Pohledy z druhého břehu: Transnacionalismus, rituál a sociální zmĕna.

In a globalised and mutually interconnected world, after the post-modern turn in social sciences, does anthropology offer any way to understand complexity of human life and society? Transnational studies offer a powerful set of explanatory tools for knowledge production and analysis. While this approach has produced a number of valuable contributions and insights, it is hampered by certain assumptions that may distort knowledge production. In this paper I argue that transnational anthropology may represent a moderate way of knowledge production on transnationalism, combining both interest on micropolitics of human life as well as their transnational interconnectedness. Using ethnographic data on transnational networks from Pakistan, Morocco, Bangladesh and Daghestan, I re-construct the omitted view in the transnational studies: a view from the other shore where the attention is paid to actors who have been left behind, as a consequence of transnational migration, on the other shores. Through careful examination of particular life cycle rituals, I explore changes effected by recent shifts in capital (as conventionally understood) and symbolic capital (as outlined by Bourdieu) mediated by transnational networks. Therefore, I argue that any postmodern reflexivity and intellectual fashion should not replace ethnographic sensitivity from transnational studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]