The Melanesian World

1. Introduction: the challenge of Melanesia
2. The archaeology of Melanesia
3. Melanesia: a region and a history
4. Missionaries in the Melanesian world
5. Geo-political overview of Melanesia
6. Melanesia as a zone of language diversity
7. Regional overview: from diversity to multiple singularities
8. Subsistence food production in Melanesia
9. Class, labour and consumption in urban Melanesia
10. Money schemes in contemporary Melanesia
11. Cash crops and markets
12. Searching for Melanesian urbanity
13. Sovereignty, civil conflict and ethnicity
14. Local government and politics: forms and aspects of authority
15. Security governance in Melanesia: police, prisons and crime
16. Gender relations and human rights in Melanesia
17. Health, institutions and governance in Melanesia
18. Owning the law in Melanesia
19. ‘Witchcraft’ and ‘sorcery’ in Melanesia
20. Charismatic churches, revivalism and new religious movements
21. Cargo cult post mortem
22. Big men, ceremonial exchange and life-cycle events
23. Interpreting initiation in Melanesia: past and present
24. Museums and cultural centres in Melanesia: a series of experiments
25. Creation and destruction in Melanesian material culture
26. Contemporary art in Melanesia: from grassroots to national identity?
27. Melanesian worlds of music and dance
28. The Melanesian world of Paradise tourism: reflections on time, travel and cultural performance
29. Places and paths in Melanesian landscapes
30. Extractive industries in Melanesia
31. Climate change in the islands and the highlands: Melanesian manifestations, experiences and actions
32. Western conservation in Melanesia: biodiversity conservation for whom, by whom, and according to whom?
33. New media, new Melanesia?
34. Afterword

his wide-ranging volume captures the diverse range of societies and experiences that form what has come to be known as Melanesia. It covers prehistoric, historic and contemporary issues, and includes work by art historians, political scientists, geographers and anthropologists. The chapters range from studies of subsistence, ritual and ceremonial exchange to accounts of state violence, new media and climate change. The ‘Melanesian world’ assembled here raises questions that cut to the heart of debates in the human sciences today, with profound implications for the ways in which scholars across disciplines can describe and understand human difference. This impressive collection of essays represents a valuable resource for scholars and students alike.