Structures of feeling and sociocultural formations: the significance of literature and experience to Raymond Williams's sociology of culture

Williams elaborates the concept of structures of feeling in different ways at important points in his writings. This gives it a particular methodological significance in relating the extraordinariness of imaginative literature to the ordinariness of cultural process. It is employed particularly to show the significance of literature for the articulation of alternatives to dominant world views, and thus to the politics of social change. Williams's different formulations of the concept are discussed in terms of their ways of relating reflexive experience to institutional structures and in relation to the genetic structuralism of Goldmann and Bourdieu's concepts of habitus and cultural field. Three types of criticisms are considered, which have in common the contention that the concept is unclear. Operationalized in analysing literature and its symbols, it can contribute towards clarification of the complexity of the processes of reflexive communication of experience which are at the root of social order and change.     

Dénoncer en justice les discriminations syndicales : contribution à une sociologie des appuis conventionnels de l’action judiciaire

This article examines the rise in court cases relating to discrimination against trade union workers in France since the late 1990s. It seeks to identify sources of support for victims of discrimination to help them file complaints before the Courts. The judicialization of union-related discrimination cases was made possible by a new discourse that links the recognition of individual merit and the common cause of re-unionization. The development of a special method of proof and the specialization of certain union actors and lawyers have helped make legal action against discrimination routine. But the historical roots of this strategy raise the question of how it can be applied to workers in secondary labor markets, particularly precarious workers.     

Vedanta and social work practice

Spirituality holds an important place in the lives of social workers and their clients. It informs our understanding of the world, our morals and values, and our conduct. Spirituality is a powerful tool of guidance and healing. Recognizing its importance, efforts have been made to integrate spirituality into social work practice. A gap in these efforts is the inclusion of epistemological foundations of key Eastern religions and spiritual practice. Concepts such as yoga and meditation have been adapted as healing methods; however, the knowledge base that informs them has been neglected. This article addresses this gap with an exploration of Vedanta and how it can be integrated into social work practice. Vedanta is the body of knowledge that informs the traditions of yoga, Ayurveda, and Hinduism. This article explains key concepts of Vedanta including Advaita Vedanta, the five sheaths (ways of knowing), pathways to Vedanta (methods of obtaining knowledge), dharma, karma/reincarnation, the nature of reality, and the lineage of Gurus. The second part of the article focuses on the application of Vedanta to social work practice within existing literature and identifies areas for further research.     

Work(ing) out

The recent marketing of new genetic tests for popular genealogy is one significant interface between the science of new genetics and public culture in the West. These new commodities offer to situate individuals within global patterns of human genetic diversity, locate genetic origins and sort out true biological relatedness from practised kinship. Taking two cases of recent attempts to popularize genetic tests in popular genealogy, this paper considers how ideas of gender, reproduction, nation, ‘race’ and relatedness are being shaped by and deployed within their discourses of genetic kinship. In these efforts to geneticize genealogy, the idiom of kinship and the gendering of narratives of reproduction and descent are used to make these tests meaningful and to distance them from ideas of ‘race’ and ethnicity. Discourses of family relatedness provide a grammar for translating the complexities of new genetics into public culture. At the same time, geneticized genealogy produces new versions of genetic kinship, in the form of Y-chromosome genetic brotherhood, Mitochondrial DNA clan membership and global genetic kinship. Yet, notions of genetic kinship also provide cultural resources for the making of personal and collective identities in a myriad of ways and with diverse implications for the politics of ‘race’ and national belonging.     

It’s an absolute nightmare: maternal experiences of enrolling children diagnosed with autism in primary school in Sydney,Australia

In this article I analyse maternal narratives of informal school exclusion at the point of transition into primary school in Sydney, Australia. The common thread that connects these narratives is the experience of stigma. Some scholars have argued that the link between stigma and disability is weakening. The material presented here, drawn from interviews with 22 mothers of children with autism, gives a picture of the continuing pervasive stigmatisation of children with autism and their mothers, as well as a systemic failure of all sectors of the education system in Australia to meet the promises of policies of school inclusion.     

A cosmopolitan approach to the explanation of social change: social mechanisms,processes, modernity

In recent years social science has been characterized by a cosmopolitan turn. Of the many questions that arise from this the most important are those that concern the implications for explaining social change. While cosmopolitanism is centrally about social change, much cosmopolitan theory due to its normative orientation lacks a capacity for explanation. The problem of explanation is also a problem that besets all ‘big question’ approaches in social science. In this paper a broad definition of cosmopolitanism is given and elucidated by an outline of its epistemological, ontological and methodological frameworks. Emphasizing the latter two, a relational conception of cosmopolitanism is developed as an alternative to dispositional/agency based and systemic accounts. First I argue that there are four main kinds of cosmopolitan relationships, which together constitute the social ontology of cosmopolitanism. These are the relativization of identity, the positive recognition of the other, the mutual evaluation of cultures, and the creation of a normative world culture. A methodological framework is advanced that distinguishes between the preconditions of cosmopolitanism, its social mechanisms and processes (of which three are specified: generative, transformational and institutionalizing) and trajectories of historical change. The argument is made that cosmopolitan phenomena can be accounted for in terms of this ontological and methodological framework. The advantage of this approach is that it offers cosmopolitan analysis a macro level account of social change that is broadly explanatory and which can also account for both the diachronic and synchronic levels of the emergence of cosmopolitanism as both a counter‐factual normative cultural model and as a part of social and political practices and institutional arrangements.     

ORIENTALISM RECONSIDERED: ISRAELI MEDIA AND THE ARTICULATION OF RESISTANCE

Questions of the relation between race and nationality are at the centre of Israel' defence narrative and its violence, its deployment of blood and domination of land and bodies. Usually, the discourse of violence in a nation' logic involves images of penetration to borders and land. However, this essay is about internal violence, about the reproduction of the state not through land, but through bodies, and babies, narratives and memory, knowledge and censorship. To understand this case is to reconsider questions of how Orientalism, as a practice of knowledge and of violence works. The author revisits the concept of Orientalism thereby relocating the different ways in which it internally works within the Israeli nation state. To illustrate her claim, she finds it useful to locate parallel features in the discourse of the Gulf War and the image of Saddam Hussein, created by Western media, and the discourse of the kidnapped Yemenite babies scandal and the image of Rabbi Uzi Meshulam, created by Israeli media. Both cases involve questions of violence, resistance and Western domination. In the author' analysis, she focuses on the complexity in which Orientalism functions when the state demarcates people and identities rather then land and borders. It will be shown how concepts of violence, race and nationalism are reproduced through the media discourse of the kidnapped Yemenite babies at the junction of social conflict and resistance. A sample of newspaper reports on the Yemenite babies affair during the resistance of Rabbi Meshulam are examined, known in Israel as the ‘The Fortification in Yahud’. The author' analysis is also based on her experience as an investigative reporter covering the Yemenite babies affair, and first hand observation of the resistance of Rabbi Meshulam.¹     

Retour sur le « secteur informel ». L'économie du Katanga (Congo-Zaïre) face à la falsification de la loi

In the social sciences, the idea of an informal sector has been criticized more for the classification of economic activities in two separate sectors than for the labeling of them as “formal” or “informal”. In the Congo (formerly Zaire), the use of such labels is ambiguous. Labeling has to be understood in the context of corruption, i.e., in a transaction involving the personal networks and social identities of the parties to it. An analysis is made of how such transactions with civil servants shape the local market in the case of the import trade in Katanga. Compared with the formal/informal cleavage, this approach enables us both to see the labeling of economic activities as a social and political process and to draw attention to the plurality of such practices in relations with authorities.     

Régulation et compétition entre établissements scolaires dans six espaces locaux en Europe

According to this analysis of the dynamics of competition in six school zones in Europe (Charleroi, Budapest, Lisbon, London, Lille and the Paris area), secondary schools pursue “logics of action” that are shaped by an interdependence between local establishments. Parents’ strategies for choosing a school rank establishments and lead to a competitive interdependence with a pattern and intensity that vary depending on the place — the major issue being the capacity to attract and retain pupils. A typology of these “logics” is proposed: establishments pursue a logic of conquest, profit from the status quo, diversification or adaptation depending on their local position and the intensity of competition. Questions are raised about the potentials and limits of public interventions for regulating this competitive interdependence. Competition, along with its deviant effects (segregation and inequality), arises out of the shortcomings and limitations of public interventions and out of the fragmentation of local regulations. A lack of coordination between the authorities in charge, between districts and between the public and private supply of education affects the development of opportunistic tactics by certain establishments. The conclusion draws attention to the need for coordinating regulations.     

“Its Own Kind of Torture”: Denial,Acknowledgment, and the Debate About Force Feeding at Guantánamo Bay

Social science research has revealed how U.S. political and media elites, as well as U.S. citizens, downplayed and denied allegations of torture during the country's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This research effectively applies and extends Stanley Cohen's ( 2001 ) typology of the rhetoric of denial. We lack, however, a typology of the rhetoric of acknowledgment. In this article, I synthesize studies of discourse of torture to develop just such a typology. I propose three rhetorical forms of acknowledgment, which parallel Cohen's forms of denial. Literal or factual acknowledgment includes claims to convince audiences that alleged incidents indeed occurred. Interpretive acknowledgment consists of claims to affirm that those allegations constitute serious human rights violations, such as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture. Implicatory acknowledgment includes efforts to delegitimize torture. I then illustrate the use of the rhetoric of acknowledgment through a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of force feeding at the United States' detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This case allows me to extend our understanding of the rhetoric of denial and acknowledgment by revealing ways in which discourse around force feeding deviates from that around the United States' use of “enhanced interrogation” and torture.     

Filial Bereavement

Summary

Loss of parents for midlife lesbians is discussed in the context of continued development in middle age. From an intersubjective point of view, comprehension of externality, the capacity for mutual recognition, the disruption and repair of recognition and affirmation of subjectivity and the agenic “I” color relationships with parents throughout life. In filial bereavement, there can be a resurgence of intersubjective development along with an easing of internalized homophobia. In recovery from loss, there are opportunities to make loving identifications that more fully acknowledge externality and difference.     

The environmental value of buildings: a proposal for performance assessment with reference to the case of the tall office building

Buildings consume approximately 33% of the world's energy, equivalent to 21% of global CO₂ emissions (IEA 2009, World energy outlook 2009, http://www.iea.org/weo/electricity.asp). Given the current scenario of energy consumption in buildings, the objective of this paper is to present some of the key issues related to assessment of the environmental performance of buildings, supported by the proposal of strategic indicators (with reference to the tall office building), followed by a critical review of the value of environmental design. Fieldwork has shown that a group of European case-studies show signs of change beginning to emerge considering value ahead of first cost, challenging the conventional commercial model. Energy savings and environmental quality in the operation of buildings bring marketability benefits to tenants, whilst future-proofing investments are of benefit to investors. In addition, buildings need to go beyond governmental targets to be able to remain competitive, adding value to environmentally considerate design.     

VIRTUAL COMMUNITY CARE? SOCIAL POLICY AND THE EMERGENCE OF COMPUTER MEDIATED SOCIAL SUPPORT

This article argues that the emergence and growth of internet use in Britain has important implications for the analysis of social policy. It attempts to outline a research agenda for social policy in relation to one particular aspect of internet use, that of on-line self-help and social support - what we term here virtual-community care . The article presents data on patterns of home based internet use in Britain and outlines some contemporary debates in social policy about the importance of self-help and social support. It also considers how the internet is being used for self-help and social support with a particular emphasis on the emerging situation in Britain. Three illustrations of on-line self-help and social support are presented: two from newsgroups, which are part of the 'uk.people.* hierarchy': one concerned with disability and one with parenting issues; and one web based forum concerned with issues surrounding mortgage repossession. Drawing upon this illustrative material the article discusses some emergent issues for contemporary social policy discourse: the rise of self-help groups; the privileging of lay knowledge and experience over the 'expert' knowledge of health and welfare professionals; the nature of professional-client relationships; the quality and legitimacy of advice, information and support; dis/empowerment; and social exclusion.     

Reconceptualizing resistance: sociology and the affective dimension of resistance

This paper re‐examines the sociological study of resistance in light of growing interest in the concept of affect. Recent claims that we are witness to an ‘affective turn’ and calls for a ‘new sociological empiricism’ sensitive to affect indicate an emerging paradigm shift in sociology. Yet, mainstream sociological study of resistance tends to have been largely unaffected by this shift. To this end, this paper presents a case for the significance of affect as a lens by which to approach the study of resistance. My claim is not simply that the forms of actions we would normally recognize as resistance have an affective dimension. Rather, it is that the theory of affect broadens ‘resistance’ beyond the purview of the two dominant modes of analysis in sociology; namely, the study of macropolitical forms, on the one hand, and the micropolitics of everyday resistance on the other. This broadened perspective challenges the persistent assumption that ideological forms of power and resistance are the most pertinent to the contemporary world, suggesting that much power and resistance today is of a more affective nature. In making this argument, it is a Deleuzian reading of affect that is pursued, which opens up to a level of analysis beyond the common understanding of affect as emotion. I argue that an affective approach to resistance would pay attention to those barely perceptible transitions in power and mobilizations of bodily potential that operate below the conscious perceptions and subjective emotions of social actors. These affective transitions constitute a new site at which both power and resistance operate.     

Review essay: empires, ancient and modern

This essay drews attention to two books on empires by historians which deserve the attention of sociologists. Bang's model of the workings of the Roman economy powerfully demonstrates the tributary nature of per-industrial tributary empires. Darwin's analysis concentrates on modern overseas empires, wholly different in character as they involved the transportation of consumption items for the many rather than luxury goods for the few. Darwin is especially good at describing the conditions of existence of late nineteenth century empires, noting that their demise was caused most of all by the failure of balance of power politics in Europe. Concluding thoughts are offered about the USA.     

THE STIGMA OF WHITE PRIVILEGE

Beginning in the 1970s, the efforts of the Australian settler state to help its Indigenous minority shifted away from ‘assimilation’ and embraced the principles of ‘self-determination’. According to the rhetoric of the self-determination era – explored in this article as the ‘liberal fantasy space’ – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians should be in control of efforts to improve their lives, ultimately making state intervention redundant. A by-product of this shift was to radically change the role of non-Indigenous people who sought to participate in Indigenous development. No longer in charge of Indigenous advancement, they were now cast as partners and supporters.

This article explores some of the complexities of White anti-racist subjectivities in the self-determination era. It draws on ethnographic research with a group of progressive Whites who work in Indigenous health in northern Australia. A striking feature of contemporary White anti-racist discourse is a reluctance to claim any agency in the process of Indigenous improvement. I argue that applying the concept of stigma to White privilege is a novel and productive approach to understanding this desire for self-effacement. White stigma works in a parallel fashion to the case of liberal Germans who believe the German collective identity is irrevocably tainted by the Holocaust. In the Australian case, the negative characteristics associated with Whiteness act as a barrier to the broader goal of constructing ethical White subjectivities fit for the ‘liberal fantasy space’ of post-colonial justice. In their attempts to overcome this barrier and transcend White stigma, White anti-racists mobilise the identity tropes of missionary, mother, and child. Ultimately, these efforts at self-fashioning point to the ultimate fantasy of decolonisation: the desire of White anti-racists to disappear.     

Acculturation,Premigration Traumatic Experiences,and Depression Among Vietnamese Americans

Summary

This study investigated the role of acculturation as a potential mediator or moderator for premigration traumatic experiences (PTE) and depression. The mediator effect refers to an effect in which acculturation mediates the negative impact of PTE on depression. On the other hand, the moderator effect signifies an interaction effect in which acculturation buffers the impact of PTE on depression. In other words, the negative impact of PTE on depression is hypothesized to vary according to different levels of acculturation. These two competing hypotheses were tested in a community-based sample of 261 adult Vietnamese Americans aged 25 and over. The sample consisted of 48% males and 64% of the sample were married. The average length of residence in the U.S. was 7 years. Multiple regression analyses did not support the mediator effect of acculturation, but did support its moderator effect as a buffer of PTE. Specifically, PTE had a much stronger effect on depression among those with lower levels of acculturation than those with higher levels of acculturation. Implications for future research and clinical practices are discussed.     

Temporality in social movement theory: vectors and events in the neoliberal timescape

ABSTRACT

Existing theories of social movements have a weak conception of temporality, which is generally tied to truncated protest waves or else to micro-scale sequences of interaction. Neither approach enables an understanding of continuity and change in the content and form of social movements over longer periods. This article develops a new conceptual terminology intended to bring temporal sensitivity to our understanding of the interplay between movements and their socio-political environments. Vectors highlight evolving patterns of interaction that carry ideas and action orientations into a range of social settings over a period of decades. Examining the interplay of different vectors, and accounting also for the unfolding character of historic events, enables the apprehension of an overarching timescape within which movements move. This theoretical approach is illustrated with an examination of three significant periods of transnational contention associated with the Alter-Globalization, Anti-War, and Occupy movements. Analysis of vectors that shape discourses of conflict, organizational preferences, and practices of individual autonomy explain dynamics of continuity and change across different movements, each of which is shaped by a dynamic neoliberal timescape.

Abbreviation CBDM: Consensus-based Decision Making; ICT: Information and Communication Technology; IFI: International Financial Institution; IMF: International Monetary Fund; WTO: World Trade Organisation     

Partial publicity and gendered remembering: figuring women in culture and performance

This essay brings representational issues of female publicity into recent discussions about space, community and memory. Cultural analysts in a variety of fields have used these concepts to foreground the radically contextual and socially embedded nature of artistic production as well as to incorporate psychic and material notions of representation into the analysis of the political. I argue that such conceptual work is implicitly gendered, something made clearer by asking feminist questions about the function of memorial space in imagining publicity. To focus an interrogation, I investigate one disciplinary strain within cultural studies: theatre and performance studies. Throughout, I position performance – both theatrical and social – as an exemplary site with which to investigate the linguistic, spatial, and embodied practices of culture. Such forms expose the gendered operations of language, space and gesture as well. Furthermore, the field of performance studies has produced theoretical paradigms that derive from larger theories of memory and space. By thus positioning it as both a site of culture and a site of cultural theory, I argue that performance can illuminate the tacit gendering of culture more generally. My investigation of publicity and civic memorial will build upon three relatively recent examples of civic performance in Chicago: the performance of First Lady at the 1996 Democratic convention, the 1996 inauguration of the Jane Addams Memorial Park in Chicago, and the premiere of Chicago-born playwright David Mamet’s The Old Neighborhood in 1997. I frame both Chicago theatre and other kinds of Chicago performances as different types of civic memorial in order to speculate on relationships amongst different types of genres. More importantly, I illustrate the different ways that women function allegorically and indirectly as vehicles for imagining publicity and for lamenting its failures. My examples suggest how women – living and/or memorialized, ethnically marked and unmarked – can figure paradoxically as the object blamed for the loss of extended affiliation even as (conversely) they are also blamed for its ‘unnatural’ public promotion.