Social Anthropology Seminar - Dr Zoe Cormack - African Studies, University of Oxford
| Dates: | 1 October 2018 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 18:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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| Speaker: | Dr Zoe Cormack |
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Social Anthropology Seminar
Monday, 1st October 2018
Dr Zoe Cormack – African Studies Centre –
The University Of Oxford
Life and death in a UN ‘Protection of Civilians’ site in war-time South Sudan
At the outbreak of the current civil war (2013-present) in South Sudan, the United Nations opened its gates to tens of thousands of civilians who were targeted in violence across the country. Intended as a temporary ‘last resort’ to save lives, these Protection of Civilians (POC) sites have existed for the past five years and are now home to 200,000 people living in precarious conditions. Based on 5 months of ethnographic research in Juba POC site (part of a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship), this paper focuses on funerary cultures and practices of commemoration there, exploring the meaning and motivations behind funeral practice in displacement. Despite extreme hardships, funerals and commemorative events are daily occurrences in the POC, and they take up considerable amounts of energy and resources. I ask what this reveals about the relationship between death, time and uncertainty during ‘crisis’. I argue that within the humanitarian ‘crisis temporality’ of the POC, funerals are spaces which allow displaced people to articulate alternative idioms of continuity and community self-care. For bereaved families, commemorative events are opportunities to craft an appropriate future for the deceased and reaffirm relationships of responsibility between the living and the dead which have been strained by civil war.
Second Floor Boardroom 2.016 / 017
Arthur Lewis Building
Time 4:15 to 6:00pm
(Tea and coffee available outside the room from 4:00pm)
ALL WELCOME!
Speaker
Dr Zoe Cormack
Role: Speaker
Organisation: University of Oxford
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
2.016 / 017 Boardroom
Arthur Lewis Building
Manchester
