The Land of Open Graves
Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail
by Jason De Leon
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Pub Date Oct 23 2015 | Archive Date Mar 01 2016
Description
In his gripping and provocative debut, anthropologist Jason De León sheds light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time—the human consequences of US immigration policy. The Land of Open Graves reveals the suffering and deaths that occur daily in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona as thousands of undocumented migrants attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the United States.
Drawing on the four major fields of anthropology, De León uses an innovative combination of ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and forensic science to produce a scathing critique of “Prevention through Deterrence,” the federal border enforcement policy that encourages migrants to cross in areas characterized by extreme environmental conditions and high risk of death. For two decades, this policy has failed to deter border crossers while successfully turning the rugged terrain of southern Arizona into a killing field.
In harrowing detail, De León chronicles the journeys of people who have made dozens of attempts to cross the border and uncovers the stories of the objects and bodies left behind in the desert.
The Land of Open Graves will spark debate and controversy.
Drawing on the four major fields of anthropology, De León uses an innovative combination of ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and forensic science to produce a scathing critique of “Prevention through Deterrence,” the federal border enforcement policy that encourages migrants to cross in areas characterized by extreme environmental conditions and high risk of death. For two decades, this policy has failed to deter border crossers while successfully turning the rugged terrain of southern Arizona into a killing field.
In harrowing detail, De León chronicles the journeys of people who have made dozens of attempts to cross the border and uncovers the stories of the objects and bodies left behind in the desert.
The Land of Open Graves will spark debate and controversy.
Advance Praise
"De
León confronts us with a vivid indictment of the killing fields on the
US-Mexico border and reveals the brutality of global inequality in all
its goriness and intimate suffering. A self-described refugee from
archaeology, De León is revitalizing the field of anthropology by
blowing apart the traditional subdisciplinary boundaries. With no holds
barred, he offers new paths for theory, methods, and public
anthropology." —Philippe Bourgois, author of Righteous Dopefiend and In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio
"Jason De León has written a remarkable book. I know of no other ethnography of life and death on the borderlands that is more moving, theoretically ambitious, or powerful than this eagerly awaited work." —María Elena García, author of Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Education, and Multicultural Development in Peru
"This book sears itself into your memory. You literally can’t put it down." —Stanley Brandes, Robert H. Lowie Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
"An impressive piece of scholarship, The Land of Open Graves is a brilliant and important book that humanizes the realities of life and death on the migrant trail in southern Arizona."—Randall H. McGuire, author of Archaeology as Political Action
"Jason De León has written that rare and precious book—a masterful deployment of tools from across the broad spectrum of anthropology." —Danny Hoffman, author of The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia
"The Land of Open Graves is a politically, theoretically, and morally important book that mobilizes the four fields of anthropology to demonstrate beyond a doubt how current US border defense policy results in deliberate death. Beautifully written and engaging, it is a must-read for the general public and students across the social sciences." —Lynn Stephen, author of Transborder Lives: Indigenous Oaxacans in Mexico, California, and Oregon and We Are the Face of Oaxaca: Testimony and Social Movements
"Jason De León has written a remarkable book. I know of no other ethnography of life and death on the borderlands that is more moving, theoretically ambitious, or powerful than this eagerly awaited work." —María Elena García, author of Making Indigenous Citizens: Identities, Education, and Multicultural Development in Peru
"This book sears itself into your memory. You literally can’t put it down." —Stanley Brandes, Robert H. Lowie Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley
"An impressive piece of scholarship, The Land of Open Graves is a brilliant and important book that humanizes the realities of life and death on the migrant trail in southern Arizona."—Randall H. McGuire, author of Archaeology as Political Action
"Jason De León has written that rare and precious book—a masterful deployment of tools from across the broad spectrum of anthropology." —Danny Hoffman, author of The War Machines: Young Men and Violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia
"The Land of Open Graves is a politically, theoretically, and morally important book that mobilizes the four fields of anthropology to demonstrate beyond a doubt how current US border defense policy results in deliberate death. Beautifully written and engaging, it is a must-read for the general public and students across the social sciences." —Lynn Stephen, author of Transborder Lives: Indigenous Oaxacans in Mexico, California, and Oregon and We Are the Face of Oaxaca: Testimony and Social Movements
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780520282759 |
| PRICE | $29.95 (USD) |
