Malin Hasselskog, School of Global Studies
Opening Note: This is a discussion of Malin’s doctoral thesis. Malin analyzed development interventions in three Cambodian villages. She theorizes how development assistance is an instance of intervention.
Development Assistance
- An intervention is something introduced from the outside and including materials, expertise and values.
o This implies an interference with prevailing political/ cultural/ economic systems.
o The aim of development assistance is to change. For example, donors may believe that gender equality is better than gender inequality and seek to change unequal practices.
o Intervention leads to good and bad outcomes. Malin’s thesis is not, necessarily, a severe critique.
- Why study this?
o This should be studied to determine what is possible to achieve through intervention.
- There is now a tendency for donors to demand more detailed control of development assistance projects.
o This is seen through detailed project cycles.
- LFA (Logical Framework Approach)
o This system facilitates detailed project planning.
o LFA includes different outputs and indicators to verify goals and outcomes.
o This points towards donors wanting more detailed control over projects.
- Budget Support
o In this instance, the recipient state is free to use donated money as they see fit in the state budget.
o This indicates less donor control.
o Few states qualify for this kind of intervention.
o In practice, the recipient state is not actually free to spend the money how they want. There is usually an advisor and if the state does not use the money appropriately, it can be withdrawn.
- Development assistance is based on the idea that intervention is just and possible and that it is right to change a society.
o This idea builds on certain assumptions on roles of actors in societal change.
o This concept reflects social change as technical where assistance works independently of the context in which it is implemented.
o This concept implies that external experts can design effective interventions and local people will behave in certain, predicable ways.
- However, this does not actually happen.
o Local communities have their own unique dynamics.
o When something new is introduced, it is localized and/ or adjusted to the local setting. This occurs through the interplay between the community and actors/ money/ materials in development assistance.
- This is common sense but development assistance is still designed as predicable/ manageable/ implementable.
- Today, many argue that donors still attempt to implement assistance “blueprints” rather than collaborate with local partners.
An Example of a Major Development Program in Cambodia
- Malin studied a case of development assistance that is widely perceived as successful.
- This program was called Carere/ Seila and is a major governance program in Cambodia facilitated by the UN (Carere) and the Cambodian government (Seila).
- This program was implemented in the early stages of the “governance era” in the early 1990s and was considered very ambitious.
- The program was initiated and designed by donors working with the United Nations.
- The goals and underlying views of the program included:
o Participatory development lays the foundation for peace.
o Partnership is vital to success.
o Democracy, accountability and representation should be promoted. This entailed changing people’s view of the state.
- The program is implemented in the following ways:
o The program established a rural development structure at every level of governance.
o Village Development Committees (VDCs) were formed and were composed of elected participants.
o Local Development Funds (LDFs) were established and provided money to the commune to be used for local development allocations decided by a Local Planning Process (LPP). This sought, in part, to improve relations between villages and communes.
o When projects were authorized by the commune, villages were asked to provide some cash and labor.
o This program was emphasized as a policy experiment in selected areas in Cambodia.
o The overall aims were democracy, improved relations between the people and the state, poverty alleviation, peace, etc.
- The Cambodian context was challenging for this projection because:
o Cambodia is traditionally hierarchical.
o Local, political culture is one where villagers avoid contact with local authorities. This is because villagers have had negative experiences with authorities.
Ratanakiri Province
- This province is located in the northeast corner of Cambodia.
- The province primarily composed of ethnic minorities or Highland People.
- Apart from Ratanakiri Province, the rest of Cambodia is quite homogenous.
- The relationship between the locals and the authorities is worse here than in the rest of the country.
- Material living standards are lower than in the rest of Cambodia.
- This is an extremely challenging context for development assistance.
Tera Village
- This village is in a remote location.
- There was a road constructed to the village through a food for work program initiated by Carere/ Selia.
- Carere/ Seila also provided the village with buffaloes and emergency assistance.
Implications of Implementation in Terms of Participation and Empowerment
- Participation and empowerment were essential aspects of the project document. In her research, Malin asked: was it successful?
- Villagers were given buffalos for wetland rice cultivation.
o This was problematic because villagers did not grow wetland rice and as a result, had to move their village to a location near the river.
o The villagers said that “development called us down and asked if we wanted to have buffalos and grow wetland rice.” The villagers perceived this is a demand to move their village and grow wetland rice.
o This had been attempted several times before as previous governments and development projects sought to move the Highland People to lower ground. Thus the Highland People in Tera Village had been moving away from the forest and towards the river for decades depending on the political regime.
- When Malin asked Carere workers why the villagers were given buffalos, the workers said that the people asked for buffalos in order to grow wetland rice.
- The Highland People adopted the Lowland view of development which was to settle in one place with houses built in rows and grow wetland rice.
- The villagers felt no sense of influence over the development process.
- The villagers expected that they might have to move back to the forest again even if the authorities didn’t want them to do this—but when Malin was conducting her research, the villagers were still awaiting official permission to move.
o The villagers thought they would have to move because it was difficult to grow wetland rice where the new village was located.
Implications of Implementation in Terms of Poverty Alleviation
- Agricultural yield was far less in their new location, primarily because not enough rice was produced.
- Animals were eating the villagers’ crops.
- The villagers no longer had access to forest products such as potatoes.
- There were not enough fish in the new location.
- Domesticated animals were dying more often.
- Thus, it is not surprising that, villagers overwhelmingly perceived their lives as better in the old location.
o This was because food security and self-sufficiency had decreased.
o The village was now less egalitarian with increasing tensions between the young and the old.
o There were also growing gender disparities.
o Women were most negatively affected.
- The villagers didn’t move because they hoped things would improve and that their workload would decrease.
- The villagers felt that they had better access to healthcare in their new location because they were closer to a medical clinic.
o However, people said that they were less healthy.
- The villagers also had better access to informal education.
- Finally, the villagers had daily access to the local market. Whereas before, they went to the market once or twice each year.
- Furthermore, the villagers wanted to live in a settled village. This was odd since most villagers did not live in the houses in the village but in houses near their fields.
Implications of Implementation in Terms of Democracy and Decentralization
- Technically, the VDC was elected but villagers had no sense of electing them.
- Under the new system, the knowledge possessed by the elders decreased in importance.
o This was because traditional mechanisms did not, necessarily, apply to the new location of the village and fields.
o Young men felt that the elders couldn’t make any important decisions.
- The Lowland lifestyle was very much promoted in the new location.
o This lifestyle was especially promoted by the communal chief who distanced himself from the Highland way of life.
- Villagers were integrated into the market economy and dependent on external input from the central government and aid agencies.
Conclusion
- This was a well-intentioned intervention with unintended outcomes that were a result of local implementation.
- Nevertheless, this intervention is widely considered a “best practice”.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Research on Global Issues: Global Water Issues
Sofie Hellberg, PhD candidate at Gothenburg University, Peace and Development
sofie.hellberg@globalstudies.gu.se
Please see PowerPoint posted on the course portal:
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
sofie.hellberg@globalstudies.gu.se
Please see PowerPoint posted on the course portal:
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Global Empowerment III: Notions of Agency and Vulnerability, Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children in London
Åsa Wahlström, PhD, IGS and Brunel University, Amcwahlstrom@yahoo.co.uk
Blogger’s Note: This was an unusually difficult lecture in which to take notes. The lecturer remained seated throughout her presentation, read from a script and insisted on speaking in a low voice. Thus, if there are any gaping holes in the preceding notes, all I can say is contact Åsa.
Asylum Seeking Children in the UK
- 12% of all asylum seekers in the UK are children who seek asylum alone.
- Most asylum seeking children as seen as an undesirable burden to British social services.
- The lecturer studied unaccompanied children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who were seeking asylum in the UK.
- The lecturer conducted her research in the Hillington area of London.
- The lecturer found the majority of the children in her research group fled to the UK with the assistance of adults who provided false documents and passports.
- The lecturer found that these children constituted an oppressed group with limited choices but within those limited choices they exercised great autonomy.
Legal Conditions Regarding Asylum Seeking Children
- Article 20 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
- The UK Children Act of 1989 states that all children in the UK are entitled to social services regardless of nationality. According to this act, children are defined as those below the age of 18.
- In 2006, 2,560 unaccompanied asylum seeking children applied for refugee status in the UK.
o 22% were refused.
o 7% were granted asylum.
o 1% was granted humanitarian protection.
o 71% were granted ‘discretionary leave to remain’ until their 18th birthdays.
- In the UK, once a child reaches the age of 17 ½ , they can be deported to their home countries where they often face unsafe conditions.
- Children who are under the age of 16 when they arrive in the UK are put in foster homes.
- Upon turning 16, asylum seeking children become the responsibility of the Local Council.
Institutional Problems
- Asylum seeking children in the UK are often seen and diagnosed by psychiatrists. Under these institutional conditions, 40% of children are found to suffer from depression.
- Institutional problems exist.
o There are not enough case workers.
o The age of children who are ‘mature for their age’ is often disputed.
o Children are not viewed as agents.
Children and Agency
- Children and youth are “active agents in their own right who contribute to, transform and influence the situation and environments in which they find themselves” (Eyber and Ager 2004: 190).
- In the DRC, children are often seen as active/ important social agents.
o This is very different from how they are viewed in the UK.
o Today, anyone who possesses land (money) in Kinshasa, DRC is considered a ‘child with weight’.
o In culture and popular life, children are more visible than ever before.
- “As people bring the concept of youth to bear on situations…they speak directly to the question in their societies of what is power, what is agency and what kind it is, and how rights are to be negotiated” (Durham 2000: 16).
- In the DRC, childhood entails violence and hunger and this often makes children social agents.
- In the UK, social workers do not view children as social agents capable of exercising autonomous choice.
- Social workers often prevent outsiders from gaining access to children asylum seekers.
- The lecturer described the case of a Nigerian child refugee in London.
- Refugee children are deemed the most vulnerable of refugees.
o Policy documents do not reflect agency and knowledge of life-skills.
o Policy documents do not reflect the realities of refugee children.
o Thus, these policies are often debilitating.
- A child “in need” is defined as “a child unlikely to achieve or maintain… a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by local authorities” (Children Act 1989: Part III).
- In the UK, asylum seeking children’s daily lives are dictated by official documents, policies and institutions.
- The asylum seeking process causes much anxiety.
The Role of the Pentecostal Church in the Lives of Asylum Seeking Children
- The Pentecostal Church plays a large role in the lives of asylum seekers in London.
- In the church, young people experience a sense of fulfillment and control.
- The church is viewed by asylum seekers as a sacred space.
- The church helps young people to “survive” the system.
- Prayer becomes a technology of the self.
- Worship enabled participants to experience ecstasy.
- Asylum seekers often pray for success in the asylum process.
o Thus pressing political concerns were addressed in church.
o Many asylum seekers did not believe that public protest would yield results.
o They believe that prayer is more efficacious than public political action.
- The people the lecturer interviewed attended church a lot and could do so every day.
- The difficulties associated with being a refugee and applying for asylum often deepened religious faith.
- In church, people experience a higher level of control than in the political system.
Conclusions
- Refugee children show a high degree of autonomy and personal agency.
o It is important to keep in mind that some anthropologists attribute too much personal agency to children.
o Children are simultaneously being overestimated and underestimated.
- Refugee children practice “agency under constraint”.
o These children only experience a high level of control in church. Otherwise, their fate was subject to the actions and decrees of adults operating with the administrative system.
- Are children victims or autonomous agents?
o Are refugee children empowered?
o Do they exercise an ‘expansion of choice’?
Blogger’s Note: This was an unusually difficult lecture in which to take notes. The lecturer remained seated throughout her presentation, read from a script and insisted on speaking in a low voice. Thus, if there are any gaping holes in the preceding notes, all I can say is contact Åsa.
Asylum Seeking Children in the UK
- 12% of all asylum seekers in the UK are children who seek asylum alone.
- Most asylum seeking children as seen as an undesirable burden to British social services.
- The lecturer studied unaccompanied children from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who were seeking asylum in the UK.
- The lecturer conducted her research in the Hillington area of London.
- The lecturer found the majority of the children in her research group fled to the UK with the assistance of adults who provided false documents and passports.
- The lecturer found that these children constituted an oppressed group with limited choices but within those limited choices they exercised great autonomy.
Legal Conditions Regarding Asylum Seeking Children
- Article 20 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
- The UK Children Act of 1989 states that all children in the UK are entitled to social services regardless of nationality. According to this act, children are defined as those below the age of 18.
- In 2006, 2,560 unaccompanied asylum seeking children applied for refugee status in the UK.
o 22% were refused.
o 7% were granted asylum.
o 1% was granted humanitarian protection.
o 71% were granted ‘discretionary leave to remain’ until their 18th birthdays.
- In the UK, once a child reaches the age of 17 ½ , they can be deported to their home countries where they often face unsafe conditions.
- Children who are under the age of 16 when they arrive in the UK are put in foster homes.
- Upon turning 16, asylum seeking children become the responsibility of the Local Council.
Institutional Problems
- Asylum seeking children in the UK are often seen and diagnosed by psychiatrists. Under these institutional conditions, 40% of children are found to suffer from depression.
- Institutional problems exist.
o There are not enough case workers.
o The age of children who are ‘mature for their age’ is often disputed.
o Children are not viewed as agents.
Children and Agency
- Children and youth are “active agents in their own right who contribute to, transform and influence the situation and environments in which they find themselves” (Eyber and Ager 2004: 190).
- In the DRC, children are often seen as active/ important social agents.
o This is very different from how they are viewed in the UK.
o Today, anyone who possesses land (money) in Kinshasa, DRC is considered a ‘child with weight’.
o In culture and popular life, children are more visible than ever before.
- “As people bring the concept of youth to bear on situations…they speak directly to the question in their societies of what is power, what is agency and what kind it is, and how rights are to be negotiated” (Durham 2000: 16).
- In the DRC, childhood entails violence and hunger and this often makes children social agents.
- In the UK, social workers do not view children as social agents capable of exercising autonomous choice.
- Social workers often prevent outsiders from gaining access to children asylum seekers.
- The lecturer described the case of a Nigerian child refugee in London.
- Refugee children are deemed the most vulnerable of refugees.
o Policy documents do not reflect agency and knowledge of life-skills.
o Policy documents do not reflect the realities of refugee children.
o Thus, these policies are often debilitating.
- A child “in need” is defined as “a child unlikely to achieve or maintain… a reasonable standard of health or development without the provision of services by local authorities” (Children Act 1989: Part III).
- In the UK, asylum seeking children’s daily lives are dictated by official documents, policies and institutions.
- The asylum seeking process causes much anxiety.
The Role of the Pentecostal Church in the Lives of Asylum Seeking Children
- The Pentecostal Church plays a large role in the lives of asylum seekers in London.
- In the church, young people experience a sense of fulfillment and control.
- The church is viewed by asylum seekers as a sacred space.
- The church helps young people to “survive” the system.
- Prayer becomes a technology of the self.
- Worship enabled participants to experience ecstasy.
- Asylum seekers often pray for success in the asylum process.
o Thus pressing political concerns were addressed in church.
o Many asylum seekers did not believe that public protest would yield results.
o They believe that prayer is more efficacious than public political action.
- The people the lecturer interviewed attended church a lot and could do so every day.
- The difficulties associated with being a refugee and applying for asylum often deepened religious faith.
- In church, people experience a higher level of control than in the political system.
Conclusions
- Refugee children show a high degree of autonomy and personal agency.
o It is important to keep in mind that some anthropologists attribute too much personal agency to children.
o Children are simultaneously being overestimated and underestimated.
- Refugee children practice “agency under constraint”.
o These children only experience a high level of control in church. Otherwise, their fate was subject to the actions and decrees of adults operating with the administrative system.
- Are children victims or autonomous agents?
o Are refugee children empowered?
o Do they exercise an ‘expansion of choice’?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Global Empowerment II: Women, Economic Empowerment and Climate Change
Milissão Nuvunga, PhD Candidate at the School of Global Studies
Opening Note: The issue of climate change was initially addressed by natural scientists and, until recently, the natural sciences have dominated research and the production of knowledge about climate change. Today, we will discuss climate change from the perspective of the social sciences.
What is Empowerment?
- Empowerment is the enhancement of one’s ability to make strategic life choices.
o Examples include the right to choose whether to get married and have children.
o Empowerment helps people to overcome institutional and cultural barriers.
o Empowerment functions on two levels that of the individual and society.
- Different barriers/ constraining factors to empowerment exist in different regions.
o For example, the caste system is a constraining factor in Asia while religion is a more significant constraining factor in Africa.
- In general, it has been found that women’s empowerment benefits individuals and societies.
- Problems arise in measuring the outcomes of empowerment projects because the results of empowerment are very fuzzy and difficult to research.
- Another problem is that empowerment allows someone to do something but does not determine what they are going to do.
o For example, you can empower women with the knowledge that excessive meat consumption is harmful to the environment but it doesn’t mean they will stop consuming meat.
o The anticipation of positive empowerment outcomes is simply wishful thinking.
The Economic Empowerment of Women
- This topic raises several questions including:
o Why do women need economic empowerment?
o What are the results?
o Is it possible to measure the success/failure of empowerment projects?
- Economic empowerment gives women a stronger bargaining position at the household level.
o This translates into non-material benefits such as respect and increased self esteem.
o It also translates into material benefits including jobs outside of the home and access to markets.
- Economic empowerment also helps women to challenge and change cultural norms.
- Economic empowerment increases mobility and facilitates freedom and choice.
- Micro-Credit and the Grameen Bank
o Usually when we talk about women and economic empowerment, we talk about micro-credit.
o Micro-credit programs sponsored by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh demonstrated that women capable of participation in market transactions.
o The Grameen Bank and its founder received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below” (Nobel Prize Committee).
o Micro-credit and the Grameen Bank also reveal weaknesses in banking and financial systems.
These institutions exist because commercial banks don’t lend money to impoverished women.
o Unfortunately, the success of the Grameen Bank did not translate into structural changes in the financial systems of Bangladesh and other developing countries.
- A case of empowerment in India:
o An NGO taught basic accounting practices to female street vendors in India.
o This allowed women to keep track of business finances as well as household finances.
o It was recently reported that the India women who the NGO had taught were blocking traffic by sitting in the middle of a local road.
o These female protesters said that they would not move until they spoke with the provincial commander of the police.
o When the provincial commander arrived, the women complained that their household finances were in disarray because their husbands were spending too much money on alcohol. This was because the local police chief was corrupt and allowed the illegal production of alcohol in the area. This illegally produced alcohol was then sold for very little money.
o As a result of the protests, the local police chief was fired.
o This is an example of how the economic empowerment of women led to political mobilization and change.
- The economic empowerment of women is not simply a matter of gender but one of class.
o Rich women consume and pollute and disempower poor women.
o To make conditions better for poor women, you have to make conditions worse for rich women.
3 Dimensions of Power
- Three dimensions of power include direct power, institutional power and discursive power.
- Empowerment projects can give women the power to say no, the power to challenge institutional structures and the power to address ways of being.
- It is important to question the dimensions of power addressed or targets by interventions.
The Environment and Climate Change
- The environment and climate change are institutionally regulated.
- These institutional arrangements are governed by international organizations such as the UN and WMO.
o These institutions coordinate actions and policies.
o They have identified the need for mitigation (primarily in rich countries) and adaptation (primarily in poor countries).
Women and Climate Change
- Women are major producers of agricultural goods worldwide. Thus they are influenced by and exercise influence over the environment.
- When the climate changes, the conditions in which women live and work also change.
- How will women adapt to climate change?
o This question has not been well discussed. Researchers are just beginning to investigate this question.
o So far, the focus has been on higher, political levels.
o It is important to examine national adaptation plans of action (NAPA). Unfortunately, women are often ignored in these plans especially when it comes to operations.
- Women are vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters for several reasons.
o Women are more vulnerable to stresses and situations caused by natural disasters.
o Women work with agriculture and have a lesser ability to recover from disaster.
o Women are not as protected from disasters in their homes.
o Women possess less social capital than men.
- Because of their roles in the household, women are more vulnerable to environmental changes.
o Women cook, care for children and the elderly, gather wood, use and inhale pesticides, collect water, etc.
o Women usually have less free/ leisure time.
- Poor women generally do not have access to institutions that regulate the environment and climate change.
o You won’t see many impoverished women from developing countries at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
o As a result, poor women possess little to no institutional bargaining power on international and national levels.
The Difficulties of Policy-Making
- If you are a policy-maker and someone tells you to empower women, what do you think?
o You can think that women should be empowered because they have intrinsic value as human beings.
o Or you can think that women have instrumental value.
o It is much easier for policy-makers to think instrumentally.
o When policies are designed to promote women’s intrinsic value, debates arise about equality vs equity and the issue becomes complicated.
o Of course, there is a problem with instrumental thinking. Instrumental thinking promotes women’s power to improve households but not to make strategic life choices.
Drawing Conclusions from Regional Examples
- The results of empowerment projects vary greatly according to regional and cultural contexts.
- In Northern Vietnam, women are most vulnerable because of poor sanitation. In Bangladesh, housing is a much bigger problem than sanitation.
- The only conclusion that can be draw after examining regional projects is that institutional inaction yields vulnerability. In other words, vulnerability is not a sign of women’s inability to achieve what they want but a sign of institutions failing to take action to improve the lives of women.
Possible Solutions
- We have to start looking at the state as the coordinator of development.
o Problems are created by the inaction of state actors.
o We cannot shift responsibility away from the state and towards NGOs because NGOS cannot implement policies at the state level.
o The state can apply positive local outcomes to national settings.
- We need to improve coordination between government officials/bodies, NGOs and donors.
- One very practical way of empowering women is to provide them with daycare for their children.
Opening Note: The issue of climate change was initially addressed by natural scientists and, until recently, the natural sciences have dominated research and the production of knowledge about climate change. Today, we will discuss climate change from the perspective of the social sciences.
What is Empowerment?
- Empowerment is the enhancement of one’s ability to make strategic life choices.
o Examples include the right to choose whether to get married and have children.
o Empowerment helps people to overcome institutional and cultural barriers.
o Empowerment functions on two levels that of the individual and society.
- Different barriers/ constraining factors to empowerment exist in different regions.
o For example, the caste system is a constraining factor in Asia while religion is a more significant constraining factor in Africa.
- In general, it has been found that women’s empowerment benefits individuals and societies.
- Problems arise in measuring the outcomes of empowerment projects because the results of empowerment are very fuzzy and difficult to research.
- Another problem is that empowerment allows someone to do something but does not determine what they are going to do.
o For example, you can empower women with the knowledge that excessive meat consumption is harmful to the environment but it doesn’t mean they will stop consuming meat.
o The anticipation of positive empowerment outcomes is simply wishful thinking.
The Economic Empowerment of Women
- This topic raises several questions including:
o Why do women need economic empowerment?
o What are the results?
o Is it possible to measure the success/failure of empowerment projects?
- Economic empowerment gives women a stronger bargaining position at the household level.
o This translates into non-material benefits such as respect and increased self esteem.
o It also translates into material benefits including jobs outside of the home and access to markets.
- Economic empowerment also helps women to challenge and change cultural norms.
- Economic empowerment increases mobility and facilitates freedom and choice.
- Micro-Credit and the Grameen Bank
o Usually when we talk about women and economic empowerment, we talk about micro-credit.
o Micro-credit programs sponsored by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh demonstrated that women capable of participation in market transactions.
o The Grameen Bank and its founder received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below” (Nobel Prize Committee).
o Micro-credit and the Grameen Bank also reveal weaknesses in banking and financial systems.
These institutions exist because commercial banks don’t lend money to impoverished women.
o Unfortunately, the success of the Grameen Bank did not translate into structural changes in the financial systems of Bangladesh and other developing countries.
- A case of empowerment in India:
o An NGO taught basic accounting practices to female street vendors in India.
o This allowed women to keep track of business finances as well as household finances.
o It was recently reported that the India women who the NGO had taught were blocking traffic by sitting in the middle of a local road.
o These female protesters said that they would not move until they spoke with the provincial commander of the police.
o When the provincial commander arrived, the women complained that their household finances were in disarray because their husbands were spending too much money on alcohol. This was because the local police chief was corrupt and allowed the illegal production of alcohol in the area. This illegally produced alcohol was then sold for very little money.
o As a result of the protests, the local police chief was fired.
o This is an example of how the economic empowerment of women led to political mobilization and change.
- The economic empowerment of women is not simply a matter of gender but one of class.
o Rich women consume and pollute and disempower poor women.
o To make conditions better for poor women, you have to make conditions worse for rich women.
3 Dimensions of Power
- Three dimensions of power include direct power, institutional power and discursive power.
- Empowerment projects can give women the power to say no, the power to challenge institutional structures and the power to address ways of being.
- It is important to question the dimensions of power addressed or targets by interventions.
The Environment and Climate Change
- The environment and climate change are institutionally regulated.
- These institutional arrangements are governed by international organizations such as the UN and WMO.
o These institutions coordinate actions and policies.
o They have identified the need for mitigation (primarily in rich countries) and adaptation (primarily in poor countries).
Women and Climate Change
- Women are major producers of agricultural goods worldwide. Thus they are influenced by and exercise influence over the environment.
- When the climate changes, the conditions in which women live and work also change.
- How will women adapt to climate change?
o This question has not been well discussed. Researchers are just beginning to investigate this question.
o So far, the focus has been on higher, political levels.
o It is important to examine national adaptation plans of action (NAPA). Unfortunately, women are often ignored in these plans especially when it comes to operations.
- Women are vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters for several reasons.
o Women are more vulnerable to stresses and situations caused by natural disasters.
o Women work with agriculture and have a lesser ability to recover from disaster.
o Women are not as protected from disasters in their homes.
o Women possess less social capital than men.
- Because of their roles in the household, women are more vulnerable to environmental changes.
o Women cook, care for children and the elderly, gather wood, use and inhale pesticides, collect water, etc.
o Women usually have less free/ leisure time.
- Poor women generally do not have access to institutions that regulate the environment and climate change.
o You won’t see many impoverished women from developing countries at the climate change conference in Copenhagen.
o As a result, poor women possess little to no institutional bargaining power on international and national levels.
The Difficulties of Policy-Making
- If you are a policy-maker and someone tells you to empower women, what do you think?
o You can think that women should be empowered because they have intrinsic value as human beings.
o Or you can think that women have instrumental value.
o It is much easier for policy-makers to think instrumentally.
o When policies are designed to promote women’s intrinsic value, debates arise about equality vs equity and the issue becomes complicated.
o Of course, there is a problem with instrumental thinking. Instrumental thinking promotes women’s power to improve households but not to make strategic life choices.
Drawing Conclusions from Regional Examples
- The results of empowerment projects vary greatly according to regional and cultural contexts.
- In Northern Vietnam, women are most vulnerable because of poor sanitation. In Bangladesh, housing is a much bigger problem than sanitation.
- The only conclusion that can be draw after examining regional projects is that institutional inaction yields vulnerability. In other words, vulnerability is not a sign of women’s inability to achieve what they want but a sign of institutions failing to take action to improve the lives of women.
Possible Solutions
- We have to start looking at the state as the coordinator of development.
o Problems are created by the inaction of state actors.
o We cannot shift responsibility away from the state and towards NGOs because NGOS cannot implement policies at the state level.
o The state can apply positive local outcomes to national settings.
- We need to improve coordination between government officials/bodies, NGOs and donors.
- One very practical way of empowering women is to provide them with daycare for their children.
Global Empowerment I: Indigenous Peoples – Struggle for Self-determination
Maria Clara Medina
Lecture cancelled due to illness.
The lecture was held on Wednesday, December 2 at the School of Global Studies. (If the PowerPoint is not yet posted, please contact Maria at maria.medina@globalstudies.gu.se )
Please see PowerPoint posted on the course portal:
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Lecture cancelled due to illness.
The lecture was held on Wednesday, December 2 at the School of Global Studies. (If the PowerPoint is not yet posted, please contact Maria at maria.medina@globalstudies.gu.se )
Please see PowerPoint posted on the course portal:
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Global Consumption III: The Consequences of Ecological Distribution Conflicts
Karl Bruckmeier, Human Ecology
Please see Powerpoint posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Please see Powerpoint posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Global Consumption II: Consumption in Havana, Cuba
Maria Padron Hernandez, PhD candidate in Anthropology
Opening Note: In this lecture, we will discuss consumption practices as well as how people make sense of consumption (cultural aspects) in Havana, Cuba.
Definitions
- In this lecture, I will use the term “market” to discuss forms of trade.
- The Cuban peso is abbreviated MN.
- The Cuban dollar is abbreviated CUC.
Cuban Markets
- Cuba is one of the few remaining socialist states.
- Its markets have been shaped by a very specific history of socialism following the Communist Revolution.
- There are seven markets in Cuba:
o Market #1- Formal, state market, rationed, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN)
o Market #2- Formal, state market, unrationed, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN), farmers’ markets
o Market #3- Formal, private market, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN), farmers’ markets
o Market #4- Informal/ “Black” market, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN)
o Market #5- Formal, state market, unrationed, currency- the Cuban “Dollar”, TRD, caters to tourists
o Market #6- We did not discuss this market during lecture.
o Market #7- Informal/ “Black” market, currency- the Cuban “Dollar”, anything and everything is bought and sold in this market
- The Cuban Peso was the only currency until the 1980s when the economy opened up to tourism and needed a hard currency.
- Post-Cold War: deep, economic crisis known as “The Special Period”
- During “The Special Period,” relative from abroad, especially in Miami, sent money or remittances to help relatives living in Cuba. Of course, this was illegal.
- In 1993, the state legalized hard currency. Both the US dollar and hard currencies were legalized.
- In 1994, the state began to print the CUC which was equivalent to the US dollar.
- In 2004, the state proclaimed that the US dollar would no longer be accepted.
- In 2006,when Maria conducted her field work, only two currencies were accepted in Cuba, the Cuban Peso (MN) and the Cuban “Dollar” (CUC).
- Neither pesos nor Cuban dollars can be exchanged internationally.
- In 2006, 1 CUC= 24 MN.
- Generally, the CUC is more universally accepted in Cuba than the MN. For example, you cannot use the MN in the unrationed state market that caters to tourists.
- Cubans are only paid in MN.
- The existence of two currencies raises several questions about consumption and the state such as:
o Is the state a provider? (Market #1)
o Is the state a profiteer? (Market #5)
How do Cubans make sense of the 2 currencies?
- The most common way to speak about both currencies is “peso.” This is connected with an important non-verbal understanding of the currencies.
- Both currencies look very similar, although CUC are usually newer and shinier.
o CUC bills contain fine print that identify them as “pesos convertibles”.
o CUC coins contain no explicit statement distinguishing them from MN coins.
o CUC coins are heavier, shinier and prettier.
- Shops rarely explicitly state which currency in which they trade; this is simply understood by the consumer.
- Shops that trade in CUC are usually air-conditioned and contain new products.
- Shops that trade in MN are not air-conditioned and contain products that were not manufactured.
- Thus the CUC is associated with such terms and concepts as new, modern, hygienic, bright, shiny, clean, better and manufactured.
- The MN is associated with such terms and concepts as old, out-dated, dirty and unhygienic
- The Cuban reality is divided into 2 distinct categories: old/new, MN/CUC, poor/rich.
- The MN is associated with Cuba and Cubans while the CUC is associated with foreigners. However, both are Cuban currencies and neither are traded internationally.
- Foreign products, the tourist industry and remittances are exclusively conducted in CUC.
- Cubans cannot do much with their income except consume. Private property is illegal in Cuba.
- Cuba has big trade agreements with China, Venezuela and Bolivia.
o Chinese people are sent to Cuba to learn Spanish and, in return, China sends buses.
o Almost every bus operating in Cuba was made in China.
- Cuba has tried and failed to become self-sufficient. It has always been dependent on another country or countries.
- Prior to the economic crisis, Cuban emigrants were viewed as traitors but, after the crisis, things changed.
- Cuba stopped paying international debts in the 1960s.
o Thus they have no IMF/ World Bank agreements.
o As previously states, Cuba has always relied on loans from governments.
Analysis of the Literature
- Porter argues that some Cubans feel a sense of injustice when they are denied access to the CUC and the tourist economy. She further contends that this situation is contradictory to rights associated with citizenship. Thus, symbolic violence is constantly re-affirmed by the dual economy.
o Maria is skeptical of this argument.
- Gordy discusses the complexity of the Cuban reality.
o Maria prefers this point of view.
Maria’s email address is: maria.padron@globalstudies.gu.se
Opening Note: In this lecture, we will discuss consumption practices as well as how people make sense of consumption (cultural aspects) in Havana, Cuba.
Definitions
- In this lecture, I will use the term “market” to discuss forms of trade.
- The Cuban peso is abbreviated MN.
- The Cuban dollar is abbreviated CUC.
Cuban Markets
- Cuba is one of the few remaining socialist states.
- Its markets have been shaped by a very specific history of socialism following the Communist Revolution.
- There are seven markets in Cuba:
o Market #1- Formal, state market, rationed, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN)
o Market #2- Formal, state market, unrationed, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN), farmers’ markets
o Market #3- Formal, private market, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN), farmers’ markets
o Market #4- Informal/ “Black” market, currency- the Cuban Peso (MN)
o Market #5- Formal, state market, unrationed, currency- the Cuban “Dollar”, TRD, caters to tourists
o Market #6- We did not discuss this market during lecture.
o Market #7- Informal/ “Black” market, currency- the Cuban “Dollar”, anything and everything is bought and sold in this market
- The Cuban Peso was the only currency until the 1980s when the economy opened up to tourism and needed a hard currency.
- Post-Cold War: deep, economic crisis known as “The Special Period”
- During “The Special Period,” relative from abroad, especially in Miami, sent money or remittances to help relatives living in Cuba. Of course, this was illegal.
- In 1993, the state legalized hard currency. Both the US dollar and hard currencies were legalized.
- In 1994, the state began to print the CUC which was equivalent to the US dollar.
- In 2004, the state proclaimed that the US dollar would no longer be accepted.
- In 2006,when Maria conducted her field work, only two currencies were accepted in Cuba, the Cuban Peso (MN) and the Cuban “Dollar” (CUC).
- Neither pesos nor Cuban dollars can be exchanged internationally.
- In 2006, 1 CUC= 24 MN.
- Generally, the CUC is more universally accepted in Cuba than the MN. For example, you cannot use the MN in the unrationed state market that caters to tourists.
- Cubans are only paid in MN.
- The existence of two currencies raises several questions about consumption and the state such as:
o Is the state a provider? (Market #1)
o Is the state a profiteer? (Market #5)
How do Cubans make sense of the 2 currencies?
- The most common way to speak about both currencies is “peso.” This is connected with an important non-verbal understanding of the currencies.
- Both currencies look very similar, although CUC are usually newer and shinier.
o CUC bills contain fine print that identify them as “pesos convertibles”.
o CUC coins contain no explicit statement distinguishing them from MN coins.
o CUC coins are heavier, shinier and prettier.
- Shops rarely explicitly state which currency in which they trade; this is simply understood by the consumer.
- Shops that trade in CUC are usually air-conditioned and contain new products.
- Shops that trade in MN are not air-conditioned and contain products that were not manufactured.
- Thus the CUC is associated with such terms and concepts as new, modern, hygienic, bright, shiny, clean, better and manufactured.
- The MN is associated with such terms and concepts as old, out-dated, dirty and unhygienic
- The Cuban reality is divided into 2 distinct categories: old/new, MN/CUC, poor/rich.
- The MN is associated with Cuba and Cubans while the CUC is associated with foreigners. However, both are Cuban currencies and neither are traded internationally.
- Foreign products, the tourist industry and remittances are exclusively conducted in CUC.
- Cubans cannot do much with their income except consume. Private property is illegal in Cuba.
- Cuba has big trade agreements with China, Venezuela and Bolivia.
o Chinese people are sent to Cuba to learn Spanish and, in return, China sends buses.
o Almost every bus operating in Cuba was made in China.
- Cuba has tried and failed to become self-sufficient. It has always been dependent on another country or countries.
- Prior to the economic crisis, Cuban emigrants were viewed as traitors but, after the crisis, things changed.
- Cuba stopped paying international debts in the 1960s.
o Thus they have no IMF/ World Bank agreements.
o As previously states, Cuba has always relied on loans from governments.
Analysis of the Literature
- Porter argues that some Cubans feel a sense of injustice when they are denied access to the CUC and the tourist economy. She further contends that this situation is contradictory to rights associated with citizenship. Thus, symbolic violence is constantly re-affirmed by the dual economy.
o Maria is skeptical of this argument.
- Gordy discusses the complexity of the Cuban reality.
o Maria prefers this point of view.
Maria’s email address is: maria.padron@globalstudies.gu.se
Global Consumption I: Sustainable Development and Global Material Flows
Tom Bohler, Human Ecology
Please see PDF entitled, "Global Consumption: Sustainable Development and Global Material Flows" posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Please see PDF entitled, "Global Consumption: Sustainable Development and Global Material Flows" posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Global Risk III: Privatization of Security and Violence
Joakim Berndtsson, School of Global Studies
Please see PDF entitled, "Global Risk Violence HT09" posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Please see PDF entitled, "Global Risk Violence HT09" posted on the Global Studies: Thematic Issues course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Global Risk II: Global Reactions to Epidemic Diseases
Thomas Bergstrom, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
Opening Note: Death due to infectious disease has almost been eliminated in the US since 1900. Unfortunately, this is not so in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today, we will discuss global responses to viral epidemics.
Background
- The eradication of smallpox demonstrates that through global, coordinated efforts, viral epidemics can be eliminated.
o Smallpox is unique in that the symptoms are visible and easily diagnosed.
o Once cases of smallpox were identified, the effected person and/or people were isolated.
o There is no carrier stage in smallpox.
o A vaccine for smallpox was created 200 years ago.
o The creator of the vaccine studied smallpox for 20 years.
o The vaccine was given to French and English soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars.
o Once coordinated, global efforts began, it only took about 10 years to eradicate smallpox.
o Strains of smallpox are still stored in military laboratories and could be redeployed. However, neither smallpox nor any other virus would serve as a good weapon.
- The primary sources of newly emerging infections in humans are animals.
o The West Nile Virus- wild birds/ mosquitoes
o SARS virus- pteropid bats?
o Influenza A virus- wild ducks
o However, humans are equally vulnerable to human infection as evidenced by the spread of measles, HIV, Ebola, etc.
- Emerging diseases have enormous impacts on the following:
o Public health
o Animal health/ welfare
o Food supply
o Economies
o Environment (Biodiversity)
- It is important to note that humans dominate the biological world.
- The recent human population explosion and urbanization have serious implications from the spread of infectious diseases globally.
o Today, people are more exposed to ticks, rats and mosquitoes than ever before.
- Contacts with exotic “pets” also contribute to the spread of infections.
- Emerging virus infections in the last decennia have been facilitated by changes in:
o The social environment including mobility, behavior, demography, socio-economic status and public health measures. (A break-down in public health measures could lead to increased spread of viruses. / How you structure your health-care determines how many people will die from infections.)
o Technology including medical technology and food production.
o Virus mutation and recombination.
o Ecology including animal contacts, agriculture, fisheries, environmental pollution and global warming. (Global warming has led to an exponential proliferation of the mosquito population in the Northern Hemisphere.)
- Nature is the main bioterrorist!
- Humans are also destroying / altering habitat conditions.
Morbilliviruses (measles)
- This air-born virus is a great threat to all species. However, it is important to keep in mind that no infection kills everyone; there are always survivors.
- Seals contracted measles from dogs in Northern Europe.
Coronaviruses (SARS)
- SARS is a new human coronavirus that was big news in 2003.
- SARS is the best example after smallpox of rapid global cooperation in the eradication of a virus.
o Scientific data was shared.
o A steering committee was appointed by the WHO.
o There was rapid implementation of prophylactic measures.
o There was rapid development of diagnostics.
o Thus, the outbreak was terminated in less than 6 months.
- SARS was transmitted to humans in live animal markets in South East Asia.
- SARS was originally a bat virus. Incidentally, bats are a common source of viruses including rabies, Ebola, etc.
Influenza Viruses
- Symptoms of influenza include:
o A fever of more than 39 degrees Celsius
o Acute onset
o Myalgia
o Total malaise
o Shivers
o Coughing
o Redness of mucosa in the nose and throat
- 20th Century influenza pandemics include:
o 1918: “Spanish Flu,” more than 40 million deaths, A(H1N1)
o 1957: “Asian Flu,” 1-4 million deaths, A(H2N2)
o 1968: “Hong Kong Flu,” 1-4 million deaths, A(H3N2)
- Today’s flu pandemic (2009) is characterized by:
o Easy transmission
o Easy mutation
o Exchange between species and genes
o Almost no immunity since those exposed to the Spanish Flu are now dead.
o Younger victims
o Diarrhea which is unusual in the seasonal flu
- The current pandemic is a variant of the Spanish Flu and is neither the Avian Flu nor the Swine Flu.
- The Avian influenza can be transmitted to humans but then cannot be transmitted from human to human.
o There has been no documented spread between humans.
o There have been 442 reported human cases, of which 262 died. This is a 60% mortality rate.
- Is our influenza preparedness good?
o There is constant surveillance by the WHO.
o Culling has and does occur.
o There is strict control over bird markets.
o There are adequate and rapid diagnostics.
o There are levels of public awareness.
- The current flu vaccine targets specific viral strains and has much better average protection.
o Generally, Sweden is against vaccination but Sweden is currently universally recommending vaccination.
Emerging Viruses
- Emerging viruses are being identified with increasing frequency in the human and animal worlds.
- As a result, we should invest in early warning systems and pandemic preparedness plans.
Opening Note: Death due to infectious disease has almost been eliminated in the US since 1900. Unfortunately, this is not so in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today, we will discuss global responses to viral epidemics.
Background
- The eradication of smallpox demonstrates that through global, coordinated efforts, viral epidemics can be eliminated.
o Smallpox is unique in that the symptoms are visible and easily diagnosed.
o Once cases of smallpox were identified, the effected person and/or people were isolated.
o There is no carrier stage in smallpox.
o A vaccine for smallpox was created 200 years ago.
o The creator of the vaccine studied smallpox for 20 years.
o The vaccine was given to French and English soldiers during the Napoleonic Wars.
o Once coordinated, global efforts began, it only took about 10 years to eradicate smallpox.
o Strains of smallpox are still stored in military laboratories and could be redeployed. However, neither smallpox nor any other virus would serve as a good weapon.
- The primary sources of newly emerging infections in humans are animals.
o The West Nile Virus- wild birds/ mosquitoes
o SARS virus- pteropid bats?
o Influenza A virus- wild ducks
o However, humans are equally vulnerable to human infection as evidenced by the spread of measles, HIV, Ebola, etc.
- Emerging diseases have enormous impacts on the following:
o Public health
o Animal health/ welfare
o Food supply
o Economies
o Environment (Biodiversity)
- It is important to note that humans dominate the biological world.
- The recent human population explosion and urbanization have serious implications from the spread of infectious diseases globally.
o Today, people are more exposed to ticks, rats and mosquitoes than ever before.
- Contacts with exotic “pets” also contribute to the spread of infections.
- Emerging virus infections in the last decennia have been facilitated by changes in:
o The social environment including mobility, behavior, demography, socio-economic status and public health measures. (A break-down in public health measures could lead to increased spread of viruses. / How you structure your health-care determines how many people will die from infections.)
o Technology including medical technology and food production.
o Virus mutation and recombination.
o Ecology including animal contacts, agriculture, fisheries, environmental pollution and global warming. (Global warming has led to an exponential proliferation of the mosquito population in the Northern Hemisphere.)
- Nature is the main bioterrorist!
- Humans are also destroying / altering habitat conditions.
Morbilliviruses (measles)
- This air-born virus is a great threat to all species. However, it is important to keep in mind that no infection kills everyone; there are always survivors.
- Seals contracted measles from dogs in Northern Europe.
Coronaviruses (SARS)
- SARS is a new human coronavirus that was big news in 2003.
- SARS is the best example after smallpox of rapid global cooperation in the eradication of a virus.
o Scientific data was shared.
o A steering committee was appointed by the WHO.
o There was rapid implementation of prophylactic measures.
o There was rapid development of diagnostics.
o Thus, the outbreak was terminated in less than 6 months.
- SARS was transmitted to humans in live animal markets in South East Asia.
- SARS was originally a bat virus. Incidentally, bats are a common source of viruses including rabies, Ebola, etc.
Influenza Viruses
- Symptoms of influenza include:
o A fever of more than 39 degrees Celsius
o Acute onset
o Myalgia
o Total malaise
o Shivers
o Coughing
o Redness of mucosa in the nose and throat
- 20th Century influenza pandemics include:
o 1918: “Spanish Flu,” more than 40 million deaths, A(H1N1)
o 1957: “Asian Flu,” 1-4 million deaths, A(H2N2)
o 1968: “Hong Kong Flu,” 1-4 million deaths, A(H3N2)
- Today’s flu pandemic (2009) is characterized by:
o Easy transmission
o Easy mutation
o Exchange between species and genes
o Almost no immunity since those exposed to the Spanish Flu are now dead.
o Younger victims
o Diarrhea which is unusual in the seasonal flu
- The current pandemic is a variant of the Spanish Flu and is neither the Avian Flu nor the Swine Flu.
- The Avian influenza can be transmitted to humans but then cannot be transmitted from human to human.
o There has been no documented spread between humans.
o There have been 442 reported human cases, of which 262 died. This is a 60% mortality rate.
- Is our influenza preparedness good?
o There is constant surveillance by the WHO.
o Culling has and does occur.
o There is strict control over bird markets.
o There are adequate and rapid diagnostics.
o There are levels of public awareness.
- The current flu vaccine targets specific viral strains and has much better average protection.
o Generally, Sweden is against vaccination but Sweden is currently universally recommending vaccination.
Emerging Viruses
- Emerging viruses are being identified with increasing frequency in the human and animal worlds.
- As a result, we should invest in early warning systems and pandemic preparedness plans.
Global Risk I: Climate Change
Per Knutsson, Human Ecology
Please see Powerpoint entitled, "Risk and Climate Change" posted on the Global Studies: Theories and Perspectives course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
Please see Powerpoint entitled, "Risk and Climate Change" posted on the Global Studies: Theories and Perspectives course portal.
http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2122au09/filuppladdning/browse.php?dir=Kursinformation%2FMaterial+from+lectures
I'm Back... =0)
After a month long blogging hiatus, I am back and ready to blog. I will do my best to post the lecture notes ASAP. =0)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"Re-embedding"
Lecture #21: "Re-embedding"
Sylva Frisk, Program Director
Disembedding, Review
- Throughout the course, we have discussed several disembedding mechanisms such as the relativisation of space and social relations lifted out of context.
o Scholte expands upon this with his discussion of global social relations.
- These disembedding mechanisms require new modes of analysis.
o International Relations: The nation-state is no longer central in International Relations.
o Anthropology: There is a need to study culture in new ways. Culture is now seen as neither rooted nor bounded but deterritorialized, fluid and unbounded. Anthropologists now study culture as it is experienced and thus examine different voices within a cultural context. Anthropologists now ask: Who is allowed to talk? Who is silenced/ suppressed? It is commonly agreed that culture is the creation of meaning; it is something everyone does but in different ways.
Eriksen and the Dualities of Globalization
- Thomas Hylland Eriksen discusses how globalization creates dualities in his book, Globalization: the Key Concepts.
- He argues that if you have disembedding, you must also have re-embedding.
- Globalization creates these dualities both empirically and ideationally.
- Other dualities include:
o Homogeneity/ Heterogeneity: New forms of diversity emerge from the processes of globalization.
o Shrinking/ Expanding World
o Centrifugal/ Centripetal
o Standardization/ Fragmentation
o Cosmopolitanism/ Fundamentalism
- These dualities all boil down to Sameness/ Difference.
- Globalization erases some differences while promoted the emergence of others.
Multiculturalism, A Case in Point
- Politicized multiculturalism creates homogeneity, creates new realities and silences other differences.
- The debate over the veil:
o Debates over the veil in Western Europe are very informative. Some argue that the veil complicates communication while other support it is a religious/ cultural practice. Questions have been raised about whether students should be allowed to wear the veil, especially the full veil, in school. This has led to other questions such as: What does the veil represent? Is the veil a religious or a cultural symbol? Does the veil represent gender oppression?
o The Swedish debate was sparked when two female students wore a full veil to school. The principal of the school contacted the Swedish government to ask whether the veil was permitted in school. The Swedish government, in turn, contacted religious scholars and academics. However, no one asked the two girls why they were wearing the veil. People just assumed that they were either wearing the veil for religious or cultural reasons. Ironically, the girls made themselves more visible by covering themselves up.
- Circumcized Immigrants:
o A group of female immigrants from Eritrea arrived in Sweden. These women were circumcized but didn’t feel that there was something wrong with female circumcision. It was not until people in Sweden pointed out the barbaric and cruel nature of circumcision that these women became traumatized by the experience.
- Islamization in Malaysia
o Ethnic Malays in Malaysia began emphasizing their Muslim identity in the 1970s due, in part, to forces of postcolonialism, modernity and globalization. But, over time, the Islamic movement has become more fragmented. Some Malay Muslims are influenced by Middle Eastern Islam while other are influenced by American Islam still other have taken a feminist approach. While conducting her fieldwork in Malaysia, Frisk interviewed women who had made the Haj to Mecca. One women told her that, as a result of her experience, she felt that Arab Muslims were different or backward. While in Mecca, the woman realized that Malay Muslims were actually different from Arab Muslims.
The Gay Archipelago, Boellstorff
- Boellstorff studied the emergence of the “Gay” and “Lesbi” subjectivity in Indonesia.
o Important note: There is an on-going debate in the social sciences about how subjectivity is created. Some argue that it is derived structurally while others emphasize agency or choice.
o Subjectivity: How the subject understands himself/herself.
- The subject positions of gay and lesbi are new in Indonesia even though same sex relationships have always been practiced.
- The Waria is an example of a traditional subjectivity.
o The Waria are usually male transvestites who believe that they were born with the souls of women.
o Waria dress as women most of the time and prefer to have sex with heterosexual men.
o Waria are well known and accepted in Indonesian society.
- The Gay/ Lesbi subject position is an example of the interconnectedness of disembedding and re-embedding.
o This subject position is relatively new, emerging in the 1970s.
o Some Gay/ Lesbi marry heterosexually but have extramarital homosexual relationships.
o Those who adopt this subject position as different from the Waria but they are also different from the western Gay/ Lesbi subjectivity that inspired the creation of this subject position.
o Indonesian Gays/Lesbis see themselves as related to western Gays/ Lesbis but they also see themselves as different.
o The Gay/Lesbi subject position is national. It is unthinkable to identify as a Javanese gay man but it is possible to identify as an Indonesian gay man.
o This new subjectivity is linked to the transnational, imagined community.
Cultural Dubbing
- Boellstorff discusses this emerging subjectivity in terms of cultural dubbing.
- Foreign Films and television shows were once widely dubbed in Indonesia.
- This became problematic in the late 1990s because, as opponents claimed, it distracted from the project of creating a national Indonesian identity. It was confusing to see foreigners speaking Indonesian. Thus dubbing altered the Indonesian identity.
- In terms of the Gay/ Lesbi subjectivity, some argue that those who adopt this subjectivity are merely dubbing their cultural experience with the western homosexual identity.
- However, the dub and the actual, cultural experience never really match thus, agency emerges.
o Gay/Lesbi Indonesians are actually creating a new subjectivity that is neither western nor traditional.
o This is different from glocalization because they are not simply mix two distinct identities; they are creating something new.
Sylva Frisk, Program Director
Disembedding, Review
- Throughout the course, we have discussed several disembedding mechanisms such as the relativisation of space and social relations lifted out of context.
o Scholte expands upon this with his discussion of global social relations.
- These disembedding mechanisms require new modes of analysis.
o International Relations: The nation-state is no longer central in International Relations.
o Anthropology: There is a need to study culture in new ways. Culture is now seen as neither rooted nor bounded but deterritorialized, fluid and unbounded. Anthropologists now study culture as it is experienced and thus examine different voices within a cultural context. Anthropologists now ask: Who is allowed to talk? Who is silenced/ suppressed? It is commonly agreed that culture is the creation of meaning; it is something everyone does but in different ways.
Eriksen and the Dualities of Globalization
- Thomas Hylland Eriksen discusses how globalization creates dualities in his book, Globalization: the Key Concepts.
- He argues that if you have disembedding, you must also have re-embedding.
- Globalization creates these dualities both empirically and ideationally.
- Other dualities include:
o Homogeneity/ Heterogeneity: New forms of diversity emerge from the processes of globalization.
o Shrinking/ Expanding World
o Centrifugal/ Centripetal
o Standardization/ Fragmentation
o Cosmopolitanism/ Fundamentalism
- These dualities all boil down to Sameness/ Difference.
- Globalization erases some differences while promoted the emergence of others.
Multiculturalism, A Case in Point
- Politicized multiculturalism creates homogeneity, creates new realities and silences other differences.
- The debate over the veil:
o Debates over the veil in Western Europe are very informative. Some argue that the veil complicates communication while other support it is a religious/ cultural practice. Questions have been raised about whether students should be allowed to wear the veil, especially the full veil, in school. This has led to other questions such as: What does the veil represent? Is the veil a religious or a cultural symbol? Does the veil represent gender oppression?
o The Swedish debate was sparked when two female students wore a full veil to school. The principal of the school contacted the Swedish government to ask whether the veil was permitted in school. The Swedish government, in turn, contacted religious scholars and academics. However, no one asked the two girls why they were wearing the veil. People just assumed that they were either wearing the veil for religious or cultural reasons. Ironically, the girls made themselves more visible by covering themselves up.
- Circumcized Immigrants:
o A group of female immigrants from Eritrea arrived in Sweden. These women were circumcized but didn’t feel that there was something wrong with female circumcision. It was not until people in Sweden pointed out the barbaric and cruel nature of circumcision that these women became traumatized by the experience.
- Islamization in Malaysia
o Ethnic Malays in Malaysia began emphasizing their Muslim identity in the 1970s due, in part, to forces of postcolonialism, modernity and globalization. But, over time, the Islamic movement has become more fragmented. Some Malay Muslims are influenced by Middle Eastern Islam while other are influenced by American Islam still other have taken a feminist approach. While conducting her fieldwork in Malaysia, Frisk interviewed women who had made the Haj to Mecca. One women told her that, as a result of her experience, she felt that Arab Muslims were different or backward. While in Mecca, the woman realized that Malay Muslims were actually different from Arab Muslims.
The Gay Archipelago, Boellstorff
- Boellstorff studied the emergence of the “Gay” and “Lesbi” subjectivity in Indonesia.
o Important note: There is an on-going debate in the social sciences about how subjectivity is created. Some argue that it is derived structurally while others emphasize agency or choice.
o Subjectivity: How the subject understands himself/herself.
- The subject positions of gay and lesbi are new in Indonesia even though same sex relationships have always been practiced.
- The Waria is an example of a traditional subjectivity.
o The Waria are usually male transvestites who believe that they were born with the souls of women.
o Waria dress as women most of the time and prefer to have sex with heterosexual men.
o Waria are well known and accepted in Indonesian society.
- The Gay/ Lesbi subject position is an example of the interconnectedness of disembedding and re-embedding.
o This subject position is relatively new, emerging in the 1970s.
o Some Gay/ Lesbi marry heterosexually but have extramarital homosexual relationships.
o Those who adopt this subject position as different from the Waria but they are also different from the western Gay/ Lesbi subjectivity that inspired the creation of this subject position.
o Indonesian Gays/Lesbis see themselves as related to western Gays/ Lesbis but they also see themselves as different.
o The Gay/Lesbi subject position is national. It is unthinkable to identify as a Javanese gay man but it is possible to identify as an Indonesian gay man.
o This new subjectivity is linked to the transnational, imagined community.
Cultural Dubbing
- Boellstorff discusses this emerging subjectivity in terms of cultural dubbing.
- Foreign Films and television shows were once widely dubbed in Indonesia.
- This became problematic in the late 1990s because, as opponents claimed, it distracted from the project of creating a national Indonesian identity. It was confusing to see foreigners speaking Indonesian. Thus dubbing altered the Indonesian identity.
- In terms of the Gay/ Lesbi subjectivity, some argue that those who adopt this subjectivity are merely dubbing their cultural experience with the western homosexual identity.
- However, the dub and the actual, cultural experience never really match thus, agency emerges.
o Gay/Lesbi Indonesians are actually creating a new subjectivity that is neither western nor traditional.
o This is different from glocalization because they are not simply mix two distinct identities; they are creating something new.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"Climate Change and Food Security"
Lecture #20: "Climate Change and Food Security"
Per Knutsson
See powerpoint entitled, "Food Security and Risk" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Per Knutsson
See powerpoint entitled, "Food Security and Risk" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
"Security"
Lecture #19: "Security"
Maria Stern and Peer Shouten
See powerpoint at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Maria Stern and Peer Shouten
See powerpoint at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Sunday, October 18, 2009
"Multiculturalism"
Lecture #18: "Multiculturalism"
Sylva Frisk was originally scheduled to present this lecture but Dariush Moaven Doust filled in at the last minute.
Here are the highlights:
- Multiculturalism is an empty signifier (Laclau); it can mean anything and nothing.
4 Antinomies:
- 1st: Clash versus Dialogue
- 2nd: Principles versus Tolerance
- 3rd: Cultural Identity versus Social Situations
-4th: Ethnicity versus Class
Particularities versus Universals
- This antinomy subsumes all the above.
-"Universal" has long been criticized by post-colonial theorists.
-Particularities don't exist until they are compared with others.
-The problem with particularities is if your identity is defined in relation to "the other," we just have a bunch of particularities.
- Thus everyone is different in the same way.
- The defense of particularities yields universal similarity.
- What remains is commodities: You can buy and sell particularities.
-Universal propositions that start with the term "all" inherently reflect power.
- Multiculturalism implies a critique to universalism.
Sylva Frisk was originally scheduled to present this lecture but Dariush Moaven Doust filled in at the last minute.
Here are the highlights:
- Multiculturalism is an empty signifier (Laclau); it can mean anything and nothing.
4 Antinomies:
- 1st: Clash versus Dialogue
- 2nd: Principles versus Tolerance
- 3rd: Cultural Identity versus Social Situations
-4th: Ethnicity versus Class
Particularities versus Universals
- This antinomy subsumes all the above.
-"Universal" has long been criticized by post-colonial theorists.
-Particularities don't exist until they are compared with others.
-The problem with particularities is if your identity is defined in relation to "the other," we just have a bunch of particularities.
- Thus everyone is different in the same way.
- The defense of particularities yields universal similarity.
- What remains is commodities: You can buy and sell particularities.
-Universal propositions that start with the term "all" inherently reflect power.
- Multiculturalism implies a critique to universalism.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
"Postcolonial Theory"
Lecture #17:"Postcolonial Theory" Mikaela Lundahl, History of Ideas
Here are the highlights:
What is Post-Colonial Theory?
- The “post” derives from several different contexts.
o It could mean after which is a descriptive term.
o Or it could mean influenced by which is similar to post-Marxism.
- It was first developed in the discipline of comparative literature in the 1970s.
- It was developed as a compliment to other important theories at the time.
- Post-colonial theory is about epistemology.
o Who defines truth/ justice?
o Who is knowledgeable?
o Who defines what is worth knowing?
Edward Said
- It is often said that he is the founder of post-colonialism but he doesn’t accept that he is a post-colonial thinker.
- “Orientalism,” 1978
o He studied the discourse of orientalism or the Arab world.
o People in the orient were very sexualized thus the myth of the harem.
o The harem was developed in contrast to sexually suppressed Victorian British society.
o Fragments of stories from the orient as well as “1001 Nights” which was newly translated coupled with suppressed sexuality becomes imposed on the “other.”
o Western travelers were never invited into the harem thus they imagined it to be something it was not which was simply a private space within a home.
- These discourses of others have more to do with the conflict, tensions and challenges within the societies where they are produced than the places/ people they describe.
o Most colonial histories are like this.
o This can also be applied to discourses on gender.
- When you produce a story, you are not the only author. You reproduce power and world order within your society.
Homi Bhabha
- Indian, literature professor working in the U.S.
- He did not write a discipline altering book but many important articles.
- He coined the concepts of hybridity and mimicry.
o Both terms originally come from the natural sciences.
o Hybridity occurs when a new species is created from two different species.
o Mimicry is like the actions of a copycat.
o The lecturer prefers the term creolity because it is more open.
- People in colonial and postcolonial India are continuously described as “Indians” implying that there was such a thing as India prior to colonialization.
o But the nation-state was not and is not a given.
o During colonialism, the British imposed a sense of Indianess upon diverse regions.
o Contemporary conflicts reflect this.
o Identities in the colonial world were constructed according to European ideas and interests.
o First, pre-colonial “India” was like Viking “Sweden” it was not clearly defined or taken for granted.
o Second, colonial British India was a time when “Indianess” was invented. This represented a new kind of hybridity.
o Third, post-colonial India was formed.
o Fourth, it is impossible to know what will come next.
o Today’s Indians was a hybrid of previous eras.
o Both Indians and colonizers were altered as a result of colonialism.
- Colonization is a process not just an event. Thus once colonizers leave, structures, culture, businesses, etc. remain.
- Colonization created a new form of hybridity between the colonizer and the colonized.
- The world is not homogenized through colonization.
- Mimicry is another product of colonization.
o It occurs when the colonized mimic colonizers.
o It resulted in a cry for authenticity.
o Hybrid people can never really be authentic.
- Colonial mythology: We construct the “other” as deficient/ in need/ savage.
- When the “other” becomes equal, new mythologies are needed thus the concept of mimicry.
- Bhabha descrives mimicry as a way that the colonized can destabilize the status quo.
o This reveals how “whiteness” is constructed.
Gayatri Spivak
- It was previously theorized that “others” were embedded in their situation and could not understand universal experiences or truths.
- It was also theorized that white, European males were privileged in their position and could understand everyone “below” them.
- Spivak says that no one is different of privileged; everyone is equally transparent and knowledgeable of others.
- We need to be more humble in our quest to know others.
- We can see others just as well as they can see us.
- “White men rescue/ save brown women from brown men.”
o Brown mean are constructed as dangerous, backward and brown women are constructed as innocent victims.
o This idea helps Europeans to legitimize their policies of intrusion/ invasion/ colonization.
o This format is reproduced in different contexts.
o These phrases are mobilized when needed.
o This reproduces colonial stereotypes/ stigmatization which creates problems without solving them and is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Here are the highlights:
What is Post-Colonial Theory?
- The “post” derives from several different contexts.
o It could mean after which is a descriptive term.
o Or it could mean influenced by which is similar to post-Marxism.
- It was first developed in the discipline of comparative literature in the 1970s.
- It was developed as a compliment to other important theories at the time.
- Post-colonial theory is about epistemology.
o Who defines truth/ justice?
o Who is knowledgeable?
o Who defines what is worth knowing?
Edward Said
- It is often said that he is the founder of post-colonialism but he doesn’t accept that he is a post-colonial thinker.
- “Orientalism,” 1978
o He studied the discourse of orientalism or the Arab world.
o People in the orient were very sexualized thus the myth of the harem.
o The harem was developed in contrast to sexually suppressed Victorian British society.
o Fragments of stories from the orient as well as “1001 Nights” which was newly translated coupled with suppressed sexuality becomes imposed on the “other.”
o Western travelers were never invited into the harem thus they imagined it to be something it was not which was simply a private space within a home.
- These discourses of others have more to do with the conflict, tensions and challenges within the societies where they are produced than the places/ people they describe.
o Most colonial histories are like this.
o This can also be applied to discourses on gender.
- When you produce a story, you are not the only author. You reproduce power and world order within your society.
Homi Bhabha
- Indian, literature professor working in the U.S.
- He did not write a discipline altering book but many important articles.
- He coined the concepts of hybridity and mimicry.
o Both terms originally come from the natural sciences.
o Hybridity occurs when a new species is created from two different species.
o Mimicry is like the actions of a copycat.
o The lecturer prefers the term creolity because it is more open.
- People in colonial and postcolonial India are continuously described as “Indians” implying that there was such a thing as India prior to colonialization.
o But the nation-state was not and is not a given.
o During colonialism, the British imposed a sense of Indianess upon diverse regions.
o Contemporary conflicts reflect this.
o Identities in the colonial world were constructed according to European ideas and interests.
o First, pre-colonial “India” was like Viking “Sweden” it was not clearly defined or taken for granted.
o Second, colonial British India was a time when “Indianess” was invented. This represented a new kind of hybridity.
o Third, post-colonial India was formed.
o Fourth, it is impossible to know what will come next.
o Today’s Indians was a hybrid of previous eras.
o Both Indians and colonizers were altered as a result of colonialism.
- Colonization is a process not just an event. Thus once colonizers leave, structures, culture, businesses, etc. remain.
- Colonization created a new form of hybridity between the colonizer and the colonized.
- The world is not homogenized through colonization.
- Mimicry is another product of colonization.
o It occurs when the colonized mimic colonizers.
o It resulted in a cry for authenticity.
o Hybrid people can never really be authentic.
- Colonial mythology: We construct the “other” as deficient/ in need/ savage.
- When the “other” becomes equal, new mythologies are needed thus the concept of mimicry.
- Bhabha descrives mimicry as a way that the colonized can destabilize the status quo.
o This reveals how “whiteness” is constructed.
Gayatri Spivak
- It was previously theorized that “others” were embedded in their situation and could not understand universal experiences or truths.
- It was also theorized that white, European males were privileged in their position and could understand everyone “below” them.
- Spivak says that no one is different of privileged; everyone is equally transparent and knowledgeable of others.
- We need to be more humble in our quest to know others.
- We can see others just as well as they can see us.
- “White men rescue/ save brown women from brown men.”
o Brown mean are constructed as dangerous, backward and brown women are constructed as innocent victims.
o This idea helps Europeans to legitimize their policies of intrusion/ invasion/ colonization.
o This format is reproduced in different contexts.
o These phrases are mobilized when needed.
o This reproduces colonial stereotypes/ stigmatization which creates problems without solving them and is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Identity and Identity Politics"
Lecture # 16:"Identity and Identity Politics" Mikaela Lundahl, History of Ideas
Here are the highlights:
The History and Meaning of Identity
- “Idem” is the Greek word for same or sameness.
- Common interpretation: Identity is the feeling and recognition of being the
same today as you were yesterday and the expectation that we will be the
same tomorrow.
- This self-reflective idea was developed philosophically in Europe in the
17th and 18th centuries by Descartes and Locke.
o Descartes- Debated his identity: I think therefore I am.
o Locke- Liberal thinker, developed ideas about political identity
o These thinkers tried to distinguish the individual from the collective.
o Of course, they were not the only thinkers on this subject but they were the most famous.
- The French Revolution led to the formulation of inherent human rights and it was at this time that ideas about society were transformed.
- The 1800s saw big identity movements such as abolitionist, labor and suffrage movements.
- Collectivist thinkers emerged in the 1800s as a reaction to individualist thinkers.
- According to Foucault, the individual was born in the classic era (17th and 18th centuries).
o This is when the concept of the human was invented.
o Ways of thinking about humanity changed dramatically around 1700.
- The idea of the insular man was challenged by other thinkers including Hegel.
- Hegel developed the master and the slave dialectic which theorized that no one can recognize himself as an individual without the recognition of others.
o This was essential to all social relationships.
o Identity is a continual process that needs renewal; the feeling of recognition doesn’t last forever.
o The slave cannot legitimately give the master recognition thus the recognition machine for the master is problematized.
o Sooner or later the relationship is changed and the slave becomes freer.
- Hegel postulates that there are always at least two people in a meaningful society.
- The fight for recognition is later taken up by Marx.
o Marx adds a more materialistic twist. Thus the slave knows reality through his labor which gives the slave the ability to challenge the master.
- In the 20th century, identity becomes even more problematic.
Identity Movements
- Collectivist thinkers challenged the traditional conception of identity as the white bourgeois.
- These thinkers believed that the theorized “human” was silently assuming the bourgeois, white, Christian, male identity.
- Society was extremely dependent on colonialism which led to the establishment of race theory around 1800. Race theory was not abandoned/ discredited until after World War II.
o Race theory attempted to reveal racial inequalities scientifically.
o Race theory was used to justify slavery and colonialism.
- Gender theory emerged around 1800.
- Race and gender theory were used to justify privilege, exclusion and inequality.
o Women were seen as weak and emotional.
o Thus men were better suited to work outside the home and in the public sphere.
o These theories were used to separate and sort people.
- Theories of class were also developed to show that members of the working class were different cerebrally. This theory was used to legitimize the class system.
19th/20th Centuries
- Anti-colonial movements, abolition movements, suffrage movements, etc. began to take root in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- In these movements, identity becomes an important question as well as the effect of these movements. However, these movements did not explicitly address identity.
- Marx:
o Knowledge can result from what you do, ie. labor.
o Most people are disconnected from the tools/ fruits of their labor thus they live in a “false consciousness.”
- Nietzsche:
o God is dead. The discursive God no longer has meaning and is no longer a point of social reference.
o People want to gain power—“will to power” — thus they are disconnected from reality; they see the world in ways that favor their ambitions. Reality is complex.
- Freud:
o Desire determines the way we see the world.
o Desire is unconscious.
- Simone de Beauvoir:
o The Second Sex
o One is not born a woman; one becomes a woman.
- Jean Paul Sartre:
o Existence comes before essence.
o Essence is a concept that has often been discussed in connection with identity.
o “The fear of essence”
o Essence is the result of a lived life or a historical situation.
o First we live as a person in a collective.
o During this era, essences (male, female, class, race) are sought.
- Marx, Nietzsche, etc. help to destabilize previous ideas of identity.
- Post-modernism: A way of discussing modernity without taking it for granted.
- After post-modernism, thinking about identity changes.
- Derrida challenges the concept of the autonomous individual in terms of the relationship between “I” and I.
o When a person talks about herself, she has to step outside of herself.
o The individual reconstructs himself/herself and the content is relative.
o The sign is different from the signified.
o There is a constant, on-going oscillation between the sign, “I,” and the signified, I.
- Identity politics emerged in the 1960s, 70s and 80s because people started to see a problem.
- Movements produced identities.
- When identity becomes more diversified, it also becomes more homogenized.
- People began to look beyond the old strata of identification.
- Intersectionalism: Builds upon the idea that everyone is the product of many intersections such as class, race, gender, etc.
o This is connected to Cyborg Feminism.
o There are different ways to say that identity is constructed within a system.
o Intersectionalism coordinates with hybridity.
- One can conclude either that identity has become hybridized due to modernity or that identity was always hybridized/creolized.
- The stability of culture and identity are a myth.
Here are the highlights:
The History and Meaning of Identity
- “Idem” is the Greek word for same or sameness.
- Common interpretation: Identity is the feeling and recognition of being the
same today as you were yesterday and the expectation that we will be the
same tomorrow.
- This self-reflective idea was developed philosophically in Europe in the
17th and 18th centuries by Descartes and Locke.
o Descartes- Debated his identity: I think therefore I am.
o Locke- Liberal thinker, developed ideas about political identity
o These thinkers tried to distinguish the individual from the collective.
o Of course, they were not the only thinkers on this subject but they were the most famous.
- The French Revolution led to the formulation of inherent human rights and it was at this time that ideas about society were transformed.
- The 1800s saw big identity movements such as abolitionist, labor and suffrage movements.
- Collectivist thinkers emerged in the 1800s as a reaction to individualist thinkers.
- According to Foucault, the individual was born in the classic era (17th and 18th centuries).
o This is when the concept of the human was invented.
o Ways of thinking about humanity changed dramatically around 1700.
- The idea of the insular man was challenged by other thinkers including Hegel.
- Hegel developed the master and the slave dialectic which theorized that no one can recognize himself as an individual without the recognition of others.
o This was essential to all social relationships.
o Identity is a continual process that needs renewal; the feeling of recognition doesn’t last forever.
o The slave cannot legitimately give the master recognition thus the recognition machine for the master is problematized.
o Sooner or later the relationship is changed and the slave becomes freer.
- Hegel postulates that there are always at least two people in a meaningful society.
- The fight for recognition is later taken up by Marx.
o Marx adds a more materialistic twist. Thus the slave knows reality through his labor which gives the slave the ability to challenge the master.
- In the 20th century, identity becomes even more problematic.
Identity Movements
- Collectivist thinkers challenged the traditional conception of identity as the white bourgeois.
- These thinkers believed that the theorized “human” was silently assuming the bourgeois, white, Christian, male identity.
- Society was extremely dependent on colonialism which led to the establishment of race theory around 1800. Race theory was not abandoned/ discredited until after World War II.
o Race theory attempted to reveal racial inequalities scientifically.
o Race theory was used to justify slavery and colonialism.
- Gender theory emerged around 1800.
- Race and gender theory were used to justify privilege, exclusion and inequality.
o Women were seen as weak and emotional.
o Thus men were better suited to work outside the home and in the public sphere.
o These theories were used to separate and sort people.
- Theories of class were also developed to show that members of the working class were different cerebrally. This theory was used to legitimize the class system.
19th/20th Centuries
- Anti-colonial movements, abolition movements, suffrage movements, etc. began to take root in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- In these movements, identity becomes an important question as well as the effect of these movements. However, these movements did not explicitly address identity.
- Marx:
o Knowledge can result from what you do, ie. labor.
o Most people are disconnected from the tools/ fruits of their labor thus they live in a “false consciousness.”
- Nietzsche:
o God is dead. The discursive God no longer has meaning and is no longer a point of social reference.
o People want to gain power—“will to power” — thus they are disconnected from reality; they see the world in ways that favor their ambitions. Reality is complex.
- Freud:
o Desire determines the way we see the world.
o Desire is unconscious.
- Simone de Beauvoir:
o The Second Sex
o One is not born a woman; one becomes a woman.
- Jean Paul Sartre:
o Existence comes before essence.
o Essence is a concept that has often been discussed in connection with identity.
o “The fear of essence”
o Essence is the result of a lived life or a historical situation.
o First we live as a person in a collective.
o During this era, essences (male, female, class, race) are sought.
- Marx, Nietzsche, etc. help to destabilize previous ideas of identity.
- Post-modernism: A way of discussing modernity without taking it for granted.
- After post-modernism, thinking about identity changes.
- Derrida challenges the concept of the autonomous individual in terms of the relationship between “I” and I.
o When a person talks about herself, she has to step outside of herself.
o The individual reconstructs himself/herself and the content is relative.
o The sign is different from the signified.
o There is a constant, on-going oscillation between the sign, “I,” and the signified, I.
- Identity politics emerged in the 1960s, 70s and 80s because people started to see a problem.
- Movements produced identities.
- When identity becomes more diversified, it also becomes more homogenized.
- People began to look beyond the old strata of identification.
- Intersectionalism: Builds upon the idea that everyone is the product of many intersections such as class, race, gender, etc.
o This is connected to Cyborg Feminism.
o There are different ways to say that identity is constructed within a system.
o Intersectionalism coordinates with hybridity.
- One can conclude either that identity has become hybridized due to modernity or that identity was always hybridized/creolized.
- The stability of culture and identity are a myth.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
"Non-Territorial Global Empire?"
Lecture #15: "Non-Territorial Global Empire?"
Stellan Vinthagen
The powerpoint for this lecture should be posted soon at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Stellan Vinthagen
The powerpoint for this lecture should be posted soon at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
"Territorial Empire and 'New Imperialism'"
Lecture #14: "Territorial Empire and 'New Imperialism''
Stellan Vinthagen
Review/Preview- The debate about network versus empire is related to how we view globalization.
An Overview of the Arguments
- Some argue that globalization has weakened nation-states. While other contend that it has created failed states and regionalization.
- Some argue that globalization offers some states new opportunities. This is where imperialism comes on. They ask, is globalization a wave of capitalism? Does capitalism encourage imperialism or free markets? Has globalization led to a concentration of wealth in the hands of 1% of the world’s population? Has globalization increased difference between the rich and the poor?
- Some argue that globalization provides opportunities for wealth that didn’t exist before. They believe that many people who would have been poor before globalization can now support themselves.
- Some argue that the U.S. is an empire. Their evidence includes the following:
o The U.S. has military bases in approximately 140 countries.
o The U.S. has 300,000 soldiers on foreign ground.
o The U.S. holds the world record for foreign interventions having long ago surpassed the Roman Empire.
o The U.S. has overthrown democratically elected leaders. (i.e. Iran)
o The War on Terror is a sign of imperialism.
o The U.S. spends ½ of the total military budget of the world.
- Some argue that the election of Barrack Obama has made a difference, at least, rhetorically. Obama has instructed his staff not to use the phrase “War on Terror.”
Is the U.S. an Empire?
- Is the U.S. an empire in the same way as the Roman Empire or the British Empire?
- Or is the U.S. just a strong state?
- What does it mean to talk about empires?
Münkler on Empire
- Münkler presents a realist theory of empire.
- According to Münkler, empire is the dominance of one polity over another both internally and externally.
- Münkler presents three criteria of empire:
o 1. Long term empire/dominance: An empire must have survived a crisis. Thus the Nazi Empire was a failed empire because it didn’t survive the crisis of World War II.
o 2. Major expansion: An empire must purse expansion. Expansion can be regional rather than global. An empire can pursue explanation militarily and/or economically. An example of major expansion is the British Empire.
o Center-Periphery: In an empire, there is a sliding scale of rights. The closer you are to the center, the more rights you have. This is different from a nation-state. You are either a citizen of a nation-state or you are not. In theory, all citizens are equal before the law.
- Münkler distinguishes between empire and imperialism.
o Imperialism is the will to empire.
o Empire is long term dominance, major expansion and the creation and maintenance of the center and periphery.
o During the colonial period, imperialism was viewed positively. Many believe that Europe was obligated to help others.
o Today, imperialism is a negative term.
- Münkler emphasizes that every empire needs to legitimize its imperial project at least among those who make empire possible. Thus, the creation of ideology.
o You may not like the empire but you probably believe the ideology.
o Empire can have ideologies that embrace liberty, equality and justice but empire can also have a missionary ideology.
- European imperialist ambitions were crushed with the Holocaust.
o Many people pointed to the Holocaust as evidence of what European civilization was capable of.
o The Holocaust created a general lack of confidence in the European missionary project.
- Democracies have a difficult time building empires because it is difficult to maintain electoral support for the imperial mission. However, it is not impossible for a democracy to become an empire.
- Industrialization has changed the conditions of empires.
o Prior to industrialization, militarization was the driving force of imperialism.
o Today, economics is the driving force of imperialism.
- Does the U.S. Empire meet Münkler’s criteria?
o It has survived several crises.
o It has pursused neo-liberal economic expansion.
o Some countries such as Britain are a part of the center while other countries are a part of the periphery.
- Is the election of Barrack Obama a reaction to the U.S. imperial project?
- In terms of military might and economic dominance, the U.S. is definitely on top but the U.S. does have an enormous financial deficit and this may make a difference.
Wallerstein on Empire
- Wallerstein renews the Marxist perspective in a fundamental way so much so that you could argue that Wallerstein is turning Marxism on its head.
- Wallerstein is also inspired by Dependency Theory.
- Wallerstein contends that underdevelopment is created through capitalism.
- An aside: Marx believed that capitalism was a liberating force which made socialism possible.
- According to Wallerstein, labor is territorial; capital is not. Laborers can’t just go where the jobs are located.
- Two principles demonstrate the exploitative nature of the world economy:
o 1. Surplus is not invested in the periphery. → Profits are generally invested in Europe and the U.S. Research and development happens within the core.
o 2. There are declining terms of trade. → Terms of trade favor manufactured goods over raw materials.
- Economic differences between the core, semi-periphery (a concept Wallerstein introduces) and periphery represent a systemic imbalance.
- It is rare for a country to move from the periphery to the semi-periphery to the core.
- World Bank rankings show countries grouping in clusters.
o Core → G8 / OECD
o Semi-Periphery → BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China)
o Periphery → “Global South”
- Wallerstein looks at economies not nation-states. In fact, he contends that the core and periphery can exist within nation-states.
- There are several conditions that keep this system alive:
o The existence of the semi-periphery.
o Ethnic and ideological differences are maintained. (There is no world government.)
o The world is divided politically but united economically.
- This system is so stable that it forces governments to accommodate capitalist conditions.
o The only possibility for change is crisis.
o When a crisis is too difficult to handle, there is an opening. This opening can be utilized by “anti-systemic movements.”
Criticisms
- Some progress does occur. Some countries are moving up out of the periphery.
- Galtung argues that the U.S. Empire will collapse.
- Diamond contends that ecology is the key factor to understanding why empires fall.
- Empires and informal empires exist simultaneously.
o At some point, it becomes obvious that you are talking about empire. Before that there is de facto or informal empire
Pieterse
- Pieterse argues for a combination of empire and network.
- Is the U.S. unique? Is it a moment of empire?
- Can globalization be halted by a longer period of U.S. empire?
- Imperialism is:
o State centric.
o Classical imperialist thinking holds that political domination is key.
o Has a central authority.
o Maintains political control of territory.
- Globalization is:
o A system with a diversity of actors including states, NGOs, TNCs, etc.
o Not purely political.
o Multi-dimensional.
o Non-territorial.
o Not at the core; less bounded by place.
o Diffusion of power.
- Pieterse argues that there are qualities and traits of empire in globalization but there are still fundamental differences.
Stellan Vinthagen
Review/Preview- The debate about network versus empire is related to how we view globalization.
An Overview of the Arguments
- Some argue that globalization has weakened nation-states. While other contend that it has created failed states and regionalization.
- Some argue that globalization offers some states new opportunities. This is where imperialism comes on. They ask, is globalization a wave of capitalism? Does capitalism encourage imperialism or free markets? Has globalization led to a concentration of wealth in the hands of 1% of the world’s population? Has globalization increased difference between the rich and the poor?
- Some argue that globalization provides opportunities for wealth that didn’t exist before. They believe that many people who would have been poor before globalization can now support themselves.
- Some argue that the U.S. is an empire. Their evidence includes the following:
o The U.S. has military bases in approximately 140 countries.
o The U.S. has 300,000 soldiers on foreign ground.
o The U.S. holds the world record for foreign interventions having long ago surpassed the Roman Empire.
o The U.S. has overthrown democratically elected leaders. (i.e. Iran)
o The War on Terror is a sign of imperialism.
o The U.S. spends ½ of the total military budget of the world.
- Some argue that the election of Barrack Obama has made a difference, at least, rhetorically. Obama has instructed his staff not to use the phrase “War on Terror.”
Is the U.S. an Empire?
- Is the U.S. an empire in the same way as the Roman Empire or the British Empire?
- Or is the U.S. just a strong state?
- What does it mean to talk about empires?
Münkler on Empire
- Münkler presents a realist theory of empire.
- According to Münkler, empire is the dominance of one polity over another both internally and externally.
- Münkler presents three criteria of empire:
o 1. Long term empire/dominance: An empire must have survived a crisis. Thus the Nazi Empire was a failed empire because it didn’t survive the crisis of World War II.
o 2. Major expansion: An empire must purse expansion. Expansion can be regional rather than global. An empire can pursue explanation militarily and/or economically. An example of major expansion is the British Empire.
o Center-Periphery: In an empire, there is a sliding scale of rights. The closer you are to the center, the more rights you have. This is different from a nation-state. You are either a citizen of a nation-state or you are not. In theory, all citizens are equal before the law.
- Münkler distinguishes between empire and imperialism.
o Imperialism is the will to empire.
o Empire is long term dominance, major expansion and the creation and maintenance of the center and periphery.
o During the colonial period, imperialism was viewed positively. Many believe that Europe was obligated to help others.
o Today, imperialism is a negative term.
- Münkler emphasizes that every empire needs to legitimize its imperial project at least among those who make empire possible. Thus, the creation of ideology.
o You may not like the empire but you probably believe the ideology.
o Empire can have ideologies that embrace liberty, equality and justice but empire can also have a missionary ideology.
- European imperialist ambitions were crushed with the Holocaust.
o Many people pointed to the Holocaust as evidence of what European civilization was capable of.
o The Holocaust created a general lack of confidence in the European missionary project.
- Democracies have a difficult time building empires because it is difficult to maintain electoral support for the imperial mission. However, it is not impossible for a democracy to become an empire.
- Industrialization has changed the conditions of empires.
o Prior to industrialization, militarization was the driving force of imperialism.
o Today, economics is the driving force of imperialism.
- Does the U.S. Empire meet Münkler’s criteria?
o It has survived several crises.
o It has pursused neo-liberal economic expansion.
o Some countries such as Britain are a part of the center while other countries are a part of the periphery.
- Is the election of Barrack Obama a reaction to the U.S. imperial project?
- In terms of military might and economic dominance, the U.S. is definitely on top but the U.S. does have an enormous financial deficit and this may make a difference.
Wallerstein on Empire
- Wallerstein renews the Marxist perspective in a fundamental way so much so that you could argue that Wallerstein is turning Marxism on its head.
- Wallerstein is also inspired by Dependency Theory.
- Wallerstein contends that underdevelopment is created through capitalism.
- An aside: Marx believed that capitalism was a liberating force which made socialism possible.
- According to Wallerstein, labor is territorial; capital is not. Laborers can’t just go where the jobs are located.
- Two principles demonstrate the exploitative nature of the world economy:
o 1. Surplus is not invested in the periphery. → Profits are generally invested in Europe and the U.S. Research and development happens within the core.
o 2. There are declining terms of trade. → Terms of trade favor manufactured goods over raw materials.
- Economic differences between the core, semi-periphery (a concept Wallerstein introduces) and periphery represent a systemic imbalance.
- It is rare for a country to move from the periphery to the semi-periphery to the core.
- World Bank rankings show countries grouping in clusters.
o Core → G8 / OECD
o Semi-Periphery → BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China)
o Periphery → “Global South”
- Wallerstein looks at economies not nation-states. In fact, he contends that the core and periphery can exist within nation-states.
- There are several conditions that keep this system alive:
o The existence of the semi-periphery.
o Ethnic and ideological differences are maintained. (There is no world government.)
o The world is divided politically but united economically.
- This system is so stable that it forces governments to accommodate capitalist conditions.
o The only possibility for change is crisis.
o When a crisis is too difficult to handle, there is an opening. This opening can be utilized by “anti-systemic movements.”
Criticisms
- Some progress does occur. Some countries are moving up out of the periphery.
- Galtung argues that the U.S. Empire will collapse.
- Diamond contends that ecology is the key factor to understanding why empires fall.
- Empires and informal empires exist simultaneously.
o At some point, it becomes obvious that you are talking about empire. Before that there is de facto or informal empire
Pieterse
- Pieterse argues for a combination of empire and network.
- Is the U.S. unique? Is it a moment of empire?
- Can globalization be halted by a longer period of U.S. empire?
- Imperialism is:
o State centric.
o Classical imperialist thinking holds that political domination is key.
o Has a central authority.
o Maintains political control of territory.
- Globalization is:
o A system with a diversity of actors including states, NGOs, TNCs, etc.
o Not purely political.
o Multi-dimensional.
o Non-territorial.
o Not at the core; less bounded by place.
o Diffusion of power.
- Pieterse argues that there are qualities and traits of empire in globalization but there are still fundamental differences.
Monday, October 5, 2009
"Network Society"
Lecture #13: "Network Society" Stellan Vinthagen, Sociology and Peace and Conflict Studies
Introductory Note: This week we will discuss whether globalization can be characterized as a network or an empire. In other words, does globalization manifest itself as an interconnected world or is it colonialism in the form of U.S. empire? In what ways are networks and empires combined? There is no clear cut answer.
Obama
- Many people believe that the election of Barrack Obama as U.S. president represents a change in the U.S.
- However, there is reason to believe that Obama is not so different from Bush.
o Obama recently agreed with Israel to keep its nuclear weapons secret.
o Although Israel currently possesses 100-300 nuclear weapons, the U.S. continues to make no inspection demands.
- This is a problem but you can solve it in a network society by contacting Obama and explaining the situation. Here’s how…
Network Society, Overview
- Everyone is connected to the 6 billion people on earth through six degrees/ links of separation or less.
- In theory, a network is a connection between people with no center where everyone has links to everyone else. (This is called a distributed network.)
- Networks are an improvement over traditional forms of communication such as bureaucracies.
- In reality, networks can have power and centers and periphery.
o Who has links with whom is very important.
o Clusters, flows, entry points, gatekeepers, firewalls, center(s), peripheries, semi-peripheries all exist and play critical roles.
- In theory, networks and imperialism are incompatible. In reality, it’s not so simple.
- This week we will examine where globalization is located on the network ó empire spectrum. We will also examine theory and practice as well as new perspectives.
o Network theorists- Castells and McNeill
o New Perspective- Empire, Hardt and Negri
McNeill
- Human history is the development of more and more advanced networks.
- Growing networks exist with growing abilities to communicate within these networks.
- Today’s networks are the product of history:
o 1. First Worldnet- This was created more than 12,000 years ago and was characterized by people trading over vast distances. During this time, communication was very slow and the spread of ideas, cultures, even clothing could take decades. It is important to note, however, that ideas and things travelled.
o 2. City Network- This was created 6,000 years ago and was characterized by cities trading and communicating with each other. Food, ideas and products were exchanged. This usually occurred regionally.
o 3. The Old Worldnet- This was created 2,000 years ago and was characterized by intense exchange and communication between Eurasia and Northern Africa.
o 4. Cosmopolitan Net- This was created 500 year ago through navigation. It further evolved 160 years ago with the creation of the Electric Net and evolved again 70 years ago with the Computerized Net.
- We are living in a network society that more and more resembles a network.
- Of course, power does exist.
o Only half of the people on earth have ever made a phone call.
o There is unequal access to the network.
- Some principles you can draw from this:
o Networks consist of both cooperation and competition. After all, there are more people to exploit in an increased network.
o Organizations with more effective internal communication survive. This is because organizations that effectively communicate acquire more resources and power.
- Networks have clusters with unequal distribution.
o 69% of the population in North American has internet access while only 4% of the population of Africa has access.
- Financial flows appear to be distributed globally. After all, financial flows influence everyone who used money. But…
o Ownership of financial capital is not global.
o Trade is more concentrated in certain regions.
o FDI and the labor market are not equally distributed.
o The nation-state structure is still very important when it comes to the labor market.
Castells
- Power is derived from position in the network and network flows. This applies to individuals, groups, economic sectors, nation-states, etc.
- You can be a winner today but a loser tomorrow depending on network flows.
o This is illustrated through the example of call centers in India. Today, it is very valuable to have a pronounced Bristish/American accent so that you can be employed in call centers. However, call centers may be made obsolete in the future.
- There is a new division of labor called flexible market capitalism.
o Individuals and groups, depending on their skills and use in the network, are acquiring new class positions.
o Core: symbolic analysts
o Periphery: Disposable workforce
o Today’s economy is still a market developing profits but it functions in a new way.
- This new economy developed over time:
o Agricultural production- Surplus from quantitative increase of work and natural resources. (Land is essential.)
o Industrial production- Characterized by mass-production and new energy resources. (Energy is essential.)
o Informationalism- Characterized by improved information technology and knowledge production as well as flexible production. (Information is essential.)
- Informationalism
o 1. information is its raw material (cumulative feedback between innovation and its application)
o 2. pervasiveness of its effects (integral to all human activity)
o 3. network logic (to all systems that use ICT)
o 4. based on flexibility (processes, organizations and institutions can be modified and altered)
o 5. integrated system (making old divisions and categories obsolete)
- Miscellaneous Notes:
o We cannot dismiss the network society because we see power, injustice and inequality.
o Many people argued that globalization would lead to the collapse of the nation-state but that hasn’t happened.
o 3 types of identities exist in the network society: legitimizing identities in the form of “civil society” (This identity is in crisis.), resistance identities in the form of “communities” (This is considered a reactionary identity and entails leaving the network by choice.) and project identities which are occupied with using and/ or recreating the network. (This identity tries to change problems with in the present network system.)
Characteristics of Network Society
- First, people are able to overcome separation from others through links.
- Second, informationalism is essential.
- Third, the network is multi-centered and multi-layered.
- Fourth, there is fluidity of power.
- Fifth, no one and no group is in total control.
Introductory Note: This week we will discuss whether globalization can be characterized as a network or an empire. In other words, does globalization manifest itself as an interconnected world or is it colonialism in the form of U.S. empire? In what ways are networks and empires combined? There is no clear cut answer.
Obama
- Many people believe that the election of Barrack Obama as U.S. president represents a change in the U.S.
- However, there is reason to believe that Obama is not so different from Bush.
o Obama recently agreed with Israel to keep its nuclear weapons secret.
o Although Israel currently possesses 100-300 nuclear weapons, the U.S. continues to make no inspection demands.
- This is a problem but you can solve it in a network society by contacting Obama and explaining the situation. Here’s how…
Network Society, Overview
- Everyone is connected to the 6 billion people on earth through six degrees/ links of separation or less.
- In theory, a network is a connection between people with no center where everyone has links to everyone else. (This is called a distributed network.)
- Networks are an improvement over traditional forms of communication such as bureaucracies.
- In reality, networks can have power and centers and periphery.
o Who has links with whom is very important.
o Clusters, flows, entry points, gatekeepers, firewalls, center(s), peripheries, semi-peripheries all exist and play critical roles.
- In theory, networks and imperialism are incompatible. In reality, it’s not so simple.
- This week we will examine where globalization is located on the network ó empire spectrum. We will also examine theory and practice as well as new perspectives.
o Network theorists- Castells and McNeill
o New Perspective- Empire, Hardt and Negri
McNeill
- Human history is the development of more and more advanced networks.
- Growing networks exist with growing abilities to communicate within these networks.
- Today’s networks are the product of history:
o 1. First Worldnet- This was created more than 12,000 years ago and was characterized by people trading over vast distances. During this time, communication was very slow and the spread of ideas, cultures, even clothing could take decades. It is important to note, however, that ideas and things travelled.
o 2. City Network- This was created 6,000 years ago and was characterized by cities trading and communicating with each other. Food, ideas and products were exchanged. This usually occurred regionally.
o 3. The Old Worldnet- This was created 2,000 years ago and was characterized by intense exchange and communication between Eurasia and Northern Africa.
o 4. Cosmopolitan Net- This was created 500 year ago through navigation. It further evolved 160 years ago with the creation of the Electric Net and evolved again 70 years ago with the Computerized Net.
- We are living in a network society that more and more resembles a network.
- Of course, power does exist.
o Only half of the people on earth have ever made a phone call.
o There is unequal access to the network.
- Some principles you can draw from this:
o Networks consist of both cooperation and competition. After all, there are more people to exploit in an increased network.
o Organizations with more effective internal communication survive. This is because organizations that effectively communicate acquire more resources and power.
- Networks have clusters with unequal distribution.
o 69% of the population in North American has internet access while only 4% of the population of Africa has access.
- Financial flows appear to be distributed globally. After all, financial flows influence everyone who used money. But…
o Ownership of financial capital is not global.
o Trade is more concentrated in certain regions.
o FDI and the labor market are not equally distributed.
o The nation-state structure is still very important when it comes to the labor market.
Castells
- Power is derived from position in the network and network flows. This applies to individuals, groups, economic sectors, nation-states, etc.
- You can be a winner today but a loser tomorrow depending on network flows.
o This is illustrated through the example of call centers in India. Today, it is very valuable to have a pronounced Bristish/American accent so that you can be employed in call centers. However, call centers may be made obsolete in the future.
- There is a new division of labor called flexible market capitalism.
o Individuals and groups, depending on their skills and use in the network, are acquiring new class positions.
o Core: symbolic analysts
o Periphery: Disposable workforce
o Today’s economy is still a market developing profits but it functions in a new way.
- This new economy developed over time:
o Agricultural production- Surplus from quantitative increase of work and natural resources. (Land is essential.)
o Industrial production- Characterized by mass-production and new energy resources. (Energy is essential.)
o Informationalism- Characterized by improved information technology and knowledge production as well as flexible production. (Information is essential.)
- Informationalism
o 1. information is its raw material (cumulative feedback between innovation and its application)
o 2. pervasiveness of its effects (integral to all human activity)
o 3. network logic (to all systems that use ICT)
o 4. based on flexibility (processes, organizations and institutions can be modified and altered)
o 5. integrated system (making old divisions and categories obsolete)
- Miscellaneous Notes:
o We cannot dismiss the network society because we see power, injustice and inequality.
o Many people argued that globalization would lead to the collapse of the nation-state but that hasn’t happened.
o 3 types of identities exist in the network society: legitimizing identities in the form of “civil society” (This identity is in crisis.), resistance identities in the form of “communities” (This is considered a reactionary identity and entails leaving the network by choice.) and project identities which are occupied with using and/ or recreating the network. (This identity tries to change problems with in the present network system.)
Characteristics of Network Society
- First, people are able to overcome separation from others through links.
- Second, informationalism is essential.
- Third, the network is multi-centered and multi-layered.
- Fourth, there is fluidity of power.
- Fifth, no one and no group is in total control.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
"Mobility of Capital"
Lecture #12: “Mobility of Capital”
Erik Andersson
Introductory Note: Today we will discuss the mobility of real and financial capital.
Productive capital
FDI (foreign direct investment)
→ productive intentions
Speculative capital
Portfolio investment
→ speculative intentions
→ seeks to take advantage of favourable policies around the world
Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
- Mobile/flexible, globalized production networks
- Fordism: productivity gains through scientific control and centralisation
o Institutional symbiosis with the welfare state
o This symbiosis secured a bottom level of demand for major companies.
- The crisis of the 1970s changed economic thinking.
o Institutional symbiosis became untenable.
o People no longer bought products produced in their own countries. Instead, they bought the cheapest products available.
- Post-Fordism: productivity gains from competition and alliances
Today’s mobility of productive capital
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) vs Greenfield FDI
- Outsourcing: commodification of capacity
- Results: Investment in capacity drops
- Uniform national institutional adaptation (EPZ/SEZ/EFZ, labour laws, company laws, taxes, tariffs, etc.) in competition for FDI, (again skill formation in dialectical relation to global industry
- Feminization of work.
- Strategic, flexible and irrelevant workers.
- Geography of networked of production;
High MVA – in OECD
Low MVA – close to OECD
Outside – the rest
- China, India, Korea, a.o. moving upwards fast!
- TNCs forced to utilize openings and opportunities of globalization.
- Thus outsourcing, building factories in China, etc.
- Owners force CEOs to set up shop in China and/ or to take advantahe of openings and opportunities of globalization.
The globalization of finance, i.e. portfolio mobility
- There is a strong motive driving capital mobility.
- Foreign exchange turnover 2000 billion USD/day + equity, bonds, derivatives, etc.
The US dollar’s central role
- Confidence, liquidity and transactional networks
- Non-economic reasons to hold/support the dollar as a reserve currency:
o Access to western economic interaction
o Support American hegemony
- The euro, yen and other currencies are big today too.
- The US dollar weakened under Bush because of:
o Low interest rates after 9/11 in order to stimulate demand for US production and investment
o Double deficit (trade and budget deficit) is financed by China and other southern states.
o Investment and demand are not big enough
o The US depended on China and Asia finance the war on terror and US domestic consumption.
o The double deficit helped produced the housing boom from 2001-2007 which was stimulated and inflated by low interest rates.
o Credit crisis, 2008-2009
- This was made possible through a long history of financial deregulation and globalization.
History financial globalization
- 1944: Bretton Woods
- 1957: Rome Treaties establish the European Economic Community; Bretton Woods regulatory structures begin to deflate
- 1962: General Agreement to Borrow made in order to pool gold reserves
- 1972/3: Crumbling of Bretton Woods; no link between gold reserves and national currencies
- 1976: Meeting in Jamaica to question IMF and World Bank
- 1979: The US central bank raised interest rates in order to stem inflation in the US; the debt trap closed on countries with investments in US dollars; this is the first time the globe is effected by a national undertaking in the US
- 1980s: Reaganomics + arms race; lower taxes to increase consumption; deregulation of national capital markets (when everyone does this a transnational market is established); ICT (Information and Communication Technologies); Globalization
- 1987 and beyond- Crises + Post Cold War euphoria; 1992ERM; 1994-5 Mexico; 97 Asia; 98 Russia, Brazil; 2000 IT-bubble; 2001 Argentina
- Today: Institutionalized global market with stability problems > FSF, SDDS – IMF a “reputational intermediary”
o Contagion effects- if everyone is moving out of Asia, you move out too
o Trades move with the herd
The (mobility) logic of financial markets
- No products (in traditional sense) > fast turn-over
- Prices according to expectations > which must be fulfilled
- One discourse
- Rating/IMF (”reputational intermediaries”)
- Legitimizes itself with ”allocating resources to where they are most needed” or ”greasing the wheels of production”
- In reality, the financial market is bigger than the actual market.
Effects
- Booms and crashes
- Productivity pressure (to fulfil expectations)
o This led to a drop in capacity investment after 2000.
- Market discipline (exerted on states/politicians, trade unions, companies)
- Institutional adaptation and streamlining
Current crisis
- Speculative Economy
o Loans/claims=assets > MBS > derivatives Credit Default Swaps, SIVs
- Productive Economy
o Private homes > loans > consumption > current account deficit + Asian trade surplus
Remedies
- Bonus caps / regulation for financial bosses
- More money to the IMF (but only a trickle so far)
- Rich world swearing allegiance to the IMF
- FSF (Financial Stability Forum) becomes FSB (Financial Stability Board)
- Fiscal and monetary stimulus packages
- Bailouts of financial institutions of systematic importance
Mobility of Capital
- Financial Capital ó Post-Fordist Production → Big impact on globalized and globalizing
economies
Erik Andersson
Introductory Note: Today we will discuss the mobility of real and financial capital.
Productive capital
FDI (foreign direct investment)
→ productive intentions
Speculative capital
Portfolio investment
→ speculative intentions
→ seeks to take advantage of favourable policies around the world
Transnational Corporations (TNCs)
- Mobile/flexible, globalized production networks
- Fordism: productivity gains through scientific control and centralisation
o Institutional symbiosis with the welfare state
o This symbiosis secured a bottom level of demand for major companies.
- The crisis of the 1970s changed economic thinking.
o Institutional symbiosis became untenable.
o People no longer bought products produced in their own countries. Instead, they bought the cheapest products available.
- Post-Fordism: productivity gains from competition and alliances
Today’s mobility of productive capital
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) vs Greenfield FDI
- Outsourcing: commodification of capacity
- Results: Investment in capacity drops
- Uniform national institutional adaptation (EPZ/SEZ/EFZ, labour laws, company laws, taxes, tariffs, etc.) in competition for FDI, (again skill formation in dialectical relation to global industry
- Feminization of work.
- Strategic, flexible and irrelevant workers.
- Geography of networked of production;
High MVA – in OECD
Low MVA – close to OECD
Outside – the rest
- China, India, Korea, a.o. moving upwards fast!
- TNCs forced to utilize openings and opportunities of globalization.
- Thus outsourcing, building factories in China, etc.
- Owners force CEOs to set up shop in China and/ or to take advantahe of openings and opportunities of globalization.
The globalization of finance, i.e. portfolio mobility
- There is a strong motive driving capital mobility.
- Foreign exchange turnover 2000 billion USD/day + equity, bonds, derivatives, etc.
The US dollar’s central role
- Confidence, liquidity and transactional networks
- Non-economic reasons to hold/support the dollar as a reserve currency:
o Access to western economic interaction
o Support American hegemony
- The euro, yen and other currencies are big today too.
- The US dollar weakened under Bush because of:
o Low interest rates after 9/11 in order to stimulate demand for US production and investment
o Double deficit (trade and budget deficit) is financed by China and other southern states.
o Investment and demand are not big enough
o The US depended on China and Asia finance the war on terror and US domestic consumption.
o The double deficit helped produced the housing boom from 2001-2007 which was stimulated and inflated by low interest rates.
o Credit crisis, 2008-2009
- This was made possible through a long history of financial deregulation and globalization.
History financial globalization
- 1944: Bretton Woods
- 1957: Rome Treaties establish the European Economic Community; Bretton Woods regulatory structures begin to deflate
- 1962: General Agreement to Borrow made in order to pool gold reserves
- 1972/3: Crumbling of Bretton Woods; no link between gold reserves and national currencies
- 1976: Meeting in Jamaica to question IMF and World Bank
- 1979: The US central bank raised interest rates in order to stem inflation in the US; the debt trap closed on countries with investments in US dollars; this is the first time the globe is effected by a national undertaking in the US
- 1980s: Reaganomics + arms race; lower taxes to increase consumption; deregulation of national capital markets (when everyone does this a transnational market is established); ICT (Information and Communication Technologies); Globalization
- 1987 and beyond- Crises + Post Cold War euphoria; 1992ERM; 1994-5 Mexico; 97 Asia; 98 Russia, Brazil; 2000 IT-bubble; 2001 Argentina
- Today: Institutionalized global market with stability problems > FSF, SDDS – IMF a “reputational intermediary”
o Contagion effects- if everyone is moving out of Asia, you move out too
o Trades move with the herd
The (mobility) logic of financial markets
- No products (in traditional sense) > fast turn-over
- Prices according to expectations > which must be fulfilled
- One discourse
- Rating/IMF (”reputational intermediaries”)
- Legitimizes itself with ”allocating resources to where they are most needed” or ”greasing the wheels of production”
- In reality, the financial market is bigger than the actual market.
Effects
- Booms and crashes
- Productivity pressure (to fulfil expectations)
o This led to a drop in capacity investment after 2000.
- Market discipline (exerted on states/politicians, trade unions, companies)
- Institutional adaptation and streamlining
Current crisis
- Speculative Economy
o Loans/claims=assets > MBS > derivatives Credit Default Swaps, SIVs
- Productive Economy
o Private homes > loans > consumption > current account deficit + Asian trade surplus
Remedies
- Bonus caps / regulation for financial bosses
- More money to the IMF (but only a trickle so far)
- Rich world swearing allegiance to the IMF
- FSF (Financial Stability Forum) becomes FSB (Financial Stability Board)
- Fiscal and monetary stimulus packages
- Bailouts of financial institutions of systematic importance
Mobility of Capital
- Financial Capital ó Post-Fordist Production → Big impact on globalized and globalizing
economies
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
"Diaspora"
Lecture #11: "Diaspora"
Lisa Åkesson, Social Anthropology
See power point entitled, "Diaspora" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Lisa Åkesson, Social Anthropology
See power point entitled, "Diaspora" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Monday, September 28, 2009
"Transnational Migration"
Lecture #10: "Transnational Migration"
Lisa Åkesson, Social Anthropology
See power point entitled, "Transnational Migration" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Lisa Åkesson, Social Anthropology
See power point entitled, "Transnational Migration" at http://kursportal.student.gu.se/inst/S2GLS%7C_%7CNONE/GS2121au09/anslagstavla/index.php
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
"International Law and Human Rights"
Lecture #9: "International Law and Human Rights"
Brian Palmer, University of Uppsala, Social Anthropolgy
Lecture Abstract (copied from the Course Guide):
During the last 60 years, Human Rights have developed within the broader discourse of international Law as a system of common global norms, rules, laws and regulations. This process has been far from easy and several major philosophical debates have been fought over the years (e.g. economic, social and cultural vs. civil and political rights, individual vs. collective rights, universalism vs. relativism). The lecture aims to explore Human Rights and its relation to International Law while discussing HR as a process of developing global norms. A framework for analysis will be applied that rests on the assumption that HR can be seen as an interdisciplinary
field of study including ethics, politics and law.
Images of Brutality
- Professor Palmer showed the audience four images of brutality including paintings by Francisco Goya and Pablo Picasso and a photograph by photojournalist, James Nachtwey.
- The bleak history behind these images probably explains why you are enrolled in this program.
- Everyone here wants to say no to brutality.
- We want to answer the question: How is it that we live in a world of other peoples’ suffering?
- French philosopher, Voltaire, tried to explain what it is like to live in a world of other peoples’ suffering when he reflected on a massive earthquake in Lisbon. Voltaire believed that it was difficult to care. He wrote, “Lisbon lies in ruins and here, in Paris, we dance.”
- American author and political activist, Susan Sontag, wrote that what Voltaire describes is a frustration shared by all when faced with the simultaneity of wildly contrasting human fates.
- Our discussion of human rights is a way of engaging with a world of brutality and suffering.
- I (Brian Palmer) join you in this endeavor as a fellow concerned citizen.
- However, I (Brian Palmer) make a confession. I don’t believe that a language of rights is necessarily the best way to capture what is sacred in human beings.
A Language of Rights
- French philosopher, Simone Weil who died in 1943 said that the notion of rights “has a commercial flavor.” “Rights evoke a latent war.” “One cannot imagine St Francis of Assisi talking about rights.”
- What is the alternative?
o The alternative may be a language of caring.
o This alternative would be essentially feminine in contrast to the inherently masculine language of rights.
Conceptions of Rights
- Elaine Scarry of Harvard University contends that we injure others because we have difficulty imaging others.
o We fail to know others.
o This idiom is not incompatible with human rights.
- Lynn Hunt, an American historian and author of Inventing Human Rights: A History, argues that the spread of empathy provided nourishment to the great strides in human rights in the late 1700s. The key here is empathy or learning to appreciate the reality of others.
- Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher, says that there is no place for human rights in his utilitarian philosophy but he is still willing to use the term.
- A vocabulary of human rights is practical in many situations.
- Micheline Ishay, author of The History of Human Rights (2003), underscores the contributions made by the world’s religious and ethical traditions to the development of human rights. She believes that one sees these contributions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b1udhr.htm
- The declaration was adopted on December 10, 1948 in Paris, France.
- The declaration pulled together a conception of rights from the world’s religions and translated them into secular language.
- According to Michael Ignatieff , the declaration provided international legal recognition of the rights of individuals for the first time.
- French scholar, Rene Cassin, argued that there are three generations of rights present in the declaration: liberty, equality and solidarity.
o Liberty: Liberty is represented in Articles 3-19. Conceptions of liberty emerged from struggles beginning in the time of Enlightenment.
o Equality: Equality is represented in Articles 20-26. Questions of equality emerged from the Industrial Revolution.
o Solidarity: Solidarity is represented in Articles 27-28. These social and cultural rights began emerging in the late 1800s as well as the colonial and post-colonial periods.
1st Generation Rights, Liberty
- Liberty is represented in core, political, democratic rights
- Conceptions of these rights emerged during the Enlightenment (late 1600s- 1789)
- The birth of a secular and universalistic way of thinking began with the Reformation and the Peace of Westphalia--- this was the first crucial period.
- The second crucial period centered around the English Civil Wars and the Commonwealth period.
- The third crucial period took place during the American Revolution (1775-1783).
- The fourth crucial period occurred during the French Revolution (1789-1799).
- These periods led to the development of a range of political rights.
- Throughout these periods, many groups were still excluded. Colonized people, women, Jews, slaves, other nationalities, etc. were not allowed to enjoy these political rights.
- Rights developed at this time are often referred to as classically liberal rights.
- Notions of political rights were expanded in the period after World War I as the League of Nations was founded.
o The League of Nations recognized inequality between states.
o The League also sought to counter-balance that inequality.
- The foundation of international labor organizations further helped to expand notions of political rights.
- The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 also played a role.
o The Lenin period was marked by internationalism and concern with the mechanisms of international rights
o The Soviet constitution of 1936 guaranteed an astonishing array of political rights although these rights were mostly non-existent in practice.
- Key Questions:
o What is the role of the state?
o Can citizens rely on states to guard their rights?
o What is the role of markets?
o Is there such a thing as a just war?
2nd Generation Rights, Equality
- This generation of rights is not concerned with political oppression but the failure of the state to provide systems for adequate economic sustenance.
- Conceptions of equality were formed with contributions for social, communist and labor movements—although these movements are often not given enough credit.
- According to Ishay, while liberals maintained their pre-occuption with liberty, champions of labor began to question whether that liberty was hollow without equality.
- These rights began to emerge as people asked broader questions about who is included in the political process.
- Both Robert Owen and Karl Marx called for the provision of free education for children.
- Members of the labor movement called for limited working hours, protections for work-related illnesses and injuries, freedom of association and protection for women and children.
- Garrison Keillor explained the philosophy behind equality and the general welfare state when he said, “The gains in life come slowly…the losses suddenly.”
3rd Generation Rights, Solidarity
- This generation of rights deals with cultural rights and the right to national self-determination.
- Conceptions of these rights were present in Europe in the late 1800s
- These rights were given increased importance by Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations.
- These rights helped to define the concept of ethnic groups.
- These rights are tied to colonization.
- During World War II, the U.S. had no real colonies on the scale of many European powers. This gave President Franklin Roosevelt the chance to be more critical of colonization. The British, however, were not equally enthusiastic.
- Strides towards solidarity were made when the initial proposals for the formation of the United Nations were greeted with protest by many who felt it overlooked colonialism and human rights. These protestors won and plans for the United Nations were rewritten to include a strong language of human rights. The United Nations, however, left the enforcement of human rights to individual member states.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Question of Universality
www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b3ccpr.htm
- This covenant was written in 1966.
- It guarantees the right to self-determination.
- Ishay expresses skepticism when she asks, who should be favored when claims to self-determination conflict?
- Thus we must ask ourselves, does the language of universal human rights build on real commonalities?
- Swedish philosopher and author of Common Values, Sissela Bok, argues that people in all parts of the world share at least some values in common especially the rejection of force and fraud which are commonly considered liberal values.
What are we to do?
- American linguist and philosopher, Noam Chomsky, tried to define the responsibilities of the writer in his essay, “Writers and Intellectual Responsibility.”
o He wrote that it is a responsibility to tell the truth about matters of human significance.
o This is, essentially, the job description of those enrolled in this masters program.
- Lithuanian philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, states that humans have “infinite responsibility but limited capacity.”
- The questions remains, how do we live with that contradiction?
Brian Palmer, University of Uppsala, Social Anthropolgy
Lecture Abstract (copied from the Course Guide):
During the last 60 years, Human Rights have developed within the broader discourse of international Law as a system of common global norms, rules, laws and regulations. This process has been far from easy and several major philosophical debates have been fought over the years (e.g. economic, social and cultural vs. civil and political rights, individual vs. collective rights, universalism vs. relativism). The lecture aims to explore Human Rights and its relation to International Law while discussing HR as a process of developing global norms. A framework for analysis will be applied that rests on the assumption that HR can be seen as an interdisciplinary
field of study including ethics, politics and law.
Images of Brutality
- Professor Palmer showed the audience four images of brutality including paintings by Francisco Goya and Pablo Picasso and a photograph by photojournalist, James Nachtwey.
- The bleak history behind these images probably explains why you are enrolled in this program.
- Everyone here wants to say no to brutality.
- We want to answer the question: How is it that we live in a world of other peoples’ suffering?
- French philosopher, Voltaire, tried to explain what it is like to live in a world of other peoples’ suffering when he reflected on a massive earthquake in Lisbon. Voltaire believed that it was difficult to care. He wrote, “Lisbon lies in ruins and here, in Paris, we dance.”
- American author and political activist, Susan Sontag, wrote that what Voltaire describes is a frustration shared by all when faced with the simultaneity of wildly contrasting human fates.
- Our discussion of human rights is a way of engaging with a world of brutality and suffering.
- I (Brian Palmer) join you in this endeavor as a fellow concerned citizen.
- However, I (Brian Palmer) make a confession. I don’t believe that a language of rights is necessarily the best way to capture what is sacred in human beings.
A Language of Rights
- French philosopher, Simone Weil who died in 1943 said that the notion of rights “has a commercial flavor.” “Rights evoke a latent war.” “One cannot imagine St Francis of Assisi talking about rights.”
- What is the alternative?
o The alternative may be a language of caring.
o This alternative would be essentially feminine in contrast to the inherently masculine language of rights.
Conceptions of Rights
- Elaine Scarry of Harvard University contends that we injure others because we have difficulty imaging others.
o We fail to know others.
o This idiom is not incompatible with human rights.
- Lynn Hunt, an American historian and author of Inventing Human Rights: A History, argues that the spread of empathy provided nourishment to the great strides in human rights in the late 1700s. The key here is empathy or learning to appreciate the reality of others.
- Peter Singer, an Australian philosopher, says that there is no place for human rights in his utilitarian philosophy but he is still willing to use the term.
- A vocabulary of human rights is practical in many situations.
- Micheline Ishay, author of The History of Human Rights (2003), underscores the contributions made by the world’s religious and ethical traditions to the development of human rights. She believes that one sees these contributions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b1udhr.htm
- The declaration was adopted on December 10, 1948 in Paris, France.
- The declaration pulled together a conception of rights from the world’s religions and translated them into secular language.
- According to Michael Ignatieff , the declaration provided international legal recognition of the rights of individuals for the first time.
- French scholar, Rene Cassin, argued that there are three generations of rights present in the declaration: liberty, equality and solidarity.
o Liberty: Liberty is represented in Articles 3-19. Conceptions of liberty emerged from struggles beginning in the time of Enlightenment.
o Equality: Equality is represented in Articles 20-26. Questions of equality emerged from the Industrial Revolution.
o Solidarity: Solidarity is represented in Articles 27-28. These social and cultural rights began emerging in the late 1800s as well as the colonial and post-colonial periods.
1st Generation Rights, Liberty
- Liberty is represented in core, political, democratic rights
- Conceptions of these rights emerged during the Enlightenment (late 1600s- 1789)
- The birth of a secular and universalistic way of thinking began with the Reformation and the Peace of Westphalia--- this was the first crucial period.
- The second crucial period centered around the English Civil Wars and the Commonwealth period.
- The third crucial period took place during the American Revolution (1775-1783).
- The fourth crucial period occurred during the French Revolution (1789-1799).
- These periods led to the development of a range of political rights.
- Throughout these periods, many groups were still excluded. Colonized people, women, Jews, slaves, other nationalities, etc. were not allowed to enjoy these political rights.
- Rights developed at this time are often referred to as classically liberal rights.
- Notions of political rights were expanded in the period after World War I as the League of Nations was founded.
o The League of Nations recognized inequality between states.
o The League also sought to counter-balance that inequality.
- The foundation of international labor organizations further helped to expand notions of political rights.
- The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 also played a role.
o The Lenin period was marked by internationalism and concern with the mechanisms of international rights
o The Soviet constitution of 1936 guaranteed an astonishing array of political rights although these rights were mostly non-existent in practice.
- Key Questions:
o What is the role of the state?
o Can citizens rely on states to guard their rights?
o What is the role of markets?
o Is there such a thing as a just war?
2nd Generation Rights, Equality
- This generation of rights is not concerned with political oppression but the failure of the state to provide systems for adequate economic sustenance.
- Conceptions of equality were formed with contributions for social, communist and labor movements—although these movements are often not given enough credit.
- According to Ishay, while liberals maintained their pre-occuption with liberty, champions of labor began to question whether that liberty was hollow without equality.
- These rights began to emerge as people asked broader questions about who is included in the political process.
- Both Robert Owen and Karl Marx called for the provision of free education for children.
- Members of the labor movement called for limited working hours, protections for work-related illnesses and injuries, freedom of association and protection for women and children.
- Garrison Keillor explained the philosophy behind equality and the general welfare state when he said, “The gains in life come slowly…the losses suddenly.”
3rd Generation Rights, Solidarity
- This generation of rights deals with cultural rights and the right to national self-determination.
- Conceptions of these rights were present in Europe in the late 1800s
- These rights were given increased importance by Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations.
- These rights helped to define the concept of ethnic groups.
- These rights are tied to colonization.
- During World War II, the U.S. had no real colonies on the scale of many European powers. This gave President Franklin Roosevelt the chance to be more critical of colonization. The British, however, were not equally enthusiastic.
- Strides towards solidarity were made when the initial proposals for the formation of the United Nations were greeted with protest by many who felt it overlooked colonialism and human rights. These protestors won and plans for the United Nations were rewritten to include a strong language of human rights. The United Nations, however, left the enforcement of human rights to individual member states.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Question of Universality
www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b3ccpr.htm
- This covenant was written in 1966.
- It guarantees the right to self-determination.
- Ishay expresses skepticism when she asks, who should be favored when claims to self-determination conflict?
- Thus we must ask ourselves, does the language of universal human rights build on real commonalities?
- Swedish philosopher and author of Common Values, Sissela Bok, argues that people in all parts of the world share at least some values in common especially the rejection of force and fraud which are commonly considered liberal values.
What are we to do?
- American linguist and philosopher, Noam Chomsky, tried to define the responsibilities of the writer in his essay, “Writers and Intellectual Responsibility.”
o He wrote that it is a responsibility to tell the truth about matters of human significance.
o This is, essentially, the job description of those enrolled in this masters program.
- Lithuanian philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, states that humans have “infinite responsibility but limited capacity.”
- The questions remains, how do we live with that contradiction?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
“Cultural Homogenization and Commodification”
Lecture #8: “Cultural Homogenization and Commodification”
Staffan Appelgren
Seminar Papers- Graded seminar papers will be returned tomorrow, September 23. In the future, make sure to read all of the articles before you decide what to write about. Also, stick to the articles; include all relevant articles and arguments; keep quotations to a minimum.
The Phenomenon of Language
- Languages with a limited number of speakers are disappearing.
- There are approximately 6,000 languages in existence today but 4% of these languages are spoken by 96% of the world’s population.
- 1,500 languages are spoken by less than 1,000 people.
- Every two weeks, a language disappears.
- By 2050, approximately 3,000 languages will remain.
- One of the causes of the eradication of minority languages in bilingualism.
Culture
- Can we say the same thing about cultures; are they also disappearing?
- Newspapers feature stories about dying languages, why don’t they discuss dying cultures?
- The above questions are difficult to answer because culture, unlike language, is difficult to delimit.
- What counts as language is a political decision. Culture, however, is a process of creating meaning.
- One can argue that anthropologists have departed from the idea of humans as meaning creating and seeking.
- Of course, there is an evolving understanding of what a culture is and how it is created.
Definitions of Culture
- Some contend that culture results from artistic production such as the production of books, films, dance, etc.
o This definition is not often discussed in social science contexts.
o We will not discuss this definition during today’s lecture.
- Culture can also be described as coming from objects this is also known as material culture.
o Counter-argument: We ascribe meaning to these objects; they don’t have inherent meaning.
o This definition is similar to Susan Wright’s ideas and arguments.
- One can also define culture as politicized/ commodified through the construction of identity.
o This is derived from symbols, clothes, traditions, etc.
o This definition is often related to in-group similarities.
o This definition is also similar to Susan Wright’s ideas and arguments.
- Finally, culture can be defined as the process of creating meaning.
o This is the definition most often used by anthropologists.
o This definition is process oriented.
o According to this definition, culture is not what you have; it’s what you do.
The Meanings of Culture (Susan Wright)
- Old: Culture is bounded, defined, unchanging, has an underlying system of meanings and is identical.
- New: Culture is an active process with various definitions. It is understood differently by different positioned people. Cultural sites are not bounded. Concept formation is historically specific.
- According to Appelgren, what really goes on in everyday life is “meaning creation.”
- The old understanding of static culture often reappears, especially in identity politics, but is easily questioned.
- An example of the application of the old understanding occurs in Sweden when culture is linked to crime. The majority population asserts that honor-related violence is related to “immigrant culture.” However, when domestic violence occurs in a “Swedish” household it is not related to Swedish culture.
- In other words, old understandings of culture are often invoked to explain peoples’ actions.
Globalization with Agency
- According to Appelgren, it is simply not true that the local only reacts to global forces.
- Agency does exist.
Questions about Cultural Homogenization
- Are we condemned to conformity?
- Are there prospects for difference?
- If yes, what kinds of differences are possible?
- The answers to these questions depend on what kind of culture we are talking about.
- In other words, what kind of culture is reflected by global brands like McDonald’s and Coco Cola?
Cultural Imperialism
- There are unequal flows in a globalized world.
- Cultural imperialism is often associated with Westernization.
- Globalization as cultural imperialism is seen as an extension of colonialism, domination and oppression.
- It is a “soft power” but one with profound implications for individuals.
- The result of cultural imperialism is that local cultures become extinct and replaced by Western culture.
- According to John Tomlinson…
o Cultural imperialism is much more than Westernization.
o Cultural imperialism “involves the institution worldwide of western visions of basic social-cultural reality…”
o The transformations that result from cultural imperialism are very deep and profound.
- According to Inda and Rosaldo…
o Cultural imperialism “entails the dissemination of all facets of the West’s way of being…”
o Note: When the West is discussed in these terms, it is no longer a geographic indicator.
- According to George Ritzer and his theory of McDonaldization…
o Increasing standardization occurs throughout societies and nations.
o Services and products are increasingly standardized and mass-produced.
o This occurs through two different processes: the “grobalization” of nothing and the “glocalization” of something.
Positives Aspects of Cultural Imperialism
- So far, globalization has been taken as negative leading to a loss of diversity but this assumption can be questioned.
- Culture as meaning creation continuously changes.
- People continue to create meanings regardless of globalization.
- If we do try to preserve culture, we must ask ourselves who are we to decide what to preserve and what not to preserve.
- Many cultural brokers try to intervene for others. This is problematic.
- There are problems with preservation.
- Some theorists have pointed to a multitude of positive aspects of cultural imperialism including improved health-care and education, the proliferation of values such as democracy, tolerance, equality, empathy and solidarity, and the protection of human rights.
- George Ritzer provides the tongue-in-cheek theory of the Golden Arches Conflict Prevention.
o According to this theory, no country that has a McDonald’s goes to war with any other country that has a McDonald’s.
o The first exception was NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia.
Objections to Cultural Imperialism
- Some contend that people are not passive receivers/ consumers. The mere presence of global products does not prove that Western values and understandings are also present.
o A bottle of Coca Cola is understood differently in different contexts and locations.
o Culture is not the property of objects.
o People have agency and the ability to ascribe meanings.
o A classic example is the American television series “Dallas.” This series had a global audience but, according to Tomlinson, viewers consumed the series differently depending on their culture and location.
- Some object to cultural imperialism because it rests on the idea that the Center talks to the Periphery.
o According to Rosaldo, flows occur in the opposite direction. In other words, the Periphery talks back.
o This is shown through “The Peripheralization of the Core” and the existence of global cities in which the whole world is present such as New York, London, Tokyo, etc.
- Finally, some object to cultural imperialism because it centers on the West.
o Cultural Imperialism theory ignores the fact that there are a number of flows that circumvent or ignore the West.
o Those who object argue that there is not one center but that globalization is multi-centered.
o It is impossible to divide the world into two entities: The West and the Rest.
Beyond Cultural Imperialism
- The argument for homogenization is problematic when you focus on how identity is produced.
- In fact, there are increasing possibilities for difference in a globalized world.
- According to Richard Wilk…
o Asserting difference is encouraged in the global community where there are “Structures of Common Difference.”
o There is hegemony of structure not hegemony of content.
o Global structures orchestrate diversity but they do so in a uniform way through a common grammar for the production of difference. This grammar is universal and important because it must be used in order to be recognized and understood by the global community. In other words, in order to be recognized as an indigenous group, the group must conform to these “Structures of Common Difference.” This connects to the idea of culture as a means of creating identities.
o Wilk gives the example of the production of national culture in Belize beginning in the 1990s. Before the 1990s, no national identity existed to unite the inhabitants of Belize. The country was understood, by its citizens, as a mix of people without a unifying identity. This changes during the 1990s and beauty contents played an important role.
The Production of Identity in a Global World (John Tomlinson)
- Global forces are not a threat to cultural identity.
- Globalization actually produces differences.
- This is a critique of the writings of Manuel Castells.
- Identity construction is modern phenomenon.
o In pre-modern societies, identity was not of primary importance.
o This is true especially in relation to identities responding to and being built on sexuality, gender, etc.
- Globalization is the spread of modernity and, with modernity, identity making proliferates.
Concluding Questions
- Why, then, is culture so important?
- Does the modern world threaten culture?
Staffan Appelgren
Seminar Papers- Graded seminar papers will be returned tomorrow, September 23. In the future, make sure to read all of the articles before you decide what to write about. Also, stick to the articles; include all relevant articles and arguments; keep quotations to a minimum.
The Phenomenon of Language
- Languages with a limited number of speakers are disappearing.
- There are approximately 6,000 languages in existence today but 4% of these languages are spoken by 96% of the world’s population.
- 1,500 languages are spoken by less than 1,000 people.
- Every two weeks, a language disappears.
- By 2050, approximately 3,000 languages will remain.
- One of the causes of the eradication of minority languages in bilingualism.
Culture
- Can we say the same thing about cultures; are they also disappearing?
- Newspapers feature stories about dying languages, why don’t they discuss dying cultures?
- The above questions are difficult to answer because culture, unlike language, is difficult to delimit.
- What counts as language is a political decision. Culture, however, is a process of creating meaning.
- One can argue that anthropologists have departed from the idea of humans as meaning creating and seeking.
- Of course, there is an evolving understanding of what a culture is and how it is created.
Definitions of Culture
- Some contend that culture results from artistic production such as the production of books, films, dance, etc.
o This definition is not often discussed in social science contexts.
o We will not discuss this definition during today’s lecture.
- Culture can also be described as coming from objects this is also known as material culture.
o Counter-argument: We ascribe meaning to these objects; they don’t have inherent meaning.
o This definition is similar to Susan Wright’s ideas and arguments.
- One can also define culture as politicized/ commodified through the construction of identity.
o This is derived from symbols, clothes, traditions, etc.
o This definition is often related to in-group similarities.
o This definition is also similar to Susan Wright’s ideas and arguments.
- Finally, culture can be defined as the process of creating meaning.
o This is the definition most often used by anthropologists.
o This definition is process oriented.
o According to this definition, culture is not what you have; it’s what you do.
The Meanings of Culture (Susan Wright)
- Old: Culture is bounded, defined, unchanging, has an underlying system of meanings and is identical.
- New: Culture is an active process with various definitions. It is understood differently by different positioned people. Cultural sites are not bounded. Concept formation is historically specific.
- According to Appelgren, what really goes on in everyday life is “meaning creation.”
- The old understanding of static culture often reappears, especially in identity politics, but is easily questioned.
- An example of the application of the old understanding occurs in Sweden when culture is linked to crime. The majority population asserts that honor-related violence is related to “immigrant culture.” However, when domestic violence occurs in a “Swedish” household it is not related to Swedish culture.
- In other words, old understandings of culture are often invoked to explain peoples’ actions.
Globalization with Agency
- According to Appelgren, it is simply not true that the local only reacts to global forces.
- Agency does exist.
Questions about Cultural Homogenization
- Are we condemned to conformity?
- Are there prospects for difference?
- If yes, what kinds of differences are possible?
- The answers to these questions depend on what kind of culture we are talking about.
- In other words, what kind of culture is reflected by global brands like McDonald’s and Coco Cola?
Cultural Imperialism
- There are unequal flows in a globalized world.
- Cultural imperialism is often associated with Westernization.
- Globalization as cultural imperialism is seen as an extension of colonialism, domination and oppression.
- It is a “soft power” but one with profound implications for individuals.
- The result of cultural imperialism is that local cultures become extinct and replaced by Western culture.
- According to John Tomlinson…
o Cultural imperialism is much more than Westernization.
o Cultural imperialism “involves the institution worldwide of western visions of basic social-cultural reality…”
o The transformations that result from cultural imperialism are very deep and profound.
- According to Inda and Rosaldo…
o Cultural imperialism “entails the dissemination of all facets of the West’s way of being…”
o Note: When the West is discussed in these terms, it is no longer a geographic indicator.
- According to George Ritzer and his theory of McDonaldization…
o Increasing standardization occurs throughout societies and nations.
o Services and products are increasingly standardized and mass-produced.
o This occurs through two different processes: the “grobalization” of nothing and the “glocalization” of something.
Positives Aspects of Cultural Imperialism
- So far, globalization has been taken as negative leading to a loss of diversity but this assumption can be questioned.
- Culture as meaning creation continuously changes.
- People continue to create meanings regardless of globalization.
- If we do try to preserve culture, we must ask ourselves who are we to decide what to preserve and what not to preserve.
- Many cultural brokers try to intervene for others. This is problematic.
- There are problems with preservation.
- Some theorists have pointed to a multitude of positive aspects of cultural imperialism including improved health-care and education, the proliferation of values such as democracy, tolerance, equality, empathy and solidarity, and the protection of human rights.
- George Ritzer provides the tongue-in-cheek theory of the Golden Arches Conflict Prevention.
o According to this theory, no country that has a McDonald’s goes to war with any other country that has a McDonald’s.
o The first exception was NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia.
Objections to Cultural Imperialism
- Some contend that people are not passive receivers/ consumers. The mere presence of global products does not prove that Western values and understandings are also present.
o A bottle of Coca Cola is understood differently in different contexts and locations.
o Culture is not the property of objects.
o People have agency and the ability to ascribe meanings.
o A classic example is the American television series “Dallas.” This series had a global audience but, according to Tomlinson, viewers consumed the series differently depending on their culture and location.
- Some object to cultural imperialism because it rests on the idea that the Center talks to the Periphery.
o According to Rosaldo, flows occur in the opposite direction. In other words, the Periphery talks back.
o This is shown through “The Peripheralization of the Core” and the existence of global cities in which the whole world is present such as New York, London, Tokyo, etc.
- Finally, some object to cultural imperialism because it centers on the West.
o Cultural Imperialism theory ignores the fact that there are a number of flows that circumvent or ignore the West.
o Those who object argue that there is not one center but that globalization is multi-centered.
o It is impossible to divide the world into two entities: The West and the Rest.
Beyond Cultural Imperialism
- The argument for homogenization is problematic when you focus on how identity is produced.
- In fact, there are increasing possibilities for difference in a globalized world.
- According to Richard Wilk…
o Asserting difference is encouraged in the global community where there are “Structures of Common Difference.”
o There is hegemony of structure not hegemony of content.
o Global structures orchestrate diversity but they do so in a uniform way through a common grammar for the production of difference. This grammar is universal and important because it must be used in order to be recognized and understood by the global community. In other words, in order to be recognized as an indigenous group, the group must conform to these “Structures of Common Difference.” This connects to the idea of culture as a means of creating identities.
o Wilk gives the example of the production of national culture in Belize beginning in the 1990s. Before the 1990s, no national identity existed to unite the inhabitants of Belize. The country was understood, by its citizens, as a mix of people without a unifying identity. This changes during the 1990s and beauty contents played an important role.
The Production of Identity in a Global World (John Tomlinson)
- Global forces are not a threat to cultural identity.
- Globalization actually produces differences.
- This is a critique of the writings of Manuel Castells.
- Identity construction is modern phenomenon.
o In pre-modern societies, identity was not of primary importance.
o This is true especially in relation to identities responding to and being built on sexuality, gender, etc.
- Globalization is the spread of modernity and, with modernity, identity making proliferates.
Concluding Questions
- Why, then, is culture so important?
- Does the modern world threaten culture?
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