Anthropology and Conflict: Reflections on the Bosnian War Part 2

Joel Halpern, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Abstract

It clearly takes a certain period to reflect on a singular experience in one's life. In the May 1996 issue of AnthroWatch I reported on my winter visit to Sarajevo and Mostar, the two principle towns in Bosnia. I want to begin to approach an evaluation of this situation through a personal lens. Perhaps for some anthropologists their field experiences have been distanced from war and conflict. But this has not been my experience. Rather my anthropological journeys have been contextualized by major conflicts.