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

Acknowledgments

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS T his book is the result of a ph.D. project funded by the Danish Council for Independent research. It forms part of a comparative research project on youth and futurity led by Anne line Dalsgaard, my dissertation advisor; the prospect of studying under Anne line was one of the reasons that I embarked on that endeavor, and she has been an invaluable and inspiring part of the entire process as both a mentor and colleague and as a friend. I am equally indebted to my co-advisor, Caroline humphrey, with whom it has been a great privilege to share ideas. her extensive knowledge of post-soviet regions has been immeasurably helpful to me in our discussions. In Batumi, I owe my thanks to nana Gorgiladze and nino Inaishvili for providing me with valuable contacts and for helping me get settled when I first arrived; Achiko Khazari, Gizo Biblaia, Khatia Gochitidze, and Maya shainidze for providing research assistance; Tedi ware for keeping me sane during the war and during our joint escape to Turkey; vanessa winship and George Giorgio for offering good company and conversation about representation in anthropology and photography; Kurt reitz for giving me the opportunity to unload over a bottle of wine now and then; and Zviad Diasamidze for joining me in reading through local newspapers and discussing the Georgian political situation. A number of people gave helpful suggestions and important critiques on various drafts and chapters along the way, discussed various aspects of the manuscript with me, or listened patiently as I rambled on about my material. These individuals include, in random order, Anders Emil rasmussen, nina holm vohnsen, susanne højlund, lotte Meinert, Marie Braemer, Keir Martin, Morten nielsen, Maria louw, Elizabeth C. Dunn, Tamta Khalvashi, and Katrine Gotfredsen. The members of my ph.D. assessment committee—Michael M. Jackson, Mathijs pelkmans, and Bodil selmer—provided a range of helpful suggestions on turning my thesis into x • ACKnOwlEDGMEnTs a book. paul Manning and Deborah Durham, who revealed themselves as (previously anonymous) reviewers of the manuscript, gave insightful and extremely valuable suggestions during the final stages of writing. At Temple University press, I thank the series editors, Jane Dyson and Craig Jeffrey, for their encouragement and help and Mick Gusinde-Duffy for his professional and kind assistance throughout the publication process. Menaka roy worked wonders proofreading the final manuscript. needless to say, any errors and inconsistencies that remain are my responsibility alone. I owe my most sincere gratitude to my wife, rikke, and our two children , pelle and neel, for the support they have given me and for reminding me that there are more important aspects of life than writing a book, however all-encompassing such a venture may seem to be at times. Finally, I am immeasurably indebted to the young men in Batumi who allowed me to take part in this period of their lives. YOUNG MEN, TIME, AND BOREDOM IN THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA ...