Ben Bowles, "Boaters of London: Alternative Living on the Water" (Berghahn Books, 2024)

In this episode of the New Books Network's Anthropology channel, host Yadong Li interviews Dr. Ben Bowles, a social anthropology lecturer at SOAS, University of London, about his book "Boaters of London: Alternative Living on the Water." Bowles discusses his long-term ethnographic research on London's boater community, detailing how he became immersed in their lifestyle for six years. The conversation explores the motivations behind choosing this alternative way of life, the impact of neoliberalism on boaters, the concept of "dwelling" on the water, the unique sense of time experienced by boaters ("boat time"), and the nature of community within this mobile population. Bowles also touches on the challenges boaters face in relation to governance by the British state and reflects on the broader implications of alternative living in contemporary megacities.