Recognition and Global Politics: Critical Encounters between State and World, 2016
Far from being divisive, recognition is integral to the construction of effective global movement... more Far from being divisive, recognition is integral to the construction of effective global movements against injustice. I highlight three different sites at which the politics of recognition has important roles to play: within progressive movements, between progressive movements and by progressive movements on the ‘global stage’. At these different sites, I argue, recognition politics serves both integrative and performative functions. By identifying the sites at which recognition can contribute to global struggles and explaining the functions recognition serves, I add to our understanding of ‘regimes of recognition’, offer a new perspective on the nature of and prerequisites for the recognition encounter, and illuminate the importance as well as the limitations of political institutions like the World Social Forum and campaigns like the anti-War protests of 2003.
This article explores the affinities and tensions between two ideas: scholar Richard Iton’s ‘‘bla... more This article explores the affinities and tensions between two ideas: scholar Richard Iton’s ‘‘black fantastic’’ and ‘‘post-blackness.’’ Ideally, the black fantastic is the source of ‘‘minor-key sensibilities’’ that provide a basis for a substantive post-colonial imaginary and politics. Post-blackness, on the other hand, has been used to describe both artistic and popular identity movements that aim to lift the ‘‘burden of representation’’ from black artists or black people generally. I argue that although those who fashion post-blackness as a popular identity movement divest it of much of its subversive force, at least one type of artistic post-blackness enables the black fantastic.
Critics have charged the politics of recognition with producing fixed conceptions of collective ... more Critics have charged the politics of recognition with producing fixed conceptions of collective identities that reinforce hierarchical relations within and between identity groups; some conclude that marginalized groups should forgo recognition politics. I assess both criticism and conclusion in light of black Americans’ recognition movements. Focusing on the underappreciated cultural dimension of recognition politics, I differentiate between two variants of the politics of recognition—a ‘‘politics of monovalent recognition’’ that presents black identity as having a single definitive positive content and a ‘‘politics of multivalent recognition’’ that revalues blackness by drawing attention to diverse ways of being black. A politics of multivalent recognition that stretches the symbolic boundaries of black identity while maintaining its importance constitutes a third way between essentialism and deconstruction. Such a politics has an important role to play in addressing the problematic consequences of monovalent recognition movements and challenging white dominance.
Recently, normative theorists have stressed the importance of “self-work” to the promotion of ju... more Recently, normative theorists have stressed the importance of “self-work” to the promotion of justice. This article demonstrates how actors’ phenomenological limitations can blunt the capacity of one version of self-work—acknowledgment— to effect greater justice in race relations in the United States. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved illuminates the ways inequality shapes the lives of the marginalized and the privileged, and how these different lived experiences can inflect acknowledgment. Morrison’s insight is used to unravel a paradox in U.S. public opinion: while most white Americans endorse racial equality in theory, few support the policies necessary to realize it in practice. Although acknowledgment does not necessarily prefigure justice in identity relations, the article concludes that acknowledgment has a progressive role to play as a supplement to the politics of recognition.
What does a democratically-productive form of mourning look like in America? David McIvor's Mourn... more What does a democratically-productive form of mourning look like in America? David McIvor's Mourning in America and Simon Stow's American Mourning argue that it entails the embrace of ambivalence about self and other. Democratically-productive mourning pushes against the tendencies toward idealization and demonization. Embracing ambivalence enables us to move to more effective political engagement in the context of both collaboration and conflict. It allows us to understand that the process of mourning must be ongoing both to protect us from political excesses to which we are prone and to push society toward justice.
Recognition and Global Politics: Critical Encounters between State and World, 2016
Far from being divisive, recognition is integral to the construction of effective global movement... more Far from being divisive, recognition is integral to the construction of effective global movements against injustice. I highlight three different sites at which the politics of recognition has important roles to play: within progressive movements, between progressive movements and by progressive movements on the ‘global stage’. At these different sites, I argue, recognition politics serves both integrative and performative functions. By identifying the sites at which recognition can contribute to global struggles and explaining the functions recognition serves, I add to our understanding of ‘regimes of recognition’, offer a new perspective on the nature of and prerequisites for the recognition encounter, and illuminate the importance as well as the limitations of political institutions like the World Social Forum and campaigns like the anti-War protests of 2003.
This article explores the affinities and tensions between two ideas: scholar Richard Iton’s ‘‘bla... more This article explores the affinities and tensions between two ideas: scholar Richard Iton’s ‘‘black fantastic’’ and ‘‘post-blackness.’’ Ideally, the black fantastic is the source of ‘‘minor-key sensibilities’’ that provide a basis for a substantive post-colonial imaginary and politics. Post-blackness, on the other hand, has been used to describe both artistic and popular identity movements that aim to lift the ‘‘burden of representation’’ from black artists or black people generally. I argue that although those who fashion post-blackness as a popular identity movement divest it of much of its subversive force, at least one type of artistic post-blackness enables the black fantastic.
Critics have charged the politics of recognition with producing fixed conceptions of collective ... more Critics have charged the politics of recognition with producing fixed conceptions of collective identities that reinforce hierarchical relations within and between identity groups; some conclude that marginalized groups should forgo recognition politics. I assess both criticism and conclusion in light of black Americans’ recognition movements. Focusing on the underappreciated cultural dimension of recognition politics, I differentiate between two variants of the politics of recognition—a ‘‘politics of monovalent recognition’’ that presents black identity as having a single definitive positive content and a ‘‘politics of multivalent recognition’’ that revalues blackness by drawing attention to diverse ways of being black. A politics of multivalent recognition that stretches the symbolic boundaries of black identity while maintaining its importance constitutes a third way between essentialism and deconstruction. Such a politics has an important role to play in addressing the problematic consequences of monovalent recognition movements and challenging white dominance.
Recently, normative theorists have stressed the importance of “self-work” to the promotion of ju... more Recently, normative theorists have stressed the importance of “self-work” to the promotion of justice. This article demonstrates how actors’ phenomenological limitations can blunt the capacity of one version of self-work—acknowledgment— to effect greater justice in race relations in the United States. Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved illuminates the ways inequality shapes the lives of the marginalized and the privileged, and how these different lived experiences can inflect acknowledgment. Morrison’s insight is used to unravel a paradox in U.S. public opinion: while most white Americans endorse racial equality in theory, few support the policies necessary to realize it in practice. Although acknowledgment does not necessarily prefigure justice in identity relations, the article concludes that acknowledgment has a progressive role to play as a supplement to the politics of recognition.
What does a democratically-productive form of mourning look like in America? David McIvor's Mourn... more What does a democratically-productive form of mourning look like in America? David McIvor's Mourning in America and Simon Stow's American Mourning argue that it entails the embrace of ambivalence about self and other. Democratically-productive mourning pushes against the tendencies toward idealization and demonization. Embracing ambivalence enables us to move to more effective political engagement in the context of both collaboration and conflict. It allows us to understand that the process of mourning must be ongoing both to protect us from political excesses to which we are prone and to push society toward justice.
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