Caribbean
The Caribbean is also a focus of research at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology.
Jamaica and Suriname
Dr. Rivke Jaffe’s research interests are primarily in urban anthropology and sociology. Within cities, she is specifically interested in the interconnections between the social, natural and built environment. Socio-spatial fragmentation of cities and its relation to poverty, environmental problems and crime is an example of such interconnections. More recently, Rivke Jaffe has focused on the role of criminal organizations in creating ‘non-state spaces’ in urban areas in postcolonial contexts. She is exploring how criminal organizations and the state share control over urban spaces and populations, what kind of governance arrangements emerge, and which actors and mechanisms link ‘the street’ and the ‘state’. Rivke Jaffe’s research focuses on the spatialization of power, difference and inequality within cities. In connection to these themes, she is interested in the role of popular culture (in particular reggae, dancehall and hiphop) in establishing and transmitting urban meanings. Geographically, my area of interest is the Caribbean and its diaspora.
Keywords: Urban Studies, Environment, Crime, State, Popular Culture, Caribbean.