Tourism and struggles for domination: Local tourism communities and symbolic violence in Kashmir

Community-based tourism development in rural tourist destinations is hindered by the complex interplay of power struggles between the State, hoteliers, travel agents, local tourism players, host community and activists. Following Bourdieu’s ‘epistemologically reflexive’ sociology of everyday life, including his concepts of ‘capital’, ‘habitus’ and ‘field’, I examine the power relations between the Indian State, the regional government, the armed forces, private urban hoteliers and travel agencies, religious corporations, local tourism service providers (e.g. the ponymen and taxi operators) and the host communities operating at the tourism destination of Pahalgam in the Himalayan territory of the Indian-administered Kashmir. Drawing on ethnographic material collected during June–September 2017 and October 2018, I analyse the power relations in the context of a growing political conflict in the region. The central question this article addresses is how and to what extent these actors, particularly the Indian State, engage in contestations for dominance, insurrection and subversion over Pahalgam tourist destination. Theorising the embodiment of ponywālā1 habitus, I demonstrate that ‘subaltern’ dispositions of the ponymen and their corresponding tourism practices of offering pony rides to tourists and pilgrims create boundaries within the destination ‘field’ of Pahalgam. Subsequently, I aim to show that such dispositions cultivate internalised beliefs or doxa among local community players, thus limiting their access to capitals (economic, social, cultural and symbolic) and ensuring the (re)production of their dominated position in the destination field of Pahalgam.

Sociological Discourse-Analysis of the “Chinese Dream” Concept

Introduction. Today, China and its foreign policy priorities largely determine global international politics. The PRC is one of the main partners of Russia. The need to understand the meanings that the Chinese leadership lays in its main political concepts determines the relevance of this study. The intensification of foreign policy demanded from the Chinese leadership an appropriate discourse, formalized in foreign policy concepts of a global scale. One of these concepts is the “Chinese Dream”. Its semantic content, at a first approximation, is opposed to the “American Dream”. If in the “American Dream” the interests of the individual and his/her well-being are at the forefront, then in the case of the “Chinese Dream” , on the contrary, at the top of the pyramid of values are the interests of the state, then society, and only then the individual.Methodology and sources. The methodological basis is sociological discourse analysis, combined with reflexive sociology, through which the author aims to expand the interpretation of the “Chinese dream” and reveal its additional, not obvious meanings. The empirical base was a sample of direct speeches by the leaders of China (Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping) and their speeches at the CPC congresses. The works of Alvin Gouldner, Zygmunt Bauman, Michel Foucault were used as a theoretical basis. The author also analyzed some theoretical works of one of the main authors of the concept of the “Chinese dream” Li Junzhu, and in the context of the method of reflective sociology were studied and presented his biographical data.Results and discussion. From the standpoint of sociological discourse analysis and reflexive sociology, the article examines the context of the concept of the “Chinese dream” based on the publications of one of its authors Li Junzhu and the speeches of the PRC Presidents at the congresses of the Communist Party of China who used this formulation in their speeches. In the study, based on biographical facts, Li Junzhu shows socio -political reflection, as a result of which the concept under consideration was formulated. The academic background and experience of working with Chinese living abroad contributed to the theoretical development of the concept, which, as a first approximation, bears the load of an attractive national idea of the “American Dream” type.Conclusion. Discourse analysis also reveals a broader semantic content of the concept, which extends to China’s foreign policy and its vision of the system of international relations. When building a dialogue with China, it is useful to take into account this semantic construct, which is contained in the consedered concept.

Dual career in Brazil: analysis on men elite futsal players’ academic degree (Carrera dual en Brasil: análisis sobre el nivel académico de los jugadores de futsal de élite)

Developing an elite sport career requires efforts, being a challenge combining it with education in a context of dual career. Considering the futsal’s high social relevance in Brazil, this study aimed to analyse the academic degree of men elite futsal players in São Paulo state. Data collection occurred based on a questionnaire application to 145 Brazilian men elite futsal players, related to their own and their parents’ academic degree, and information on types of school/universities they attended. Statistical analysis was based on Chi-square, Cramer’s V and Spearman correlation tests. Discussion was based on categories from Pierre Bourdieu’s Reflexive Sociology, with emphasis on familial cultural inheritance. Main results are: most of participants were not harmed on dual career; players that earned sport scholarships completed the basic education degrees; there was not influence from parents’ institutionalized cultural capital on players’ academic career. Concluding, majority of the participants presented better academic degree than the correspondent Brazilian stratified population. The investment on sport career seems facilitated this process, especially through sport scholarships. === Desarrollar una carrera deportiva de élite requiere esfuerzos, siendo un desafío combinarla con la educación en un contexto de carrera dual. Considerando la alta relevancia social del futsal en Brasil, este estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar el nivel académico de los jugadores hombres de futsal de élite en el estado de São Paulo. La recopilación de datos se basó en la aplicación de un cuestionario a 145 jugadores brasileños de futsal de élite, relacionado con el nivel académico de ellos y sus padres y madres, e información sobre los tipos de escuelas/universidades a las que asistieron. El análisis estadístico se basó en los testes Chi-cuadrado, V de Cramer y Correlación de Spearman. La discusión se basó en categorías de la Sociología Reflexiva de Pierre Bourdieu, con énfasis en la herencia cultural familiar. Los principales resultados son: la mayoría de los participantes no sufrieron daños en la carrera dual; los jugadores que obtuvieron becas deportivas completaron los títulos de educación básica; no hubo influencia del capital cultural institucionalizado de los padres en la carrera escolar de los jugadores. En conclusión, la mayoría de los participantes presentó mejor nivel académico que la correspondiente población estratificada brasileña. La inversión en carrera deportiva parece facilitar este proceso, especialmente a través de becas deportivas

Western centrism, contemporary international law, and international courts

The article unpacks the notion of western centrism in contemporary international law by developing a framework to capture its varied patterns. It argues that western centrism can have three different manifestations – systemic, evaluative, and professional – depending on whether it refers to the rationality, the narratives, or the actors at play in the international legal field. The article then discusses three theoretical approaches that can help scholars dealing with western centrism in international (legal) scholarship. These are: (i) the critical readings of those scholars that explain international law through the lens of power and domination; (ii) the Stanford school of sociological institutionalism, which explains international institutions and norms through the role of culture and global scripts; and (iii) post-Bourdieusian reflexive sociology, which analyses the roles of transnational legal elites in colonial and post-colonial settings. Finally, the article reconstructs the experience of the Caribbean Court of Justice in the light of western centrism, demonstrating that, different from what is often argued in the literature, the Court is not a failed replica of the Court of Justice of the EU, but an institution in its own right, with its own approach to international law, its own successes and failures.

Missing Colonies in American Myths of Slavery: Where Is the “Deep North” in Sociology Textbooks?

This exercise in reflexive sociology consists of a comparative analysis of the standard verbiage of Introduction to Sociology and Sociology of Race/Ethnicity textbooks on the subject of American slavery. We interrogate whether narratives about slavery in sociology textbooks present the system as a peculiar Southern institution, or as a cross-regional institution that includes the Northern colonies. The study found that a majority of the Introductory books present the system as Southern. The majority of the Race/Ethnicity books prominently feature Southern slavery, yet some are more likely to detail Northern slavery and the broader Atlantic World context. Given that the field of sociology is a key carrier of collective-memory institutionalization in its role as a remembrance environment, we argue that it has the potential to impact historical revisionist understandings of American history in public collective memory. Such revisions carry implications for transregional responsibility for racial injustices.

Getting in Line with the Office

This chapter explores how asylum caseworkers are socialised on the job and thereby acquire an institutional habitus. Decision-makers are disciplined, incentivised, compelled, but also “ideationally conditioned” (Gill in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 34 (2): 215–233, 2009) to think, act and feel in certain ways. The chapter argues that how organisational socialisation works can only be understood by taking three factors into account: what belonging to the office and to different “communities of interpretation” (Affolter, Miaz, and Poertner in Asylum Determination in Europe: Ethnographic Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, pp. 263–284, 2019; Wenger in Knowing in Organizations: A Practice-Based Approach. M.E. Sharp, Armonk, pp. 76–99, 2003) within the office means; how decision-makers acquire, and are taught, the necessary Dienstwissen (Weber in Economy and Society. University of California Press, Berkeley, 2013 [1978]) for carrying out their tasks; and the accountability decision-makers feel towards other actors: peers and superiors, but also politicians, the media and “the public”. Together these aspects of organisational socialisation shape what decision-makers come to perceive as “normal” and “appropriate” practices. Through becoming members of the office, they develop a “socialised subjectivity” (Bourdieu and Wacquant in An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Polity Press, Cambridge, pp. 61–215, 1992) which, in turn, shapes their everyday decision-making practices.

Who Knows? Reflexivity in Feminist Standpoint Theory and Bourdieu

Though the invocation to be “reflexive” is widespread in feminist sociology, many questions remain about what it means to “turn back” and resituate our work—about how to engage with research subjects’ visions of the world and with our own theoretical models. Rather than a superficial rehearsal of researcher and interlocutor standpoints, I argue that “reflexivity” should help researchers theorize the social world in relational ways. To make this claim, I draw together the insights of feminist standpoint theory and Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology to lay the foundation for a renewed reflexive project that centers epistemic privilege, the idea that positions of structural exclusion provide the best resources for theorizing social power. Reflexive sociology should consider interlocutors’ experiences of exclusion and contradiction, engaging with sites of alternative knowledge and incorporating them into the object of study. This type of reflexivity provides improved resources for relational theory building. I offer support for these theoretical arguments with a historical analysis of knowledge production in the feminist anti-violence movement.

Some Pandemic Reflections on the „Sociology at the Dawn of a Successful Century?” Conference

The Centre for Social Sciences (Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence) held a conference entitled Sociology at the Dawn of a Successful Century? on October 8-9, 2020 in Budapest. The concept of the conference was built around Dénes Némedi’s 20-year-old article and its updates. The ambitious goal of the organizers was nothing less than to review the state of Hungarian sociology and its latest research results. In this spirit, the plenary speaker, Károly Takács (Linköping University and CSS-RECENS, Centre for Social Sciences), first approached this complex subject from the perspective of teaching sociology, and then – among other things – argued for a reflexive sociology. The review of the current state of science inevitably had to focus on the COVID-19 epidemic and its social impacts as well. Accordingly, out of a total of 24 sections and more than a hundred talks, two separate sections and ten presentations were explicitly devoted to analyzing the social implications of the coronavirus. The presentations were commented on by invited speakers, and there was vibrant scientific dialogue in both panels.

A weave of symbolic violence: dominance and complicity in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism

This paper discusses symbolic violence in sociolinguistic research on multilingualism. It revisits an archived recording of a group discussion between four boys about their chances of having sex with a female researcher. The data is rife with symbolic violence. Most obviously, the conversation enacted a heterosexist form of symbolic violence. This was, however, not the only direction in which violence was exerted. As argued by (Bourdieu & Wacquant. 1992. An invitation to reflexive sociology. Cambridge: Polity), symbolic violence involves two fundamental elements – domination and complicity. In the case at hand, the boys’ sexist banter conformed to dominant expectations about their linguistic behavior, imbued in the research event. This is symbolic complicity of the kind that the Bourdieusian notion foresees. Yet another subordination to the dominant vision occurred when the researchers captured the conversation on tape, but decided to exempt it from publication. Here, we argue that giving deepened attention to sociolinguists’ own run-ins with symbolic violence during research is valuable, because it provides an opportunity to reflexively consider the social conditions of the research practices, in relation to the data produced and analyzed. Ultimately, this reflexive exercise may help sociolinguists sharpen their tools for understanding the give and take of dominance and complicity unfolding in their data.

‘Put that in your fucking research’: reflexivity, ethnography and disability sport coaching

Reflexivity is continually called for as a marker of quality ethnographic research. In this paper we put reflexivity to ‘work’, providing a critical commentary on data generated through ethnographic fieldwork in high-performance disability sport. Drawing on Bourdieu’s reflexive sociology, we situate the ethnographer in the field of disability sport, turning a reflexive lens onto the practices that are associated with occupying the role of coach and researcher simultaneously. We illustrate the centrality of researcher subjectivity – through the reflexive device of ‘crossing fields’ – as a productive resource for examining the social and intellectual unconscious embedded in the process of doing ethnographic research. In so doing, we provide a unique example of how reflexive practice can offer a rigorous, power-conscious reading of an ethnography of high-performance coaching in disability sport.