Helena Wulff – författare

Dancing at the crossroads used to be young people''s opportunity to meet and enjoy themselves on mild summer evenings in the countryside in Ireland until this practice was banned by law, the Public Dance Halls Act in 1935. Now a key metaphor in Irish cultural and political life, "dancing at the crossroads" also crystallizes the argument of this book: Irish dance, from Riverdance (the commercial show) and competitive dancing to dance theatre, conveys that Ireland is to be found in a crossroads situation with a firm base in a distinctly Irish tradition which is also becoming a prominent part of European modernity.

In its assessment of the current "state of play" of ethnographic practice in social anthropology, this volume explores the challenges that changing social forms and changing understandings of "the field" pose to contemporary ethnographic methods. These challenges include the implications of the remarkable impact social anthropology is having on neighboring disciplines such as history, sociology, cultural studies, human geography and linguistics, as well as the potential ‘costs’ of this success for the discipline. Contributors also discuss how the ethnographic method is influenced by current institutional contexts and historical "traditions" across a range of settings. Here ethnography is featured less as a methodological "tool-box" or technique but rather as a subject on which to reflect.

This book offers a unique and accessible study of migrant writing in the Swedish context. Sweden used to be renowned for its welcoming migration policy. This changed abruptly with the migration crisis in 2015 when refugees arrived in big numbers. An anti-immigration atmosphere grew stronger, supported by an expanding right-wing party. Yet to some Swedes, experiences of exclusion, even racism, were nothing new. This is evident in fiction and opinion pieces by writers born in Sweden to immigrant parents, or having moved there as children. Exploring migrant writing as craft and career, the book illuminates how the writers learn to write, get published, break through and build reputation. This includes dealing with competition and performing one’s literature in public. Since some of this work is translated into other languages, creative translation is considered, as are future scenarios, a recurrent topic in migrant writing. Combining evocative ethnography with a scrutiny of texts, Wulff argues that these writers educate mainstream Swedes about their own society. Ultimately, the book is about the impact of literature on society. It will be of particular interest to scholars and students in anthropology, sociology, comparative literature, migration studies and beyond.

This book offers a unique and accessible study of migrant writing in the Swedish context. Sweden used to be renowned for its welcoming migration policy. This changed abruptly with the migration crisis in 2015 when refugees arrived in big numbers. An anti-immigration atmosphere grew stronger, supported by an expanding right-wing party. Yet to some Swedes, experiences of exclusion, even racism, were nothing new. This is evident in fiction and opinion pieces by writers born in Sweden to immigrant parents, or having moved there as children. Exploring migrant writing as craft and career, the book illuminates how the writers learn to write, get published, break through and build reputation. This includes dealing with competition and performing one’s literature in public. Since some of this work is translated into other languages, creative translation is considered, as are future scenarios, a recurrent topic in migrant writing. Combining evocative ethnography with a scrutiny of texts, Wulff argues that these writers educate mainstream Swedes about their own society. Ultimately, the book is about the impact of literature on society. It will be of particular interest to scholars and students in anthropology, sociology, comparative literature, migration studies and beyond.

First published in 1995, Youth Cultures critically studies an anthropologically neglected population: the youth. The book broadens the scope for analysing young people’s behaviour by moving away from notions of resistance and deviance and offers a range of ethnographically based studies of different kinds of youth in varied national contexts. From Nepal to Canada, Europe, the Solomon Islands and Algeria, it addresses issues relating to globalisation in Third World cities, ethnic diversity in European cities and consumption practices, and places the lives of these young people in the contexts of wider cultures. Youth Cultures contributes to the general concern in anthropology with ‘rewriting’ culture, even while it seeks to close particular gaps in studies on youth culture. By challenging the limitation of previous youth research and acknowledging children and young adults as agents to be respected rather than objectified, this book will be invaluable reading to students of anthropology, sociology, education, psychology, and cultural studies.

First published in 1995, Youth Cultures critically studies an anthropologically neglected population: the youth. The book broadens the scope for analysing young people’s behaviour by moving away from notions of resistance and deviance and offers a range of ethnographically based studies of different kinds of youth in varied national contexts. From Nepal to Canada, Europe, the Solomon Islands and Algeria, it addresses issues relating to globalisation in Third World cities, ethnic diversity in European cities and consumption practices, and places the lives of these young people in the contexts of wider cultures. Youth Cultures contributes to the general concern in anthropology with ‘rewriting’ culture, even while it seeks to close particular gaps in studies on youth culture. By challenging the limitation of previous youth research and acknowledging children and young adults as agents to be respected rather than objectified, this book will be invaluable reading to students of anthropology, sociology, education, psychology, and cultural studies.

This book brings fresh perspectives to the anthropology of migration. It focuses on what migrants write and how anthropologists may incorporate insights gained from engagement with this writing into research methods and writing practices.

The volume includes a range of contributions from leading scholars in the field, all organized around a striking set of questions about the conditions in which migrant narratives are written and translated, the audiences for which they are intended, the genres and media through which they are disseminated, and what such stories include or leave out. The contributors to this volume demonstrate an innovative shift in anthropological methods by showing how fiction and nonfiction, graphic memoir and autoethnography, song lyrics, as well as social media posts and images unsettle the power dynamics in the study of migration narrative.

This book will serve as important supplemental reading for courses on migration, literary anthropology, ethnographic methods, and sociocultural anthropology in general. Its interdisciplinary perspective will appeal to a broad range of scholars and students with interests in migration, narrative, and anthropological writing genres.

This book brings fresh perspectives to the anthropology of migration. It focuses on what migrants write and how anthropologists may incorporate insights gained from engagement with this writing into research methods and writing practices.

The volume includes a range of contributions from leading scholars in the field, all organized around a striking set of questions about the conditions in which migrant narratives are written and translated, the audiences for which they are intended, the genres and media through which they are disseminated, and what such stories include or leave out. The contributors to this volume demonstrate an innovative shift in anthropological methods by showing how fiction and nonfiction, graphic memoir and autoethnography, song lyrics, as well as social media posts and images unsettle the power dynamics in the study of migration narrative.

This book will serve as important supplemental reading for courses on migration, literary anthropology, ethnographic methods, and sociocultural anthropology in general. Its interdisciplinary perspective will appeal to a broad range of scholars and students with interests in migration, narrative, and anthropological writing genres.