Pinelandia: An Anthropology and Field Poetics of War and Empire

Mock Middle Eastern villages are used as military training sites in America, hidden from public view. These villages contain mosques, restaurants, street signs, graffiti in Arabic, and Iraqi role-players. Anthropologist Nomi Stone explores US military predeployment training exercises and the lifeworlds of the Iraqi role-players, as they act out to mourn, bargain, and die like the wartime adversary or ally. Pinelandia traces the devastating consequences of a military project that seeks to turn human beings into wartime technologies recruited to translate,mediate, and collaborate.

Format: Hardback
Length: 308 pages
Publication date: 11 October 2022
Publisher: University of California Press

Across the vast expanses of America's pine forests and arid deserts, there exist mock Middle Eastern villages, mostly concealed from public view. These villages, adorned with mosques, restaurants, street signs, Arabic graffiti, and Iraqi role-players, serve as crucial military training grounds for cultural literacy and special operations, both deemed essential for victory in the Global War on Terror. In her captivating and groundbreaking ethnography, anthropologist Nomi Stone delves into the intricacies of US military predeployment training exercises and the lived experiences of the Iraqi role-players who inhabit these mock villages. As they mimic mournful expressions, engage in bargaining, and even simulate death, these actors embody the wartime adversary or ally, providing trainees with invaluable opportunities to hone their skills and tactics. Stone's fieldwork, conducted across the United States and Jordan, unveils the devastating consequences of a military project aimed at transforming human beings into wartime technologies. Through a theoretical lens and the enactment of a field poetics, Pinelandia expands the boundaries of the ethnographic project into new interdisciplinary realms.
Pinelandia emerges as a profound political phenomenology of American empire and Iraq in the twenty-first century. It sheds light on the complex dynamics of power, culture, and warfare that shape these two nations and the broader global landscape. By examining the role-playing exercises and the lived experiences of the Iraqi actors, Stone offers a nuanced and empathetic understanding of the human costs of military intervention. Through her fieldwork, she challenges the notion of a clear distinction between combatants and civilians, highlighting the blurred lines and unintended consequences of warfare. Pinelandia also raises important questions about the ethics of military training, the role of cultural understanding in conflict resolution, and the implications of deploying military technologies in the pursuit of security.
In conclusion, Pinelandia is a groundbreaking work that offers a fresh perspective on the complexities of American empire and Iraq in the twenty-first century. Through its ethnographic lens and theoretical framework, Stone provides a powerful critique of the military-industrial complex and the broader geopolitical dynamics that shape our world. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the human costs of war, the politics of power, and the complexities of cultural interaction in a time of global conflict.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780520344365