New Books in Sociology

Justine Chambers, "Pursuing Morality: Buddhism and Everyday Ethics in Southeastern Myanmar" (NUS Press, 2024)


Listen Later

What is the right way to live? This is an old question in Western moral philosophy, but in recent years anthropologists have turned their attention to this question in what has been called, a “moral turn”. In this original ethnographic study, Pursuing Morality: Buddhism and Everyday Ethics in Southeastern Myanmar (NUS Press, 2024), Justine Chambers examines the Plong (Pwo) Karen people’s conception of themselves as a moral people. In the decade between Myanmar’s opening up in 2011 and the military coup in 2021, the Plong Karen community near the Myanmar-Thailand border has experienced rapid political, economic, and social change. These changes are challenging that conception. Based on extensive fieldwork Chambers examines the sources of Plong morality, particularly Theravada Buddhism, and how moral considerations are being impacted: by increasing access to higher education; the powerful economic draw of Thailand; young women questioning older gender roles; the rise of Buddhist millenarian movements and Buddhist nationalism; and growing anti-Muslim sentiment shared by much of Myanmar’s Buddhist population.

Justine Chambers is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in SociologyBy New Books Network

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

45 ratings


More shows like New Books in Sociology

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,389 Listeners

The Book Review by The New York Times

The Book Review

3,857 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

400 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

308 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

3,954 Listeners

New Books in History by Marshall Poe

New Books in History

209 Listeners

New Books in Psychoanalysis by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychoanalysis

193 Listeners

New Books in Military History by Marshall Poe

New Books in Military History

162 Listeners

New Books in African American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in African American Studies

161 Listeners

New Books in Anthropology by New Books Network

New Books in Anthropology

49 Listeners

New Books in Literary Studies by New Books Network

New Books in Literary Studies

23 Listeners

New Books in Philosophy by New Books Network

New Books in Philosophy

110 Listeners

New Books in Religion by New Books Network

New Books in Religion

29 Listeners

New Books in Native American Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Native American Studies

104 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

143 Listeners

New Books in Intellectual History by New Books Network

New Books in Intellectual History

61 Listeners

Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

Jacobin Radio

1,424 Listeners

The Dig by Daniel Denvir

The Dig

1,543 Listeners

Philosophy For Our Times by IAI

Philosophy For Our Times

304 Listeners

Why Theory by Why Theory

Why Theory

565 Listeners

Theory & Philosophy by David Guignion

Theory & Philosophy

339 Listeners

Acid Horizon by Acid Horizon

Acid Horizon

175 Listeners

What's Left of Philosophy by Lillian Cicerchia, Owen Glyn-Williams, Gil Morejón, and William Paris

What's Left of Philosophy

261 Listeners

Macrodose by Planet B Productions

Macrodose

27 Listeners