Everyday life in Asia : social perspectives on the senses

Everyday Life in Asia offers a range of detailed case studies which present social perspectives on sensory experiences in Asia. Thematically organized around the notions of the experience of space and place, tradition and the senses, cross-border sensory experiences, and habitus and the senses - its rich empirical content reveals people's commitment to place, and the manner in which its sensory experience provides the key to penetrating the meanings abound in everyday life.Offering the first close analysis of various facets of sensory experience in places that share a geographical location or cultural orientation in Asia, this collection links the conception of place with understandings of 'how the senses work'. With contributions from an international team of experts, Everyday Life in Asia will be of interest to anthropologists, geographers and sociologists with interests in culture, everyday life, and their relation to the senses of place and space.'This book takes a big step toward understanding that human existence is in all its aspects a social existence. After the traditional focus on action and interaction, and the more recent sociological concern with the body and the emotions, now comes the time to demonstrate the social nature of seemingly private sensual experiences. By linking persuasive argument with colorful cases from the exotic context of Asia, the authors open new vistas for sociological research, but also make the volume sheer fun to read.' Piotr Sztompka, Jagiellonian University at Krakow, Poland.'This is an important collection, essential for anyone interested in the sensory veining of everyday life. Beautifully conceptualized and expertly executed, the essays grant us unprecedented access to the interplay of the senses and society in one of the most underrepresented areas of sensory study: Asia. This is a collection at once fascinating and edifying.' Mark M. Smith, University of South Carolina, USA. Sounds that unite, sounds that divide : pervasive rituals in a middle eastern society / Devorah Kalekin-Fishman -- Somaphoric organizations of self and society in Java / Steve Ferzacca -- Sensing Tokyo's alleyways : everyday life and sensory encounters in the alleyways of a city in transition / Heide Imai -- Summoning the senses in memory and heritage making / Kelvin E.Y. Low -- Imitating masters : apprenticeship and embodied knowledge in rural China / Mu Peng -- The sensory experience of thai massage : commercialization, globalization, and tactility / Junko Iida -- Comfort food, memory, and "home" : senses in transnational contexts / Norman Abdullah -- Purchasing food in modern Vietnam : when supermarkets affect the senses. / Muriel Figuié and Nicolas Bricas. Everyday Life in Asia offers a range of detailed case studies presenting social perspectives on sensory experiences in Asia. Thematically organized around the notions of the experience of space and place, tradition and the senses, cross-border sensory experiences, and habitus and the senses its rich empirical content reveals people's commitment to place, and the manner in which its sensory experience provides the key to penetrating the meanings abound in everyday life