Overview

This groundbreaking work, with its unique anthropological approach, sheds new light on a central conundrum surrounding AIDS in Africa. Robert J. Thornton explores why HIV prevalence fell during the 1990s in Uganda despite that country's having one of Africa's highest fertility rates, while during the same period HIV prevalence rose in South Africa, the country with Africa's lowest fertility rate. Thornton finds that culturally and socially determined differences in the structure of sexual networks - rather than changes in individual behavior - were responsible for these radical differences in HIV prevalence. Incorporating such factors as property, mobility, social status, and political authority into our understanding of AIDS transmission, Thornton's analysis also suggests new avenues for fighting the disease worldwide.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert Thornton
Publisher:   University of California Press
Imprint:   University of California Press
Volume:   20
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.20cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.467kg
ISBN:  

9780520255524

ISBN 10:   0520255526
Pages:   304
Publication Date:   02 September 2008
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  College/higher education ,  Professional & Vocational ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of stock  

Table of Contents

Foreword (Ross K. Dowling) Preface Acknowledgments Introduction A Note on Ethnography The Design of the Book Why People Become Tourists: Uses and Gratifications PART I: VIETNAM AS A TOURIST DESTINATION AN ANALYTIC PERSPECTIVE Chapter 1. The Pros and Cons of Vietnam Tourism Statistics on Tourism in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia Visitors in Vietnam by Country in 2001 Some Problems of Vietnam's Tourism Industry Benefits of Vietnam As a Tourist Destination Chapter 2. The Consumer Culture and Vietnam Tourism and Consumer Cultures: The Grid-Group Typology Consumer Cultures and Tourist Choices Travel Preferences in Vietnam and Cultural Alignments About Imaging, Interpreting, and Remembering Vietnam PART II: VIRTUAL VIETNAM IMAGINING VIETNAM Chapter 3. Vietnam: Image and Reality Vietnam As an Imagined Place Pico Iyer's Picture of Saigon and Hanoi Two Writers on the Vietnamese Passion for Food The Vietnam War Chapter 4. Touring Vietnam in Safety and Comfort Logistics TF Handspan Group Tour Itinerary Annie, Thu, and Problems with Names Adventure Wear and Magic Glasses: I Go High Tech Teaching the Vietnamese About American Culture Escaping with One's Life While Touring Vietnam A Rainbow the Day We Leave On the Matter of Vietnam's Appeal for Tourists PART III: SEMIOTIC VIETNAM INTERPRETING THE COUNTRY Chapter 5. Understanding Vietnam: Culture and Geography Scholarly Approaches to Studying Foreign Cultures The Ideas of Roland Barthes Quoc Ngu: The Vietnamese Written Language The Cao Dai Cathedral at Tay Ninh Sapa and the Hill-Tribe Girls The Mekong Delta Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon Chapter 6. Exploring Vietnam's Culture: Food and Entertainment Pho Nuoc Mam (Fish Sauce) Vietnamese Metal Coffee Pots Spring Rolls Non La (Conical Hats) Ao Dai: The Traditional Vietnamese Costume for Women Ho Chi Minh's Body General Giap: The Snow-Covered Volcano Green Pith Helmets Cu Chi Tunnels CD Caf s Dong and Dollars Roi Nuoc (Water Puppets) PART IV: REMEMBERING VIETNAM BACK IN THE UNITED STATES Chapter 7. Reflections on Touring Vietnam A Jumble of Memories The Actual Vietnam versus the Virtual Vietnam Street Cultures and House Cultures An Age-Old Question Chapter 8. Conclusion The Tourist As Stranger in a Strange Land A Final Word Bibliography Index Reference Notes Included

Reviews

Makes a strong case. --Nature

Makes a strong case. --Nature Readers of this book are given new ways to think about sex and behviour change campaigns. --Jrnl Royal Anthro Inst

Makes a strong case. --Nature Readers of this book are given new ways to think about sex and behviour change campaigns. --Journal Royal Anthro Inst [Thornton] succeeds in showing the important role that anthropological research has to play in the field of HIV prevention. --The Journal of Africa

Author Information

Robert J. Thornton is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and author of The Early Writings of Bronislaw Malinowski and Space, Time, and Culture among the Iraqw of Tanzania. His articles have appeared in Current Anthropology and American Ethnologist.

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