About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherIndiana University Press

ISBN-100253014530

ISBN-139780253014535

eBay Product ID (ePID)201717308

Product Key Features

Number of Pages277 Pages

Publication NameIrish Travellers : the Unsettled Life

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2014

SubjectEthnic Studies / General, Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Europe / Ireland

TypeTextbook

AuthorSharon Bohn Gmelch, George Gmelch

Subject AreaSocial Science, History

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Weight20 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width9 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2014-011875

Reviews"Aimed at a broad readership, this book by two well-established scholars offers a compelling account of a return to Ireland 40 years after their doctoral fieldwork among the Irish minority population of Travelling People." --American Anthropologist, "The authors are proven fieldworkers and talented writers with long-term expertise in Traveller culture; the images are excellent, crisp and professional, informative and evocative." -Ray Cashman, Ohio State University, "Every student in our Introduction to Anthropology classes read Irish Travellers: The Unsettled Life in the spring of 2016. Through absolutely compelling ethnographic text and stunning images, the Travellers came to life in our classrooms--populated with learners from different social locations and different majors. What resonated with these diverse students? Evaluations indicate that they recognized the legacy of social stratification and its minions--racism, structural violence, and disenfranchisement--in a group of people for whom they anticipated nothing in common. Irish Travellers: The Unsettled Life served as a bridge across space and time to deepen student understanding of the dynamic relationships between social justice and change--of particular interest on our campus. In Irish Travellers, Sharon and George Gmelch quite remarkably illuminate our common humanity, the process and promise of change, and the importance of anthropology in today's world." --Iris Carter Ford, Ph.D., St. Mary's College of Maryland / Maryland's Public Honors College, "[C]olor photos... form a full picture of the group's culture over the decades, and... reflect the importance of photographs in Traveller life.... An unusual and captivating depiction of a rarely examined people." --Library Journal (Starred Review), "This book is an excellent introduction to how cultural anthropologists use classic methodologies such as interviews and observations to present a narrative of a community with rich traditions. In this texts the Gmelch's have expanded this type of classic study to include images and reflections from their previous informants to give the reader a long-term perspective on the traveller's life. The images, narratives, and presentation of interviews captivates students in a way that many classic ethnographies cannot." --Liza Gijanto, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, St. Mary's College of Maryland, "Anthropologists Sharon... and George... Gmelch offer personal recollections from their initial fieldwork during the early 1970s coupled with observations from their encounters 40 years later in a follow-up trip.Their generally sympathetic insights are also brought to life through a wealth of evocative photographs from both visits.... Recommended." --Choice, "When Sharon and George Gmelch returned to Ireland forty yearsafter conducting fieldwork with Traveller communities, they found that their old friends were 'anxious to tell their stories.' Thosestories arerelayedherenot only in textformbut alsothroughpage after page of visually stunning photography.... [W]e get to hear the affectionate and sometimes difficultstory of two anthropologists and their life-long relationship with the Traveller community. IrishTravellersmakes an important contribution to our understanding of this populationand the dramaticchanges that have occurred over the last generation, although it becomes clear that one very 'unsettling' fact remains: while many aspects of life have improved forTravellers, theyare stilllargelymarginalized in Irish society." --Adam Kaul, Augustana College, "Anthropologists Sharon... and George... Gmelch offer personal recollections from their initial fieldwork during the early 1970s coupled with observations from their encounters 40 years later in a follow-up trip. Their generally sympathetic insights are also brought to life through a wealth of evocative photographs from both visits.... Recommended." --Choice, "Irish Travellers: The Unsettled Life provides extraordinary insight into the Irish Travelling community, complete with beautiful photographs from past and present. A crucially important work, it marks changing times for the Irish Travelling community and, indeed Ireland as a whole. A wonderful book for general interest, research, and teaching alike." --Claire Bracken, Department of English, Union College

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal305.90691809415

SynopsisAnthropologists George and Sharon Gmelch have been studying the quasi-nomadic people known as Travellers since their fieldwork in the early 1970s, when they lived among Travellers and went on the road in their own horse-drawn wagon. In 2011 they returned to seek out families they had known decades before--shadowed by a film crew and taking with them hundreds of old photographs showing the Travellers' former way of life. Many of these images are included in this book, alongside more recent photos and compelling personal narratives that reveal how Traveller lives have changed now that they have left nomadism behind., Anthropologists George and Sharon Gmelch have been studying the quasi-nomadic people known as Travellers since their fieldwork in the early 1970s, when they lived among Travellers and went on the road in their own horse-drawn wagon. In 2011 they returned to seek out families they had known decades before--shadowed by a film crew and taking with them hundreds of old photographs showing the Travellers' former way of life. Many of these images are included in this book, alongside more recent photos and compelling personal narratives that reveal how Traveller lives have changednow that they have left nomadism behind.

LC Classification NumberDA927.4.T72G64 2014