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Papers by Luisa Steur
Berghahn Books, Oct 17, 2022
Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of t... more Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without writt en permission of the publisher.
Worldwide Mobilizations
Reminiscing on the massive anti-corruption mobilization that had captured the political imaginati... more Reminiscing on the massive anti-corruption mobilization that had captured the political imagination of Delhi in the summer of 2012 and that had foreboded her joining the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP), Metha, a Hindi literature teacher at a Delhi college, told me: it was the first time since 'globalization' that we could see youth actually awake from their political lethargy, their fascination with consumerism, and find a greater purpose in life. All the poor and Dalit youth also were coming there. And as a woman, the possibility of being part of the crowd without being harassed. This was the moment when we knew we had to do something, to join. I could recognize what she was saying-I had been to Ramlila Maidan 1 in 2012 too and had been impressed by the massive crowd and the horizontal mingling of people from very different walks of life, as well as the possibility for women to let their guard down (a bit at least) despite being in a crowd, the festive excitement in the air and the feeling that here was something building up that could have an actual political impact. On the other hand, I was also impressed by the overlay of spectacle on the Ramlila grounds. Queuing to pass the security check, being greeted by people handing out disposable Gandhi topis (caps) and seeing the broadcasting vans and their spotlights and the stage where the veteran Gandhian activist Anna Hazare was performing his hunger fast, admired by the thousands gathered around, it also felt like being at a professionally staged mega-festival in the heart of Delhi. The aesthetics of the movement
The Routledge Handbook of the Anthropology of Labor
Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material inf... more Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Focaal, 2018
This introduction, coming out during the two hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, discusse... more This introduction, coming out during the two hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, discusses the distinctiveness of Marxian anthropology and what it has to offer to our efforts at understanding, and confronting, the complexities of the social contradictions constituted by—and constitutive of—twenty-first century capitalism. The article points out common denominators of Marxian anthropology going back to Marx’s insights, but also offers a cursory social history of the diverse lineages of enquiry within Marxian anthropology, shaped by the relations and inequalities of the context in which they emerged. Finally, we discuss certain crucial fields of engagement in contemporary Marxian anthropology as reflected in this theme section’s contributions.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 2016
The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 2018
Modern Asian Studies, 2014
Following the police raid on the ‘Muthanga’ land occupation by Adivasi (‘indigenous’) activists i... more Following the police raid on the ‘Muthanga’ land occupation by Adivasi (‘indigenous’) activists in Kerala, India, in February 2003, intense public debate erupted about the fate of Adivasis in this ‘model’ development state. Most commentators saw the land occupation either as the fight-back of Adivasis against their age-old colonization or the work of ‘external’ agitators. Capitalist restructuring and ‘globalization’ was generally seen as simply the latest chapter in the suffering of these Adivasis. Little focused attention was paid to the recent class trajectory of their lives under changing capitalist relations, the exact social processes under which they were having to make a living, and what had only recently—and still largely ambiguously—made them ready to identify themselves politically as ‘Adivasi’. Demonstrating the usefulness of ethnographic curiosity driven by an ‘expanded’ class analysis, as elaborated in Marxian anthropology, this article provides an alternative to the li...
TSEG - The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History
Kolonialisme en Racisme is een boek dat uit de pas loopt met hedendaagse debatten over deze onder... more Kolonialisme en Racisme is een boek dat uit de pas loopt met hedendaagse debatten over deze onderwerpen binnen de antropologie/sociologie en in activistische kringen. Dat is soms ongemakkelijk maar vaak inspirerend, vooral wanneer Jan Breman het belang benadrukt van het analyseren van racisme op het niveau van het mondiale kapitalisme. Het boek toont racisme in dienst van de wereldwijde uitbuiting van arbeid, die in gebieden buiten het directe gezichtsveld van de Nederlandse lezer haar meest extreme, dodelijke excessen blijft tonen. Ik ga graag de dialoog aan met Jan Breman over de inzichten die hij in zijn boek aandraagt en in die context wil ik ook een kwestie aansnijden die ik bijzonder opvallend vind: dat we momenteel in de paradoxale situatie zijn beland dat de grotendeels witte, liberale eigenaren en beheerders van het kapitaal – diegenen die in Jan Bremans boek nog zo duidelijk naar voren komen als actieve organisatoren van racistisch gedachtegoed en racistische wetten – zich...
steur-trajectories... 8 of 13 20/05/15 10:15 C Co on nc cl lu ud di in ng g r re efl fle ec ct ti... more steur-trajectories... 8 of 13 20/05/15 10:15 C Co on nc cl lu ud di in ng g r re efl fle ec ct ti io on ns s Luisa Steur: Trajectories of the Common Man's Party #Focaa...
... Or whereas, for instance, Deborah Yashar sees the indigenist movement in Bolivia and the rise... more ... Or whereas, for instance, Deborah Yashar sees the indigenist movement in Bolivia and the rise of Evo Morales as the country's first indigenous president as based on 'an ethnic discourse about cultural rights and autonomy' (2005: 185), Kathy Gordon sees the movement much ...
An Interview with Cuban Activist Norberto Mesa Carbonell
Berghahn Books, Oct 17, 2022
Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of t... more Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without writt en permission of the publisher.
Worldwide Mobilizations
Reminiscing on the massive anti-corruption mobilization that had captured the political imaginati... more Reminiscing on the massive anti-corruption mobilization that had captured the political imagination of Delhi in the summer of 2012 and that had foreboded her joining the Aam Aadmi (Common Man) Party (AAP), Metha, a Hindi literature teacher at a Delhi college, told me: it was the first time since 'globalization' that we could see youth actually awake from their political lethargy, their fascination with consumerism, and find a greater purpose in life. All the poor and Dalit youth also were coming there. And as a woman, the possibility of being part of the crowd without being harassed. This was the moment when we knew we had to do something, to join. I could recognize what she was saying-I had been to Ramlila Maidan 1 in 2012 too and had been impressed by the massive crowd and the horizontal mingling of people from very different walks of life, as well as the possibility for women to let their guard down (a bit at least) despite being in a crowd, the festive excitement in the air and the feeling that here was something building up that could have an actual political impact. On the other hand, I was also impressed by the overlay of spectacle on the Ramlila grounds. Queuing to pass the security check, being greeted by people handing out disposable Gandhi topis (caps) and seeing the broadcasting vans and their spotlights and the stage where the veteran Gandhian activist Anna Hazare was performing his hunger fast, admired by the thousands gathered around, it also felt like being at a professionally staged mega-festival in the heart of Delhi. The aesthetics of the movement
The Routledge Handbook of the Anthropology of Labor
Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material inf... more Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Focaal, 2018
This introduction, coming out during the two hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, discusse... more This introduction, coming out during the two hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, discusses the distinctiveness of Marxian anthropology and what it has to offer to our efforts at understanding, and confronting, the complexities of the social contradictions constituted by—and constitutive of—twenty-first century capitalism. The article points out common denominators of Marxian anthropology going back to Marx’s insights, but also offers a cursory social history of the diverse lineages of enquiry within Marxian anthropology, shaped by the relations and inequalities of the context in which they emerged. Finally, we discuss certain crucial fields of engagement in contemporary Marxian anthropology as reflected in this theme section’s contributions.
The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies, 2016
The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 2018
Modern Asian Studies, 2014
Following the police raid on the ‘Muthanga’ land occupation by Adivasi (‘indigenous’) activists i... more Following the police raid on the ‘Muthanga’ land occupation by Adivasi (‘indigenous’) activists in Kerala, India, in February 2003, intense public debate erupted about the fate of Adivasis in this ‘model’ development state. Most commentators saw the land occupation either as the fight-back of Adivasis against their age-old colonization or the work of ‘external’ agitators. Capitalist restructuring and ‘globalization’ was generally seen as simply the latest chapter in the suffering of these Adivasis. Little focused attention was paid to the recent class trajectory of their lives under changing capitalist relations, the exact social processes under which they were having to make a living, and what had only recently—and still largely ambiguously—made them ready to identify themselves politically as ‘Adivasi’. Demonstrating the usefulness of ethnographic curiosity driven by an ‘expanded’ class analysis, as elaborated in Marxian anthropology, this article provides an alternative to the li...
TSEG - The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History
Kolonialisme en Racisme is een boek dat uit de pas loopt met hedendaagse debatten over deze onder... more Kolonialisme en Racisme is een boek dat uit de pas loopt met hedendaagse debatten over deze onderwerpen binnen de antropologie/sociologie en in activistische kringen. Dat is soms ongemakkelijk maar vaak inspirerend, vooral wanneer Jan Breman het belang benadrukt van het analyseren van racisme op het niveau van het mondiale kapitalisme. Het boek toont racisme in dienst van de wereldwijde uitbuiting van arbeid, die in gebieden buiten het directe gezichtsveld van de Nederlandse lezer haar meest extreme, dodelijke excessen blijft tonen. Ik ga graag de dialoog aan met Jan Breman over de inzichten die hij in zijn boek aandraagt en in die context wil ik ook een kwestie aansnijden die ik bijzonder opvallend vind: dat we momenteel in de paradoxale situatie zijn beland dat de grotendeels witte, liberale eigenaren en beheerders van het kapitaal – diegenen die in Jan Bremans boek nog zo duidelijk naar voren komen als actieve organisatoren van racistisch gedachtegoed en racistische wetten – zich...
steur-trajectories... 8 of 13 20/05/15 10:15 C Co on nc cl lu ud di in ng g r re efl fle ec ct ti... more steur-trajectories... 8 of 13 20/05/15 10:15 C Co on nc cl lu ud di in ng g r re efl fle ec ct ti io on ns s Luisa Steur: Trajectories of the Common Man's Party #Focaa...
... Or whereas, for instance, Deborah Yashar sees the indigenist movement in Bolivia and the rise... more ... Or whereas, for instance, Deborah Yashar sees the indigenist movement in Bolivia and the rise of Evo Morales as the country's first indigenous president as based on 'an ethnic discourse about cultural rights and autonomy' (2005: 185), Kathy Gordon sees the movement much ...
An Interview with Cuban Activist Norberto Mesa Carbonell
A case study of southwestern India shows that 'indigeneity' and 'indigenous' activism are not nat... more A case study of southwestern India shows that 'indigeneity' and 'indigenous' activism are not natural let alone essentialist identities and forms of organization but constructs arising from particular social histories and responding to particular—though transnational—forces and conditions. Nothing highlights the vicissitudes of the concept of 'indigeneity' better than the comparison between Luisa Steur's new study of the Indian state of Kerala and Megan Moodie's recent book We Were Adivasis: Aspiration in an Indian Scheduled Tribe (reviewed elsewhere in ARD), in which the Dhanka (itself a troubled category) assert that they used to be indigenous. By contrast, in a certain sense, many individuals and groups in Kerala have only lately become indigenous. Yet, both books describe people in the midst of aspiration, whose identities are becoming and which becoming is part of and cannot be understood apart from local, national, and international social and economic forces. As Steur explains in her introduction, her research focuses on " the new indigenist movement that arose in Kerala in the course of the 1990s in the capitalist world system " and thus examines " what the social processes unfolding in Kerala indicate about this global complex of relations " (p. 4). Her central claim is that " the rise of indigenism is a formal rather than a substantive phenomenon and that what hence needs explanation is not why indigenous people rebel but why they have started doing so under an indigenist political program " (p. 5). Further, as she makes abundantly clear, this new program did not appear out of thin air but has roots in (and against) the prior Marxist interpretation and mobilization in the region, such that the 'frame' of identity and activism has shifted " from class to indigeneity " (p. 11). The six main chapters of the book are organized into three parts, not counting the introduction and conclusion, beginning with 'Adivasiness and Its Discontents.' In the first of the part's two chapters, Steur exposes the concept of 'tribe' as a historical and cultural construction; in a word, she judges that the tribe or a tribal people, at least in India, " is a category born of Western fantasy and colonial imperatives backed up by certain currents of anthropology willing to lend it substantive analytical value " (p. 63). Among the faulty assumptions about tribes was and is the equation of tribal people with 'forest dwellers " despite the fact that " there seems to be no actual relation between being indigenous and living in a tribal community…and such people can be seen more often than not living outside of the forest just like 'mainstream' others " (p. 35). (This is reminiscent of Glory Lueong's recent study of the Baka of eastern Cameroon (reviewed elsewhere in ARD), who have long been regarded as a 'forest people' although most of them today live in roadside villages with or near other peoples with whom they compete for 'indigenous' or 'autochthonous' status—making them, as her title a 'forest people without a forest.) Yet the constructed nature of the tribe has not prevented the post-colonial Indian state from
Title of introduction: "Research and activism in, on and beyond the capitalist world system"