Refracted Visions: Popular Photography and National Modernity in Java by Karen S

Description: Refracted Visions by Karen Strassler A generously illustrated ethnography arguing that popular photographic practices have played a crucial role in the making of modern national subjects in postcolonial Java. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A young couple poses before a painted backdrop depicting a modern building set in a volcanic landscape; a college student grabs his camera as he heads to a political demonstration; a man poses stiffly for his identity photograph; amateur photographers look for picturesque images in a rural village; an old woman leafs through a family album. In Refracted Visions, Karen Strassler argues that popular photographic practices such as these have played a crucial role in the making of modern national subjects in postcolonial Java. Contending that photographic genres cultivate distinctive ways of seeing and positioning oneself and others within the affective, ideological, and temporal location of Indonesia, she examines genres ranging from state identification photos to pictures documenting family rituals.Oriented to projects of selfhood, memory, and social affiliation, popular photographs recast national iconographies in an intimate register. They convey the longings of Indonesian national modernity: nostalgia for rural idylls and "tradition," desires for the trappings of modernity and affluence, dreams of historical agency, and hopes for political authenticity. Yet photography also brings people into contact with ideas and images that transcend and at times undermine a strictly national frame. Photographys primary practitioners in the postcolonial era have been Chinese Indonesians. Acting as cultural brokers who translate global and colonial imageries into national idioms, these members of a transnational minority have helped shape the visual contours of Indonesian belonging even as their own place within the nation remains tenuous. Refracted Visions illuminates the ways that everyday photographic practices generate visual habits that in turn give rise to political subjects and communities. Notes An illustrated study of the ways in which photography and visual culture have influenced people in Java to see themselves as Indonesians. Back Cover "Refracted Visionsis a tour de force. Karen Strassler has a sophisticated grasp of contemporary theories of representation in both anthropology and photography studies, a deep and carefully attentive ethnographic eye, and a refined aesthetic sensibility. She limns the boundary between new historicist cultural studies and old fashioned anthropology with uncommon grace."-Rosalind C. Morris, editor ofPhotographies East: The Camera and Its Histories in East and Southeast Asia Author Biography Karen Strassler is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Queens College, City University of New York. Table of Contents Illustrations ixPreface xiiiAcknowledgments xviiNote on Orthography and Psedudonyms xxiIntroduction: Popular Photography and Indonesian National Modernity 11. Amateur Visions 292. Landscapes of the Imagination 733. Identifying Citizens 1234. Family Documentation 1655. Witnessing History 2076. Revelatory Signs 251Epilogue: Beyond the Paper Trace 295Notes 301Bibliography 345Index 363 Review "Refracted Visions is a truly brilliant piece of work, beautifully written and characterized by a profound learning and engagement with Indonesian ethnography and a range of debates around visuality and representation. It will be hailed as a classic."--Christopher Pinney, author of The Coming of Photography in India "Refracted Visions is a genuinely marvelous work which merits reading and rereading."--John Pemberton, author of On the Subject of "Java" "Refracted Visions is a tour de force. Karen Strassler has a sophisticated grasp of contemporary theories of representation in both anthropology and photography studies, a deep and carefully attentive ethnographic eye, and a refined aesthetic sensibility. She limns the boundary between new historicist cultural studies and old fashioned anthropology with uncommon grace."--Rosalind C. Morris, editor of Photographies East: The Camera and Its Histories in East and Southeast Asia Promotional An illustrated study of the ways in which photography and visual culture have influenced people in Java to see themselves as Indonesians. Review Quote "This is a heavy book to hold in ones hands, printed on glossy paper, with hundreds of photographs, for a really good price, an album of modern Indonesian history, from the 1900s to 2000s; and, as one turns the pages, first quickly and then increasingly slowly, the book is full of wonderful writing. . . . Strasslers book is extraordinary." - Rudolf Mrzek, Journal of Asian Studies Promotional "Headline" An illustrated study of the ways in which photography and visual culture have influenced people in Java to see themselves as Indonesians. Details ISBN0822346117 Author Karen Strassler Short Title REFRACTED VISIONS Publisher Duke University Press Series Objects/Histories Language English ISBN-10 0822346117 ISBN-13 9780822346111 Media Book Format Paperback Year 2010 Imprint Duke University Press Subtitle Popular Photography and National Modernity in Java Place of Publication North Carolina Country of Publication United States Birth 1969 Publication Date 2010-04-20 UK Release Date 2010-04-20 AU Release Date 2010-04-20 NZ Release Date 2010-04-20 US Release Date 2010-04-20 Illustrations 127 photographs, incl. 32 in color Pages 400 DEWEY 770.9598 Audience Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:161667700;

Price: 72.42 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2025-01-02T22:36:00.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.37 AUD