Etnográfica

“The Chinese are universal, they're invading everywhere”: rumours and tensions surrounding the Chinese presence in Cape Verdean trade

Resumo Os rumores, boatos e fofocas são parte constitutiva das sociedades e possuem um papel fundamental na coerção, controle e disciplinarização dos indivíduos em prol da coesão social. Eles tendem a emergir em momentos de tensões sociais e choques civilizacionais, a fim de dar respostas e saídas para os eventos que deles emergem. Tendo esse cenário em mente, o presente artigo tem por objetivo compreender o papel dos rumores produzidos e partilhados por comerciantes cabo-verdianas que versam sobre a presença de imigrantes chineses no país para a construção das imagens que representam este grupo. Para isso, analiso dois contextos etnográficos e comerciais profundamente marcados pela presença de mulheres cabo-verdianas e pela concorrência da diáspora comercial chinesa: o do comércio transnacional de produtos industrializados em Mindelo, na ilha de São Vicente, e o de produção e venda do artesanato “genuinamente” cabo-verdiano no mercado de souvenirs na ilha de Santiago.

Abstract Rumours, hearsay and gossip are a constitutive part of societies and play a fundamental role in coercing, controlling and disciplining individuals in the search for social cohesion. They tend to emerge at times of social tension and civilisational conflict, in order to provide answers and solutions to the resulting events. In this sense, the aim of this article is to understand the role of rumours produced and shared by Cape Verdean shopkeepers about the presence of Chinese immigrants in the country. To do this, I analyse two ethnographic and commercial contexts that are deeply marked by the presence of Cape Verdean women and competition from the Chinese commercial diaspora: the transnational trade in industrialised products in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, and the production and sale of “genuine” Cape Verdean handicrafts in the souvenir market on the island of Santiago.

Reflexivity and politics in the ethnographic text: representations and effects of writing

Resumo Em 2020, um ano após a realização de uma pesquisa que teve como objetivo principal analisar, comparativamente, os ciclos de greves de canavieiros, em Pernambuco, e de metalúrgicos de São Paulo e do ABC Paulista, que ocorreram em fins da década de 1970, retornamos às questões suscitadas em campo e nas entrevistas feitas com ex-sindicalistas e trabalhadores(as), para compreender os modos em que a interlocução nós-eles assumiu na formulação dos problemas de pesquisa e, nisso, os efeitos das formas de representação das nossas identidades/posições em campo e no texto científico que veio a ser publicado como resultado do projeto. Não meramente para reconhecer as implicações da autoridade etnográfica na escrita, mas para arguir em favor da fertilidade analítica da mediação do outro em nossa prática científica.

Abstract In 2020, one year after a research that had as its main objective to analyze, comparatively, the cycles of sugarcane workers’ strikes in Pernambuco, and metalworkers of São Paulo and ABC Paulista, that occurred in the late 1970’s, we returned to the questions raised in the field and in the interviews with former union members and workers to understand the ways in which the dialogue between us and them has influenced the formulation of research problems and hence the effects of the presentation of our identities/positions during the field work and in the scientific text that came to be published. Our goal is not merely to recognize the implications of ethnographic authority, but to argue in favor of the analytical fertility of this mediation with “the other” in our scientific practice.

The legal persecution of homosexuality in the Iberian Peninsula: 19^th and 20^th centuries

Resumo O quadro legal que serve de base à perseguição da homossexualidade em Portugal e no Estado espanhol surge antes do início das ditaduras ibéricas. Em Portugal, por exemplo, a I República cria legislação contra “os que praticam vícios contra a natureza”, a partir da Lei da Mendicidade (1912). No caso espanhol, o Código Penal de 1870 introduz, pela primeira vez, as categorias de delitos sexuais, que são usados para a detenção de homossexuais até à chegada da democracia. Apesar da homo/lesbofobia ser anterior aos regimes fascistas, é neste tipo de regimes que a perseguição da homossexualidade se transforma num elemento chave. Estas e outras leis, a aplicar mais tarde pelo Estado Novo e pelo franquismo, levam a que a homossexualidade seja observada enquanto crime. As comparações efetuadas pretendem reforçar a necessidade de continuar a resgatar a memória LGBTI, em particular na Península Ibérica. Assim, este artigo pretende analisar e comparar a legislação aplicada a homossexuais nos dois países, desde o século XIX, com o surgimento dos primeiros Códigos Penais, até à descriminalização da homossexualidade, que tem lugar em meados dos anos 80 do século XX.

Abstract The legal framework that underpins the persecution of homosexuality in Portugal and in the Spanish State appears before the beginning of the Iberian dictatorships. In Portugal, for example, the I Republic creates legislation against “those who practice vices against nature”, based on the Lei da Mendicidade (1912). In the Spanish case, the Penal Code of 1870 introduces, for the first time, the categories of sexual crimes, which are used for the detention of homosexuals until de arrival of democracy. Although homo/lesbophobia pre-dates fascist regimes, it is in these types of regimes that the persecution of homosexuality becomes a key element. These and other laws, to be applied later by the Estado Novo and Francoism, lead to homosexual being observed as a crime. The comparisons made intend to reinforce the need to continue to rescue the LGBTI memory, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula. This article aims to analyse and compare the legislation applied to homosexuals in both countries, from 19thcentury, with the emergence of the first Penal Codes until the decriminalization of homosexuality, which took place in the mid-1980’s.

Needs, rights and languages: an ethnographic study about inhabiting and making of citizenship in Buenos Aires

Resumen Este artículo entrecruza las problemáticas del habitar y el derecho a la vivienda con la de la construcción de ciudadanía, a las que explora desde una perspectiva antropológica. Retoma el trabajo etnográfico desarrollado entre 2015 y 2020 con los pobladores de un edificio recuperado de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, quienes enfrentan un juicio de desalojo. Se vale del concepto de habitar de Giglia (2012) y aportes de Holston (2008) y Wanderley (2009), que examinan la cuestión del acceso a derechos identificando los lenguajes y las modalidades de acción a los que apelan los sujetos para materializarlos. Se expresa aquí que si durante el período inicial predominó la “lógica de la necesidad” y un accionar orientado a tornar habitable un inmueble abandonado, posteriormente emergió entre los pobladores el “lenguaje de los derechos”. Contra lo que sugiere la concepción de ciudadanía liberal, concluye que la auto-percepción de sí mismos como “sujetos de derecho” no es algo dado sino un proceso que se construye a partir de los vínculos horizontales que los sujetos establecen entre sí y con organizaciones sociales, y las relaciones verticales y conflictivas entabladas con el Estado en forma mayormente colectiva.

Abstract This article links the issues of the inhabit and housing rights with that of the making of citizenship, which are explored from an anthropological perspective. It is based on the ethographic work developed between 2015-2020 with the inhabitants of a squattered building from the City of Buenos Aires, who face an eviction judgment. It takes up the concept of inhabit introduced by Giglia (2012) and contributions of Holston (2008) and Wanderley (2009) that explore the issue of the access to rights identifying the different languages and modalities of action deployed by the subjects in order to get them. It is argued here that if it prevailed initially the “logic of the necessity” and an action aimed to rend habitable an abandoned property, the “language of rights” emerge later among the inhabitants. In contrast to what the liberal conception suggests, it is concluded that the self-perception of themselves as “subjects of rights” is not something given but a process that is built from the “logic of necessity”, the horizontal links that the subjects establish among themselves and with social organizations, and the vertical relationships established with the State in a mostly collective way.

“An evil hand”: on abolitionist feminists, sex workers and epistemic violence in Argentina

Resumen En junio de 2020 fue lanzado, desde el Ministerio de Desarrollo argentino, el Registro Nacional de la Economía Popular (ReNaTEP) que, entre otras categorías, incluyó las de trabajadora sexual y stripper. Las organizaciones de trabajadoras sexuales festejaron ante la posibilidad de inscribirse y acceder, así, al monotributo y a instrumentos de la seguridad social pero, a las pocas horas del lanzamiento y dada la presión de los sectores abolicionistas, el registro fue eliminado. Este trabajo aborda la historia de esa eliminación en clave de falta de reconocimiento y bajo el lente conceptual de la injusticia y la violencia epistémicas. Para ello, el artículo aborda tanto las formas en que el movimiento de las trabajadoras sexuales produce conocimiento, como el revuelo que causó, entre feministas abolicionistas y funcionarios, la incorporación del trabajo sexual en el ReNaTEP, y que se tradujo en la negación de las trabajadoras sexuales, de su agencia epistémica, de su subjetividad y hasta de su legitimidad como sujeto social.

Abstract In June 2020, the Argentine Ministry of Development launched the National Registry of Popular Economy (ReNaTEP) which, among other categories, included sex workers and strippers. Sex workers’ organizations celebrated the possibility of registering and thus gaining access to the mono-tax and social security instruments, but a few hours after the launching and due to the pressure from abolitionist sectors, the registry was eliminated. This paper addresses the history of this elimination in terms of lack of recognition and under the conceptual lens of epistemic injustice and violence. To this end, the article addresses both the ways in which the sex workers’ movement produces knowledge, as well as the uproar caused, among abolitionist feminists and officials, by the incorporation of sex work in the ReNaTEP, which resulted in the denial of sex workers, their epistemic agency, their subjectivity and even their legitimacy as a social subject.

Integrating refugees and migrants into higher education in Portugal? An action research experience in a Portuguese university

Abstract This article results from research comprised of fieldwork ethnography, participant observation, collection of life stories, interviews and testimonials of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, living in Portugal. We focus on a particular experience of the research named Living in a Different Culture (LDC), which took place between 2017 and 2019, aimed at participants who shared the goal of becoming university students, before migration. LDC supported students who wanted to continue their academic training and those wanting to find alternative pathways of inclusion and autonomy, using new academic skills and knowledge. The project included a tailored course in Portuguese society and culture, created with an anthropological lens, Portuguese language classes and other disciplines. Several of the students who attended the course, in both academic years, continued their studies, or found work within their area of expertise. Obstacles highlighted in the paper perpetuated cycles of precarious living and structural violence. We argue that by devaluing migrants and refugees’ knowledges and skills, host society loses important resources to its own development. We conclude by stating that projects such as LDC require a long-term commitment with interinstitutional support, a sustainability strategy, and a decolonial mindset.

Resumo O artigo surge a partir de uma investigação baseada em etnografia: observação participante, recolha de histórias de vida, entrevistas e testemunhos de refugiados e migrantes, residentes em Portugal. Centramo-nos numa experiência particular de projeto/investigação que designámos Living in a Different Culture (LDC) (2017/2019), destinada a migrantes que tinham em comum o objetivo de se tornarem estudantes universitários, antes da migração. O LDC apoiou os estudantes que queriam continuar a sua formação académica e aqueles que queriam encontrar caminhos alternativos de inclusão e autonomia, utilizando novas competências e conhecimentos académicos. Incluiu um curso sobre sociedade e cultura portuguesas, usando uma lente antropológica, aulas de português, entre outras disciplinas. Vários alunos continuaram os seus estudos, ou encontraram trabalho dentro da sua área de especialização. Destacámos obstáculos relacionados com ciclos de vida precária e violência estrutural. Argumentamos que, desvalorizando conhecimentos e competências de migrantes e refugiados, a sociedade de acolhimento perde recursos importantes para o seu próprio desenvolvimento. Concluímos, afirmando que projetos como o LDC exigem um compromisso de longo prazo, com apoio interinstitucional, uma estratégia de sustentabilidade e uma abordagem descolonial.

Liberdade para desejar

Uma década e muitos acontecimentos depois: o que (re)ler dos possíveis liberalismos minoritários?

Neoliberalism, universities, and anthropology around the world: introduction

“Useless degrees”, quality assurance, and employable graduates: neoliberal effects on University Education in Kenya

Abstract At a time when it is critical to understand humanity and its various forms of socioeconomic and political life, anthropology and other social sciences are being threatened by a neoliberal emphasis on “relevant” courses in universities in Kenya. Universities are suffering from a push for “relevance” at the detriment of their traditional role of being a public good. Using personal experiences, comparative secondary data overview and analysis, I discuss the challenges facing university education in Kenya under neoliberalism. I argue that the erstwhile role of universities serving the public good has been transformed so much that they struggle to be “sustainable” through “income generating activities” and teach “marketable courses” that will guarantee graduates employment upon graduation. This neoliberal approach to university education follows the growth of a capitalist ethic which started with Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) that has continually erased the welfare state and turned university education into a commodity and students as customers with preferences rather than as citizens with a right to education. Such a focus is detrimental to cultivating graduates who are well rounded and can respond to the challenges and opportunities of our ever-changing world.

Anthropology from different angles: a tale of the neoliberal arts

Abstract A discipline’s value depends on the institutional position of its valuers. In U.S. liberal arts undergraduate education, trustees, marketers, and parents routinely link disciplinary value to “return on investment”. This market logic is evident in rhetoric equating a discipline’s worth with the cost of department maintenance and the lucrativeness of careers pursued by majors. Yet students are also expected to buy the liberal arts experience as a whole package, a logic that makes all majors interchangeable. These contradictory dynamics provide undergraduate anthropology students with a profoundly teachable illustration of U.S. neoliberalism.

Knowledge politics and labor precariousness in Spanish universities: implications for social anthropology

Abstract Neoliberal reforms arising from Spain’s entrance into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) have had major consequences for academic practice and unleashed heated debate in the university community and society. This article explores the main transformations and basis of the political-economic model of public universities in Spain. It focuses on two dimensions of the institutional framework that have had a significant impact on teaching and research practice in universities: the strategic focus of research policy and labor regulations and employment conditions. To address both dimensions, the analysis centers on the implications each has for the reproduction of a specific discipline, social anthropology, in the context of the University of Seville. The article describes some of the main factors conditioning and limiting these two dimensions, in particular how business logic and neocolonialism are driving new research policy and how a combination of neoliberal organization of labor, meritocracy and clientelist networks are impact hiring practices and intensifying labor precarization.

Hong Kong anthropologists within global neoliberalism and national and local politics

Abstract There are global neoliberal pressures on the academy that are more or less faced by anthropologists around the world. To what extent are anthropologists required to publish in English in SSCI-ranked journals to keep their jobs and get promoted? But there are also distinctly national and local pressures to some extent counteracting or eclipsing these global pressures. In this article I explore these counteracting pressures in the context of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, my home society, neoliberalism has reigned supreme, with a remarkably short-term mentality. Yet despite this, anthropology has been flourishing, and has operated with great freedom and generous funding that is quite exceptional by global standards. However, this may be coming to an end. In China there is direct government control over anthropology. Hong Kong, following the protests of 2019 and the advent of the national security law in 2020, may be following suit, with many democratic political figures and some journalists now in jail. In light of this ongoing narrowing of room for freedom of inquiry, what will happen to Hong Kong academics and to anthropology?

The deterioration of anthropological work in Mexico during the 21^st century

Abstract This article analyzes how the working conditions for Mexican anthropologists have deteriorated throughout the last few decades. Until half a century ago, only a few dozen professional anthropologists practiced in Mexico, and most of them had access to stable, well-paid jobs in academia or government agencies. Today there are over 7000 of them working in a wide range of fields, mostly in temporary jobs with low salaries. Drawing from the data gathered in the Historical Catalogue of Theses on Social Anthropology in Mexico (RedMIFA 2018) and the Survey on Professional Practice and Working Conditions of Anthropologists in Mexico (CIEPA-CEAS 2016), this paper begins by outlining the decline of working conditions for Mexican anthropologists, focusing primarily on the younger generations. An analysis follows of the main factors that have contributed to the current situation, and the article closes with a brief commentary on the effects of precarious working conditions for the production of anthropological knowledge. The implications here are paradoxical: on the one hand, most professionals currently work in fields other than academia, thereby diversifying anthropological practice, and on the other there is a marked tendency towards the academization of professional anthropological education.

Ramon Sarró, Inventing an Alphabet: Writing, Art, and Kongo Culture in the DRC. 199 pp. London, International African Institute/Cambridge University Press, 2023, 199 pp., ISBN: 978-100-919-947-6

Fazer antropologia na boca do urso: Nastassja Martin, Acreditar nas Feras. Lisboa, Alfaguara, 2023, 130 pp., ISBN: 9789726084433