Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World (Case Studies on Contemporary Social Issues) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This case study describes the role an applied anthropologist takes to help Marshallese communities understand the impact of radiation exposure on the environment and themselves, and addresses problems stemming from the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program conducted in the Marshall Islands from 1946-1958. The author demonstrates how the U.S. Government limits its responsibilities for dealing with the problems it created in the Marshall Islands. Through archival, life history, and ethnographic research, the author constructs a compelling history of the testing program from a Marshallese perspective. For more than five decades, the Marshallese have experienced the effects of the weapons testing program on their health and their environment. This book amplifies the voice of the Marshallese who share their knowledge about illnesses, premature deaths, and exile from their homelands. The author uses linguistic analysis to show how the Marshallese developed a unique radiation language to discuss problems related to their radiation exposure – problems that never existed before the testing program. Drawing on her own experiences working with the Government of the Marshall Islands, the author emphasizes the role of an applied anthropologist in influencing policy, and empowering community leaders to seek meaningful remedies.

About the Author

Holly Barker is an applied anthropologist who has over 13 years of experience working in the Marshall Islands and with political leaders in the Marshall Islands, first as a Peace Corps volunteer on Mili Atoll, and later as the Senior Advisor to the Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Washington D.C. Holly obtained her Ph.D. in Anthropology from American University in Washington D.C. and is currently Senior Advisor to the RMI Ambassador.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing; 1 edition (August 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534613268
• ISBN-13: 978-0534613266
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #304,241 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marshall Island struggles onward despite Cold War legacy, September 25, 2003

By A Customer

Dr. Barker's fascinating work chronicles the efforts of a tiny nation to overcome environmental devastation at the hands of the United States. The challenges faced by the Marshallese people include environmental contamination from carcinogens such as nuclear waste (from American testing of nuclear weapons) and PCBs (from multinational corporations).

Despite the misery and devastating caused by their supposed protectors (the U.S. government), Dr. Barker accurately describes the boundless determination, decency and generosity, which the Marshallese people share with all.

As Dr. Barker correctly notes, this resiliency will prove essential to the citizens of the Marshall Islands as they continue to face critical challenges such as economic globalization, nuclear and environmental remediation, and global warming. Any of which, could prove catastrophic in the decades to come.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anthropology in the public interest, September 17, 2003

By A Customer

Dr. Barker has told a story that most Americans never learn, and our government still tries to hide: that the U.S. tested nuclear weapons with full knowledge that the Marshallese people would be affected by the fallout and associated radiation. Using innovative anthropological oral history and linguistics analysis techniques, Dr. Barker demonstrates how the Marshallese have endured the physical, political, and cultural impacts of the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program on Bikini and Enewetok, and developed institutions and cultural adaptations to advance beyond victim status. A must-read for any serious scholar of the Cold War and its human consequences.

5 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Errors and biases, May 9, 2004

By A Customer

What could have been a change-making ethnography is instead an error filled and one sided rant. Barker makes several glaring factual errors that a good editor should have caught, not the readers. She is so clearly biased in favor of the Marshallese (who admittedly were wronged) that she fails to present both sides of the issues and history and she turns readers against her positions in the process. Many important points lose their impact when she lectures us over and over again on what the 'evil' US government ought to give the Marshall Islanders as restitution. Her great knowledge of a unique and interesting people is lost in the political rhetoric. Not a well balanced ethnography.