Suchergebnisse

Critical remarks are offered on the contributions to this volume (see abstracts in IRPS No. 88), discussing the potential gains & dangers of the currently popular emphasis on the historically & socially constructed nature of racism. Although researchers & theorists of social science have aptly traced the foundations of racist discourse back to its Enlightenment essentialist roots, it is suggested that historical constituents of antiracist discourse have not been similarly examined. The Enlightenment struggle toward classification of all objects & beings into a continuum of existence linking humanity to God informed & legitimized the existence & importance of racial categorization. However, John Locke's (among others) rejection of this essentialism was founded in a form of cultural nominalism, & these antiessentialist principles provided the framework for the Enlightenment grammar of antiracism. It is concluded that the current trend of antirealism characterized by the absence of the subject in cultural discourse has undermined the value of the subjective experiences of the victims of racism at a time when this subjectivity is most important. T. Sevier

The historical & social context of racism is discussed in an examination of the evolution & nature of racist discourse. It is argued that a critical theory of racism must universally recognize, account for, & oppose every manifestation of racism. Such a theory demands understanding of the complex set of central constitutive elements that shape racism & are reinterpreted as the historical, cultural & social environment changes. It is suggested that the discursive field of racism is broad enough to encompass the diverse variables & outcomes that characterize racism, including beliefs, verbal outbursts, physical acts & their consequences, the principles of racism, & racist texts. Examination of racist discourse moves away from the dominant modes of analyzing racism in the social sciences, which often reinforce racism through the acceptance of categories of race & racial difference. Although racist cruelty has been legally abolished in most developed nations, indirect legal & extralegal means of racial oppression still thrive. It is concluded that the opposition of racist discourse & practice involves the transformation of socioeconomic & formal structural determinants of race, & the formation of discursive alternatives in opposition to racism. T. Sevier

Considers possible explanations for women's lack of influence on politics, particularly regarding war & peace. Evidence is given for the problematic nature of lumping women into one category for political purposes. Does the size of a minority, in this case, women, matter? Kanter's observations on the relative proportion of women to uniform, skewed, tilted, or balanced groups are included. A challenge stems from Hacker's writing on the "minority status" of women despite their placement or numerical representation in organizations. The potential impact of greater female involvement in decision making is viewed in terms of female politicians' potency, reactions to female politicians, political culture, the historic omission of women from political discourse, & policy changes. Also considered are critical mass, female or gender-neutral quotas, & quota systems in legislation & political parties. Examples from the Danish Social Democratic Party, the Norwegian Labor Party, & the Swedish Social Democratic Party are included, & suggestions are offered for more gender-sensitive platforms. M. C. Leary

The literature of the last decade in the field of critical white studies has expanded from challenges to white supremacy by male social scientists of color to expositions of institutionalized racism in literature, philosophy, communications, & the media. White studies has also entered formerly uncharted arenas such as racial ideology, relations between race & social control, whiteness as identity, & the legal construction of whiteness in the US. Women's studies has injected white patriarchy into analyses of white privilege, while the multicultural education movement that emerged in the 1980s introduced a focus on the complexity of relationships among African Americans, Latino/as, Asian Americans, & whites. The intersections between intellectual movements of cultural studies, critical communication studies, & semiotics are examined. It is contended here that most public/popular discourse is still framed in white-nonwhite terms, making it essential to understand how communication about whiteness is embedded in the social fabric to begin the process of destabilizing whiteness as an identity & ideology. Bibliog, 34 References. J. Lindroth

Introduces an edited Vol of 11 Chpts (each abstracted) that applies critical discourse analysis to texts & speech that marginalize minority groups in terms of language-power-privilege relations. This method assumes that discourses of identity are likely to be univocal & monologic. Majority groups use discourses of identity to marginalize minority groups through the selection of lexical strategies that seek to construct hierarchies, subordinations, & dominance in such a way as to disguise & mitigate the speaker's or writer's intent. Thus, unlike content analysis, critical discourse analysis is concerned with the implied messages that underlie communication. The terms Other & Otherness are discussed in terms of internality & externality & discourses of inclusion & exclusion. Among the speeches & texts analyzed are Western parliamentary speeches, newspaper articles of British journalists, 19th-century travel writing, & working-class women's autobiographies. 82 References. D. M. Smith

As an outcome of the West German students movement critical psychologies in German-speaking countries have developped as marxist critiques of society and science. Above all, Holzkamp used Marx' and Engels' doctrines of natural and societal progression as foundations of a unifying categorical and closed epistemological system. Part of a political movement, psychologists were forced to link with discourses originating in the late twenties and early thirties, then cut off by National Socialism and postwar ideologies in Germany and Austria. They were forced to make up for a lag. They were to reify Marx' ghosts . For a long time they ignored the experiences of left critics in other western cultures, especially France, where critiques had been differentiated in a post-marxist manner. Up to the late eighties, this critical-psychological ignorance happened even to feminism, poststructuralism and constructivism. With the breakdown of so-called 'real socialism' Critical psychology after all had lost the last social and communitarian foundations as a reference. It had left trends of historic progression and had become conservative in a paradox way. Finally, the defeat has opened actual chances of critique, potentially in fragmented postmodern discourses.

Figurative & literal representations of the AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) epidemic are examined within the framework of literary theory & political/ideological motivations. Based on the assumption that both politics & AIDS are susceptible to analysis by the critical methodologies of literary theory, it is argued that representations of the AIDS epidemic are ultimately determined by political motivations. Although attempts have been made to distinguish between the biological/literal & the literary/fictive, it is suggested that these distinctions represent a political drive to assert authority. Citing the "Silence=Death" slogan utilized as a means of promoting awareness, discussion, & treatment of the AIDS epidemic, it is argued that any discourse on AIDS is simultaneously literal & figurative. Furthermore, interpretations of the facts & symbols of these discourse are ultimately beyond the control of the individual or group enlisting these discourses. As such, the slogan both undermines the repressive urges of the political & medical community & implicitly reinforces the discursive structures on which these symbols & acts of repression rely. It is concluded that neither the literal nor figurative provides a neutral, value-free framework for discussion of AIDS. T. Sevier

Classical critical discourse analyses were used to examine processes of polarization in parliamentary debates on enfranchisement of foreign residents in the Netherlands & Belgium during the 1980s, revealing problems in crossnational comparisons of racism/ethnocentrism. It is noted that nonnational residents in the Netherlands were allowed to vote in municipal elections in 1985, but not until 1998 in Belgium. The dominant ideology thesis; Yasemin Soysal's (1994) theoretical framework on postnational membership; & Rogers Brubaker's (1992) theory of cultural idioms/national styles of thought were used to assess the importance of ethnocentrism in the debates & outcomes. The dominant ideology theory did not allow for variations at the level of theory & both Soysal & Brubaker rely on the assumption that unambiguous debate is directly translated into policy outcomes. It is contended that the local enfranchisement debate is not controlled by a single discourse or ideology, & is best studied as a struggle between different political discourses/ideological narratives. In particular, the impact of colonial history on conceptions of national identity is pivotal for understanding differences between Belgium & the Netherlands. 38 References. J. Lindroth

Classical critical discourse analyses were used to examine processes of polarization in parliamentary debates on enfranchisement of foreign residents in the Netherlands & Belgium during the 1980s, revealing problems in crossnational comparisons of racism/ethnocentrism. It is noted that nonnational residents in the Netherlands were allowed to vote in municipal elections in 1985, but not until 1998 in Belgium. The dominant ideology thesis; Yasemin Soysal's (1994) theoretical framework on postnational membership; & Rogers Brubaker's (1992) theory of cultural idioms/national styles of thought were used to assess the importance of ethnocentrism in the debates & outcomes. The dominant ideology theory did not allow for variations at the level of theory & both Soysal & Brubaker rely on the assumption that unambiguous debate is directly translated into policy outcomes. It is contended that the local enfranchisement debate is not controlled by a single discourse or ideology, & is best studied as a struggle between different political discourses/ideological narratives. In particular, the impact of colonial history on conceptions of national identity is pivotal for understanding differences between Belgium & the Netherlands. 38 References. J. Lindroth

Discusses the feminist-informed anthropological intervention in a 1983-1985 study of gender discourses & relations in contemporary Greece to show how this approach developed as a response to issues surrounding debates in 1970s-early 1980s feminism. The formation of this research agenda is situated in the context of Greek society poised at a critical historical moment of social reform in which legal constructions of gender difference were undergoing radical transformation. It is argued that the dual presence of feminism in the fieldwork -- as a theoretical perspective & a symbol & social movement constituting the field of investigation -- deeply unsettled the conventional separation between self & Other usually erected in anthropological discourses. It is suggested that this destabilization opened the possibility of a dynamic dialogue between theory & data, researcher & researched, & feminist self-knowledge & knowledge of gendered Others. Issues of similarity & difference are discussed in terms of shifting social & political meanings. 31 References. D. M. Smith

Looks to Pierre Bourdieu to flesh out Jurgen Habermas's thought on the public sphere, arguing that Bourdieu provides a potent critique of the role of systematic distortions in public discourse. At issue is revealing the shape of his socioanalytic critique. Discussion opens by delineating differences between Bourdieu's & Habermas's conceptions of public reason. Bourdieu is said to have adopted a communicative conception of rationality that provides an avenue for critical scrutiny of Habermas's transcendental ideas on communicative reason. Bourdieu is seen to attend to public discourse's unconscious adaptation of contaminating influences. In considering the systematic distortions that undermine rational deliberation, the issue of colonization is addressed in terms of the relative autonomy of fields as a key constraint on public discourse. To show how Bourdieu's field model of rationality allows the reading of distortions in the communications produced in fields characterized by a high degree of autonomy, his reading of Martin Heidegger is scrutinized, referring to his method as a "suspicious hermeneutics." Attention turns to Boudieu's notion of doxa (cultural unconscious) & how his observations shed light on the systematically distorted character of public communication & provides for a socioanalytic epistemology. Bourdieu indicates the role of the historical/cultural unconscious in the process of political legitimation. In terms of participation in the public sphere, it is then shown how Bourdieu is able to discern various unconscious factors that exclude some from public debate & impede the possibility of understanding & just discussion between parties. Bourdieu is interested in how social position as manifest in habitus & capital defines individuals' form of participation, the nature of their communication, & the authority underwriting their speech. It is concluded that Bourdieu's program advances a definition of critical theory & provides the tools to continue the exploration of the systematically distorted communication in the public sphere initiated by Habermas. 3 Graphs, 48 References. J. Zendejas

Following an overview of the challenges confronting sociological research into whiteness, it is contended that to study whites, they must be considered a social collective in terms of Sartre's notion of seriality & that critical studies of whiteness are important for racial equity. In this light, ethnographic data from 3 public elementary schools in CA are marshaled to illustrate the variable meanings & experiences of whiteness & its persistent link to power & resource issues. At issue is the deployment of color-blind discourses that mask the persistence of institutional racism. Though varying in its form, whiteness is seen as a key facet giving shape to the culture of space & the material circumstances of those in that space. In this light, the implications for studying whiteness are contemplated in terms of whiteness' covert nature & white symbolic capital. J. Zendejas

The development of environmental politics from the postwar period to the contemporary era is examined. During the postwar period, environmentalism was the province of isolated intellectuals & writers. Environmentalism did not become popular until the 1960s & 1970s, & its popularity was the catalyst for the rise, in the 1980s & 1990s, of professionalized transnational environmental nongovernment organizations (NGOs) such as Greenpeace. The success of NGOs has created pressure to form an alliance in truth with multinational corporations in presenting an environmental discourse that emphasizes its global scope & the need for technical experts to fashion solutions to environmental problems. The alliance in truth marks the end of radicalism in environmental politics & undermines environmentalism's capacity as a medium for critical reflection about society. 2 Tables, 2 Figures, 23 References. D. Generoli

An introduction to a text on the Michel Foucault-Jurgen Habermas debate notes that there was little actual dialogue between them. Because Foucault died before Habermas's critique of The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity (1987) was published, the aim here is to critically respond to Habermas's position from a Foucauldian perspective & to initiate further dialogue by clarifying the nature of the practices of critical reflection elaborated by both men & assessing major criticisms of Foucault's genealogy. Habermas & Foucault expressed radically different perspectives about the Enlightenment, maturity, & modernity when describing their own practice of critical reflection. Their divergent relationship to Immanuel Kant's enlightenment is examined, focusing on the criteria for justifying universal moral norms as an inherent feature of the critique of practical reason. Unlike Habermas, Foucault is not involved with seeking an analytic of truth, but is concerned with the politics of truth. 37 References. J. Lindroth

Analyzes the processes of identity formation among working-class female students of Algerian descent in France, drawing on 1989/90 observations of two classes (total N = 48 students) & interviews with students & school personnel in the vocational Lycee Lurcat in Paris. It is shown that mass media have constructed girls of Algerian descent as a possible bridge between the French & immigrant worlds. Given the pressure produced by such explicit positioning in the public culture, it is suggested that these girls find school to be a kind of hiding place in which to conduct the work of identity formation in relative privacy. Contrary to simply assimilating, however, it is found that the girls actively engage in positioning themselves within, between, & against different discourses. Moreover, their particular position at the nexus of several conflicting discourses, the media, xenophobia, & racism of the French culture & of their parents, creates the possibility of critical insights & the formation of a rebellious consciousness. It is suggested that scholars move beyond representations of a homogeneous Euro-American notion of womanhood. D. M. Smith