Citation

Janzen JM. J. Public Health Policy 2016; 37(Suppl 1): 122-132.

Affiliation

Department of Anthropology, University of Kansas, 622 Fraser Hall, 1415 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA. jjanzen@ku.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group -- Palgrave-Macmillan)

DOI

10.1057/s41271-016-0008-1

PMID

27638247

Abstract

This study, with a focus on Central and Southern Africa, offers an overview of best practices and theoretical debates in the anthropology of violence, including the ethnography of situations where violence is pervasive and active efforts are made to deal with it. Although the multiple sites of recent violence in this region are unique in their scale, intensity, and cause, the literature review suggests a typical course of events of patterns of violence and trauma, construction of memory, efforts at mediation and healing, or persisting conflict and confronting the aftermath of violence at home or in exile. The essay suggests that political reconciliation, healing, ritualized memory, and restoration of justice often accompany, singly or in combination, a break in the cycle of violence. Ethnography and anthropological analysis offers tools for policy-makers, therapists, and leaders to deal with the consequences of violence.

Language: en