From @MIAMIU.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU:jipson_art@msmail.muohio.edu Fri Jan 7 13:02:11 1994 Received: from MIAMIU.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU (miamiu.acs.muohio.edu [134.53.7.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id NAA16983 for ; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 13:02:04 -0700 Message-Id: <199401072002.NAA16983@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from msmail.muohio.edu by MIAMIU.ACS.MUOHIO.EDU (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with TCP; Fri, 07 Jan 94 15:00:10 EST Date: 7 Jan 1994 15:02:00 -0500 From: "Jipson Art" Subject: Identity Politics To: "PSN" Cc: "Alan Bruce" , "Allison Kirk" , "chad litton" , "Don McQuarie" , "Lisa Tracy" , "paul becker" , "Progressive Economists Network" , "Suzanne Bergeron" , Western_Faculty.Western@msmail.muohio.edu Status: RO Hello All, I am searching for information and citation on identity politics and collective identity. I need any and all recommendations on good, controversial, and significant work in this area (you can define these adjectives as you like). My own need relates to understanding the nature of identity politics. Thanks for any help, Art jipson_art@msmail.muohio.edu From JLHHC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Fri Jan 7 13:26:11 1994 Received: from vaxf.Colorado.EDU (vaxf.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id NAA17125 for ; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 13:26:10 -0700 Received: from CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (MAILER@CUNYVMV2) by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V4.2-12 #5062) id <01H7EI3GBR8W000SCH@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU>; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 13:20:09 MST Received: from CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (NJE origin JLHHC@CUNYVM) by CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with RFC822 id 7271; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:25:06 -0500 Date: Fri, 07 Jan 1994 15:24:17 -0500 (EST) From: Jack Hammond Subject: Decline of US unionism: seeking references To: labor-l%yorkvm1.BITNET@vaxf.Colorado.EDU, psn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Message-id: <01H7EI3GBR8Y000SCH@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU> X-Envelope-to: psn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT For a syllabus in sociology of work, I am looking for a reference on the decline of unionism in the US in the last twenty years which evaluates the significance of industrial restructuring (geographical and sectoral), the war on labor by government and capital, and the failure of the union structure to organize new sectors. Ideally I would like a single article which covers all these explanations (and possibly others) and has an extensive bibliography. However, I would appreciate any good references. From twright@orion.it.luc.edu Fri Jan 7 15:12:40 1994 Received: from orion.it.luc.edu (orion.it.luc.edu [147.126.1.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id PAA17674 for ; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:12:38 -0700 Received: by orion.it.luc.edu (AIX 3.2/UCB 5.64/4.03) id AA51377; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 16:09:53 -0600 From: twright@orion.it.luc.edu (Talmadge Wright) Message-Id: <9401072209.AA51377@orion.it.luc.edu> Subject: (fwd) news bulletin jrs - Mexico (fwd) To: PSN@csf.colorado.edu Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 16:09:52 -0600 (CST) X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL17] Content-Type: text Content-Length: 13605 Forwarded message: > From twright Fri Jan 7 13:14:53 1994 > Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 13:14:53 -0600 > From: twright (Talmadge Wright) > Message-Id: <9401071914.AA33826@orion.it.luc.edu> > To: twright@orion.it.luc.edu > Subject: (fwd) news bulletin jrs - Mexico > Newsgroups: alt.activism.d > > > Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive > Path: apollo!uchinews!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!mont!pencil.cs.missouri.edu!daemon > From: New Liberation News Service > Subject: news bulletin jrs - Mexico > Message-ID: <1994Jan7.152102.24829@mont.cs.missouri.edu> > Followup-To: alt.activism.d > Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu > Sender: news@mont.cs.missouri.edu > Nntp-Posting-Host: pencil.cs.missouri.edu > Organization: ? > Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 15:21:02 GMT > Approved: map@pencil.cs.missouri.edu > Lines: 305 > > /* Written 8:46 pm Jan 6, 1994 by ldelvalle@p112.f4.n970.z3.laneta.igc.apc.o in igc:carnet.mexnews */ > /* ---------- "news bulletin jrs - Mexico" ---------- */ > ============================================================================= > * Forwarded by ldelvalle (3:970/4.112) > * Area : NETMAIL (Correo Personal) > * From : sjr-df, 3:970/4.103 (Thursday January 06 1994 20:28) > * To : ldelvalle > * Subj : news bulletin jrs - Mexico > ============================================================================= > To:ldelvalle > > > ************************************************************* > ************************************************************* > NEWS BULLETIN JRS-MEXICO TO OUR FRIENDS AND COUNTERPARTS > NUMBER 01 > JANUARY 6, 1994. > ************************************************************* > ************************************************************* > > REFLECTIONS ON THE ARMED CONFLICT IN CHIAPAS AND ITS POSSIBLE > REPERCUSSIONS FOR THE GUATEMALAN REFUGEES IN MEXICO AND THEIR > RETURN PROCESS TO GUATEMALA. > > 0. PRESENTATION > > On August 9, 1993, the Jesuit Refugee Service - Mexico (JRS- > Mexico) sent you the document "An Urgent Appeal to the > International Community..." by either e-mail or by fax, with > the aim to keep you informed about and attentive to the > current situation of the Guatemalan refugees in Mexico. > > The recent outbursts of armed violence in Mexico's > southeastern state of Chiapas, make us reflect on the > consequences of the conflict for the Guatemalan refugees in > our country. > > By means of this news bulletin, we would like to share some > of our first reflections with you. We suppose that others > (press, etcetera) have provided enough informative data to > you. Therefore, we restrain ourselves to some hypothesis on > how these facts might affect the Guatemalan refugees. At the > end, we add a number of recommendations for solidary action > for you and your organization. > > > I. CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY THE MEXICAN > MEDIA. > > The Mexican government is apparently taken by surprise by the > size of the insurrectionary operation and its repercussions. > Mexican NGOs and intellectuals agree that the Mexican > government provides confusing and biased information. Some > examples: > > 1) The information spread by the government through > television, radio, press releases and many newspapers, > reflects an attempt to convince the public that the rebels > are a small group. There is, however, no evidence whatsoever > about this. > > 2) The numbers of casualties vary: the governments mentions > some 100 deaths, while the Catholic Church maintains that > until January 5, there were around 400 deaths, approximately > 200 at either side. There is also no certainty about the > number of civil casualties. > > 3) The media insist that the entire area is being pacified, > and that the number of battles is dropping. Mexican troops, > however, continue to arrive in Chiapas. Bombings and > confrontations have not ceased either in the area surrounding > San Cristobal de las Casas and in other parts of the Chiapan > highlands. It is estimated that approximately 20% of the > Mexican armed forces are in Chiapas now. > > 4) The government continuously suggests that foreign persons > and interests are responsible for the conflict. It does, > however, not present any evidence of this. > > 5) During the first days of the conflict, there was a strong > tendency to blame San Cristobal de las Casas' bishop don > Samuel Ruiz and the sector of the Catholic Church he > represents, for the events. > > 6) The government states publicly that its performance and > that of the army will be in accordance with the law and that > human rights will be respected. Reality, however, shows that > the bombings and the shooting undoubtedly affect the civil > population. Moreover, the government has shown a tendency to > adjudge all civil casualties to the guerrilla. > > For these reasons, we think that the international community > should be careful with information provided by the Mexican > media. Especially information referring to Centralamericans > in general, and Guatemalan refugees in particular should be > handled with great care. > > > II. HYPOTHESES AND POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE REFUGEES AND > THE RETURN PROCESS. > > A. With respect to the affected Mexican population: > > 1. Military control is increasing in the area. In fact, in > the borderfringe in Guatemala, the military presence has > already been reinforced. It is already a fact that the > "Teran" airport in Chiapas state's capital Tuxtla Gutierrez, > will offer its services exclusively to the Mexican army for > the time being. Over land, more troops, tanks and weapons > keep arriving from various parts of Mexico. At the moment, > there are more than 10,000 soldiers and more than 100 combat > vehicles in Chiapas. > > 2. The conflict will lead to an increase of the internally > displaced population in Mexico. They will probably go to the > neighboring states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, > Tabasco, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Guerrero. It will be very > difficult for the displaced people to obtain assistance, > given that in the Unites States and Europe the dominant view > of Mexico is that of a country that has reached First World > standards. > > B. With respect to the Guatemalan refugees in Mexico: > > 1. The refugees camps will definitely witness an increase in > police and military vigilance and control. A beginning was > already made by means of military reserves at the highways in > the bordering zones of the four neighbor states. > > 2. The Mexican government's vague en biased versions about > the responsibility for and the causes of the conflict, may > lead to the return of the ghost that "every indigenous > refugee is a guerillero". > > 3. The obstacles to the free locomotion of the refugees ( > permits for transport, to go to work or to attend training > courses, etc.) grow. That in turn, complicates even more the > orgaizational labor of the CCPP, the dispersed refugees and > of the grassroot refugees. > > 4. The fact that the refugees in the camps will see their > freedom of locomotion restrained, also implies that their > permits to leave the camps to go to work will be reduced or > even withdrawn. This will lead immediately to a serious > decrease in their resources and income. > > 5. It is to be expected that this conflict will cause delays > in the return process. Therefore, it is likely that the > refuge will last longer. In that case, the needs for human > and economic assistance will automatically grow. > > 6. It is probable that the scheduled returns to the Chacula > farm and to Santa Maria Tzeja will have to be postponed. > > 7. For the moment and due to the conflict situation, the > NGOs, UNHCR and COMAR have no access to the refugees camps in > Chiapas. On the short and medium range, more restrictions to > the work and the human assistance of the NGOs may be expected > (while the NGOs work and presence in the refugees camps is > already severly restrained by the scarcity of resources). > > 8. Especially the dispersed and not-recognized refugees are > now in a highly vulnerable position. > > > C. With respect to Guatemala: > > 1. The increasing presence of the Guatemalan army at the > border with Mexico is already affecting the returnees > communities, since they live in border areas. Now, the > withdrawal of the Guatemalan army from areas surrounding the > returnees communities will be even harder to achieve. > > 2. The fact that both the Guatemalan as also the Mexican > government suggest co-responsibility of Guatemalan guerilla > in the conflict in Chiapas, make think that the peace talks > between the URNG and the Guatemalan government might become > swamped again. > > 3. To the extent the Mexican government will hold Guatemalans > partially responsible for the Chiapan conflict, the > hypothesis of the Guatemalan army that Mexico serves as the > "sanctuary" of the Guatemalan guerilla will gain strength. > That might reinforce the position of the Guatemalan army. > > > III. RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND TO > THE INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE AGENCIES. > > A. With respect to Mexico: > > 1. Insist that the bishops of the area (Chiapas) be mediators > in the conflict; and, that the accusations against bishop don > Samuel Ruiz be withdrawn and stopped, as also against his > diocese and against the Human Rights Center "Fray Bartolome > de las Casas (in San Cristobal de las Casas). > > 2. Urge the Mexican government and army to cease fire and to > respect the human rights of the entire civil population. > > 3. Urge the Mexican government to make public the exact data > on the foreigners it asserts to be involved in the Chiapan > conflict, in order to avoid generalizations that increase > xenophobia against the indigenous people and the rejection of > the Guatemalan refugees in Mexico. > > 4. Be aware that there are many Mexicos: one that appears in > the government's speeches, and the one that surged to the > international newsdesks with the outbreak of the Chiapan > conflict. Urge the Mexican government to duly attend the > internally displaced population. We also urge the > international community and the international assistance > agencies to be willing and to be prepared to attend the > applications for aid that will definitely be send to them by > the Mexican church institutions and NGOs, who will have to > attend these internally displaced people. > > 5. That representatives of the international community be > present in the conflict areas, to guarantee respect for human > rights and to verify governmental commitments in respect. > > 6. Urge the Mexican government to assume responsibility for > the performance of the Mexican army. > > B. With respect to the Refugees: > > 1. Urge the Mexican government to respect the human rights of > the entire refugee population in the refugees camps located > in the three states (Chiapas, Campeche and Quintana Roo), and > also particularly of the dispersed refugees. > > 2. That the international community makes an effort to be > present in the refugees camps with the aim to guarantee the > respect for their rights. > > 3. Urge the Mexican government, COMAR and UNHCR to respect > the refugees' right to the free performance of organizatory > and educational activities of the CCPP, ARDIGUA and the > organized sectors for the return of the Guatemalan refugees. > > 4. Urge COMAR and ACNUR to strengthen food, health-care and > clothing assistance for all refugees in the camps in Chiapas, > Campeche and Quintana Roo, since COMAR and UNHCR have > suspended their permits to leave the camps for work reasons. > > 5. Please take into account that the delay in the return > process will require that you maintain and reinforce your > economic, political and diplomatic support to the refugees. > > > C. With respect to Guatemala: > > 1. Urge the Guatemalan government to make progress in the > peace talks. > > 2. Urge the Guatemalan government to respect the October 8, > 1992 Accords, in order to make the return process easier. > > ************* > > PLEASE SEND YOUR MESSAGES TO THE CORRESPONDING FOLLOWING FAX > NUMBERS: > > 1. TO THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO, LIC. CARLOS SALINAS DE > GORTARI. FAX: 525 522 05 49 OR 525 271 17 64. > > 2. TO THE STATE MINISTRY, TO SECRETARY OF STATE PATROCINIO > GONZALEZ GARRIDO. FAX: 525 566 81 88. > > 3. TO UNHCR-MEXICO, TO REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE MR. ALFREDO > WITSCHI CESTARI. FAX: 525 280 21 33. > > 4. TO UNHCR-GENEVA, TO HIGH COMMISSIONER MRS. SADAKO OGATA. > FAX: 4122 731 95 46. > > 5. TO COMAR, TO DR. ERASMO SAENZ. FAX: 525 531 77 02. > > 6. TO THE GOVERNMENT OF GUATEMALA, TO PRESIDENT RAMIRO DE > LEON CARPIO. FAX: 5022 537 472 or 5022 519 702. > > 7. TO THE MEXICAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE, TO THE ESTADO MAYOR. > FAX: 525 557 79 04. > > 8. TO THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN, LIC. JORGE > MADRAZO. FAX:525 681 71 99. > > 9. TO THE CHIAPAN STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. > FAX: 52 961 406 74 or 52 961 406 32. > > 10. TO THE INTERIM GOVERNOR OF CHIAPAS, LIC. ELMAR SELTZER > MARSEILLE. FAX: 52 961 209 17. > > 11. TO THE GENERAL ATTORNEY OF JUSTICE, LIC. JORGE CARPIZO. > FAX: 525 626 64 47 or 525 626 64 48. > > 12. TO CHIAPAS' STATE ATTORNEY OF JUSTICE. > FAX: 52 961 30 311. > > ************* > > IF THIS BULLETIN REACHES YOU BY FAX, BUT YOU HAVE E-MAIL, > PLEASE SEND US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS. OUR E-MAIL ADDRESS IS: > sjr@igc.apc.org. Our FAX NUMBER IS: 525 208 75 95. > THANK YOU VERY MUCH. > > From @QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA:PURDYR@QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA Fri Jan 7 16:30:30 1994 Received: from QUCDN.QueensU.CA (QUCDN.QueensU.CA [130.15.126.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id QAA18164 for ; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 16:30:27 -0700 Message-Id: <199401072330.QAA18164@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA by QUCDN.QueensU.CA (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 8430; Fri, 07 Jan 94 18:29:05 EST Received: from QUCDN.QueensU.CA (NJE origin PURDYR@QUCDN) by QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 4758; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 18:29:06 -0500 Date: Fri, 07 Jan 94 18:17:46 EST From: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: Identity Politics To: Progressive Sociologists In-Reply-To: Your message of Fri, 7 Jan 1994 13:04:06 -0700 Status: RO Art: You probably already know about the books by Laclau and Mouffe, John Keane, Bowles and Gintis, and Alberto Melucci. Good critiques are Ellen Meiksins Wood, The New True Socialists (London: Verso, 1986). Another good collection is William Carroll ed. Organizing Dissent: Social Movements in Theory and Practice (Toronto: Garamond Press, 1992) particularly the essay by Colin Mooers and Alan Sears "The New Social Movements and the Withering Away of State Theory". Any of the stuff on new social movements will be useful. A number of articles in the Canadian journal Studies in Political Economy deal with this question. If you have it in your library, check it out. If not I can give you precise references. I think there are a number of key points about identity politics: Is it actually new? -the political and intellectual context of the 1980s (i.e. erstwhile Marxists demoralized by what they see as the bankruptcy of existing socialist organizations) -the Marxist straw person they set up -the rise of social movements and the decline of class politics -Its neglect of the role of the state -the essentially North American popularity of its practical implications -And does it offer any answers to people struggling against oppression? If you want some short articles in socialist newspapers on identity politics I can send them to you. It may also be worthwhile looking at the pamphlets, documents etc. of groups like Queer Nation. Or for that matter, women's centres and anti-racist centres on campuses. Regards, Sean Purdy Queen's University From pnovotny@students.wisc.edu Fri Jan 7 17:16:05 1994 Received: from audumla.students.wisc.edu ([144.92.104.66]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with ESMTP id RAA18509 for ; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 17:16:04 -0700 Received: from [144.92.180.66] by audumla.students.wisc.edu; id SAA12008; 8.1C/42; Fri, 7 Jan 1994 18:16:52 -0600 Date: Fri, 7 Jan 1994 18:16:52 -0600 Message-Id: <199401080016.SAA12008@audumla.students.wisc.edu> To: psn@csf.colorado.edu From: pnovotny@students.wisc.edu (Patrick Novotny) X-Sender: pnovotny@students.wisc.edu (Unverified) Subject: identity politics With regard to the identity politics request, I'm writing my dissertation in political science on environmental justice activism and am using a lot of material in the social movements literature on identity politics and collective identity politics. Within the whole social constructionist and symbolic interactionist literature on social movements, there's quite a bit of material that is beginning to emerge on collective identity literature. The following are a few of the more interesting works that I have run across in my reading of the social movements literature: Benford, Robert D. and Scott A. Hunt. 1992. "Dramaturgy and Social Movements: The Social Construction and Communication of Power." Sociological Inquiry 62, no. 1 (February),36-55. Boggs, Carl. 1986. Social Movements and Political Power: Emerging Forms of Radicalism in the West. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Cohen, Jean L. and Andrew Arato. 1992. Civil Society and Political Theory. Cambridge: MIT Press. Epstein, Barbara. 1991. Political Protest and Cultural Revolution: Nonviolent Direct Action in the 1970s and 1980s. Berkeley: University of California Press. Evans, Sara. 1979. Personal Politics: The Roots of Women's Liberation in the Civil Rights Movement and the New Left. New York: Vintage Books. Ferree, Myra Marx. 1992. "The Political Context of Rationality: Rational Choice Theory and Resource Mobilization." In Aldon D. Morris and Carol McClurg Mueller (eds.) Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven: Yale University Press. Friedman, Debra and Doug McAdam. 1992. "Collective Identity and Activism: Networks, Choices and the Life of a Social Movement." In Aldon D. Morris and Carol McClurg Mueller (eds.) Frontiers in Social Movement Theory. New Haven: Yale University Press. Gilroy, Paul. 1987. 'There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack': The Cultural Politics of Race and Nation. London: Hutchinson. Melucci, Alberto. 1988. "Social Movements and the Democratization of Everyday Life." In John Keane (ed.) Civil Society and the State: New European Perspectives. London: Verso. Omi, Michael and Howard Winant. 1986. Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Plotke, David. 1990. "What's So New About New Social Movements?" Socialist Review 20,no. 1 (January/March), 81-102. Snow, David A., E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Steven K. Worden and Robert D. Benford. 1986. "Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization and Movement Participation." American Sociological Review 51, no. 4 (August), 464-481. These are all fairly interesting works that deal in different ways with cultural politics and collective identity in the formation of social movements. I am particularly interested in questions of social movements and collective identity, so if any of you out there have any ideas where there might be some work on the subject of collective identity, could you post it? It's a interesting literature and I am trying to incorporate it into my doctoral dissertation as I'm sure many others are likewise trying to do. Cheers, Pat Novotny Political Science UW Madison From JLHHC@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU Mon Jan 10 20:32:59 1994 Received: from vaxf.Colorado.EDU (vaxf.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id UAA06750 for ; Mon, 10 Jan 1994 20:32:58 -0700 Received: from CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (MAILER@CUNYVMV2) by VAXF.COLORADO.EDU (PMDF V4.2-12 #5062) id <01H7J3US8P3K001BUU@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU>; Mon, 10 Jan 1994 20:27:03 MST Received: from CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (NJE origin JLHHC@CUNYVM) by CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with RFC822 id 5302; Mon, 10 Jan 1994 22:32:19 -0500 Date: Mon, 10 Jan 1994 22:31:10 -0500 (EST) From: Jack Hammond Subject: identity politics To: psn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Message-id: <01H7J3US8P3M001BUU@VAXF.COLORADO.EDU> X-Envelope-to: psn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Status: RO Some essential references in the overlapping areas of identity politics/new social movements/postmodernism: Geras, Norman, Post-Marxism. New Left Review 163 (May-June, 1987), 40-82. This is a critique of Laclau and Mouffe. They reply in NLR 166, Nov-Dec. 1987, and he responds in NLR 169, but his initial article is the important one. Harvey, David, Class Relations, Social Justice and the Politics of Difference. I acquired this as a xerox; it is evidently from an edited book whose title and author I don't know (if anyone can tell me, please do). A few others: Social Forces 52 (Winter, 1985), special issue with contributions by Cohen, Eder, Melucci, Touraine, etc. Russell J. Dalton and Manfred Kuechler, eds. Challenging the Political Order. New York: Oxford, 1990 Barbara Epstein, Political Protest and Cultural Revolution: Nonviolent Direct Action in the 1970s and 1980s. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. L.A. Kauffman, The Anti-Politics of Identity. Socialist Review 20, No.1 (Jan-Mar 1990), 67-80 (also articles by Epstein, the last chapter of her book, and Plotke in same issue) Herbert Kitschelt, New Social Movements in West Germany and the United States. Political Power and Social Theory 5 (1985), 273-324 Alberto Melucci, The New Social Movements; A Theoretical Approach. Social Science Information 19, No. 2 (1980), 199-226. Alberto Melucci, Nomads of the Present From GIMENEZ_M@gold.colorado.edu Tue Jan 11 11:19:33 1994 Received: from gold.Colorado.EDU (gold.Colorado.EDU [128.138.129.28]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id LAA09856 for ; Tue, 11 Jan 1994 11:19:32 -0700 Received: from CUBLDR.Colorado.EDU by CUBLDR.Colorado.EDU (PMDF V4.2-14 #5062) id <01H7JYVP9U7U8ZEIIH@CUBLDR.Colorado.EDU>; Tue, 11 Jan 1994 11:20:35 MDT Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 11:20:35 -0600 (MDT) From: "Martha E. Gimenez (303) 492-7080" Subject: More on identity politics To: PSN@CSF.COLORADO.EDU Message-id: <01H7JYVP9U7W8ZEIIH@CUBLDR.Colorado.EDU> X-VMS-To: PSN MIME-version: 1.0 Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT A few more references on identity politics: Etienne Balibar & Immanuel Wallerstein, RACE, NATION, CLASS - Ambiguous Identities. Verso, 1991. Stanley Aronowitz, THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY. Class, Culture, Social Movements. Routledge, 1992. Kristin Bumiller, THE CIVIL RIGHTS SOCIETY. The Social Construction of Victims. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988. Yehudi O. Webster, THE RACIALIZATION OF AMERICA. St. Martin's Press, 1992. Werner Sollors ed, THE INVENTION OF ETHNICITY. Oxford University Press, 1989. I have not yet read Sollors' book and have read the others too fast. As a result of several contributions, we are gathering a small bibliography on identity politics. This is a topic that interests me a great deal; I have written a little bit about it (e.g., "Latino/'Hispanic": Who Needs a Name? The Case Against a Standardized Terminology," iNTERNATIONAL jOURNAL OF HEALTH SERVICES 1989) and intend to write some more. I would very much like to learn more about other PSNers' work in this area and also think it would be very interesting to start a discussion of identity politics. Would there be any interest in such a discussion? How many of you would like to do it? We could center the discussionit around somebody's work in progress (which could be posted in the archives) or around a book we all agree to read by a given date. If a number of us select three books that we would like to discuss with others, perhaps we could reach an agreement around one and get started. I will start by suggesting three of the books I listed above; Bumiller, Webster and Sollors which are, I think rather controversial. I know this is the beginning of our semesters/quarters and we are all very busy. But if reading about identity politics coincides with our teaching and/or research, it could be feasible to do it. in solidarity, Martha ___________________________________________________________________ Martha E. Gimenez Department of Sociology Campus Box 327 University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, Colorado 80309 Voice: 303-492-7080 Fax: 303-492-5105 From pnovotny@students.wisc.edu Tue Jan 11 13:32:13 1994 Received: from audumla.students.wisc.edu ([144.92.104.66]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with ESMTP id NAA10672 for ; Tue, 11 Jan 1994 13:32:12 -0700 Received: from [144.92.180.80] by audumla.students.wisc.edu; id OAA15987; 8.1C/42; Tue, 11 Jan 1994 14:33:14 -0600 Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 14:33:14 -0600 Message-Id: <199401112033.OAA15987@audumla.students.wisc.edu> To: psn@csf.Colorado.EDU From: pnovotny@students.wisc.edu (Patrick Novotny) Subject: identity politics Status: RO As a non-sociologist with an interest in sociology, I would very much like to see what other people have to say about identity politics, particularly as this impacts such factors as social movements and political mobilization. I very much like the idea of having those of us interested in identity politics and collective identity discuss a work-in-progress by someone with an interest in these questions. Anyone out there with something they've written and would like to share with us?? This would be a great way to stimulate what could prove to be a very lively discussion... Pat Novotny Political Science UW Madison From pxc@tenet.edu Tue Jan 11 15:01:48 1994 Received: from abernathy.tenet.edu (Kay-Abernathy.tenet.edu [198.213.2.7]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id PAA11187 for ; Tue, 11 Jan 1994 15:01:44 -0700 Received: by abernathy.tenet.edu id AA22293 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for psn@csf.colorado.edu); Tue, 11 Jan 1994 15:59:31 -0600 Date: Tue, 11 Jan 1994 15:26:35 -0600 (CST) From: Peter Chua Sender: Peter Chua Reply-To: Peter Chua Subject: Identity Politics Discussion To: psn@csf.colorado.edu Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Status: RO I would like to know what people thought of the limits of identity politics. As a strategy, I think identity politics can conflict with other broad political goals (understanding that differences exist within distincts groups) which are linked with subjective identities that does not provide for coalition politics (or rather the formation of issue-oriented collectives). Specifically, I am interested in how if we consider 'race' and 'gender' not as biological constructions but rather that they are social constructs and exist in a social formation supported by racist, sexist, heterosexist ideologies can we choose to identify ourselves racially or based on gender? I am not trying to make this identity discussion into a biological one, but to point out a constrain of identity politics. Also, I strongly believe that political essentialization is necessary at specific conjunctures but can the act of essentializing not limit the struggles and/or formation for a classless, democratic future. Peter Chua in Texas From @QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA:PURDYR@QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA Fri Jan 14 15:15:17 1994 Received: from QUCDN.QueensU.CA (QUCDN.QueensU.CA [130.15.126.2]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with SMTP id PAA00695 for ; Fri, 14 Jan 1994 15:15:15 -0700 Message-Id: <199401142215.PAA00695@csf.Colorado.EDU> Received: from QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA by QUCDN.QueensU.CA (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 9199; Fri, 14 Jan 94 17:13:54 EST Received: from QUCDN.QueensU.CA (NJE origin PURDYR@QUCDN) by QUCDN.QUEENSU.CA (LMail V1.1d/1.7f) with BSMTP id 3179; Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:13:54 -0500 Date: Fri, 14 Jan 94 16:55:50 EST From: Sean Purdy Subject: Re: IDENTITY POLITICS To: Progressive Sociologists In-Reply-To: Your message of Fri, 14 Jan 1994 14:44:41 -0700 Status: RO Martha: I agree that the discussion should begin with a focus on the limitations of identity politics; they're a dead end strategy in the struggle against oppression. But I'm not sure what you're getting at with this notion of "victim" construction by the victims themselves. The point of contention is not that there are no legitimate concerns which many identity politicians identify or that these people are not in reality victims, but that the problematic politics of identity lead them to believe that they are *only* victims and that a politics of difference is the only way forward. I think the rise of identity politics must also be placed in the context of the 1980s long after affirmative action was already under attack. The political defeats of the 1980s are important as are the economic restructuring of the capitalist class. One must also look at the political vacuum: in the absence of a workers' movement and a class politics left, the way was open for a politics of difference not unity, victimhood rather than fightback, form rather than content, style rather than substance. But what is heartening is that identity politics has faltered recently. My sense of the current terrain is that there are a lot of young people who are turned off by many of the more problematic formulations of identity politics (or PC). If only the politics of unity and class struggle can fill the vacuum. Has anybody noticed that attacks on political correctness have recently been revived? Sean Purdy, Queen's University From pnovotny@students.wisc.edu Fri Jan 14 16:40:56 1994 Received: from audumla.students.wisc.edu ([144.92.104.66]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with ESMTP id QAA01181 for ; Fri, 14 Jan 1994 16:40:52 -0700 Received: from [144.92.180.59] by audumla.students.wisc.edu; id RAA12109; 8.1C/42; Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:41:52 -0600 Date: Fri, 14 Jan 1994 17:41:52 -0600 Message-Id: <199401142341.RAA12109@audumla.students.wisc.edu> To: psn@csf.colorado.edu From: pnovotny@students.wisc.edu (Patrick Novotny) Subject: identity politics I like very much the idea of having some kind of extended debate/discussion/exchange on identity politics emerge through PSN. I have a feeling that once things get started, there will be a lot that can be said in the end about coming up with alternative approaches to the study of the sociology of political activism... My research interest is less in identity politics per se than in the construction and emergence of collective identities through social movement activism. Drawing upon the work of folks such as Doug McAdam, Aldon Morris and Myra Marx Ferree, I am trying to understand in my dissertation the way in which community activists working on environmental issues have constructed in the process of their activism 'new' collective identities around their work on environmental issues. In this sense, I agree with Martha's remarks that people create a 'vested interst in the maintenance of those identities.' This observation shouldn't be too far off of the mark for people who have followed the literature on framing in social movements research, particularly the work of David Snow and Robert Benford....My interest, though, is expanding this to look at 'social movement cultures' and 'movement discourses' to understand the way in which social movements can be understood as 'signifying agents' that sustain new understandings of societal problems as well as new self-understandings for activists themselves... I've still got a long way to go in thinking but would like to exchange ideas on this with whoever is interested. I would definitely be interested in reading the paper on identity politics written by Martha. I think that could be a great starting point for this discussion... Pat Novotny From jlgulick@cats.ucsc.edu Sat Jan 15 01:38:33 1994 Received: from cats.ucsc.edu (cats-po-1.UCSC.EDU [128.114.129.22]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with ESMTP id BAA02481 for ; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 01:38:33 -0700 From: jlgulick@cats.ucsc.edu Received: from am.ucsc.edu by cats.ucsc.edu with SMTP id AAA07219; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 00:38:31 -0800 Received: from localhost by am.ucsc.edu (8.6.4/4.7) id AAA18258; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 00:38:31 -0800 Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 00:38:31 -0800 Message-Id: <199401150838.AAA18258@am.ucsc.edu> To: psn@csf.colorado.edu Subject: re: identity politics Cc: jlgulick@cats.ucsc.edu Status: RO Do people buy the claim (to use a neo-classical metaphor) that there is something peculiar about the late capitalist personality structure (what this something is exactly I don't know, perhaps the tendency to adopt narcissistic definitions of the self via image-based media culture) which compels subjects to identify themselves politically based on ASCRIPTIVE (as opposed to "relational," of which class is such a significant example) characteristics? This is not to deny the continuing relevance of civil rights struggles, given the persistence of both a) "discrimination" on the part of powerful individuals, b) institutional inequities of race, gender, etc. wedded but not reducible to processes of class domination. However, what I am talking about is the chronic tendency in "grass-roots" or "community" politics in the U.S. to wage struggle around inequities in _distributional_ outcomes, which are typically skewed in racial terms. The environmental justice movement is a prime example. To boil it down, identities are erected in relation to equal access to decent means of consumption (housing in non-polluted neighborhoods is a preeminent example here), as opposed to popular participation in institutions (planning agencies, corporations which make investments), not to speak of attacking the wage relation which, in conjunction w/racism, so sharply defines access to means of consumption. Forms of mobilization that center around how much or what quality of goods certain ethnic communities typically get (be it state services or television programming) too often devolve into exclusively race-based explanations and race-based solutions to more complicated social problems. A particularly noxious concept in my opinion is the loose usage of the expression "community" -- as in African-American, Latino, even "white" community. What is the material basis for the usage of the term other than the persistence of white-skin privilege in the U.S.? Does living in the same neighborhood, and experiencing some common forms of deprivation, even if one never sees one's neighbors, much less particpates in the same institutions (churches, schools, civic or political organizations) really entitle the usage of the term "community"? If there is such a thing as a global division of labor which differentially structures the access of social fragments to material goods and a quality life, does this not comprise a sound material basis for a definition of community as does a homogenous ethnic community ghettoized into a distinct geographical terrain ? From alummus@darkwing.uoregon.edu Sat Jan 15 13:10:41 1994 Received: from darkwing.uoregon.edu (darkwing.uoregon.edu [128.223.32.29]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.6.4/8.6.4/CNS-2.0) with ESMTP id NAA04238 for ; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 13:10:41 -0700 Received: from localhost (alummus@localhost) by darkwing.uoregon.edu (8.6.4/8.6) id MAA23287; Sat, 15 Jan 1994 12:10:38 -0800 Date: Sat, 15 Jan 1994 11:55:29 -0800 (PST) From: allan lummus Sender: allan lummus Reply-To: allan lummus Subject: re:identity poltics and environmental justice movements To: progressive sociologist network In-Reply-To: <199401150838.AAA18258@am.ucsc.edu> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII Status: RO On Sat, 15 Jan 1994 jlgulick@cats.ucsc.edu wrote: > However, what I am talking about is the chronic tendency in "grass-roots" > or "community" politics in the U.S. to wage struggle around inequities in > _distributional_ outcomes, which are typically skewed in racial terms. The > environmental justice movement is a prime example. To boil it down, identities ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > are erected in relation to equal access to decent means of consumption (housing > in non-polluted neighborhoods is a preeminent example here), as opposed to > popular participation in institutions (planning agencies, corporations which > make investments), not to speak of attacking the wage relation which, in > conjunction w/racism, so sharply defines access to means of consumption. > This flame of thousands of poor and working class people who are linking issues of social justice with environmental degradation is really very regrettable. Environmental justice movement(S) are about broadening environmentalism to include where people live and work (not just recreate). Talk to Vernice Miller from West Harlem Environmental Action fighting hazardous waste facilities or Gulf Coast Tenants Organization fighting the Chemical corporations in "Cancer Alley." Are they really only interested in "equal access to decent means of consumption?" No, they are making connections between there hospital bills and the decisions of corporations and government. They are demanding to have decision making power over how land is used, in addition to what and how corporations produce. These organizations are after social transformation not lower prices at Walmart! I think you are confusing some single interest brand of environmentalism with environmental justice movements. Environmental Justice is about more than essentializing pigmentation. For those who are interested these are really good sources on this topic: Toxic Struggles: The theory and practice of environmental justice. Edited by Richard Hofrichter from New Society Publishers 1993. Forcing the Spring: The transformation of the environmental movement. by Robert Gottlieb from Island Press 1993. Los Angeles' Lethal Air: New Strategies for Policy, Organizing and Action. Eric Mann. Labor/Community Strategy Center 1991. Also the spring 1993 Socialist Review and the Feb 1993 Social Problems is dedicated to Environment Justice Movements.