11,081 research outputs found
Respectable Drinkers, Sensible Drinking, Serious Leisure: Single-Malt Whisky Enthusiasts and the Moral Panic of Irresponsible Others
In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus â the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other
Dreaming of drams: Authenticity in Scottish whisky tourism as an expression of unresolved Habermasian rationalities
In this paper, the production of whisky tourism at both independently owned and corporately owned distilleries in Scotland is explored by focusing on four examples (Arran, Glengoyne, Glenturret and Bruichladdich). In particular, claims of authenticity and Scottishness of Scottish whiskies through commercial materials, case studies, website-forum discussions and 'independent' writing about such whisky are analysed. It is argued that the globalisation and commodification of whisky and whisky tourism, and the communicative backlash to these trends typified by the search for authenticity, is representative of a Habermasian struggle between two irreconcilable rationalities. This paper will demonstrate that the meaning and purpose of leisure can be understood through such explorations of the tension between the instrumentality of commodification and the freedom of individuals to locate their own leisure lives in the lifeworld that remains. © 2011 Taylor & Francis
The Strange and Spooky Battle over Bats and Black Dresses: The Commodification of Whitby Goth Weekend and the Loss of a Subculture
From counterculture to subculture to the ubiquity of every black-clad wannabe vampire hanging around the centre of Western cities, Goth has transcended a musical style to become a part of everyday leisure and popular culture. The musicâs cultural terrain has been extensively mapped in the first decade of this century. In this article, we examine the phenomenon of the Whitby Goth Weekend, a modern Goth music festival, which has contributed to (and has been altered by) the heritage-tourism marketing of Whitby as the holiday resort of Dracula (the place where Bram Stoker imagined the Vampire Count arriving one dark and stormy night). We examine marketing literature and websites that sell Whitby as a spooky town, and suggest that this strategy has driven the success of the Goth festival. We explore the development of the festival and the politics of its ownership, and its increasing visibility as a mainstream tourist destination for those who want to dress up for the weekend. By interviewing Goths from the north of England, we suggest that the mainstreaming of the festival has led to it becoming less attractive to those more established, older Goths who see the subcultureâs authenticity as being rooted in the post-punk era, and who believe that Goth subculture should be something one lives full-time
'A habitual disposition to the good': on reason, virtue and realism
Amidst the crisis of instrumental reason, a number of contemporary political philosophers including JĂŒrgen Habermas have sought to rescue the project of a reasonable humanism from the twin threats of religious fundamentalism and secular naturalism. In his recent work, Habermas defends a post-metaphysical politics that aims to protect rationality against encroachment while also accommodating religious faith within the public sphere. This paper contends that Habermasâ post-metaphysical project fails to provide a robust alternative either to the double challenge of secular naturalism and religious fundamentalism or to the ruthless instrumentalism that underpins capitalism. By contrast with Habermas and also with the ânew realismâ of contemporary political philosophers such as Raymond Geuss or Bernard Williams, realism in the tradition of Plato and Aristotle can defend reason against instrumental rationality and blind belief by integrating it with habit, feeling and even faith. Such metaphysicalâpolitical realism can help develop a politics of virtue that goes beyond communitarian thinking by emphasising plural modes of association (not merely âcommunityâ), substantive ties of sympathy and the importance of pursuing goodness and mutual flourishing
Bottling Scotland, drinking Scotland: Scotland's future, the whisky industry and leisure, tourism and public-health policy
Single-malt whisky is the product of over one hundred distilleries across Scotland, and is the subject of a number of claims about its status as an âauthenticâ Scottish drink. The whisky industry in Scotland argues that it creates significant amounts of revenue for Scotland and the United Kingdom â not just in sales of single-malt whiskies and blended whiskies, but also from the contribution of whisky tourism. As such, Scottish policy-makers in tourism and local regeneration have used whisky both as an attraction to market to visitors to the country, and a vehicle for creating jobs. In this paper, the whisky industry and related whisky tourism industry in Scotland is explored alongside an analysis of tourist and local regeneration policies and strategies that explicitly nurture the notion that whisky is a necessary part of Scottish identity. I will then contrast this with policies on leisure that identify alcohol drinking as problematic, and argue that the whisky industry has worked to convince its public sector supporters that drinking single-malt whiskies in distillery visitor centres is harmless, while signing up to campaigns to moderate drinking in the wider Scottish public
Taking reasonable pluralism seriously: an internal critique of political liberalism
The later Rawls attempts to offer a non-comprehensive, but nonetheless moral justification in political philosophy. Many critics of political liberalism doubt that this is successful, but Rawlsians often complain that such criticisms rely on the unwarranted assumption that one cannot offer a moral justification other than by taking a philosophically comprehensive route. In this article, I internally criticize the justification strategy employed by the later Rawls. I show that he cannot offer us good grounds for the rational hope that citizens will assign political values priority over non-political values in cases of conflict about political matters. I also suggest an alternative approach to justification in political philosophy (that is, a weak realist, Williams-inspired account) that better respects the later Rawlsâs concern with non-comprehensiveness and pluralism than either his own view or more comprehensive approaches. Thus, if we take reasonable pluralism seriously, then we should adopt what Shklar aptly called âliberalism of fearâ. </jats:p
ConsideraçÔes acerca da noção de razĂŁo pĂșblica no debate Rawls-Habermas
Uma das diferenças principais entre o liberalismo polĂtico e a teoria da ação comunicativa repousa na fundamentação oferecida por seus formuladores da neutralidade de procedimento para alcançar princĂpios que devam reger as prĂĄticas e instituiçÔes polĂticas diante da pluralidade das doutrinas abrangentes em sociedades marcadas por uma grande heterogeneidade social e cultural. Tal distinção na fundamentação aparece com clareza na noção de razĂŁo pĂșblica, tema central do famoso debate no qual Rawls lança mĂŁo da idĂ©ia de overllaping consensus para explicitar uma concepção polĂtica da justiça que possa ser aceita pelas diversas doutrinas abrangentes de uma sociedade democrĂĄtica bem-ordenada. JĂĄ o procedimento ideal de Habermas Ă© o da deliberação, que pressupĂ”e uma associação que se julga capaz de regular de um modo imparcial as condiçÔes de convivĂȘncia numa sociedade, fazendo uso, para isso, de uma racionalidade procedimental para a justificação moral. Trata-se assim, aqui, de elucidar e debater duas fundamentaçÔes distintas (neutralidade de objetivo e princĂpio racionalmente justificĂĄvel) da noção de razĂŁo pĂșblica
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Remarks on the Concept of Critique in Habermasian Thought
The main purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of critique in Habermasian thought. Given that the concept of critique is a central theoretical category in the work of the Frankfurt School, it comes as a surprise that little in the way of a systematic account which sheds light on the multifaceted meanings of the concept of critique in Habermasâs oeuvre can be found in the literature. This paper aims to fill this gap by exploring the various meanings that Habermas attributes to the concept of critique in 10 key thematic areas of his writings: (1) the public sphere, (2) knowledge, (3) language, (4) morality, (5) ethics, (6) evolution, (7) legitimation, (8) democracy, (9) religion, and (10) modernity. On the basis of a detailed analysis of Habermasâs multifaceted concerns with the nature and function of critique, the study seeks to demonstrate that the concept of critique can be considered not only as a constitutive element but also as a normative cornerstone of Habermasian thought. The paper draws to a close by reflecting on some of the limitations of Habermasâs conception of critique, arguing that in order to be truly critical in the Habermasian sense we need to turn the subject of critique into an object of critique
Reconciling credibility and accountability: how expert bodies achieve credibility through accountability processes
Arguments about the legitimate role of expert bodies in Europe often centre on the following question: Does their independence help to make policies credible or should they be made democratically accountable to principals and stakeholders? This article claims this is a false dichotomy. It does so by arguing theoretically that credibility can be achieved through accountability processes. Then, drawing on exemplary case studies, this article identifies distinctive accountability processes for ensuring credibility: revisable competencies, deliberation over institutional design, and engagement in public justification. Credibility and accountability are thus not conflicting, but co-constitutive aims of delegation to expert bodies. The analysis provides European policy makers and others with a guide for thinking beyond the contrast between âdemocratic accountabilityâ and âindependent credibilityâ
Sociology and postcolonialism: another 'missing' revolution?
Sociology is usually represented as having emerged alongside European modernity. The latter is frequently understood as sociology's special object with sociology itself a distinctively modern form of explanation. The period of sociology's disciplinary formation was also the heyday of European colonialism, yet the colonial relationship did not figure in the development of sociological understandings. While the recent emergence of postcolonialism appears to have initiated a reconsideration of understandings of modernity, with the development of theories of multiple modernities, I suggest that this engagement is more an attempt at recuperating the transformative aspect of postcolonialism than engaging with its critiques. In setting out the challenge of postcolonialism to dominant sociological accounts, I also address `missing feminist/queer revolutions', suggesting that by engaging with postcolonialism there is the potential to transform sociological understandings by opening up a dialogue beyond the simple pluralism of identity claims
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