Vold og ære, hevn og forsoning

Om kulturell kontinuitet i et komparativt perspektivÆresforelesningenved Norsk Antropologisk Forenings Årskonferanse 2017 .Jeg takker spesielt Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, Marianna Betti, Jan PetterBlom, Dag Fjeldstad og Elsa Kaarbø for svært nyttige kommentarerunder arbeidet med denne forelesningen

Bibliographic Data

ID7340658
AuthorsØrnulf Gulbrandsen (Institutt for sosialantropologi, UiB, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume28
Issue2
Pages73-96
Publication date2017-12-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNorsk antropologisk tidsskrift (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0802-7285 • E-ISSN: 1504-2898
PublisherScandinavian University Press (PUBLISHER • NO)
DOI10.18261/issn.1504-2898-2017-02-02
OpenAlexW2778113793
LanguageEN
References cited26

This article is a slightly modified version of the honorary lecture I gave at the Annual Conference of the Norwegian Association of Anthropologists 2017. I am addressing the conference's central theme – cultural continuity – observing that anthropologists have shown a significantly stronger interest in change than continuity. Referring to Sahlin's reminder that any change presupposes continuity, questions arise as to which aspects of a particular ethnographic case should be focused in order to say something useful about cultural continuity. Secondly, the question is how cultural continuity is reproduced under different historical conditions. The forms of cultural continuity that I have found particularly interesting to discuss are linked to two diametrically different cultural orientations in respect of to how to handle existentially important interpersonal conflicts: revenge versus reconciliation. I draw on ethnographic materials from field works among the Tswana in Botswana and the inland population of Sardinia, who represent extremes when it comes to dealing with serious conflicts. Through comparative reflection on this radical difference – with special reference to issues of violence, honour and social harmony – I develop two configurations of ideas and practices that express dominant and persistent, but widely different cultural orientations. The reproduction of these configurations is discussed by locating them in recurrent historical contexts to get track of shifting conditions for cultural continuity

Art · Education, Healthcare and Sociology Research · Research in Social Sciences · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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