Culture and Rights
Anthropological Perspectives

Case studies which consider the relationship between universal human rights and particular societies.

Jane K. Cowan (Edited by), Marie-Bénédicte Dembour (Edited by), Richard A. Wilson (Edited by)

9780521797351, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 29 November 2001

274 pages
22.9 x 15 x 1.8 cm, 0.36 kg

'the book shows clearly and accurately the pitfalls of the adoption of an essentialist view on 'culture'. Moreover, it points out eloquently that there is no unique theoretical model that can be sufficiently applied to nay claims over rights and culture across the global … will assist and advance the discussion on the implementation of rights.' Nations and Nationalism

Do people everywhere have the same, or even compatible, ideas about multiculturalism, indigenous rights or women's rights? The authors of this book move beyond the traditional terms of the universalism versus cultural relativism debate. Through detailed case-studies from around the world (Hawaii, France, Thailand, Botswana, Greece, Nepal and Canada) they explore the concrete effects of rights talk and rights institutions on people's lives.

1. Introduction
Part I. Setting Universal Rights: 2. Changing rights, changing culture Sally Engle Merry
3. Following the movement of a pendulum: between universalism and relativism Marie-Bénédicte Dembour
4. Imposing rights? - a case study of child prostitution in Thailand Heather Montgomery
5. Gendering culture: towards a plural perspective of Kwena women's rights Anne Griffiths
6. Between universalism and relativism: a critique of the UNESCO concept of culture Thomas Hylland Eriksen
Part II. Claiming Cultural Rights: 7. Ambiguities of an emancipatory discourse: The making of a Macedonian minority in Greece Jane K. Cowan
8. From cultural rights to individual rights and back: Nepalese struggles over culture and identity David Gellner
9. Advancing indigenous claims through the law: Reflections on the Guatemalan peace process Rachel Sieder and Jessica Witchell
10. Rights as the reward for simulated cultural sameness: the Innu in the Canadian colonial context Colin Samson.

Subject Areas: International humanitarian law [LBBS], Anthropology [JHM]