article
Darker than midnight: fear, vulnerability, and terror making in urban Burma (Myanmar)
American ethnologist • 30 (1) • Published In 2003 • Pages: 5-21
By: Skidmore, Monique.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is an ethnography of fear and terror as practiced by the Burmese military state in its efforts to control its citizenry. The author shows how the regime's violent response to a popular democratic uprising in 1988 had a numbing effect on the people of Burma, forcing their anger and emotions deep within themselves. The author gauges her own emotions and fears doing fieldwork under such repressive conditions and the ethical quandary she faces talking about politics with her informants. She discusses how under the state's constant surveillance and military police presence since the 1960s,has created a deep distrust of state institutions and contributed to an overall sense of vulnerability that has undermined all social interactions. The author regards the people's silence as not a sign of passivity but as the 'work' of survival.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Observation in research
- Drives and emotions
- Adjustment processes
- Cultural goals
- Public opinion
- Political movements
- Offenses against the state
- Auxiliary corps
- Wartime adjustments
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Burmans
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2012
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Asia
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Southeast Asia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard; 2011
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1996-1997
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1962-1997
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Rangoon and Mandalay, Burma
- NotesAdditional notes
- Monique Skidmore
- Includes bibliographical references (p.19-21)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 74644326
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Burma--Social life and customs