Nollaig Shona agus bliain nua faoi fhéin agus faoi mhaise!
(Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!

Jonathan

Call for Papers:

Emotions and Power:  Special Issue of the Journal of Political Power (Routledge)

Editors: Jonathan G. Heaney and Helena Flam

Power permeates all human relationships. It is constitutive of society, economy and politics. Its study has enriched scholarship and research within a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, philosophy, and anthropology. It has been at the centre of social and political theory.  By contrast, emotion, has traditionally had a more difficult time within these same disciplines.  However, since the 1990’s there has been a widespread  recognition of the fundamental role it plays in social life.  Today, research that focuses on emotion is at the forefront of contemporary social science.  Although both power and emotion are essential features of the conduct and constitution of social life, research on these two phenomena – whatever their conceptual guises – has tended to run in parallel, without explicitly engaging the other.  It seems to us that the time is ripe for exploring the connections between these two fundaments of society.  To this end we would like to invite submissions that address both, either empirically or theoretically.  We are particularly interested in papers that seek to investigate the interrelated role that both power and emotions play in specific arenas or around specific topics.  For example, papers that address emotions and power in organisations, in social movements, in politics, in media, in welfare and warfare, in families, in education and so on, are especially sought, though submissions are not limited to these fields of inquiry.  Papers addressing emotions, power and gender are also particularly welcome.  Initially, we are seeking long abstracts of two or so pages, outlining the overall approach and argument of the paper prior to full submission.  A shortlist will be selected from these and individuals will be invited to then submit full papers for review.

The final collection will be submitted to the Journal of Political Power (Routledge), either as a stand alone special issue or as a theme within an issue, depending upon the number of high standard submissions we receive. Once submitted to the Journal, the papers will be subject to a full anonymous peer review process. They should be about 8000 words in length of text and must address both concepts to be considered for inclusion.  They should also follow the Journal of Political Power style and referencing guidelines, available here.  Details of the author’s institutional affiliation, full address and other contact information should be included on a separate cover sheet along with a note on the exact length of the article.  Two copies of each manuscript should be submitted electronically. One with the authors details attached and one anonymous for peer review. All editorial communications should be addressed to:

E-Mail: jonathangheaney@gmail.com and flam@sozio.uni-leipzig.de

Alternatively if the author cannot submit electronically in the last instance please mail to: Jonathan Heaney, Department of Political Science and Sociology, Aras Moyola, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.

Fifth International Political Anthropology Workshop in Ireland on

Play: The creation of culture and the modern world.

24-25 February, 2012

Waterford Institute of Technology

Organised by the Department of Applied Arts, Waterford Institute of Technology, the journal International Political Anthropology, and the School of Sociology & Philosophy, University College Cork

Conveners:                  Tom Boland (Sociology, WIT, tboland@wit.ie,) and                                   John O’ Brien, (Sociology, WIT, jfobrien@wit.ie,).

Huizinga’s classic anthropological and historical work Homo Ludens suggests that play is the foundation of human culture. Play is at once serious and light, separate from ordinary existence and yet has a higher significance for all existence. Play is at once a representative competition, a test or trial played out within certain limits, and a competition for representation, an attempt to embody or symbolise the truth. Interestingly, competition and representation are both at the heart of modern democratic politics, in terms of electoral races and governmental representation of the ‘will of the people’. Furthermore, these two also form the core of the contemporary nexus of capitalism and consumerism; competition for resources, jobs and markets; representation of brands and visible identities.

According to Huizinga the spirit of play is greatly diminished in modernity, but before that even, the corruption of play can be seen in Bateson’s study of the Naven ritual. Amongst the Iatmul, ceremonial, ritualistic and symbolic behaviour became normal, that is, play became constant. Another clear example could be Elias’ study of the ‘court society’, where etiquette, strategy and performance became a normal mode of life. Thus, the problem is not with play itself, but the loss of distinction between playful and mundane life; or the permanence of liminality. Indeed, the absence of distinction between play and other forms of life can even be seen within dramaturgical social theories such as Goffman or Butler.

Recent sociological research has shown that play and creativity have become idealised, incorporated and re-deployed by businesses, corporations and institutions. In education, play has been identified as vitally important, but sometimes as a means to other developmental ends. While there is no point in Puritanically rejecting play, it is important to approach the modern uses of play with caution. Although play is a vital creative and rejuvenating force, it cannot be forced.

Modern politics also has a peculiar relationship to play; it is utterly serious, formulaic, bureaucratic and flat, yet also a constant performance of a role or a play with masks for a media saturated public sphere. Simultaneously, the sense of politics as a representative competition/competition for representation has been almost eclipsed by the technical management of supra or non-human factors such as environmental risks, natural resources, demographic trends and markets. Yet, these economic crises might also be understood as an endless game without limits.

Play is clearly the well-spring of culture in music, art, literature and dance, and furthermore play is the repository of tradition, a collective heritage from which new generations borrow, improvise and innovate, keeping the past alive and regenerating the future. This fusion of play and tradition responds to contemporary experiences, migrations, hybridisation, globalisation, rationalisation, individualisation, recreating meaning in a changing world. Unfortunately, these creative arts are often relegated to ‘mere’ entertainment, or analysed as the mere froth disguising real social processes. As play, creative arts should hold out the possibility of rejuvenation and renaissance, yet ‘playfulness’ can also devolve into interminable irony, referentiality, subversion and parody. Furthermore, ‘creativity’ as a modern ideal implies a break with tradition – with tradition stymied as stultifying formal convention rather than a precious gift. Nonetheless, art remains a potent source for human culture.

The aims of the workshop will be, first, to revisit the relevant literature and concepts on play, and second, to link these with issues in politics, society and art in the contemporary scene and in the emergence of modernity.

We are inviting plenary and session papers that address the relationship of play to:

- work, economics and organisations,

- politics, the public sphere and protest,

- culture, ritual and recreation,

- art, heritage, creativity and tradition.

Deadline for abstracts is Friday February 3^rd.

Feel free to contact the convenors earlier for consultation and information.

www.politicalanthropology.com

While the festival of samhain may be over, and as the West slips somewhat grudgingly into the darker half of the annual cycle, there may be a few theory-type zombies remaining with a thirst for braaains.  In this new RSAnimate, renowned psychiatrist and writer Iain McGilchrist may help satiate their need for a time.  In this talk he explains how our ‘divided brain’ has profoundly altered human behaviour, culture and society.  The talk is based on his influential book of last year, The Master and His Emissary (2010).  The full, 30 minute lecture is here for those interested.  The introduction to the book, for those really interested is here, where he writes that the overall thesis of the book is:

that for us as human beings there are two fundamentally opposed realities, two different modes of experience; that each is of ultimate importance in bringing about the recognisably human world; and that their difference is rooted in the bihemispheric structure of the brain. It follows that the hemispheres need to co-operate, but I believe they are in fact involved in a sort of power struggle, and that this explains many aspects of contemporary Western culture (McGilchrist, 2010, p.3).

The book sounds fascinating but, at over 600 pages, I simply will not get to it in the next 12 months.  Which is why I like the RSA Animate series so much.  Perhaps you will.  Enjoy.

Emotions and Power:  Special Issue of the Journal of Political Power (Routledge)

Editors: Jonathan G. Heaney and Helena Flam

Power permeates all human relationships. It is constitutive of society, economy and politics. Its study has enriched scholarship and research within a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, political science, philosophy, and anthropology. It has been at the centre of social and political theory.  By contrast, emotion, has traditionally had a more difficult time within these same disciplines.  However, since the 1990’s there has been a widespread  recognition of the fundamental role it plays in social life.  Today, research that focuses on emotion is at the forefront of contemporary social science.  Although both power and emotion are essential features of the conduct and constitution of social life, research on these two phenomena – whatever their conceptual guises – has tended to run in parallel, without explicitly engaging the other.  It seems to us that the time is ripe for exploring the connections between these two fundaments of society.  To this end we would like to invite submissions that address both, either empirically or theoretically.  We are particularly interested in papers that seek to investigate the interrelated role that both power and emotions play in specific arenas or around specific topics.  For example, papers that address emotions and power in organisations, in social movements, in politics, in media, in welfare and warfare, in families, in education and so on, are especially sought, though submissions are not limited to these fields of inquiry.  Papers addressing emotions, power and gender are also particularly welcome.  Initially, we are seeking long abstracts of two or so pages, outlining the overall approach and argument of the paper prior to full submission.  A shortlist will be selected from these and individuals will be invited to then submit full papers for review. 

The final collection will be submitted to the Journal of Political Power (Routledge), either as a stand alone special issue or as a theme within an issue, depending upon the number of high standard submissions we receive. Once submitted to the Journal, the papers will be subject to a full anonymous peer review process. They should be about 8000 words in length of text and must address both concepts to be considered for inclusion.  They should also follow the Journal of Political Power style and referencing guidelines, available here.  Details of the author’s institutional affiliation, full address and other contact information should be included on a separate cover sheet along with a note on the exact length of the article.  Two copies of each manuscript should be submitted electronically. One with the authors details attached and one anonymous for peer review. All editorial communications should be addressed to:

E-Mail: jonathangheaney@gmail.com and flam@sozio.uni-leipzig.de

Alternatively if the author cannot submit electronically in the last instance please mail to: Jonathan Heaney, Department of Political Science and Sociology, Aras Moyola, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.

This section features key-note lectures by key thinkers on key thinkers, and includes short biographies, along with selected bibliographies.  The list of contributors here includes:

• Hannah Arendt (Professor Kimberley Hutchings, LSE)
• Zygmunt Bauman (Professor Keith Tester, University of Hull)
• Judith Butler (Dr. Jelke Boesten, University of Leeds)
• Jacques Derrida (Professor Gregg Lambert, Syracuse University)
• Frantz Fanon (Professor Lewis Gordon, Temple University)
• Michel Foucault (Emeritus Professor Michael Dillon, Lancaster University)
• Niccolo Machiavelli (Dr. Elizabeth Frazer, Oxford University)
• Friedrich Nietzsche (Professor Julian Reid, University of Lapland)
• Paul Virilio (Dr. Mark Lacy, Lancaster University)
• Slavoj Žižek (Dr. Paul Taylor, University of Leeds)

In addition, in the symposia section, there are reflective lectures on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by a diverse range of thinkers, including Bauman,  Chomski, Sassen, Kalder, Honderich, Hardt, to name a few.  These individuals were asked by director Brad Evens, and Simon Critchley to critically reflect on the “ten years of terror” which that fateful day engendered.  Their aim in this was not to “establish the “definitive truth” about the initial or subsequent events. Neither have we been content to accept the conventional narratives which tend to receive widespread media attention. Our focus instead has been to re-open the field of discussion so that we may evaluate the impact 9/11 has had on all aspects of life, while in the process offer new critical thinking on a problem that still continues to plague and suffocate the political landscape of the 21st Century”.  The result are both fascinating and stimulating at the same time.  Their efforts represent the future of academic discussion and show how the dissemination of research should be conducted in the 21st century.  Lots of stuff here-enjoy!

Michael Burawoy and Laleh Behbehanian at the University of California, Berkeley this year conducted an experimental undergaduate course in “global sociology”.  This included a series of talks which were broadcast online via youtube and the ISA website.  Speakers included David Harvey, Ananya Roy, Ching Kwan Lee, and Erik Olin Wright, to name a few at random.  The best way to access the videos and the syllabus is via the blog.  Enjoy!

…is that you are busy!  Very busy it appears, despire, or perhaps, because of the 85 winters that sit on his tousled white head. Above is a link to the trailer for a new docu on the life and work of sociologist and social theorist Zygmunt Bauman.  It i directed by Bartek Dziadosz and will be released in September.

Bauman also has a new book out, called Culture in a Liquid Modern World in which he argues that, in our Liquid Modern world, culture functions “not to satisfy existing needs but to create new ones, while simultaneously ensuring that existing needs remain permanently unfulfilled. Culture today likens itself to a giant department store where the shelves are overflowing with desirable goods that are changed on a daily basis – just long enough to stimulate desires whose gratification is perpetually postponed”.  Well worth the €12.

Finally, you can actually consume a talk by the great man hinself.  Here Bauman delivers the closing address at the Bauman Institute launch conference in September 2010, roughly called “Sociology: “Whence and Whither?”.  Enjoy…

In this new RSA Animate sociologist and psychoanalyst Professor Renata Salecl (Žižek’s ex wife) explores the paralysing anxiety and dissatisfaction surrounding limitless choice. Does the freedom to be the architects of our own lives actually hinder rather than help us? Does our preoccupation with choosing and consuming actually obstruct social change?

Consiliance, or the unity of knowledge, is an idea that I am interested in and this three-way, interdisciplinary talk, which took place in London on June 13h as part of the “Forum for European Philosophy Consilience public debate” is a welcome addition to the discussion.  Professor Chris Frith, Dr Alex Gillespie, Professor Dermot Moran each speak for about 10 minutes each from their different perspectives before a general discussion.  The chair was Kristina Musholt.  Here is the blurb:

“How do we create our world through shared experiences? What are the psychological and physiological mechanisms that underlie our abilities to relate to and interact with others? Chris Frith is emeritus professor of psychology in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL. Alex Gillespie is senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Stirling. Dermot Moran is professor of philosophy at University College Dublin”.

Here is the mp3.

Enjoy!