School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Research Publications

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    Theorizing social change
    DWYER, P ; MINNEGAL, M (Wiley Blackwell, 2010)
    We outline primary features of a theoretical perspective on processes of social change in human systems that deals with broadly defined kinds of process, the nature of variants that are expressed and consolidate as change occurs, and, with specific reference to agency, the ways in which intentional actors are implicated in the changes that befall them. Our aim is to contribute to a general theory of process that is not prejudiced by the possible misrepresentation of outcomes arising in particular contexts (e.g. modernity), or the contexts themselves, as being causal processes. We direct attention to four problems of a methodological and ethical nature that may arise when analysts strive for generality. Résumé Les auteurs ébauchent les premières grandes lignes d'une approche théorique des processus de changement social dans les systèmes humains, abordant des types de processus définis largement, la nature de variantes qui s'expriment et se consolident au fil des changements et, en faisant spécifiquement référence àl'agency, la manière dont les acteurs intentionnels sont impliqués dans les changements qui les affectent. Notre but est de contribuer à une théorie générale du processus qui n'est pas biaisée d'emblée par une possible erreur de représentation des résultats qui surviennent dans des contextes donnés (par exemple la modernité) ou des contextes eux‐mêmes, en tant que processus causaux. Nous consacrons notre attention à quatre problèmes de nature méthodologique et éthique qui peuvent se poser quand les analystes tentent de généraliser.
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    Neoliberalism, mobility and Cook Islands men in transit
    Alexeyeff, K (AUSTRALIAN ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOC, 2008-08)
    From the 1990s, neoliberalism has been vigorously promoted by aid agencies operating in the Cook Islands. The solution to the country's economic problems has been sought in the privatisation of government assets and services and the development of free‐market principles. Social Impact Assessment reports of these reforms have included information on their effect on women and children under the heading of ‘gender’; men, however, are notably absent as a category of analysis. Building on recent work about men, masculinities and development, this paper begins to address this imbalance by examining how Cook Islands men have been effected by, and how they react to, neoliberalism in a series of gender specific ways. In particular, it explores the relationship between masculinity, class, status, and migration.
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    Kimberley friction: Complex attachments to water-places in northern Ausralia
    Toussaint, S (WILEY, 2008-03)
    ABSTRACT Water, in all its physical, symbolic and metaphorical guises, has an obvious interconnection with people. Without water, human and other life forms cannot (and do not) exist. Less obvious is water's potential as a site of anthropological investigation to explore attachments to place. Such attachments, as Arturo Escobar observes, facilitate a multiplicity of place‐based cultures, and emerge when ‘connectivity, interactivity and positionality’ are present. His observation makes epistemological room for what Anna Tsing conceptualises as the ‘friction’ that permeates environmental and indigenous projects. Via Australian‐based Kimberley ethnographic insights, this article examines people's attachments to place‐based cultures when they become meaningful through multi‐layered tensions about water.
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    The modern face of traditional agrarian rule: local government in Pakistan
    Malik, N (ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2009)
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    The Ethics of Apology A Set of Commentaries
    Mookherjee, N ; Rapport, N ; Josephides, L ; Hage, G ; Todd, LR ; Cowlishaw, G (SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2009-09)
    ■ On 13 February 2008, the Australian government apologized to the ‘stolen generations’: those children of Aboriginal descent who were removed from their parents (usually their Aboriginal mothers) to be raised in white foster-homes and institutions administered by government and Christian churches — a practice that lasted from before the First World War to the early 1970s. This apology was significant, in the words of Rudd, for the ‘healing’ of the Australian nation. Apologizing for past injustices has become a significant speech act in current times. Why does saying sorry seem to be ubiquitous at the moment? What are the instances of not saying sorry? What are the ethical implications of this era of remembrance and apology? This set of commentaries seeks to explore some of the ethical, philosophical, social and political dimensions of this Age of Apology. The authors discuss whether apology is a responsibility which cannot — and should not — be avoided; the ethical pitfalls of seeking an apology, or not uttering it; the global and local understandings of apology and forgiveness; and the processes of ownership and appropriation in saying sorry.
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    Generation, family and migration: Young Brazilian factory workers in Japan
    Green, P (SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD, 2010-12)
    This article focuses on the significance of generational difference and kinship ties in the lives of young Brazilian migrants living and working in Japan. On these terms, I transcend an ongoing tendency in transnational migration studies to highlight the importance of economic motivation, a myth of return and the primary significance of communal ties in the shaping of everyday migrant experiences. By treating generational difference as a kin relationship I consider the central influence of family in shaping the experiences and future plans of young Brazilian migrants in Japan. By considering generational difference as a migrant relationship I discuss young people’s perceptions of freedom, familial obligation and easy money in the light of contested understandings of what it means to be a Brazilian migrant in Japan. Through this analysis, the article offers fresh insights into both migration between Brazil and Japan and understandings of belonging, difference and attachment in transnational social spaces.
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