Doctoral Dissertation Research: Complex Dynamics of the Earthquake Recovery of an Ethnic Minority

本研究将探讨国家资助的、以文化为导向的少数民族灾后重建的政治、经济和文化资源、过程和后果。2008年，一场毁灭性的地震夺去了约10%的少数民族人口的生命，许多村庄不仅在物质上迅速恢复，而且在国家“恢复和发展”其文化的规划下，被列为遗产旅游目的地。拟议的研究将考察国家通过其政策和项目对少数民族的概念，以及村民对生活和关系的重建和谈判的反应范围，揭示这个文化敏感的恢复项目的复杂性和问题。研究人员将进行10个月的实地考察。另外两个月的时间将用于采访首都的官员和规划者，以及对官方重建政策和旅游计划的档案研究。将收集村庄的物理变化和重建的统计数据并绘制地图。通过参与观察、访谈和焦点小组讨论，了解村民如何以不同的方式感知和互动新的生活环境和改变的生活方式。信仰、仪式、传统节日和官方活动将被记录下来，以展示新兴和不同身份的协商和代表。这项研究很重要，因为它将通过检验国家主导的规划与受影响少数民族的核心价值观之间的相互作用，为灾难恢复的人类学研究做出贡献。所获得的知识将有助于研究、教学和认识到任何声称寻求合理和可持续社区发展的恢复项目的复杂影响。

This research will explore the political, economic and cultural resources, processes and consequences of state-sponsored, culturally-oriented post-disaster reconstruction of an ethnic minority. After a devastating earthquake claimed about 10% of the ethnic population in 2008, many villages not only swiftly recovered materially, but were made into heritage tourist destinations with state planning to "restore and develop" their culture. The proposed research will examine both the state's conception of the ethnic minority through its policies and projects, and the range of villagers' response to the reconstruction and negotiation of lives and relationships revealing complexities and problems of this culturally sensitive recovery project.The researcher will conduct 10 months of fieldwork. Two more months will be spent interviewing officials and planners in the capital as well as archival research into official reconstruction policies and tourism plans. Physical changes of the villages and statistical data of the reconstruction will be collected and mapped. Participant observation, interviews, and focus group discussions will be conducted to understand how villagers differently perceive and interact with the newly-established living environment and changed lifestyle. Beliefs, rituals, traditional festivals and official events will be documented to show the negotiation and representation of emergent and differential identities. This research is important because it will contribute to the anthropological study of disaster recovery by examining the interplay of state-led planning and the core values of an affected ethnic minority. The knowledge gained will help the research, teaching and awareness of the complex effects of any recovery project that claims to seek justifiable and sustainable community development.