Studying Peoples

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Studying Peoples Politics Other Than Your Own

• Precautions and Pitfalls

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What are some of the disadvantages of comparison?
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Thoughts to ponder
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1) How do people define themselves, and when are
these definitions politically relevant?
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A brief exercise-how many identities are there
in this classroom?

1. Divide into groups
2. How many group identities can you find in your
   group? (i.e. gender-based, sexual, racial,
   class-based, national, linguistic, occupational,
   demographic, sports, hobby, professional,
   geographic etc)
3. Which of these are politically meaningful for you?

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The point identities are fluid

• Fuzzy Communities
• Intermarriage
• Shared work, shared space
• Shared and borrowed custom

Multiple identities -Gender, Class,
Nationality, Religion, etc - When and why do
certain identities become politically relevant at
certain times?
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2) Are places fixed in time and space?
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Where is the Middle East?
(CIA, 2003)
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Middle East?
(From MidEast Web, 2003)
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Sourcehttp//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps
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Where is Europe?
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Where is this?
Photo http//imagesoftheworld.org/Ephesus/Ephesus
.html
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The point

• Geographic identifications are culturally
  constructed and vary according to place and time

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3 What is normal?
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Who (if anyone) is exploited here?
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4 Some actors are more powerful than others
(the playing field is not even)
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Power Imbalances
Military might Economic dominance Colonial
legacies
The poorest 20 percent of the world's population
gets 1.1 of global income. The richest 20 get
86 . (UNDP)
About 85 of the worlds trade flows to the
richest fifth of the world population
Who makes the rules?
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5) What are your assumptions about politics, and
how often do you question them?

• What is the best form of government?
• If a company has the opportunity to improve its
  efficiency through better technology, should it
  do it, even if it means laying off workers?

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Discourses Their Hegemony

• Democracy
• nationalism
• Free market
• Efficiency
• individuality

Are there any alternatives out there?
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6) Is your version of the truth the only one?
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Uncertainty of Truth Which part of the picture
are you seeing?
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Is the most visible part of the political
performance really the most important part?
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7) Language as ShortcutAre some experiences
never adequately captured in words?