66 books match the query 'Central' and 5 start with h

cover of Having People, Having Heart: Charity, Sustainable Development, and Problems of Dependence in Central Uganda

Having People, Having Heart

Charity, Sustainable Development, and Problems of Dependence in Central Uganda

China Scherz

University of Chicago Press, 2014

Believing that charity inadvertently legitimates social inequality and fosters dependence, many international development organizations have increasingly sought to replace material aid with efforts to build self-reliance and local institutions. But in some cultures—like those in rural Uganda, where Having People, Having Heart takes place—people see this shift not as an effort toward empowerment but as a suspect refusal to redistribute wealth. Exploring this conflict, China Scherz balances the negative assessments of charity that have led to this shift with the viewpoints of those who actually receive aid.
           
Through detailed studies of two different orphan support organizations in Uganda, Scherz shows how many Ugandans view material forms of Catholic charity as deeply intertwined with their own ethics of care and exchange. With a detailed examination of this overlooked relationship in hand, she reassesses the generally assumed paradox of material aid as both promising independence and preventing it. The result is a sophisticated demonstration of the powerful role that anthropological concepts of exchange, value, personhood, and religion play in the politics of international aid and development.
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cover of Health in a Fragile State: Science, Sorcery, and Spirit in the Lower Congo

Health in a Fragile State

Science, Sorcery, and Spirit in the Lower Congo

John M. Janzen

University of Wisconsin Press, 2019

Based on extensive field research in the Manianga region of the Lower Congo, Health in a Fragile State is an anthropological account of public health and health care after the collapse of the Congolese state in the 1980s and 1990s. This work brings into focus John M. Janzen's earlier books on African health and healing, revealing the collaborative effort by local, national, and international agencies to create viable alternative institutions to those that represented the centralized state. This book documents and analyzes the realignment of existing institutions and the creation of new ones that shape health and healing.
Janzen explores the manner in which power and information, including science, are legitimized in the preservation and improvement of health. Institutional validity and knowledge empower citizens and health practitioners to gain the upper hand over the region's principal diseases, including malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid, and HIV/AIDS.
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cover of Hidden Bhutan: Entering the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon

Hidden Bhutan

Entering the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon

Martin Uitz

Haus Publishing, 2006

In 2006 Time magazine listed the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuk, as one of the 100 "leaders and revolutionaries" who are changing our world today. Yet it was only in the 1960s that the first road linking the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon with India was opened, and since 1974 only a strictly limited number of tourists have been allowed to visit each year. Martin Uitz, a renowned expert on Bhutan, describes how the Bhutanese, in pursuit of the principle of "Gross National Happiness", are carefully moving towards a more modern future, including a constitution and democracy, whilst preserving their traditional society and attempting to conserve the environment. Uitz made many fascinating discoveries in this enigmatic Kingdom. He was able to explain why the only traffic light was taken out of service, why six men are not allowed to go on a journey together, and what the subtle eroticism of a traditional hot-stone bath is all about. Along the way he also discovered that the Bhutanese hills are more alive with Edelweiss than the hills around his native Salzburg.
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cover of Hiking the Wasatch: A Hiking and Natural History Guide to the Central Wasatch

Hiking the Wasatch

A Hiking and Natural History Guide to the Central Wasatch

John Veranth

University of Utah Press, 2014

The Wasatch Mountains, with three wilderness areas and hundreds of miles of trails, offer a treasure land of outdoor opportunities within easy reach of nearly a million people. Yet the steep rugged terrain can seem intimidating to new hikers and many parts of the Wasatch are relatively unknown and seldom visited. John Veranth has hiked all over these mountains and has written a comprehensive guidebook for both the beginner and the expert hiker.
     Trail descriptions range from nearly level walks requiring less than an hour to ascents that challenge experienced mountaineers. To assist in selecting an appropriate trail, hikes are listed according to best season, time required, objective, and desired level of difficulty. The easy trails have the most detailed descriptions to aid beginners, while expert trails have sparse descriptions to preserve the adventure. Maps, photos, and line drawings are included and detailed driving directions to the trailheads are consolidated to save repetition. The area’s geology, flora and fauna, and human history are also discussed to further appreciation of this mountain environment.
     Since the first publication of Hiking the Wasatch, there have been numerous changes to these trails, especially along the foothill-urban interface. This revised third edition contains full updates based on the author’s field checking, comments from members of the Wasatch Mountain Club, and information from land-management agencies. Hiking the Wasatch is an essential resource for exploring these mountain trails. 
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cover of Human Nature: A Walking History of the Himalayan Landscape

Human Nature

A Walking History of the Himalayan Landscape

Thomas Bell

Haus Publishing, 2025

Combining travelogue, folklore, literature, art, and anthropology, this work explores the human and natural geography of the Himalayas and offers a nuanced portrait of life over the centuries in one of the world’s most enigmatic regions. 

In Human Nature, Thomas Bell embarks on four walks through the Himalayas, each in a different season, to explore the interplay between the land and the people who call it home. Bell’s decades in Nepal give him an unusual perspective that bridges the gap between insider and outsider. The stories he recounts touch on themes from religion to ecology and political economy, and span from prehistory to the present day. He also deftly examines the impact of British imperialism and the growing external pressures on the environment. Accompanied by Bell’s striking photographs and maps, Human Nature is a magnificently written account that spans big ideas and real lives. Erudite, intimate, and evocative, this is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the relationship between communities and their environments.

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