Cover illustration: Procession of the gold-plated temple car of the god Kandasami, Madras, India.
Mines research specialty is South Asia, with a particular interest in south India where he has conducted four major research projects to date. Currently, his research is spurred by two important sociological and philosophical issues. First is the issue of the historical nature and role of individuality in ordinary life in Indian society. He is currently writing a book that puts south Indian awareness of self into historical context and explores its changing expressions and role in the practice and construction of ordinary life in Chennai (formerly Madras city).
His second issue, closely related to the first, is the exploration of the role of the indivudal as a social agent. The dominant view in 20th century social analysis is that the individual plays no significant role in social exploration or social history beyond that of resistance, indeed, that the creation of meaning and historical causation are beyond the capacity of the individual. Hhis desire is to reclaim a broader interpretation of agency and of the individual as an essential creative agent in social history. His big aim is to develop a sociology that builds the perspective of how individuals themselves understand their own situations and explain their own actions, including the processes of these forms of self-consciousness.
From the back cover of Dr. Mines' new book, Public Faces, Private Voices, published in 1994 by the University of California Press:
"Individuality is often seen as exclusively a Western value. In nonWestern societies, collective identities may seem to eclipse those of individuals. These generalizations, however, have overlooked the importance of personal uniqueness, volition, and achievement in these cultures. Based on twenty-five years of field research, Public Faces, Private Voices weaves together personal life stories, historical descriptions and theoretical analysis to define individuality in South Asia."In Tamil Nadu, south India, Mattison Mines explores private and public expressions of self. In houses, businesses, and community marriage halls, for example, portrait photographs are hung and honored with incense, flowers, sandalwood paste, and kumkum (red powder). Such pictures commemorate specific kin, benefactors, political leaders, gurus, and deceased loved ones. These portraits and their uses reflect and symbolize the significance of a uniqueness that is, paradoxically, defined by relationships Although the Tamil word for individuality (tanittuvam) means the individual separate from others, what is seen as making a person unique includes his or her relations.
"The book considers first the public faces ofl individuality in urban life and then the private voices of Tamils as they dcscribe the importance of their own individuality. Mines analyzes how people in Tamil Nadu explain themselves to him and how they describe others around them. He examines the role individuality plays in the organization of south Indian society and its civic expression. Engaging and controversial, Public Faces, Private Voices will be of great interest to scholars and students working in anthropology, psychololgy, sociology, South Asian history, urban studies, and political science."
|
Updated September18, 2003
Back to faculty page
Back to main page