Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

The Current Impact of Motorcycle Motorisation on Amazonian Indigenous Peoples

Project description

The role of motorcycles on indigenous peoples in Amazonia

During the last century, the indigenous peoples of the South American Lowlands underwent significant changes as a result of mechanical colonisation through the introduction of steamboats, railways, trucks, chainsaws, firearms, and electric generators. Despite these major shifts in indigenous life, there has been limited anthropological and historical research on the subject. Also, the proliferation of motorcycles over the last few decades has had a profound impact on the interethnic landscape and reshaped indigenous reality. The EU-funded MOTOBOOM project will conduct a groundbreaking and interdisciplinary study on the effects of motorcycle dissemination among the indigenous populations of Bolivian Amazonia. The project’s goal is to inform public policy and improve road safety and accident prevention in marginalised communities.

Objective

During the last century, the indigenous South American Lowlands have been colonized by steamboats, railways, trucks, chainsaws, fire-weapons and electric generators introduced by missionaries, extractive industries, armies, development projects, and NGOs. However, anthropological and historical research has largely neglected this mechanic colonisation of indigenous life by focusing on topics such as ideologies of personhood, kinship, cosmology, and relations with animals, religious missions and non-human spirits. Aiming at understanding social change, some studies have dealt with some of the new materialities that model everyday experience: t-shirts, outboard motors, solar panels, and cell phones. Nevertheless, not even a single study has analysed a conspicuous fact of the modernization of these marginal territories: the current tide of motorcycles that during the last few decades altered dramatically the interethnic landscape, and its social, economic and environmental repercussions which are significantly reshaping current indigenous reality. Therefore, the goal is to develop a ground breaking and interdisciplinary analysis of the effects of motorcycle dissemination among the indigenous peoples of Bolivian Amazonia, and to achieve practical impact regarding public policies on road safety and prevention of accidents in marginal contexts. By accomplishing the Work-Packages in my host institution Ca’ Foscari University (UNIVE), the project will therefore fill a significant gap in anthropological studies regarding indigenous modernity, while at the same time consolidating my position as a professor and researcher with updated capacities on visual and environmental anthropology, gender issues, science and technology studies, and digital humanities.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 188 590,08
Address
DORSODURO 3246
30123 VENEZIA
Italy

See on map

Region
Nord-Est Veneto Venezia
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Partners (1)

My booklet 0 0