Who's counting?

Jane M. Ferguson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

73 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Partially rooted in British colonial ethnology and administration, the ethnic categories of the 2014 Myanmar census have attracted controversy, particularly from representatives of non-Burman political organizations. The categories themselves, as well as the bureaucratic exercise of the census, have a complex genealogy which offers considerable insight into understanding the contemporary situation. Drawing from Hirschman's theory that the study of measurements of ethnicity is a unique resource for understanding the meaning of ethnicity in a society, this article discusses the controversy surrounding the 2014 census, and how some census-related issues have been crucially framed by bureaucratic structures that came before.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-28
Number of pages28
JournalBijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde
Volume171
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2015
Externally publishedYes

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