Conspicuous Construction: Houses, Consumption and 'Relocalization' in Manambondro, Southeast Madagascar

“…The notion of 'conspicuous construction' that I take from Philip Thomas (1998) signals my understanding that the decision to expand the house was kar i te l l e motivated by a concern with status. Several factors make 'modern' houses suitable for making claims to status through construction.…”

Section: Compatibility and Conspicuous Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effort and money invested into building 'modern' homes, with associated changes in design and in the use of space, invite an examination of the house as a symbolic category and how these ideas may be changing. To account for the current inclination for 'conspicuous construction' (Thomas 1998), I stress how the economic aspects of houses connect to the fact that distinctions of hereditary rank have long been objectifi ed in Sasak vernacular architecture. While 'modern' houses are ideally suited for signifying status and wealth, it is the pragmatic role of the house as a vehicle for refl exivity and social action, which lies at the heart of this article.…”

Section: Engaging Housesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A key feature of these dwellings is that they are built from non-local materials, like glass and tiles. As the materials for these dwellings are acquired through money and via the market, they can be considered consumer goods (Wilk 1989;Thomas 1998). To a greater extent than other types, 'modern' houses index the owner's accumulated wealth.…”

Section: Compatibility and Conspicuous Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Entangled Biographies: Rebuilding a Sasak House

Telle

2007

Ethnos

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“…At the same time, sending communities have become linked to the global economy through economic restructuring and capitalist expansion as well as migration, which "has also inadvertently redefined local definitions of wealth and status" (Pribilsky 2007, 11). House construction itself may represent an individual and status-building endeavor (Melly 2010;Pellow 2003;Thomas 1998). Thus, at the community and national levels, remittances are the subject of debates over solidarity, national development, and belonging.…”

Section: The Contradictions Of Transnational Lifementioning

confidence: 99%

Love for the Land: Remittances and Care in a Nicaraguan Transnational Community

Fouratt

2017

Lat. American Res. Rev.

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Despite renewed interest in Central American migration, little attention has been devoted to understanding the diversity of migration pathways within the region. This article explores the tensions in the complicated connections between migration, land, consumption, and love in the case of migration between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Based on interviews and ethnographic observations with members of transnational families in Achuapa, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, I examine how migrants and nonmigrants talk about remittances to make arguments about both abandonment and connection-that is, love for the land and people. Houses and land mediate local understandings of both the absence and presence of migrants in Achuapa. However, those who send and receive remittances, women and men, and young people and old all understand the relationships between migration and care or abandonment differently. At the community level, discourses around remittances tie in to nation-building projects through the resurgence of revolutionary discourses of solidarity under the Sandinistas. In this context, migration has become a new way for poor Nicaraguans to participate in the global economy and care for loved ones, even as it threatens nationalist longings for solidarity.A pesar de una renovación de interés en la migración centroamericana, se ha dedicado poca atención a la diversidad de flujos migratorios dentro de la región. Este artículo examina las tensiones entre la migración, la tierra, el consumo y el amor en el caso de la migración entre Nicaragua y Costa Rica. Basado en entrevistas y observaciones etnográficas en Achuapa, Nicaragua y Costa Rica, se examina como los y las migrantes y personas no-migrantes hablan sobre las remesas en discusiones sobre el abandono y la conexión-es decir, el amor por la tierra y las personas. Las casas y la tierra median el entendimiento de la ausencia y presencia de los y las migrantes en Achuapa. Sin embargo, los que envían y los que reciben remesas, las mujeres y los hombres, las personas jóvenes y las viejas entienden la relación entre la migración, el amor y el abandono de manera diferente. Al nivel de la comunidad, los discursos sobre las remesas se vinculan con proyectos sandinistas y nacionalistas a través del idioma de la solidaridad. En este contexto, la migración se ha vuelto al mismo tiempo una nueva manera para que los nicaragüenses pobres participen en la economía global y cuiden a sus seres queridos, y una amenaza a los deseos nacionalistas de solidaridad.

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Conspicuous Construction: Houses, Consumption and 'Relocalization' in Manambondro, Southeast Madagascar

Cited by 34 publications

References 34 publications

Local Identities : Landscape and Community in the Late Prehistoric Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region

Local Identities : Landscape and Community in the Late Prehistoric Meuse-Demer-Scheldt Region

Entangled Biographies: Rebuilding a Sasak House

Love for the Land: Remittances and Care in a Nicaraguan Transnational Community

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