Suchergebnisse

ABSTRACTIn this article, I argue that the temporal experience of contemporary Cuba must be understood as co‐constituted in both the struggles of daily life and cycles of celebration. As the socialist welfare state has tried to maintain quality of life in post‐Soviet Cuba, the daily work of acquiring basic goods and services has increasingly become a struggle (una lucha). Yet, while everyday life is experienced as a struggle, Cubans are often seen reveling in the joyous experience of celebration at parties or annual festivals. Rather than view these events as spectacular, I argue that they are central to socialist temporality and the lived experiences of the doble moral, a set of shifting values and actions under post‐Soviet Cuban socialism. Analyzing the ways in which Cubans living in Santiago de Cuba experience the celebratory aspect of Carnaval, birthday parties, and La Noche Santiaguera, a weekly street party, I argue that the temporal experiences of anticipation, inversion, and rejuvenation juxtaposed with the quotidian experiences of the struggle (la lucha) are central to the lived experiences of Cubanidad and socialism in Cuba today. [festivals, temporality, consumption, Caribbean, Cuba]

As the welfare state disintegrates in the post-Cold War era, through the changing practices of everyday life, there are also shifts in community interactions, family dynamics, and individual subjectivities. Drawing on 16 months of ethnographic research in 22 households in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second largest city, I reveal that recent changes in food consumption practices are the grounds for reworking longstanding parameters for ethical conduct at the household and community level, which, in turn, influence how individuals see themselves. While in capitalist settings, states have been weakened as corporations have gained immense power, in Cuba there are no non-state-based intermediaries, and the state still has the ultimate power. Increasingly the work necessary to maintain households and keep food on the table is shifting away from state responsibility onto individuals and families. I analyze study participants' longing for a "decent" meal as a highly emotional means of clinging to the social ideal of well rounded, culturally appropriate, and calorically adequate meals. However, given that the late-socialist state can no longer provide basic necessities free of cost, those who adhere to this standard are challenged to find new ways to access food. Most of my research participants do not fully achieve this ideal; rather they endure a less than decent standard of living and a great deal of stress. Some families engage in practices that may not meet local standards for ethical behavior in order to acquire food they deem appropriate for consumption. The struggle to acquire food is compounded as solutions to practical barriers are met with moral dilemmas. As people reflect on their shifting ethical standards for interaction with family, friends, and community in the face of food scarcity, they begin rethink who they are as people. This represents a shift in the community relations surrounding consumption leading to a transformation in subjectivity. I analyze this struggle and transformation to offer critical insights into the social implications of shifting consumption patterns during the decline of the welfare state. I also reveal the ways in which social relationships and subjectivities are reconfigured as political economic systems change.

Cuba has had a nationalized food rationing system since 1962, and has been lauded for exemplary food security innovations in the face of national financial hardship. Decreases in food and agricultural related importations after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 limited the amount of food provided in the monthly rations, forcing individuals to acquire increasing amounts of their food through other means. This article reveals the complexities Cubans face when attempting to access foods in Santiago de Cuba. This project examines how Cubans experience their food system, their struggles to maintain food traditions despite the low availability of ingredients, and how people use and relate to Cuba's food provisioning system. In this article two memories of past periods of abundance are juxtaposed to show the different ways in which individuals interpret food security. The analysis of semistructured interviews, community mapping, and participant‐observation reveal the ways in which residents of Santiago de Cuba orient to their present situation through memories of past periods when foods were more available and more easily accessible.

"An in-depth look at Black food and the challenges it faces today. For Black Americans, the food system is broken. When it comes to nutrition, Black consumers experience an unjust and inequitable distribution of resources. Black Food Matters examines these issues through in-depth essays that analyze how Blackness is contested through food, differing ideas of what makes our sustenance "healthy," and Black individuals' own beliefs about what their cuisine should be. Primarily written by nonwhite scholars, and framed through a focus on Black agency instead of deprivation, the essays here showcase Black communities fighting for the survival of their food culture. The book takes readers into the real world of Black sustenance, examining animal husbandry practices in South Carolina, the work done by the Black Panthers to ensure food equality, and Black women who are pioneering urban agriculture. These essays also explore individual and community values, the influence of history, and the ongoing struggle to meet needs and affirm Black life. A comprehensive look at Black food culture and the various forms of violence that threaten the future of this cuisine, Black Food Matters centers Blackness in a field that has too often framed Black issues through a white-centric lens, offering new ways to think about access, privilege, equity, and justice"--

AbstractThis article introduces the feminist praxis of duoethnography as a way to examine the COVID era. As a group of diverse, junior, midcareer, and senior feminist scholars, we developed a methodology to critically reflect on our positions in our institutions and social worlds. As a method, duoethnography emphasizes the dialogical intimacy that can form through anthropological work. While autoethnography draws on individual daily lives to make sense of sociopolitical dynamics, duoethnography emphasizes the relational character of research across people and practices. Taking the relational aspects of knowledge production seriously, we conceptualized this praxis as a transformative method for facilitating radical empathy, mobilizing our collective voice, and merging together our partial truths. As collective authors, interviewers, and interlocutors of this article, the anonymity of duoethnography allows us to vocalize details of the experience of living through COVID‐19 that we could not have safely spoken about publicly or on our own.

The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy explores diverse perspectives on the liberating power of Black feminist and womanist pedagogical practices. The contributors boldly tell groundbreaking stories of their teaching experiences and their evolving relationships to Black feminist and womanist theory and criticism.