes. While asubstantial knowledge of the historical, social and cultural backgroundto Papua New Guinea would always make these chapters more revealing,such a background, which very few students have, is not a necessity forthe collection's educational value. Indeed, despite theparticularity par��tic��u��lar��i��ty?n. pl. par��tic��u��lar��i��ties1. The quality or state of being particular rather than general.2. of what factors affect Melanesia, the issues consideredvery much apply to the Third (and often Fourth) World and thus couldwell be part of teaching programs focusing on development issues,postcoloniality, globalisation and so on. The importance of this concern with current day Papua New Guineacould no better be illustrated than by my own teaching experience: eventhough Australia's closest neighbour, students have either next tono knowledge of Papua New Guinea, or superficial if not erroneous imagesgleaned from dubious current affairs current affairsnpl → (noticias fpl de) actualidad fcurrent affairscurrent npl → (questions fpl d')actualit�� f programs on corruption, rascalism,or what is often depicted as the persistence of 'tribal'warfare despite the presence of the state and capitalism as causalforces This volume helps remedy this situation, and this alone makes itmost worthwhile. Some concern could be raised about the old but persisting problemof the general and the particular (though, as potentially a creativetension in anthropology this too could be put to pedagogic ped��a��gog��ic? also ped��a��gog��i��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. purposes).While I applaud the contributors' endeavours to break out of narrowfocused, heavily localised localised - localisation treatments of largely traditional societies,it is nonetheless also important to convey to students ananthropological history that also may deal with continuity in changerather than the latter alone. While it could be suggested, for example,that plenty has been written on gift exchange, including the impact ofthings like cash, given the volume's multiple concerns with gender,inequality and conflict, issues such as the increasing importance andinflation of money in compensation demands and bridewealth should not beoverlooked. While these are not simply rural phenomena of course, thispoints to a general lack of attention to the social life of rural based,small communities in which exchange may still feature . These too aredimensions of modern Papua New Guinea. Such things do not receive asmuch attention as they deserve in this collection. Similarly, whilethere are a couple of notable collections on Christianity in Melanesia,this too received but passing attention despite the vast majority of thepopulation adhering to one denomination or another. These, however, aresmall criticisms and largely negated by points I have already mentionedsuch as a complexity to contemporary Papua New Guinea that would requiremany more volumes than this and the substantial shift away fromconventional collections that often focus on small-scale or regionalissues. Modern Papua New Guinea does not abrogate abrogatev. to annul or repeal a law or pass legislation that contradicts the prior law. Abrogate also applies to revoking or withdrawing conditions of a contract. (See: repeal) the importance of moreconventionally focused anthropological projects but significantly addsto both the depth and scope of our knowledge of this country.