The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives
Relations within are quintessential in anthropological fieldwork — and in archipelagos in particular. The domestic sea is incorporated in the national consciousness connecting an archipelagic nation but distinguishing individual islands with a strong emphasis on the centre. The Maldivian archipelago...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Island Studies Journal
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Island Studies Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.177 |
| _version_ | 1797769910183526400 |
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| author | Eva-Maria Knoll |
| author_facet | Eva-Maria Knoll |
| author_sort | Eva-Maria Knoll |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Relations within are quintessential in anthropological fieldwork — and in archipelagos in particular. The domestic sea is incorporated in the national consciousness connecting an archipelagic nation but distinguishing individual islands with a strong emphasis on the centre. The Maldivian archipelago displays this spatial organization of a socio-political and economic centre and a dependent island periphery. In the national consciousness, the capital island, Male', contrasts with “the islands” — a distinction which is particularly evident in the public health sphere, where striving for health equity encounters geographical and socio-political obstacles. Using the topic of the inherited blood disorder thalassaemia as a magnifying lens, this paper asks how different actors are making sense of health inequities between central and outer islands in the Maldivian archipelago. Intra-archipelagic and international mobilities add to the complexities of topological relations, experiences, and representations within this multi-island assemblage. Yet, my study of archipelagic health relations is not confined to a mere outside look at the construction of the ‘island other’ within the archipelagic community. It is a situated investigative gaze on disjunctures, connections, and entanglements, reflecting my methodological-theoretical attempt to unravel my own involvement in island–island relations and representations — my being entangled while investigating entanglements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:15:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-647825d3a9b94ed59164f87a8ef6fcda |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-2593 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:15:52Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Island Studies Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Island Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-647825d3a9b94ed59164f87a8ef6fcda2023-07-29T13:38:40ZengIsland Studies JournalIsland Studies Journal1715-25932021-11-01162The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the MaldivesEva-Maria KnollRelations within are quintessential in anthropological fieldwork — and in archipelagos in particular. The domestic sea is incorporated in the national consciousness connecting an archipelagic nation but distinguishing individual islands with a strong emphasis on the centre. The Maldivian archipelago displays this spatial organization of a socio-political and economic centre and a dependent island periphery. In the national consciousness, the capital island, Male', contrasts with “the islands” — a distinction which is particularly evident in the public health sphere, where striving for health equity encounters geographical and socio-political obstacles. Using the topic of the inherited blood disorder thalassaemia as a magnifying lens, this paper asks how different actors are making sense of health inequities between central and outer islands in the Maldivian archipelago. Intra-archipelagic and international mobilities add to the complexities of topological relations, experiences, and representations within this multi-island assemblage. Yet, my study of archipelagic health relations is not confined to a mere outside look at the construction of the ‘island other’ within the archipelagic community. It is a situated investigative gaze on disjunctures, connections, and entanglements, reflecting my methodological-theoretical attempt to unravel my own involvement in island–island relations and representations — my being entangled while investigating entanglements.https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.177 |
| spellingShingle | Eva-Maria Knoll The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives Island Studies Journal |
| title | The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives |
| title_full | The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives |
| title_fullStr | The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives |
| title_full_unstemmed | The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives |
| title_short | The ‘Other’ Within: Striving for Health Equity in the Maldives |
| title_sort | other within striving for health equity in the maldives |
| url | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.177 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evamariaknoll theotherwithinstrivingforhealthequityinthemaldives AT evamariaknoll otherwithinstrivingforhealthequityinthemaldives |