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A ritual middle ground? Personhood, ideology and resistance in East Germany

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Anselma Gallinat

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Abstract

The article considers the relationship between the ideological notion of the person and personhood established interpersonally in socialist East Germany. It criticises theories of resistance arguing that both narratives 'conversationally' depend on one another. This is explored with regard to a socialist transition ritual, in which ideological and social values come together. Through their co-existence in this ambiguous setting the two narratives reinforce one another. This understanding of a co-dependency of ideology and grass-roots practices is as yet largely absent from the literature. It is, however, necessary in order to understand moral debates and cultural continuity in present eastern Germany. © 2005 European Association of Social Anthropologists.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Gallinat A

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Social Anthropology

Year: 2005

Volume: 13

Issue: 3

Pages: 291-305

ISSN (print): 0964-0282

ISSN (electronic): 1469-8676

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0964028205001552

DOI: 10.1017/S0964028205001552

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