Young Men, Time, and Boredom in the Republic of Georgia

Martin Demant Frederiksen is External Lecturer in Anthropology at the Institute of Culture and Society, Aarhus University.

• AcknowledgmentsPrologue1   OverviewSECTION I.  “IN A QUIET SWAMP, THERE ARE DEVILS WANDERING”: RUINS AND GHOSTS IN BATUMIIntroduction2   Walking a Ruined City3   Devils and BrotherhoodsConclusion: A Period Made PastSECTION II.  DAILY INTO THE BLUE? YOUNG LIVES BETWEEN LONGING AND ENGAGEMENTIntroduction4   The White Georgian5   A Tale of Two ArtistsConclusion: “Because of” or “In Order  To”?SECTION III.  THE FUTURE HAUNTING THE PRESENTIntroduction6   Subjunctive Moods  and Imperative Reminders7   Subjunctive MaterialitiesConclusion: Horizons in MotionSECTION IV.  APPARITIONSIntroduction8   Social Afterlives and the Creation of Temporal MarginsEpilogueReferencesIndex

"The author spent approximately a year participating in the lives of 30 underemployed young men... The author has a keen eye for telling ethnographic details, and liberal use of his graphic field notes makes it clear that he was an accepted and even cherished member of these brotherhoods. Moreover, his evocative photographs of various sites help to transport the reader into post-Soviet Georgia. There are funny scenes in this touching ethnography and a wealth of insight, as well, but the overall tone of these observations is poignant... From these lives, the author extracts a rich conceptual framework... The author concludes that his informants experience 'temporal marginalization' - an ingenious concept with wide applicability." - Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology, April 3, 2014