SOCI 2070 The West and The Rest March 10, 2009

Today’s Class Review of Marxist Perspectives on Power Stuart Hall and the Politics of Representation The West and the Rest Colonialism and Globalization

Today’s Readings Robert Young ‘Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction’, 1-7. Stuart Hall 'The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power', 184-191, 197, 205- 206, 209-221. Wayne Ellwood “Debt and Structural Adjustment”, 38-52.

Capitalism, Class & Power Through control over economic and political resources and institutions Inequality Due to exploitation through the system of wage labour Class Conflict Due to the social relations of the class system Social Change Through the emergence of working class movements (trade unions and political parties)

Capitalism, Class & Power Marx & Engels: social inequality created through the class system of capitalism Class is a social relationship Class is the primary relationship of capitalism And the central category for sociological analysis

Towards an Integrated Approach Marx Class power Foucault Power/knowledge Smith Relations of ruling: Discourses AND institutions

Stuart Hall Interested in the politics of representation How are social relationships and social phenomena represented and understood? How do some beliefs come to be regarded as truths, as common sense, as ‘normal’? How are they ‘effective’ (produce relations of power)?

Discourse Produces ‘meaningful knowledge’ Influences social practices “a group of statements which provide a language for talking about (representing) a particular kind of knowledge about a topic” “it also limits the other ways in which the topic can be constructed” Stuart Hall Produces ‘meaningful knowledge’ Influences social practices Has effects: produces social relationships Connected to power: not ‘innocent’

“The West” Refers to modern, industrialized, developed, urban, capitalist and secularized societies Represents progress, superiority, ‘good’ “Clearly, ‘the West’ is as much an idea as a fact of geography.” Stuart Hall

The West helps us characterize and classify a system of representation: conjures up images of peoples, places, and cultural practices a means of explaining difference, of comparing sets out the criteria for ranking societies

Produced and Productive “We cannot attempt to resolve here the age-old sociological debate as to which came first: the idea of ‘the West’, or western societies. What we can say is that, as these societies emerged, so a concept and language of ‘the West’ crystallized. And yet, we can be certain that the idea of ‘the West’ did not simply reflect an already-established western society: rather, it was essential to the very formation of that society.” Stuart Hall

Colonialism Slave labour and gold from Africa Practiced by Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, the Netherlands from the 15th century Slave labour and gold from Africa Sugar, rum and fruits from the Caribbean Coffee, sugar,gold and silver from Latin America Opium, tea, spices from Asia Displacement and genocide of Aboriginal peoples in North America Wayne Ellwood

The West and the Rest Orientalism Failure to recognize and respect difference Judge difference through European categories and norms Stereotyping

The West and the Rest Era of European Colonialism Era of Globalization Orientalism The ‘New’ World Era of Globalization The ‘magic of the marketplace’ (Ellwood)

What’s Next Coffee and Power How can we develop a sociology of coffee? What power relations are embedded in a cup of coffee?