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.
Abstract
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.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2012
- Region
- Asia
- Sub Region
- Southeast Asia
- Document Type
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 2011
- Field Date
- 1996-1997
- Coverage Date
- 1962-1997
- Coverage Place
- Rangoon and Mandalay, Burma
- Notes
- Monique Skidmore
- Includes bibliographical references (p.19-21)
- LCCN
- 74644326
- LCSH
- Burma--Social life and customs