This semester, I am enrolled in Sociology 4100, titled Contemporary Social Theory. In this course, we look at important sociological theories that help us understand and study society. It explains how sociological theories are created and how they connect to research methods in real-world studies. Each week, we are given readings to complete, followed by a reading response assignment. The task is straightforward: we summarize the readings in the first part and then choose a notable aspect to elaborate on for the remainder of the response.
The readings for this module started with the first two chapters of Grassroots Postmodernism by Gustavo Esteva and Madhu Suri Prakash. Chapter 1 talks about minority groups being pushed out of their “old” spaces to be replaced with “modern” upgrades and that they “cannot be competitive in the world of social minorities, where competitiveness is the key to survival and domination.” (pg.4) They explain that it takes courage to retain and regenerate their culture despite the odds that are threatening to modernize and take over their lives and spaces. Chapter 2 of the book talks more about those inequalities and that the modern world has created an ideal that forces everyone to live in what is called a global village. Wendell Berry tells us to think globally but to start small by looking at the local levels first. “Since global forces can only achieve concrete existence at some local level, it is only there - at the local grassroots - that they can most effectively and wisely be opposed.” (pg.25) One example of grassroots-level resistance is the Zapatista Movement that began as a fight against Neoliberalism. As colonized people, they had three choices. They could either become good subjects by accepting the premises of the modern West without question; they could become bad subjects by always revolting against the parameters of the colonizing world; or they could become non-subjects by acting and thinking in ways far removed from those of the modern West.
In our second reading, Discipline & Punish - the Birth of the Prison by Foucault, we read about a shift of power from the pre-modern to the post-modern state. Foucault believed that the most influential form of power was surveillance and that individuals could more easily be controlled that way. Those who controlled knowledge through surveillance also controlled power, and individuals would even turn to police themselves. Information is all around us, and the power it holds has become normalized. We willingly give sensitive information about ourselves to our banks, doctors, employers, and others because we know they have the power to keep us from receiving certain things if we don’t.
The third reading by Judith Butler argues that cultural issues should not be secondary or less significant to economic issues when it comes to feminism or queer rights. Over the years, there have been many social movements to fight for minorities, and they should not all be lumped together as one as they are all unique and different. Race and class have always been prominent features in each of those social movements, and Butler highlights that sexuality/gender, while it is a different dynamic altogether, needs to be combined with race and class; it needs to be integrated to be analyzed correctly. Others may argue that adding sexuality/gender detracts from addressing economic inequalities, but Butler argues that they are all related as homophobia isn’t just a cultural attitude but an economic one as well. Butler believes that “the term ‘identity politics’ is used as a derogatory term for feminism, anti-racism, and anti-heterosexism.” (pg.39) Nancy Fraser, who writes a rebuttal to Butler’s words, states that identity politics should be looked at from a nuanced perspective and uses the phrase freely in her writings. While both scholars are equally passionate about feminism and queer rights, I believe that Judith Butler leans more towards the cultural side as they see the inequalities that have plagued that community for years. They also see the economic setbacks many face but they feel are not highlighted enough. Nancy Fraser states she agrees that both sides deserve equal consideration and validation and that injustice occurs when minorities are not recognized and treated as equals.
I believe you cannot separate the cultural and material inequalities the queer community has faced and faces even still today. New bills are introduced into Congress even today to repeal laws that will limit rights for queer individuals that heterosexual individuals freely enjoy. These new and existing laws are policed by regular individuals through surveillance of their neighbors who feel it is within their rights to complain when they don’t like a book at their local library and would like it removed for its content. They can complain when they see an individual using the “wrong” bathroom on the UVU campus. They can file a lawsuit if their child is on a team with a trans individual. A hospital can stop a partner from being with their loved one because they are not legally their spouse, and so much more. Every time a new bill is introduced, many individuals write their representatives and line the steps of the capitol building to express their concern for these inequalities. Small grassroots movements such as these may seem like a drop in the bucket, but they put hope in the hearts of those who are affected daily by the laws passed. They show there are people out there willing to fight, even when it is sometimes not their fight. It hopefully ignites a fire that keeps spreading and lights other small fires so that the voices of those most affected by these harmful laws will not be forgotten, ignored, or swept under the rug.
References:
Butler, J. (1997). Merely cultural. Social Text, 15(3-4),265-277. http.//doi.org/10.2307/466744
Esteva, G., & Prakash, M.S. (1998). Grassroots postmodernism: Remaking the soil of cultures. Zed Book.
Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The birth of the prison. Pantheon Books.
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