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*Latin American Anthropology Seminar Series @ ILAS* The Latin American Anthropology Seminar Series is organised jointly by LSE, Goldsmiths, and the Institute of Latin American Studies and is held on alternate Thursdays from 17:30 to 19:30. The next session is: *25 February 2016 *– *“Local Perceptions of Bureaucracy and the State among the Pemon of La Gran Sabana: The Many Vicissitudes of Filing a Form”*, by Natalia Garcia Bonet (University of Kent) In this paper I explore the intricacies of Venezuelan bureaucracy and how they are perceived and navigated by local indigenous actors in a Pemon community of *La Gran Sabana* (The Great Savannah) in South East Venezuela. Following Fernando Coronil’s thesis about the ‘magical state’ (1997), the paper will explore how applications for state funds and other governmental special programmes (*misiones*) are mediated by the imaginary of Venezuela as a rich oil country. Success or failure in these applications for funds does not necessarily influence the perception of the state as an efficient provider of resources, but rather serves to evaluate the ability of local authorities (mostly community and sector captains) to master bureaucracy, perceived as the ‘magic of chance’ (Lavie, 2014). I will argue that the different procedures stipulated by state bureaucracy represent one of the main mediums through which indigenous communities communicate with the national government and make demands. These processes transform local indigenous authorities into mediators; in charge of translating local fluid representations of ethnicity into fixed categories that will fit into the official forms provided by the government. I will also argue, however, that these procedures represent spaces for negotiation, and that the very tight boxes in state official forms are stretched and re-interpreted by local actors in other to fit their own local categories into them. *Venue: Institute of Latin American Studies, Senate House, second floor, Room 234* For any queries or expressions of interest to participate in the seminar, you can contact any of the seminar conveners: Agustin Diz ([log in to unmask]) Clate Korsant ([log in to unmask]) Ainhoa Montoya ([log in to unmask]) ************************************************************* * Anthropology-Matters Mailing List * http://www.anthropologymatters.com * * A postgraduate project comprising online journal, * * online discussions, teaching and research resources * * and international contacts directory. * * To join this list or to look at the archived previous * * messages visit: * * http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/Anthropology-Matters.HTML * * If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all * * those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: * * [log in to unmask] * * * * Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new * * CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com * * an international directory of anthropology researchers * * To unsubscribe: please log on to jiscmail.ac.uk, and * * go to the 'Subscriber's corner' page. * * ***************************************************************