Il diritto alla città ribelle di David Harvey

Recensione di Città ribelli: i movimenti urbani dalla Comune di Parigi a Occupy Wall Street

Etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetus demokraattisen yhteiselämän kehitysalustana

Elämme keskellä sosiaalista murrosta, jonka kehitykseen vaikuttavat koronaviruspandemian eriarvoistavat seuraukset ja akuutti tarve parantaa oikeudenmukaisuutta polarisoituvassa maailmassa. Koronaviruspandemia on haurastuttanut sosiaalista kanssakäymistä. Samalla myös yhteiskunnallinen eriarvoistuminen jatkuu; jo viime vuosikymmeneltä saakka muun muassa Occupy Wall Street -liikkeen, Arabikevään, Hongkongin protestien sekä #metoo- ja Black Lives Matter -liikkeiden esiin nostamat ongelmat ovat paljastaneet demokratian laajamittaista murentumista. Tämä herättää kysymyksiä siitä, miten kasvavat jännitteet ihmisten välillä ja fyysisen etäisyyden aika vaikuttavat jatkossa demokraattiseen yhteiselämään. Samaan aikaan on huomionarvoista, että humanistinen yliopistokoulutus on vaarassa. Markkinahenkisyyden ja vähenevien resurssien myötä yliopistot tekevät valintoja laadullisten tavoitteidensa välillä, joko panostaen “tehokkuuteen” (mitattuna opintopisteillä ja valmistuneiden opiskelijoiden määrällä) tai yleisesti tunnustettujen taitojen oppimiseen tai transformatiivisen oppimiskokemuksen tuottamiseen (Harvey & Green 1993, sit. Biggs 2001: 221–222). Nämä seikat huomioiden artikkelini yleisenä tavoitteena onkin avata uutta keskustelua etnomusikologian opetuksesta ja sen yhteiskunnallisesta vaikuttavuudesta. Käytän etnomusikologiaa esimerkkialana osallistavan opetuksen hyödyllisyydestä. Tarkoitukseni on erityisesti osoittaa, millä tavoin etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetus voi edesauttaa dialogiseen keskusteluun tarvittavien kykyjen kehittämistä ja siten harjaannuttaa opiskelijoita demokraattiseen yhteiselämään. Aineistona käytän omakohtaisia kokemuksiani; näytän, miten kokemukseni etnomusikologian opiskelijana ovat kehittäneet pedagogista ajatteluani ja opetustyöni tavoitteita. Ensin kuvailen kokemuksiani jatko-opiskelijana Pennsylvanian yliopistolla Yhdysvalloissa. Sitten kerron, kuinka dialogin kykyjen harjoituttaminen toteutuu opetustyössäni Helsingin yliopistolla. Opetuksellista näkemystäni määrittää transformatiivisen oppimiskokemuksen käsite. (Mezirow et al 1996; 1997; Nevgi & Lindblom-Ylänne 2009: 209.) Sen ohjaama analyysini nojautuu filosofi Kai Alhasen teoriaan dialogista demokratiassa. Alhasen mukaan dialogi on tietynlaista keskustelua, jossa osallistujat tarkastelevat yhdessä minkälaisia merkityksiä he antavat käsitellyille aiheille. Siten keskustelu voi johtaa luottamuksen rakentamiseen ja ymmärrykseen osallistujien kesken. Kuitenkin osallistuminen dialogiseen keskusteluun vaatii taitoja, joita on harjoiteltava. Nämä taidot ovat virittäytyminen, kuvittelu, harkinta, leikki ja usko. (Alhanen 2016.) Lopuksi annan työkaluja siihen, miten dialogisen keskustelun taitoja voisi harjoitella etnomusikologian opetuksessa. Yleisesti ottaen artikkelini on puheenvuoro etnomusikologian yliopisto-opetuksen arvon puolesta.

INKLUSION I DET DIGITALE FÆLLESSKAB

Med udgangspunkt i et lokalt hackerfællesskab på Manhattan i New York City udforskes i denne artikel de sociale og politiske omstændigheder, der udspiller sig i udviklingen af software til politiske formål. Hackerfællesskabet definerer sig selv som en del af Den Progressive Bevægelse, en venstreorienteret bevægelse, der er inspireret af institutionelt uafhængige og decentraliserede politiske bevægelser som Occupy Wall Street, men alligevel arbejder for at få politikere, som de er enige med, valgt ind i etablerede politiske embedspositioner. Hackerfællesskabet mødes for at (videre)udvikle open source-software, der skal bidrage til det progressive politiske projekt. Det er tidligere blevet beskrevet i antropologisk litteratur, hvordan open source-softwarehackerfællesskaber lader sig guide af en bestemt liberalt inspireret hackermoral, men ved Den Politiske Hack Night introduceres ligeledes et progressivt ideal om inklusion som et ledende aspekt i organiseringen. Denne artikel undersøger således, hvad der sker, når hackerfællesskaber opstår i kraft af en venstreorienteret politisk agenda og dermed udformer sig i skæringspunktet mellem hacking af open source-software og progressiv politik. I forlængelse af dette argumenterer artiklen for, at denne form for politisk motiveret hacking kan forstås i lyset af Claude Lévi-Strauss’ begreb bricolage, da denne form for hacking forener umiddelbart modsatrettede idealer i et samlet repertoire, der skaber rammerne for den sociale og politiske aktivitet omkring hackerfællesskabet. Vores analyse illustrerer endvidere, hvordan de forskellige politiske og moralske dele af vores informanters repertoire løbende er til forhandling og kontinuerligt udvikles i relation til hinanden inden for rammerne af den eksisterende bricolage. Søgeord: hacking, politik, progressivisme, inklusion, open source-software, bricolage

Fissuras do Presentismo: Mudança Histórica nos Protestos Políticos Contemporâneos

Esta década está sendo marcada por uma profunda percepção pública de mudança histórica e mesmo pelo começo de uma nova época em escala global. Este artigo argumenta que tal percepção tem raízes políticas vinculadas ao impacto dos protestos políticos como o de Junho de 2013, no Brasil, e o Occupy Wall Street nos Estados Unidos. Desse modo, analisamos o impacto de tais protestos através das narrativas e interpretações produzidas desde sua ocorrência, com foco nos livros e artigos de jornais nesses países. Pretendemos contribuir para a revisão e complexificação das principais hipóteses a respeito do tempo histórico contemporâneo vinculadas às teorias do “presenteísmo” e da “aceleração”, especialmente no que diz respeito às suas conclusões a respeito da situação atual do político como âmbito de configuração da experiência coletiva do futuro. Por fim, buscamos refletir brevemente sobre as respostas possíveis do saber histórico a tais transformações. Palavras-chave: protesto; movimentos sociais; temporalidade; presentismo; junho de 2013.

Masses on the stages of democracy: Democratic promises and dangers in self-dramatizations of masses

The political significance of masses is more obvious than ever. The aim of this article is to develop a conceptualization capable of capturing the dangerous (totalitarian) as well as promising (potentially emancipatory) aspects of masses. It argues that, intricately, the dangers and fruitful potentials of masses are born out of the same fundamental structural features. We may differentiate analytically between different kinds of masses, but all masses contain elements of ambiguity. The mass conceptualization developed builds on a critical, deconstructing interpretation of selected Bataille texts centering on ontological features of individuality and collectivity. Especially, Bataille’s concepts of ‘myth’ and ‘sacrifice’ are accentuated and critically transformed. Contemporary examples of masses – right-wing anti-establishment movements, Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter – are presented and reflected through the prism of sacrifice, with the aim of highlighting the multifaceted and complex nature of the dynamics of masses.

See you on Wall St. Sept 17. Bring Tent: Occupy Wall Street, Framing, and Mobilisation

<p>The phenomenon of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has been widely discussed in the academic and popular discourse. Of its many contributions, the language of the Occupy Movement has had a profound influence on contemporary discussions about inequality – contrasting the ‘99%’ with the ‘1%’ is now a permanent part of the conversation. However, despite this discursive shift, the literature has yet to seriously consider how the ideational elements of OWS influenced its mobilisation. While changing the dominant discourse is an important achievement, mobilising collective action around a cause remains an essential task for social movements. To explain social movement mobilisation, this thesis utilises the framing perspective, which seeks to understand why and how certain ideas are able to inspire or inhibit collective action. By using qualitative analysis of movement texts over time, this thesis has constructed the key frames articulated in selected OWS documents over the course of its serious efforts to mobilise. More specifically, it has examined whether changes in the movement’s use of diagnostic, prognostic, motivational, and identity frames can explain the trajectory of mobilisation. The central argument is that the framing perspective can offer a plausible explanation for the mobilisation of OWS; a correlation between changes in framing and expected changes in mobilisation can be observed. However, while the findings of this thesis fill one important part of the puzzle, in order to corroborate the arguments put forward here future research must consider the way the frames proffered by OWS were actually received and acted (or not acted) upon by potential participants. By doing so, we can not only gain a more perceptive insight into this topical phenomenon, but also improve our understanding of the nature and dynamics of contemporary social movements.</p>

See you on Wall St. Sept 17. Bring Tent: Occupy Wall Street, Framing, and Mobilisation

<p>The phenomenon of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) has been widely discussed in the academic and popular discourse. Of its many contributions, the language of the Occupy Movement has had a profound influence on contemporary discussions about inequality – contrasting the ‘99%’ with the ‘1%’ is now a permanent part of the conversation. However, despite this discursive shift, the literature has yet to seriously consider how the ideational elements of OWS influenced its mobilisation. While changing the dominant discourse is an important achievement, mobilising collective action around a cause remains an essential task for social movements. To explain social movement mobilisation, this thesis utilises the framing perspective, which seeks to understand why and how certain ideas are able to inspire or inhibit collective action. By using qualitative analysis of movement texts over time, this thesis has constructed the key frames articulated in selected OWS documents over the course of its serious efforts to mobilise. More specifically, it has examined whether changes in the movement’s use of diagnostic, prognostic, motivational, and identity frames can explain the trajectory of mobilisation. The central argument is that the framing perspective can offer a plausible explanation for the mobilisation of OWS; a correlation between changes in framing and expected changes in mobilisation can be observed. However, while the findings of this thesis fill one important part of the puzzle, in order to corroborate the arguments put forward here future research must consider the way the frames proffered by OWS were actually received and acted (or not acted) upon by potential participants. By doing so, we can not only gain a more perceptive insight into this topical phenomenon, but also improve our understanding of the nature and dynamics of contemporary social movements.</p>

On the necessity of prefigurative politics

The purpose of this article is to elaborate on the concept of prefiguration by outlining the necessity of its contribution to a progressive public philosophy for the 2020s. In the introduction, I explain how the object of critique for many social theorists has shifted over the course of the last decade from neoliberal globalization to capitalism understood as an encompassing form of life. In light of this, I enumerate the features that should define a progressive public philosophy: radical, emancipatory, and decolonized. The introduction is followed by an overview of the academic debates emerging after the North Atlantic financial crisis of 2007–8. Among these, accelerationism fundamentally rejects the incorporation of prefigurative politics in any emancipatory political agenda. To better understand this position, I examine the origin and meaning of prefiguration and prefigurative practices in more detail in Section III. In it, I argue that prefigurative politics entails a holistic approach to social change that digs its roots in feminist and ecological thought and focuses on social reproduction and the preservation of life rather than solely economic production. Subsequently, I deploy the case of Occupy Wall Street to show that a growing number of contemporary social movements are implementing a dualistic strategy that simultaneously combines repertoires of action typical of protest movements with prefigurative practices focused on the embodiment of alternatives. This dualism, along with the limited success of Occupy Wall Street in concretizing its claims and goals, has led prefigurative politics to being labelled as incompatible with, if not even hindering, any emancipatory strategy. My argument instead is that prefigurative politics constitutes a fundamental and necessary component of any political strategy aimed at transcending contemporary capitalism since it conceives progressive social change in an ontologically and epistemologically different way with respect to political parties and protest movements. Taking this into consideration, I conclude that conventional politics and prefigurative politics can be seen as having the potential to mutually reinforce each other and that prefigurative politics should be acknowledged as a pivotal concept in establishing a progressive public philosophy for the 2020s. Only by doing so, will this philosophy be truly radical, emancipatory, and decolonial.

The alter-globalism movement and its successors: The struggle for common human identity?

The crisis state of society, expressed in the breakdown of traditional institutions, escalation of conflicts in the international arena, environmental problems, alienation and other issues need to be resolved. It is necessary to solve social problems by the whole society, but a problem arises here: while there is no unifying, universal platform and single identity, the society remains atomized and fragmented. Nevertheless, there have been attempts to create such a platform, with the formation of a common identity. The most striking example was the alter-globalization movement, which rebelled against the neoliberal version of globalization and all the problems it poses. In the opinion of the authors of this article, the alter-globalization movement fought for a truly general humanistic content of a process that would unite all mankind. It was this movement, despite the fact that it eventually collapsed, that set the vector of development for social movements for several decades to come. So, “Occupy Wall Street”, “square movements”, modern populist movements, etc. – all of them, despite many differences between them, one way or another, fought for another future, for an alternative, inalienable world. At the same time, in recent years, we can see that the tendency to unite people in the struggle for such a goal is only gaining momentum, which, apparently, will determine the socio-political agenda of our time for a long time to come. The novelty of this study is a view on socio-political movements as mechanisms for the development of a common human identity, where the “customer” is the whole modern crisis mankind.