Migrants, Media and Cultural Politics in China

A review of Wanning Sun, Subaltern China: Rural Migrants, Media, and Cultural Practices, Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, Boulder, New York and London, 2014

Agency in the Subaltern Encounter of Evil: Subverting the Dominant and Appropriating the Indigenous

This essay focuses on subaltern encounter of evil that occurred in two different religious orbits, namely, Hinduism and Christianity in India. The Hindu phenomenon to be studied is Ayya Vaḻi1 (henceforth, AV) founded by Ayya Vaikundar (1809-1851) and the Christian phenomenon, Bible Mission (henceforth, BM) established by Devadas Ayyagaru (1840-1960). While attempts have been made earlier in the writings of Chad Bauman, Zoe Sherinian, Eleanor Zeliott, Sathianathan Clarke and G.Patick2 to study the relation between religion and subaltern agency in India, this work has a different focus in that it employs the idea of subaltern agency to discuss the parallel ways through which two nominally Hindu and Christian movements, originating from two different backgrounds and time periods, have developed a subaltern theodicy, borrowing from classical and local traditions, to offer a means for critiquing domination and overcoming marginalization

The Open Future, Free Will and Divine Assurance: Responding to Three Common Objections to the Open View

In this essay I respond to three of the most forceful objections to the open view of the future. It is argued that a) open view advocates must deny bivalence; b) the open view offers no theodicy advantages over classical theism; and c) the open view can’t assure believers that God can work all things to the better. I argue that the first objection is premised on an inadequate assessment of future tensed propositions, the second is rooted in an inadequate assessment of free will, and the third is grounded in an inadequate assessment of God’s intelligence

Subaltern imaginaries of localism: constructions of place, space and democracy in community-led housing organisations.

The localism strategies of the UK government provide a suite of ‘rights’ for community organisations that licence place-based political imaginaries with the intent to construct the community as a proxy for a smaller state. Conflating place with participation and promising to devolve power, localism authorises a performative enactment of democracy, citizenship and the ‘public’ through the lived experience of space. In constituting the local as a metaphor for democracy and empowerment, however, community localism foregrounds the pivotal role played by place and scale in cementing social differentiation and in naturalising hierarchical power relations. This paper explores the subaltern strategies of localism that may emerge when the rights of localism are exercised by residents’ organisations in marginalised communities of social housing. Drawing on research with community-led housing organisations it demonstrates how the spatial imaginations and spatial practices of localism can be implemented to assert new claims on democracy and citizenship. In particular it identifies four spatial practices – the extension of domestic space, the invocation of locality, the construction of domestic scale, and the scalar reimagining of democracy – that subvert the reordering of political space that is localism’s regulatory intent

Traces of the (m)other: deconstructing hegemonic historical narrative in Teat(r)o Oficina Uzyna Uzona's Os Sertões

This article focuses on the way in which renowned São Paulo-based theatre company Teat(r)o Oficina Uzyna Uzona deconstructs hegemonic historical narrative in their 2000 - 2007 25 hour-long production of Euclides da Cunha’s seminal Brazilian novel Os sertões (“Rebellion in the Backlands”), an account of the War of Canudos (1896-1897), the first major act of State terrorism carried out by the nascent Brazilian Federal Government on the country’s subaltern population. The Teat(r)o Oficina’s epic adaptation fuses events from the colonial period, the military dictatorship and contemporary 21st Century São Paulo to relate the repetitive cycles of misappropriation, oppression and resistance that have characterized the history of Brazil and its people over the centuries. However, any fatalistic view of victimhood as an essential aspect of Brazilian subjectivity is radically challenged by the vibrant, rhythmic, material impact of the theatrical super-signs underpinning the performance text. Drawing on Julia Kristeva’s notion of the semiotic - the pre-linguistic, illogical, rhythmical materialism of language intimately related to a primordial relationship with the abject mother – I shall suggest that it is the rhythmic, libidinal force of the performance and its extensive use of the cultural manifestations of Brazil’s subaltern population that imbues Os Sertões with the silent presence-as-absence of the abject Brazilian (M)Other – the Black, Indigenous and Mestiza matriarchal line whose alternative discourse is often barred from hegemonic accounts of Brazilian historiography. Her silent heritage is embodied on stage by the members of the Oficina, who reclaim an alienating national heritage for themselves by transforming the often tragic tale of Brazil’s past into a joyous celebration of tenacious vitality

The foundations of a nation : framing Pakistan from 1940-1971 through international relations theory and postcolonialism

This paper explores the emerging integration of international relations theory with postcolonial scholarship and uses Pakistan’s state formation and history as a case study. It is argued that international relations theory privileges European experiences and history, which results in inaccurate assumptions about the outcomes of colonialism and origins of postcolonial independence. Pakistan’s unique development as a state founded on ideology and build out of an imperial/colonial system offers an opportunity for destabilizing Eurocentrism in international studies. Rather than favoring a singular outcome or conclusion, this paper demonstrates the plurality necessary for an inclusive historical analysis of state-power.Asian StudiesGlobal Policy Studie

The Politics of \u27Giving Back\u27 and its Effects on the Autonomy of Women after Sex Trafficking

In the field of humanitarian service, advocates have the intentions of speaking on behalf of those they represent. Many activists and organizations seek to ‘give back’ to those in need of food, shelter and social services. But, does ‘giving back’ really help? This essay explores the politics and hierarchies of humanitarian aid to discover if independence and agency for aid recipients can be achieved. On the path to independence, what are the obstacles that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists create for the underprivileged? Are there effective frameworks and methods for advocate organizations to approach the underprivileged? Authors such as Columbia University professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak questions whether any agency can be achieved while Bengali activists such as Samarajit Jana, Nandinnee Bandyapadhyay, Mrinal Kanti Dutta and Amitrajit Saha argue that agency is attainable by providing tools for the underprivileged to empower themselves. Using my own observations from working at All Bengal Women\u27s Union in Kolkata, India, I review and analyze the attempts of this organization to empower women and girls to determine whether the underprivileged can speak. My work in the All Bengal Women’s Union in Kolkata in Spring 2008 allowed me to spend personal time with young women who were sexually exploited. The women I met left such an indelible impression on me that I brought their voices and causes back with me. Every day I saw the pain of these girls, struggling to overcome their violent past. And every day, I saw their endless ability to continue to dance, to smile, and to love. Our sisterhood pushed me to promote awareness of sex trafficking and to identify the best methods of rehabilitation that value their voice. After reviewing previous literature and theory discussing if the underprivileged have a voice, I began my participant observation and field research at All Bengal Women Union during the months of January to April in 2008. Using my ethnographic data, I examine the programs and initiatives put forth by All Bengal Women’s Union as well as reviewing material published by the NGO. The approach of analyzing the organization’s efforts is significant; the concern is not the intentions and mission of the organization, but the process and outcomes it has on the women. Instead of looking at the organization as a whole, my approach is to view it’s effectiveness from the perspective of the female clients. This essay concludes there are good and bad approaches towards the path of victim empowerment, but ability of voice and agency can only be determined by the underprivileged. While a structure like All Bengal Women’s Union posses the ability to oppress its constituents, critically analyzing approaches and methods in dialogues with its privileged and underprivileged members can lead to more effective strategies. In order for women and girls after trafficking to have a voice in society, critical and opposition structures like All Bengal Women’s Union must exist to serve a space to achieve agency, a space where they can demand their choice. It is best to be critical of one\u27s intentions of \u27helping\u27 the subaltern, and to listen more often – perhaps the subaltern are speaking but we are not listening

“The Dashing Subaltern”: Sir Richard Turner in Retrospect

When war came to Canada in August 1914, thousands rallied to the call to arms. Colonel Sam Huges the charismatic and controversial Minister of Militia and Defence scrapped his department’s meticulous plans for mobilizing the nation’s militia and assumed control with amazing, almost fortuitous, results. By September, 33,000 recruits were training at a hastily constructed Camp Valcartier, Quebec. A month later the first contingent of the legendary Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) sailed for England (the largest military force ever to cross the Atlantic up to that time)

Subaltern struggles and the global media in Koodankulam and Kashmir

This paper analyses the interactions between subaltern struggles and the global media, with special reference to the ways in which the subaltern find opportunities in the media to make their voices heard. The paper argues that rather than losing their state of subalternity in the process of gaining a voice through media exposure, media representation reinforces the subaltern identity of the marginalised. Scrutinising the politics of representation in the media representation of the Koodankulam anti-nuclear protests and the Kashmir conflict in India, this essay draws on insights from post-colonial studies to explore new ways to read the work of the global media in their coverage of the subaltern