Possessed Landscapes
When spirits guard forests, conservation becomes revolution—and liberation grows from the soil In 2011 Myanmar emerged from what was by some counts the longest ongoing war in the world. Amid the flurry of ceasefires and constitutional reforms, Indigenous communities moved to reterritorialize land th...
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| Главный автор: | |
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| Формат: | Online |
| Язык: | английский |
| Опубликовано: |
University of Washington Press
2026
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| Предметы: | |
| Online-ссылка: | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110002 |
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Нет меток, Требуется 1-ая метка записи!
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| _version_ | 1869524528950935552 |
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| author | Cole, Tomas |
| author_browse | Cole, Tomas |
| author_facet | Cole, Tomas |
| author_sort | Cole, Tomas |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | When spirits guard forests, conservation becomes revolution—and liberation grows from the soil In 2011 Myanmar emerged from what was by some counts the longest ongoing war in the world. Amid the flurry of ceasefires and constitutional reforms, Indigenous communities moved to reterritorialize land that was fiercely contested in the preceding decades of conflict. In southeast Myanmar, the Indigenous people of Karen State, activists, and revolutionaries transformed their war-torn land into the Salween Peace Park—a conservation area that is home not only to endangered species like tigers and gibbons but also to territorial spirits and ancestors. Set in the highlands of the Myanmar-Thai border, Possessed Landscapes introduces a world where land is understood as both spiritually inhabited and politically claimed. Pwakanyaw cosmologies blur boundaries between human and more-than-human ownership, presence, and possession. Anthropologist Tomas Cole’s concept of more-than-human political ecology captures the nuanced, playful, and often deeply strategic ways in which local communities negotiate power, land, and identity amid civil war and state violence. Through vibrant ethnography and grounded political analysis, Cole illuminates how Indigenous Karen communities and their allies are defining conservation, autonomy, and peace building on their own terms. A case study in reimagining sovereignty through ecological stewardship, Possessed Landscapes is essential reading for scholars and practitioners in anthropology, environmental humanities, and peace and conflict studies, as well as anyone seeking to understand how revolutionary politics and conservation can be inseparably entwined. Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295754215 |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-172154 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | University of Washington Press |
| publisherStr | University of Washington Press |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1721542026-02-20T05:13:07Z Possessed Landscapes Cole, Tomas Karen state Conservation in Myanmar Salween Peace Park Indigenous activism Armed conflict Political ecology Political violence Political autonomy Indigenous Karen Anthropology Asian Studies Southeast Asia Environmental Studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNK Conservation of the environment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies When spirits guard forests, conservation becomes revolution—and liberation grows from the soil In 2011 Myanmar emerged from what was by some counts the longest ongoing war in the world. Amid the flurry of ceasefires and constitutional reforms, Indigenous communities moved to reterritorialize land that was fiercely contested in the preceding decades of conflict. In southeast Myanmar, the Indigenous people of Karen State, activists, and revolutionaries transformed their war-torn land into the Salween Peace Park—a conservation area that is home not only to endangered species like tigers and gibbons but also to territorial spirits and ancestors. Set in the highlands of the Myanmar-Thai border, Possessed Landscapes introduces a world where land is understood as both spiritually inhabited and politically claimed. Pwakanyaw cosmologies blur boundaries between human and more-than-human ownership, presence, and possession. Anthropologist Tomas Cole’s concept of more-than-human political ecology captures the nuanced, playful, and often deeply strategic ways in which local communities negotiate power, land, and identity amid civil war and state violence. Through vibrant ethnography and grounded political analysis, Cole illuminates how Indigenous Karen communities and their allies are defining conservation, autonomy, and peace building on their own terms. A case study in reimagining sovereignty through ecological stewardship, Possessed Landscapes is essential reading for scholars and practitioners in anthropology, environmental humanities, and peace and conflict studies, as well as anyone seeking to understand how revolutionary politics and conservation can be inseparably entwined. Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295754215 2026-02-20T05:13:06Z 2026-02-20T05:13:06Z 2026-02-19T07:53:33Z 2026 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110002 9780295754215 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/172154 eng Culture, Place, and Nature open access image/jpeg n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/110002/1/9780295754215.pdf University of Washington Press University of Washington Press 05b43d6c-b025-4c47-9778-32ac09131cc4 9780295754215 University of Washington Press 244 Seattle open access |
| spellingShingle | Karen state Conservation in Myanmar Salween Peace Park Indigenous activism Armed conflict Political ecology Political violence Political autonomy Indigenous Karen Anthropology Asian Studies Southeast Asia Environmental Studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNK Conservation of the environment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies Cole, Tomas Possessed Landscapes |
| title | Possessed Landscapes |
| title_full | Possessed Landscapes |
| title_fullStr | Possessed Landscapes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Possessed Landscapes |
| title_short | Possessed Landscapes |
| title_sort | possessed landscapes |
| topic | Karen state Conservation in Myanmar Salween Peace Park Indigenous activism Armed conflict Political ecology Political violence Political autonomy Indigenous Karen Anthropology Asian Studies Southeast Asia Environmental Studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNK Conservation of the environment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies |
| topic_facet | Karen state Conservation in Myanmar Salween Peace Park Indigenous activism Armed conflict Political ecology Political violence Political autonomy Indigenous Karen Anthropology Asian Studies Southeast Asia Environmental Studies thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies thema EDItEUR::R Earth Sciences, Geography, Environment, Planning::RN The environment::RNK Conservation of the environment thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JB Society and culture: general::JBS Social groups, communities and identities::JBSL Ethnic studies::JBSL1 Ethnic groups and multicultural studies |
| url | https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/110002 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT coletomas possessedlandscapes |