global readings Flashcards
lila abulughods argument
critique of anthropolgoy in cultural differences
that the waro on terror wa sjustifies as liberatin afghan women
calls for need for aprpeciating women as products of their own histories and cultures as opposed to using cultural relativism
saving implies superioirity
limits of cultural relavisim; bad situations still need to be addressed
evidence of abu-lughod
- pbs interview wanting her questions about culture and religion not on history or politics
- first lady laura bush slipping between ‘taliban and terrorist’ and blurring afganithsan causes of povery, malnutrition and health; civillized people against terorroists
cultural framining issues of cultural relavistim (abu-lughod)
- implication of ‘saving’ of ‘saving to something better’
- history of repressive regimes (use rolein history) is not acknoweldge; isntead divergence of blame occurs onto culture
- religious and cultural explanations are given to historical and political uses to divide the west adn esast
the veil and burqa as a sign of oppression
a. asssumption women will ‘free’ selves if talibans go away
2. talbian didnt force the veil adn it has differen tethnic values (pashtun vs hazar) in different areas
hana papanek
‘veil is a portable seclusion’; protects women from men and is a moral way of life
religious belief of covering hair in pakistan; approporiation form of dress in a certain social community
afghanistan; regional and elite class have different stadarsds of veil; e.g. women might cover even more in front of certain people
different TYPES Of veilings in different situations
pashtun use burwa, islamic women wear hijba; local variations and status
suhelia siddigi
the ‘woman who stood up to the taliban because she refsed to wear a burqa’; still wants to wear a head scarf;
veilling is not a lack of agency
saba mahmod
she conducted ethnographoy in moseque movement in eqypet; its a new dress and desire to be good and moral
lughods conlusions
a. against the ‘reductive intepretation of beiling as a sign of womens lack of freedo’ as this assumes they are helpless and lack agency
b. not reduce the diverse attitudes of muslim women to religion
c. cultural others and culutral relativism; ‘th eproblem is that its too late NOT to interfere due to globalization ‘
issues of cultural relativism
we cant seperate fro mthe world:
- RAWA (revolutionary assosiation of women in afghanistan); different conceptions of what womens right they wany and see liberation in terms of hardship and loss, not in terms of ‘women liberation’
- western feminism campaigins and global distribution of wealth, biolence and war set AGAINST islamic feminism who have different political demands
- acceptance of difference hence important
- vigliance of the rhetoric of ‘savin gpeople’; third world feminism causes a polairizaiton of feminism
‘i cant think of a single women in egypt that enveys a us women’ as they see them as more vlunerable and seuxally violated and immoral
occult economies aim and author
jean and john comaroff
south africa post colonlizliation
occult economy; deployment of magical menas for matieral ends
argument; capitalism, neoliberalism, post colonlialism are manifesting themselves in south africa in occult and margical resurgences (local to global to local)
examples of ‘occult’ in modernity
baboon is ‘necklacked’ as seen as witch in disguise because he was carrying a plastic bag
‘huge beast’ sighting in Howick galls; monster money thorugh local tourism
selling of blue eyes
pyramid schemes for economic quick rise (cons)
international commerice; new fasciniation with aliens, cyborgs and clones
south africa context
‘new magic= new situations’
social divisions/commerce creates desire for richness
mystical arts; are a method by which modernism and discontent with modernism is dealt with
results in creaiton of ‘commission of inquiry into witchraft violence and ritual murder’; liberaiton of ‘witch violence’ by education and death penalty
- most africans; magical tracks as a normal way o flife
black plice believe in witchraft; are scared
witches as MAITERAL and SOCIAL processes of human motives; translation of local events
witches are supsects of the ‘consious and unshare dwleath’; resulting in wtich hunting as withces create poverty problems
belief and problem of women author and aim
by e. ardnerer;
aims to see anthropology rare focus on women
‘bounded models of society’
1. political and linguistic dominance of men in society
- difficulty of conducting ethnography with women as they are derived from male perspective
levi strauss on women
‘women are ideologically primitive to men’; men are ‘carrriers of culture’ and women as ‘nature’
bakweri women
- in camerron;
case 1: MOTO EWKARI AND MOSILI STORY;
animals fighting one day to see who returns on land and who goes into bush; man the smar tone who hides and then remains on the town - mossili driven to water; lure women and cause them to become dangerous mermaids with rat husbands; hence women are more wild and msut be controlled
= bakweri women are wild and overlap with nature; hence a problem for men
case 2: the llengu water spirits
men; are farmers
women; go out adn collect food
mermaids; evil and cause puberty isckness in women; therefore a period of seclusion and llengu doctor is neede dto draw out the evil spirit
but for owmen; is seen as a ritual of a woman accepting hrerself as a llengu woman; memerail sprits BECOME a woman, not BANISHED
