Individuality is often viewed as an exclusively Western value. In non-Western societies, collective identities seem to eclipse those of individuals. These generalities, however, have overlooked the importance of personal uniqueness, volition, and achievement in these cultures. As an anthropologist in Tamil Nadu, South India, Mattison Mines found private and public expressions of self in all sectors of society. Based on his twenty-five years of field research, Public Faces, Private Voices weaves together personal life stories, historical description, and theoretical analysis to define individuality in South Asia and to distinguish it from its Western counterpart.
This engaging and controversial book will be of great interest to scholars and students working in anthropology, psychology, sociology, South Asian history, urban studies, and political science.
Public Faces, Private Lives Community and Individuality in South India
About the Book
Table of Contents
List of Figures and Maps
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction: Individuality in South India
PART ONE. PUBLIC FACES
2. The Nature of Civic Individuality
3. Institutions and Big-men of a Madras City
Community: George Town Today
4. Making the Community: George Town
in Social History
5. A Portrait of Change
6. The Decline of Community and
the Roles of Big-men
PART TWO. PRIVATE VOICES
7. Themes of Individuality in Private and
Public Lives: Personal Narratives
8. Locating Individuality within the Collective Context
9. Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography
Index