Book Review – Glimpses of Hope: The Rise of Industrial Labor at the Urban Margins of Nepal

I’m excited to share another of my academic book reviews was recently published, this time in the European Bulletin of Himalayan Research (EBHR). The review is of Michael Hoffman’s latest book, Glimpses of Hope: The rise of industrial labor at the urban margins of Nepal.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the opening review:

Drawing on a series of ethnographic vignettes from fieldwork in Nepal, Michael Hoffmann takes readers from the lowland town of Nepalgunj in the Terai to the upland city of Pokhara while offering readers a glimpse inside Nepal’s growing urban industrial labour scene. The book draws on research and multiple field visits between 2013 and 2020 to weave together a story of changing industrial labour relations and class formations, of the evolving power of Maoist unions, and the occasional foray into the world of spirits and occult economics. Through a mix of details about the daily routines of industrial workers and their bosses and reflections on the lasting impact of the Maoist revolution and Nepal’s integration into global labour markets, Hoffmann gives readers insights into how labour politics, class consciousness, ethnic and Indigenous identities, gender politics, urban versus rural dynamics, and religious practices all play a part in Nepal’s evolving industrial landscape and workforce.

Hoffmann opens the book by situating his project within a larger set of scholarly debates about labour and society that will likely be familiar to scholars of anthropology and labour. In addition to the usual suspects (Karl Marx, Max Weber, EP Thompson), he also draws on anthropological insights from scholars such as Michael Burawoy, June Nash, Don Kalb and Jonathan Parry. The book is split into two sections, which correspond to his two research sites. Part I focuses on an extended case study of a food-processing plant in Nepalgunj, while Part II includes case studies of a noodle factory, a water-bottling facility, the building trade, and sand-mining operations in Pokhara. Hoffmann uses these cases to develop his arguments about changing industrial labour dynamics in Nepal and to highlight key differences between the two regions.

The book was released by Berghahn Books in 2023. For anyone interested in Nepal and labor politics, be sure to check this book out.

You can read my entire book review online here.