Design, power and colonisation: decolonial and anti-oppressive explorations on three approaches for Design for Sustainability

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas B. TORRETTA ◽  
Lizette REITSMA
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Design For Sustainability ◽  
The People ◽  
Reflexive Practice ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Design Power ◽  
Relational Issue

Our contemporary world is organized in a modern/colonial structure. As people, professions and practices engage in cross-country Design for Sustainability (DfS), projects have the potential of sustaining or changing modern/colonial power structures. In such project relations, good intentions in working for sustainability do not directly result in liberation from modern/colonial power structures. In this paper we introduce three approaches in DfS that deal with power relations. Using a Freirean (1970) decolonial perspective, we analyse these approaches to see how they can inform DfS towards being decolonial and anti-oppressive. We conclude that steering DfS to become decolonial or colonizing is a relational issue based on the interplay between the designers’ position in the modern/colonial structure, the design approach chosen, the place and the people involved in DfS. Hence, a continuous critical reflexive practice is needed in order to prevent DfS from becoming yet another colonial tool.

Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, 1774-1800

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Owen
Keyword(s):  
American Revolution ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Popular Sovereignty ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Early American ◽  
The People ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
Popular Mobilization

Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania challenges the ways we understand popular sovereignty in the American Revolution, demonstrating how ordinary citizens wielded significant political power. Previous histories place undue focus on either elite political thought or class analysis; on the contrary, citizens cared most about the establishment of a representative, publicly legitimate political process. Popular activism constrained leaders, creating a system through which governmental actions were made more representative of the will of the community. This book analyzes developments in Pennsylvania from 1774, and the passage of the Intolerable Acts, through to 1800 and the election of Thomas Jefferson. It examines the animating philosophy of the Pennsylvania state constitution of 1776, a “radical manifesto” espousing a vision of popular sovereignty in which government was devolved from the people only where necessary. The legitimacy of governmental institutions rested on their demonstration that they operated through popular consent, expressed in a variety of forms of popular mobilization. This book examines how early Americans interacted with the power structures shaping the world in which they lived, recasting the nature of the American Revolution and illuminating the origins of modern American political practice. It investigates how political mobilization operated inside and outside formal channels of government. Mechanisms of popular mobilization helped a diverse population mediate with governmental institutions, providing the foundation of early American power. Histories that ignore this relationship miss one of the most significant founding characteristics of the United States—the importance of popular politics and democratic practice in the establishment of American government.

The Crisis of the Ryukyus (1877–82)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Sze-lok Leung ◽  
Anthony Carty
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Independent State ◽  
The People ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Status ◽  
Historical Viewpoint

Okinawa is now considered as Japanese territory, without challenge from most world powers. However, this is debatable from a historical viewpoint. The Ryukyu Kingdom which dominated the islands was integrated into Japan in 1879. The transformation is seen by Wang Hui as a process of modernization. This chapter argues the issue from an international law perspective. It shows that Ryukyu was an independent State as demonstrated by the 1854 Ryukyu–US Treaty, although it sent regular tributes to China. The Japanese integration by coercion is not justifiable. The people of Ryukyu were willing to continue being a tributary State rather than part of Japan. Britain, as the greatest colonial power, did not object. China and the US attempted to intervene in this affair, but no treaty has so far been concluded. Therefore, the status of Ryukyu/Okinawa remains unresolved and may need to be revisited, while putting the history context into consideration.

Identity propaganda: Racial narratives and disinformation

2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110292
Author(s):  
Madhavi Reddi ◽  
Rachel Kuo ◽  
Daniel Kreiss
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Vice President ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Us Presidential Election ◽  
Social Orders ◽  
Racial Narratives

This article develops the concept of “identity propaganda,” or narratives that strategically target and exploit identity-based differences in accord with pre-existing power structures to maintain hegemonic social orders. In proposing and developing the concept of identity propaganda, we especially aim to help researchers find new insights into their data on misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda by outlining a framework for unpacking layers of historical power relations embedded in the content they analyze. We focus on three forms of identity propaganda: othering narratives that alienate and marginalize non-white or non-dominant groups; essentializing narratives that create generalizing tropes of marginalized groups; and authenticating narratives that call upon people to prove or undermine their claims to be part of certain groups. We demonstrate the utility of this framework through our analysis of identity propaganda around Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2020 US presidential election.

Using Old Photographs in Interviews: Some Cautionary Notes About Silences in Fieldwork

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Bravman
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
The People ◽  
Taita Hills ◽  
National Archives ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Photo Collection ◽  
Image Production ◽  
To Come

In September 1987, early in my research at the Kenya National Archives, I came across a collection of photographs taken by a British missionary during the 1920s and early 1930s. The collection contained nearly 250 photos of the terrain and people of Kenya's Taita Hills, where I would soon be going for my fieldwork. I pored over the photo collection for a long time, and had reproductions made of twenty-five shots. The names of those pictured had been recorded in the photo album's captions. Many of the names were new to me, though a few WaTaita of the day who had figured prominently in the archival records were also captured on film. When I moved on to Taita in early 1988,1 took the photographs with me. Since I would be interviewing men and women old enough either to remember or be contemporaries of the people in the pictures, I planned to show the photos during the interviews. At first I was simply curious about who some of the people pictured were, but my curiosity quickly evolved into a more ambitious plan. I decided to try using the photographs as visual prompts to get people to speak more expansively than they otherwise might about their lives and their experiences.In the event, I learned that using the photographs in interviews involved many more complexities than I had envisaged in my initial enthusiasm. I found that I had to alter the expectations and techniques I took to Taita, and feel out some of the limitations of working with the photographic medium. I had to recognize the power relations embedded in my presence as a researcher in Taita, in my position as bearer of images from peoples' pasts, and in the photos themselves. I found, too, that I needed to come to grips with a number of issues about the politics of image production, and the historical product of those politics: the bounded, selected images that are photographs. Finally, I had to address some of my own cultural assumptions about photography and how people respond to pictures, assumptions that my informants did not necessarily share.

Legitimizing Transformation without Calling it Change:Tajdīd, Iṣlāḥ, and Saudi Arabia’s Place in the Contemporary World

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Sean Foley
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Political System ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Advanced Technology ◽  
The West ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The People ◽  
Diverse Society ◽  
Oil Revenues

For decades, many scholars have contended that Saudi Arabia is a fixed political system, where a conservative monarchy uses advanced technology, oil revenues, and religion to dominate the people. Such a system is often portrayed as inherently unstable, a seemingly never-ending series of collisions between an unchanging traditional political structure seeking to hold on to power at any cost and a dynamic modernity—a view encapsulated in a phrase expressed at virtually every public discussion of the Kingdom in the West: ‘you must admit that Saudi Arabia must change’. Ironically this phrase confirms what this article argues is a secret to the success of Saudi Arabia in the contemporary era: the ability to legitimize transformation without calling it change. No society is static, including Saudi Arabia. Throughout the Kingdom’s history, the defining social institutions have repeatedly utilized Tajdīd (Revival) and Iṣlāḥ (Reform) to respond to new technologies and the changing expectations of a diverse society. While Muslim scholars are most often entrusted to arbitrate this process, ordinary Saudis use this process to guide their actions in the various social spaces they encounter both at home and abroad. Critically, this process reflects the response of King Abdulaziz and the founders of the third Saudi state in the early twentieth century to the factors that had brought down previous Saudi states in the nineteenth century.

scholarly journals Poder, violencia y resistencia de la imagen. Batallas audiovisuales en América Latina

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Miguel Alfonso Bouhaben
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Nouvelles Technologies ◽  
The People ◽  
Surveillance Cameras ◽  
Nuevas Tecnologías ◽  
America Latina ◽  
Visual Violence

Poder, violencia y resistencia de la imagen. Batallas audiovisuales en América LatinaMiguel Alfonso BouhabenResumenEl mundo contemporáneo se ha convertido en imagen. El poder controla, por medio de imágenes –cámaras de vigilancia, películas ideológicas, nuevas tecnologías, etc.– lo que se debe pensar y sentir. El presente artículo tiene como objetivo la definición y la evaluación crítica de las relaciones entre el poder, la violencia y las formas de resistencia de las imágenes. A través del análisis de algunas secuencias de La hora de los hornos (Gettino y Solanas, 1968), Sangre de cóndor (Jorge Sanjinés, 1969) y El coraje del pueblo (Jorge Sanjinés, 1971), se valorarán las alternativas a los dispositivos de dominio audiovisual con el fin de poner contra las cuerdas la lógica de violencia visual del poder hegemónico. Se trata, en definitiva, de explorar las posibilidades de emergencia de las contraimágenes en el contexto de América Latina.Palabras claves América Latina; contraimagen; poder; resistencia; violenciaPower, Violence and Resistance of the Image. Audiovisual Battles in Latin AmericaMiguel Alfonso BouhabenAbstractThe contemporary world has become an image. The power controls, through images – surveillance cameras, ideological films, new technologies, etc. – what should be thought and felt. This article aims at the definition and critical evaluation of the relations between power, violence and forms of resistance of images. Through the analysis of some sequences from The Hour of the Furnaces (Gettino and Solanas, 1968), Blood of the Condor (Jorge Sanjinés, 1969) and The Courage of the People (Jorge Sanjinés, 1971), the alternatives to the devices of audiovisual domain will be assessed in order to question the logic of visual violence of the hegemonic power. Finally, the purpose is to explore the possibilities of emergence of counter-images in the Latin American context.KeywordsLatin America; Counter-image; power; resistance; violencePoder pelio y uapiai imagenmanda, batallas audiovisuales América- latinapeMiguel Alfonso BouhabenMaillallachiska:Chi mundo contemporáneo convertirerka e imagen. Chi poderka controla chi imágenes- cámara de vigencia, películas ideológicas, musu tecnologías, etc.- deberenme iuiai y sentengapa. Kai presente articulok rukanme objetivo la definición y evaluacion crítica de las realciones entre poder, chi pilio y forma de resistencia de las imágenes. Atraves del análisis sug secuenciakuna la hora de los hornos ( Gettino y Solanas, 1968) iauar condorpa ( Jorge Sanjinés, 1969 ) y sug koraje pueblomanda ( Jorge Sanjinés 1971) se valoraran sug alternativakuna dispositivokuna de dominio audiovisual churrangapa contra las cuerdas sug lógica de pilio visual del poder hegemonico, tratarenme en definitiva, explorangapa sug posibilidadkuna de emergencia sug contraimagenkunamanda contextope América Latinape.Rimangapa Ministidukuna:América Latina; contraimagen; poder, uapiai; pilioPuissance, violence et résistance de l'image. Batailles audiovisuelles en Amérique latineMiguel Alfonso BouhabenRésuméLe monde contemporain est devenu une image. Le pouvoir contrôle, à travers des images –caméras de surveillance, films idéologiques, nouvelles technologies, etc. – ce qu'il faut penser et ressentir. Cet article vise la définition et l'évaluation critique des relations entre le pouvoir, la violence et les formes de résistance des images. Grâce à l'analyse de certaines séquences de L'Heure des brasiers (Gettino et Solanas, 1968), Sang du Condor (Jorge Sanjinés, 1969) et Le courage du peuple (Jorge Sanjinés, 1971), les alternatives à des dispositifs de domaine audiovisuel sont évaluées, afin de contester la logique de violence visuelle du pouvoir hégémonique. Enfin, il s'agit d'explorer les possibilités d'émergence de contre-images dans le contexte de l'Amérique latine.Mots clésAmérique latine; contre-image; pouvoir; résistance; violencePODER, VIOLÊNCIA E RESISTÊNCIA DA IMAGEM. BATALHAS AUDIOVISUAIS NA AMÉRICA LATINAMiguel Alfonso BouhabenResumoO mundo contemporâneo tem se transformado em imagem. O poder controla, por meio de imagens câmeras de vigilância, filmes ideológicos, novas tecnologias, etc –o que se deve pensar e sentir. O presente artigo tem como objetivo de resistência das avaliações crítica das relações entre o poder, a violência e as formas de resistência das imagens. Através da análise de algumas sequências La hora de los hornos (Gettino y Solanas, 1968), Sangre de cóndor (Jorge Sanjinés, 1969) e El coraje del pueblo (Jorge Sanjinés, 1971), se valorizarão as alternativas aos dispositivos de domínio audiovisual com o fim de pôr contra as cordas a lógica de violência visual do poder hegemônico. Definitivamente se trata de explorar as possibilidades de emergência das contra imagens no contexto da América Latina.Palavras-chave América Latina; contra imagem; poder; resistência, violência

Postcolonial Freud: Psychoanalysis in the French Antilles

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Simek
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Critical Perspective ◽  
French Antilles ◽  
Cultural Alienation

While Martinique and Guadeloupe were assimilated into the French state in 1946, traces of colonial power relations and economic structures persist despite the islands' current status as French départements equal to any other. This article examines the contributions of Freud's thought to the shift in critical perspective that has allowed the continued ‘colonial’ status of these islands, and the cultural alienation of its people, to be identified as a problem or phenomenon requiring analysis and rectification. Speaking of ‘postcolonial Freud’ in this context is tantamount to asking: which postcolony for the French Antillean future, and which Freud for the thought emerging from this space?

The Circular Routes of Colonial and Postcolonial Domestic Work: Però’s and Ciaravino’s Alexandria and Ghermandi’s “The Story of Woizero Bekelech and Signor Antonio”

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Fiore
Keyword(s):  
Power Relations ◽  
Domestic Work ◽  
Emigration And Immigration ◽  
Women Migrants ◽  
Colonial Power ◽  
Post Colonial

The chapter explores the connection between emigration and immigration through a combined reading of texts where demographic movements are defined by colonial routes: Renata Ciaravino’s script for the 2005 play Alexandria directed by Franco Però about adventurous women from the Friuli region who emigrated to Egypt in the 1920s to work as wet nurses and maids anticipates the silent yet profoundly important role of today’s domestic helpers and caretakers in Italy as portrayed by Gabriella Ghermandi’s colonial/post-colonial “The Story of Woizero Bekelech and Signor Antonio,” included in her 2007 novel Regina di fiori e di perle. The two texts highlight the forms of emancipation that women migrants develop as part of relocations abroad as well as the forms of awareness about colonial power relations that they prompt among locals.

Challenging Norms Supportive of Violence

2020 ◽  
pp. 126-141
Author(s):  
Obediah Dodo
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ways Of Life

Norms have a contribution in determining violence: how it starts, is unleashed, and its effect on the entirety of the society. They are important in moulding the behaviours of the people. However, they may be problematic and instigate violence. Realising an upsurge in violence emanating from some of the norms in Zimbabwean cultures, the study sought to understand all the various forms of norms, their functionalities, and how they influence violence before seeking to craft means of challenging them. The study is guided by the social norms approach. The study found out that social and cultural norms have over a period grown to define most societies' ways of life. However, there are elements that always try to create conflicts. To attend to the disruptive elements, there are interventions that may be applied to challenge some of these norms, usually combined with other methods, legislation and policies, education, adoption of contemporary world standards, communication, and inclusive lobbying and advocacy, among others.

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