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Citation |
Friedman JR. Ethos 2007; 35(2): 235-264. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2007, American Anthropological Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
This article examines shame in a context of political—economic decline (Jiu Valley, Romania). I argue that shame, which is traditionally associated with a "shrinking" feeling and social control, can take on a dual resonance for people situated in socioeconomic conditions of moral disorder. Shame can act as both a personal experience of self-defeat as well as acting as a medium for critiquing the very system of socioeconomic norms and cultural values that work to make one feel ashamed. Using data drawn from research among coal miners in post-state socialist Romania, this article illustrates how discourses associated with shame can be viewed as a critical understanding of the culturally meaningful experience of marginalization from and the ambivalence of global processes. |