Voices from the Lagers in Germany

This paper traces the everyday realities of refugees living in camps in certain federal states of Germany during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. It provides a systematic analysis of refugees’ testimonies and demonstrates that they have not received similar levels of care and protection as German citizens, and that their movement has become increasingly regulated. Drawing on Achille Mbembe’s notion of ‘necropolitics’, I argue that the German State has treated refugees’ lives as less liveable than those of their own citizens during the pandemic, as was the case before it broke out. Much scholarship has explained the notion of refugee camps in various ways, but there has been less discussion of Lagers (camps) as a site where colonial oppression persists outside the temporal and spatial contexts of former colonies. Data are drawn from archived data sets and testimonies that refugees uploaded to websites of various refugee activist groups.

Otonomi Kolektif dan Operasionalisasi Kesadaran Publik dalam Gerakan Solidaritas Pangan Jogja (SPJ)

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the pattern of interaction and socialization of community members. One of them is an effort to build awareness and social solidarity to help each other, especially in the dimension of domestic needs, such as food fulfillment. The Jogja Food Solidarity Movement (Solidaritas Pangan Jogja/SPJ) represents a collective action that grew because of the awareness of individuals and groups to distribute food aid to informal workers and marginalized groups in Yogyakarta. This paper examines two main points; first, how SPJ manages its social network pattern during the Covid-19 pandemic. Second, why the SPJ movement is autonomous. Using a qualitative approach and case study method, this paper finds that the SPJ movement maximizes social capital through networks and social support from non-governmental institutions, activist groups, artists, students, and the Kulon Progo Coastal Farmers Association (Paguyuban Petani Lahan Pantai/PPLP) to distribute food. to the public. The SPJ movement is formed organically, autonomously and rationally, which is a manifestation of systematically organized collective action. Through the analysis of the Resource Mobilization Theory (Teori Mobilisasi Sumber Daya/TMSD), the SPJ movement is needed to create and show collective dissatisfaction, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, namely without which dissatisfaction is only at the individual level.

New dissidence in contemporary Russia: Students, feminism and new ethics

The essay is devoted to the specifics of the contemporary Russian opposition and civil society. We describe the characteristics of contemporary ‘intellectual activism’ and the growing network of small civil and political groups in today’s Russia. We show that Russian civil society remains fragile and fragmented; the public discussion is not focused on strategies of resistance to arbitrariness but on constructing moral categories such as the wide and vague concept of ‘new ethics’. We also show how outsiders appear among contemporary Russian dissidents, who are not supported by most independent leaders and intellectuals – these are young ‘new leftists’ and feminist activist groups. These political activists find themselves under pressure from both the siloviki and the authorities, and in the focus of criticism of opposition leaders, becoming, in fact, dissidents among dissidents in contemporary Russia.

Ainu in modern Japanese society: the problem of returning the remains of ancestors

The article is devoted to the issue of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains, collected by Japanese researchers in the second half of the 19th - 20th centuries. It is the most crucial current issue for many Ainu people who are trying to regain the language, the distinct culture, and identity. The article analyzes the positions of the Japanese Government, the Hokkaido Ainu Association and Ainu rights activist groups and movements. The article examines the contradictions that arose in Japanese society concerning the process of repatriation. Discussions in Japanese society during this problem were analyzed, and its significance for the Ainu communities is revealed. It was found that the discussions mainly arise in connection with the idea of transferring the remains to the memorial hall located in Symbolic Spaces for Ethnic Harmony, which was opened in July 2020. Research also showed that the problem under study is largely related to limitations in ethnic policy implementation and realization of indigenous peoples rights in Japan. In addition, the process of repatriation of Ainu ancestral remains is compounded by the lack of unity of the Ainu as a community. Therefore, reaching agreement between the government, the academic community, and critical Ainu rights activist groups proved extremely difficult. However, it was concluded that there is a potential to resolve the issue and consensus could be reached in the near future.

Politics of alliance in the farmers’ march to Parliament in India

On 30 November 2018 tens of thousands of Indian farmers marched to Parliament and demanded a special session to discuss the deepening agrarian crisis. The protest march to Parliament was only the latest in a series of protest marches which had been organized by an umbrella group of over 200 farmers’ organizations from all over India. Moreover, for the first time, an alliance of different activist groups, political parties, trade unions and students had cohered to support the farmers and their cause. Despite its political, empirical and theoretical significance, research on the formation of alliances has gained scant attention in sociological research. Based on original research, this article suggests alliance building should be understood with reference to political opportunities, processes of meaning attribution and framing, and as a strategy, which facilitates worthiness, unity, numbers and commitment (WUNC displays, as outlined by Charles Tilly).

Beyond Greenwash: Environmental Discourses of Appropriation and Resistance

<p>A multimodal, critical approach to Discourse allows us to understand contemporary environmental debates in a nuanced way. Fossil fuel mining has become especially controversial due to the environmental, health, and social impacts, as well as the substantial economic dependence on such development. Wider discussions surrounding mining projects tend to diverge into two major oppositions: that of the industry itself, and that of local activists protesting development on their lands. Research in these areas has leaned towards a focus on the use of environmental language by polluting industries, termed ‘greenwash’, missing to some degree the ways in which these and other Discourses are articulated multimodally through interaction. This thesis brings a critical, multimodal analysis to controversial mining debates which go ‘beyond greenwash’, in order to track how Discourses are appropriated, resisted, and re-entextualised. In this thesis I adopt overlapping critical, multimodal, and ethnographic theoretical lenses to view interaction surrounding two controversial mining case studies: the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, Canada and a lignite coal mine expansion in Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Drawing upon an understanding of human communication as inherently multimodal, I include video-recorded interviews with both activists and industry representatives, as well as relevant artefacts (such as pamphlets, photographs, signs, etc) in my dataset. Using mediated action as the unit of analysis, I employ Multimodal Interaction Analysis to examine interview interaction, coupled with methods from Social Semiotics to interrogate designed artefacts. These analytical frameworks, viewed through combined theoretical lenses, provide a unique perspective on the way Discourses are appropriated and creatively resisted in debates about resource development. In both case studies, Discourses of the environment and the economy are appropriated by activists and industry actors, forming the basic ‘Environment v. Economy’ Discourse. This dichotomy is expanded through the appropriation of additional Discourses, such as regional identity in both Southland and Alberta. Activist groups subsequently resist and re-appropriate these regional Discourses by multimodally re-contextualising them. In Alberta, additional Discourses of Indigenous and LGBTQ+ identities are appropriated by industry actors in attempts to legitimise mining expansion. While some of these appropriations draw upon ideas of intersecting oppressions, mining industries fail to adequately address the ways in which resource extraction contributes to those oppressions. However, these actions are both recognised and resisted by local anti-tar sands activists, who use public events and designed artefacts to display their opposition and reappropriate Discourses. Although both case studies are concerned with similar types of fossil fuel extraction, there are notable differences. Whereas Discourses of the environment, the economy, and regional identity are both appropriated and resisted in Southland and Alberta, it appears that in Alberta, industry actors draw upon a wider variety of Discourses. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the Athabasca tar sands controversy has had a longer development period and more international resistance, meaning there is more pressure to legitimise new and ongoing projects. This has led to a type of ‘discursive arms race’, where wider Discourses are appropriated as other, more directly-linked, Discourses are exhausted (e.g. the environment). In response, activists in both Southland and Alberta make use of creativity and humour in mundane performances to enact satirical representations of powerful industry actors. While these performances occur regularly in many of my interviews, activists in Alberta also tend to stage elaborate and humorous theatrics in order to criticise government and industry approaches to fossil fuel development. The unique framework employed in this thesis has resulted in a number of research implications. These include the combination of Critical Discourse Analysis with a multimodal, ethnographic approach, and the coupling of Multimodal Interaction Analysis with Social Semiotics to expand my analytical reach. Additionally, I have made use of a variety of modes in this thesis’ presentation, in order to exploit each mode’s affordances and better represent the complexity of my dataset. Finally, from a critical perspective, this research offers an agenda of empowerment for environmental justice activist groups struggling to protect their lands.</p>

Beyond Greenwash: Environmental Discourses of Appropriation and Resistance

<p>A multimodal, critical approach to Discourse allows us to understand contemporary environmental debates in a nuanced way. Fossil fuel mining has become especially controversial due to the environmental, health, and social impacts, as well as the substantial economic dependence on such development. Wider discussions surrounding mining projects tend to diverge into two major oppositions: that of the industry itself, and that of local activists protesting development on their lands. Research in these areas has leaned towards a focus on the use of environmental language by polluting industries, termed ‘greenwash’, missing to some degree the ways in which these and other Discourses are articulated multimodally through interaction. This thesis brings a critical, multimodal analysis to controversial mining debates which go ‘beyond greenwash’, in order to track how Discourses are appropriated, resisted, and re-entextualised. In this thesis I adopt overlapping critical, multimodal, and ethnographic theoretical lenses to view interaction surrounding two controversial mining case studies: the Athabasca tar sands in Alberta, Canada and a lignite coal mine expansion in Southland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Drawing upon an understanding of human communication as inherently multimodal, I include video-recorded interviews with both activists and industry representatives, as well as relevant artefacts (such as pamphlets, photographs, signs, etc) in my dataset. Using mediated action as the unit of analysis, I employ Multimodal Interaction Analysis to examine interview interaction, coupled with methods from Social Semiotics to interrogate designed artefacts. These analytical frameworks, viewed through combined theoretical lenses, provide a unique perspective on the way Discourses are appropriated and creatively resisted in debates about resource development. In both case studies, Discourses of the environment and the economy are appropriated by activists and industry actors, forming the basic ‘Environment v. Economy’ Discourse. This dichotomy is expanded through the appropriation of additional Discourses, such as regional identity in both Southland and Alberta. Activist groups subsequently resist and re-appropriate these regional Discourses by multimodally re-contextualising them. In Alberta, additional Discourses of Indigenous and LGBTQ+ identities are appropriated by industry actors in attempts to legitimise mining expansion. While some of these appropriations draw upon ideas of intersecting oppressions, mining industries fail to adequately address the ways in which resource extraction contributes to those oppressions. However, these actions are both recognised and resisted by local anti-tar sands activists, who use public events and designed artefacts to display their opposition and reappropriate Discourses. Although both case studies are concerned with similar types of fossil fuel extraction, there are notable differences. Whereas Discourses of the environment, the economy, and regional identity are both appropriated and resisted in Southland and Alberta, it appears that in Alberta, industry actors draw upon a wider variety of Discourses. This may be due, in part, to the fact that the Athabasca tar sands controversy has had a longer development period and more international resistance, meaning there is more pressure to legitimise new and ongoing projects. This has led to a type of ‘discursive arms race’, where wider Discourses are appropriated as other, more directly-linked, Discourses are exhausted (e.g. the environment). In response, activists in both Southland and Alberta make use of creativity and humour in mundane performances to enact satirical representations of powerful industry actors. While these performances occur regularly in many of my interviews, activists in Alberta also tend to stage elaborate and humorous theatrics in order to criticise government and industry approaches to fossil fuel development. The unique framework employed in this thesis has resulted in a number of research implications. These include the combination of Critical Discourse Analysis with a multimodal, ethnographic approach, and the coupling of Multimodal Interaction Analysis with Social Semiotics to expand my analytical reach. Additionally, I have made use of a variety of modes in this thesis’ presentation, in order to exploit each mode’s affordances and better represent the complexity of my dataset. Finally, from a critical perspective, this research offers an agenda of empowerment for environmental justice activist groups struggling to protect their lands.</p>

In the groove and in the moment: epistemology and ethics in ethnography with Sudanese musician revolutionaries

This study discusses the methodological component of a research project with Sudanese musicians and their associated activist groups. The methodology included song-writing and, as such, is an example of collaborative creative research practice. Proponents of collaborative creative practice argue that the combination of aesthetic methods with ethnographic and participatory research methods brings both epistemological and ethical dividends. This paper considers whether these alleged epistemological and ethical advantages bore out in this research project. While confirming some benefits, my study also shows evidence of underlying tensions between aesthetic ‘micro-methods’ and ethnographic and participatory traditions of knowledge production. In relation to the alleged epistemological dividends, I argue that autoethnographic embedding in collaborative creative practice is alone insufficient. It requires a theoretical framework which theorises the relationship between one player’s musical experience and another’s. Only with this, can the sensory experiences of the researcher be used to inform analysis of participant observations and interviews. The autoethnographic experiences of the researcher are not findings in themselves. In relation to the ethical dividends, unlike other arts-based research, I found that the aesthetic micro-methods in this study did not naturally lend themselves to participant empowerment. The pursuit of aesthetic goals has its own division of labour which can lead to the deprioritisation of self-expression and co-learning which constitute the primary aims of classical participatory research. Overall, collaborative creative practice did enhance this research project but there are important caveats. To reflect these, I aruge that creative collaboration should not be considered as a simple sub-set of either ethnographic or participatory research but as a method in its own right.

“Hope it’s not just the honeymoon phase”: online discursive portrayals of migrant domestic helpers

This paper examines online discursive representations of migrant domestic helpers (MDHs) by Hong Kong employers. Unlike existing research, which concentrates on the experiences of MDHs from their own perspectives, this study focuses on positive narrations about MDHs by their employers. Using critical discourse analysis, this study identified the discursive strategies deployed to portray MDHs in more than 2,000 Facebook posts. The findings reveal that, although the interlocutors attempted to commend the MDHs in their employ, they also emphasised their own superiority by portraying themselves as gastronomic experts, good educators, and benefactors, thus developing an ideological paradox. Another dimension of ideological ambivalence concerned the discursive conflict between their high expectations from the MDHs and their underlying belief that domestic work neither requires skills nor deserves high pay. Taken together, these factors are responsible for the entrenchment of the inferior image of MDHs in Hong Kong society, despite the persistent endeavours of activist groups to spread awareness of their exploitation.

Digital participation of left-wing activists in Brazil: cultural events as a cement to mobilization and networked protest

This research explores how Brazilian activist groups participate in Facebook to coordinate their social struggles, based on a lexical analysis of publications on 529 pages, published between 2013 and 2017. These groups set up two main repertoires of action by mobilizing Facebook as an arena for challenging political action and a tool for coordinating their mobilizations. This research shows more specifically that artistic expression and the agenda of cultural events are central to these digital action repositories. Publications and conversations related to culture punctuate the ordinary exchange of information between activists, especially during the lulls of social struggles. They structure activist networks on a medium-term basis and contribute to the coordination of social movements by creating the conditions for occasional gatherings, transversal to different types of activism and to various social struggles.