These papers represent the proceedings of a conference held under the auspices of the Anthropological Association of Ireland at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, from the 12th to the 14th of December, 1997. While the Irish Journal of Anthropology has historically published individual contributions from AAI conferences, the editors (who also were the co-organisers of this event), felt that the quality and thematic connection of the papers at these meetings were such that a special edition of the Journal was justified. A combination of factors, however, from the academic duties of the editors to the sheer logistics of coordinating contributions from authors several thousand miles apart, delayed the publication of this work. The editors wish to thank those who made this conference a success (particularly the student members of the AAI), and to acknowledge the forbearance of the contributors to this volume in the face of seemingly interminable delays.