Boaters of London

Ben Bowles is Lecturer in Social Anthropology at SOAS, University of London. He is also Course Lecturer at Fordham University, London Campus, and Research Fellow at the Open University's Centre for Policing Research and Learning.

“This is a persuasive, evocative and fascinating anthropology of boaters in London. Bowles has presented a complex work of an often-elusive group of people; it is beautifully structured so that the reader can easily follow the arguments and ethnographic details without getting lost.” • Emma Crewe, SOAS, University of London“It deals with an interesting topic that has not previously been much examined, and in that sense, I think readers will find this book fresh and engaging.” • Veronica Strang, University of Oxford

• List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1. Methodology and EthicsChapter 2. The Waterways: A Historical and Legal FrameworkChapter 3. Becoming a Boater: Developing Skills Within a Community of PracticeChapter 4. Dwelling and TemporalityChapter 5. Economic, Livelihood and ConsumptionChapter 6. CommunityChapter 7. ‘A Very English Kind of Anarchism’: Boaters as Citizens Within the StateChapter 8. Surveillance and SecurityChapter 9. Political (Dis)OrganisationConclusion: Messing about in BoatsGlossary and AcronymsReferencesIndex