(2023) Vertiginous Optimism: Optimistic Orientations in a Field of Chronic Crisis. In Anna Willow (ed). Anthropological Optimism: Engaging the Power of What Could Go Right. London: Routledge. (original) (raw)
Related papers
A Greek Fable, Part One: The Globalization of Opportunism
Note to Alexis Tsipras: What follows here is a transcript of the imaginary conversation I did not have with George Papandreou on October 15, 2009. You might want to read it. George: Thank you for sending me a copy of Civic War and the Corruption of the Citizen. I appreciate the connections you make between culture and citizenship. I hope your book helps to counteract the way anti-politics is corroding democracy in the United States. However, if I may speak frankly, this is a very American perspective on a distinctly American problem. What does it have to do with Greece? Peter: Well, as it happened, Civic War appeared at the end of 2008 just as young people in Greece were beginning to rise up against widespread corruption. They often told me that Greece had become a place filled with thieves like Madoff and liars like Bush. On the one hand, I could see similar frustrations of civic life in the two countries. On the other hand, these frustrations were clearly linked in some way with a nascent type of global movement, one motivated more by the rejection of corruption than by an abstract conception of justice. George: You are right to see the defeat of New Democracy and PASOK's return to power as part of a larger movement. And the language of justice is changing. But these are slender threads joining your concerns and mine. Peter: George, let me get right to the point. You are going to have a really tough time. Obviously, your first task was to extricate the parasites of New Democracy from the state. But it is hard to see how a small country like Greece is going to navigate through this global crisis. The world is being ripped apart by unchecked financial speculation. The devastation will likely continue for years and.... George: ... excuse me, Professor, but I certainly do not need you to tell me this. Peter: Of course, George, but bear with me. I am coming to one small observation that I hope to share with you. This crisis has been brewing for years and any disinterested person will have seen it coming. What strikes me most about the crisis, however, is the popular reaction to it. Don't you see that at the same time there has been a remarkable, resurgent desire for meaningful civic life? This desire seems to be sprouting everywhere. George: I understand you perfectly. Since the "Regime of the Colonels" was pushed out in 1974, one of PASOK's main goals has been to rebuild civil society in our country. Peter: Actually, George, I am not talking about "civil society." What we are seeing has to do with even deeper human motivations and capacities. It's a basic "civic impulse" that has been suppressed for decades by many forces, most recently, one
The Greek economic crisis resonates across Europe as synonymous with corruption, poor government, austerity, financial bailouts, civil unrest, and social turmoil. The search for accountability on the local level is entangled with competing rhetorics of persuasion, fear, and complex historical consciousness. Internationally, the Greek crisis is employed as a trope to call for collective mobilization and political change. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Trikala, central Greece, this article outlines how accountability for the Greek economic crisis is understood in local and international arenas. Trikala can be considered a microcosm for the study of the pan-European economic turmoil as the "Greek crisis" is heralded as a warning on national stages throughout the continent.
Greek Culture After the Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 Crisis
The Political Economy of Greek Growth up to 2030, 2021
This book series analyzes the medium to long-term prospects of Greece's political economy by studying concepts such as sustainability, sustainable governance and political functioning, economic inclusivity, cultural behaviors, and economic dynamic growth through an evolutionary approach. This series also publishes policy-oriented books outlining steps for increased economic growth and a sustainable future for the Greek economy. This series stands out in that the books depict the conditions that must prevail for the Greek economy to escape the economic stagnation that has lingered from persistent economic recession. Using Greece as a lens to discuss pressing questions, this series will be of interest to economists interested in Eurozone policies, economic growth, evolutionary economics, and more.
American Ethnologist, 2019
Elspeth Probyn proposes that "eating the ocean" in a responsible way is about more than the common tropes of eating lower on the food chain and buying fish from Marine Stewardship Council certified fisheries; it is a much broader concept of relatedness or relationships. Being mindful about fish or, better yet, the ocean means recognizing the multiple relationships within what others have called the ecosystem or the social ecological system. Not that Probyn never uses the term ecosystem; rather, it is that she prefers to examine multiple theoretical positions and concepts to elucidate the essentials of an ecosystem from different perspectives. Her work is, in that way, "good to think." Probyn has broad intellectual interests, and Eating the Ocean comes out of foci that include food consumption and production, theories of embodiment, and social science methodologies, among other topics. What struck me most about this book is its ability to blend and weave marine biology, feminist studies, queer theory, and a thorough understanding of ecosystem complexity into a usable framework for thinking about the sustainability (she notes the many problems with that term) of marine food webs, human communities, and economies. Of course, this complexity means that the most theoretical sections of the book, especially chapter 1, "An Oceanic Habitus," require slow, careful reading. This is not a book to be skimmed. Readers will need to work their way through the various connections Probyn draws and think through how they feel about her assumptions. But they will be well rewarded for the time and thinking they invest. The strength of the book, however, comes especially in the case studies in chapters 2 to 5. Each takes a marine species and uses a mix of ethnography, oral histories, archaeology, literature, historical accounts, and marine biology to embody and center the theoretical points made in the introduction, "Relating Fish and Humans," and the first chapter. The fivepage conclusion, "Reeling It In," then draws it all together for the reader. Illustrative photos and graphics are provided throughout.