Multiple Histories

Author(s)

Andre Gingrich

Abstract

This chapter sets out to reconsider the interrelation and non-identity between tribal and kinship relations in South-Western Arabia's history through three cumulative methodological steps that are in part inspired by renewed debates on kinship in anthropology, but also by the École des Annales and other historians such as David Sabaean. A first step identifies different legacies of interactions between history and anthropology in the Euro-American academic record after 1945, and specifies their relevance for today. In a next step, prevailing relations between tribal structures and kinship relations will be assessed through a long-distance comparison between the medieval constellations in the Zaydi highlands of Yemen and elsewhere in Asia for an eleventh century time horizon. Thirdly, the outcome of this comparative analysis should then provide some indicators for a fresh assessment of existing source materials through anthropological perspectives, with special emphasis on gender, kinship and hierarchies. The argument concludes with a discussion of "multiple histories", and how to approach and write them.

Organisation(s)

Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology

Journal

History and Anthropology

Volume

26

Pages

110-128

No. of pages

19

ISSN

0275-7206

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2014.933102

Publication date

01-2015

Peer reviewed

Yes

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

504008 Ethnography

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cultural Studies, Anthropology, History

Portal url

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/bda83eac-b836-4f35-8660-e80ebed09d32