Within a theoretical framework linking Julia Kristeva's subject-in-process to the ethical phi... more Within a theoretical framework linking Julia Kristeva's subject-in-process to the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, this paper links the novel's metaphor of subjectivity to language, history and social convention through a reading of the character Bernard. It highlights the symbolic nature of totality as expressed in Bernard's narrative, with language, history and convention grouped together as the home of the singular self, and the decentering of this self achieved through the problematization of representation, teleology and social structures. Associated questions of the violence and ethics of representation, subjectivity and the writer's task are also addressed.
Originating in normative interventions aiming to remedy segregation through contact with differen... more Originating in normative interventions aiming to remedy segregation through contact with difference, the notion of ‘meaningful encounter’ has become a portmanteau for contact that results in greater respect and tolerance. This article questions the epistemic justice of such a value-laden concept by presenting four examples of parochial meaning-making around encounters in a South African informal settlement. Drawing on secondary interviews conducted after ‘xenophobic’ expulsions of foreign-born newcomers from the settlement in 2008, as well as primary ethnographic fieldwork conducted four years later, the article highlights the meaningfulness of four encounters that did not lead to increased tolerance or respect for difference—encounters with affluence; with social mobility; with hardship in conditions of poverty and marginality; and with seemingly uncommitted newcomers against a backdrop of contentious politics. In each case, the article illustrates both the meaningfulness of the encounter, and its effect of producing tensions rather than mediating them. The article uses these examples to problematise the assumptions implicit in received notions of ‘meaningful encounter’: that tension necessarily pre-exist encounter, that established/newcomer boundaries are based on prejudice, and that encounters are not meaningful unless they advance a predetermined normative position. Along the way, it highlights the importance of embodiment, materiality, inequality, and space in the production of difference. Having made the case for a conceptual sharpening in the light of these seldom-studied encounters in the urban margins of South Africa, the article concludes by urging scholars to adopt a value-free conception of the meaningfulness of encounter.
This xenophobic violence made evident cracks in the cohesion of law and society while helping to ... more This xenophobic violence made evident cracks in the cohesion of law and society while helping to redefine both. It is these events and subsequent consequences for the ordering of power, population and place that this book explores.
ABSTRACTIn contrast to the tolerant and largely peaceful ‘living politics' of informal settle... more ABSTRACTIn contrast to the tolerant and largely peaceful ‘living politics' of informal settlements, as embodied by the social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, this article considers a darker side of squatter politics: ‘xenophobic’ mobilization. I show how the historical stratification of citizenship in South Africa remains spatially embedded in longstanding informal settlements, where distinctive repertoires of collective action have been shaped by a (still unfinished) history of struggle for inclusion. Using archival research and interviews conducted in the informal settlements of Atteridgeville, Gauteng, I show how the continuing struggle for equal citizenship draws on shared experiences of mundane hardship and collective labour, giving rise to social distance between established local squatters and politically indifferent foreign newcomers. At times of protest, this polarity is concentrated by and converges with familiar practices of insurgent citizenship, creating a context for mobilization against foreigners. In this sense, ‘xenophobic’ mobilization may be seen to articulate a claim for inclusion by structurally excluded ‘citizens', rather than an exclusionary claim by those who already belong. The article provides a useful counterpoint to readings of ‘xenophobic’ violence that focus on the role of elite discourses, instrumental leaders or crude racial identities in shaping such mobilization.
This paper examines the production of knowledge about the causes of the May 2008 attacks on forei... more This paper examines the production of knowledge about the causes of the May 2008 attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, embodied in state actors' recourse to discursive tropes of a ‘third force’ or mere ‘criminality’ in explaining the attacks. It explores the way in which this ‘knowledge’ reproduced statist notions of territory and power in the wake of a
Within a theoretical framework linking Julia Kristeva's subject-in-process to the ethical phi... more Within a theoretical framework linking Julia Kristeva's subject-in-process to the ethical philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas, this paper links the novel's metaphor of subjectivity to language, history and social convention through a reading of the character Bernard. It highlights the symbolic nature of totality as expressed in Bernard's narrative, with language, history and convention grouped together as the home of the singular self, and the decentering of this self achieved through the problematization of representation, teleology and social structures. Associated questions of the violence and ethics of representation, subjectivity and the writer's task are also addressed.
Originating in normative interventions aiming to remedy segregation through contact with differen... more Originating in normative interventions aiming to remedy segregation through contact with difference, the notion of ‘meaningful encounter’ has become a portmanteau for contact that results in greater respect and tolerance. This article questions the epistemic justice of such a value-laden concept by presenting four examples of parochial meaning-making around encounters in a South African informal settlement. Drawing on secondary interviews conducted after ‘xenophobic’ expulsions of foreign-born newcomers from the settlement in 2008, as well as primary ethnographic fieldwork conducted four years later, the article highlights the meaningfulness of four encounters that did not lead to increased tolerance or respect for difference—encounters with affluence; with social mobility; with hardship in conditions of poverty and marginality; and with seemingly uncommitted newcomers against a backdrop of contentious politics. In each case, the article illustrates both the meaningfulness of the encounter, and its effect of producing tensions rather than mediating them. The article uses these examples to problematise the assumptions implicit in received notions of ‘meaningful encounter’: that tension necessarily pre-exist encounter, that established/newcomer boundaries are based on prejudice, and that encounters are not meaningful unless they advance a predetermined normative position. Along the way, it highlights the importance of embodiment, materiality, inequality, and space in the production of difference. Having made the case for a conceptual sharpening in the light of these seldom-studied encounters in the urban margins of South Africa, the article concludes by urging scholars to adopt a value-free conception of the meaningfulness of encounter.
This xenophobic violence made evident cracks in the cohesion of law and society while helping to ... more This xenophobic violence made evident cracks in the cohesion of law and society while helping to redefine both. It is these events and subsequent consequences for the ordering of power, population and place that this book explores.
ABSTRACTIn contrast to the tolerant and largely peaceful ‘living politics' of informal settle... more ABSTRACTIn contrast to the tolerant and largely peaceful ‘living politics' of informal settlements, as embodied by the social movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, this article considers a darker side of squatter politics: ‘xenophobic’ mobilization. I show how the historical stratification of citizenship in South Africa remains spatially embedded in longstanding informal settlements, where distinctive repertoires of collective action have been shaped by a (still unfinished) history of struggle for inclusion. Using archival research and interviews conducted in the informal settlements of Atteridgeville, Gauteng, I show how the continuing struggle for equal citizenship draws on shared experiences of mundane hardship and collective labour, giving rise to social distance between established local squatters and politically indifferent foreign newcomers. At times of protest, this polarity is concentrated by and converges with familiar practices of insurgent citizenship, creating a context for mobilization against foreigners. In this sense, ‘xenophobic’ mobilization may be seen to articulate a claim for inclusion by structurally excluded ‘citizens', rather than an exclusionary claim by those who already belong. The article provides a useful counterpoint to readings of ‘xenophobic’ violence that focus on the role of elite discourses, instrumental leaders or crude racial identities in shaping such mobilization.
This paper examines the production of knowledge about the causes of the May 2008 attacks on forei... more This paper examines the production of knowledge about the causes of the May 2008 attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa, embodied in state actors' recourse to discursive tropes of a ‘third force’ or mere ‘criminality’ in explaining the attacks. It explores the way in which this ‘knowledge’ reproduced statist notions of territory and power in the wake of a
While there is a considerable body of literature on symbolic boundaries that engages with longest... more While there is a considerable body of literature on symbolic boundaries that engages with longestablished/newcomer configurations, work on conviviality has only rarely taken this angle, despite its general focus on contexts of immigration-related diversity. This article connects these literatures by examining insideroutsider configurations between long-established residents and newcomers in two very different contexts of rapid demographic change, where the established population is already marginalised and feels further threatened by newcomers. Drawing on ethnographic research in Newham, United Kingdom, and Mshongo, South Africa, we advance debates on conviviality by revealing how perceptions of inequality, lack of civility, and lack of reciprocity shape symbolic boundaries against newcomers, which may in turn be softened by convivial practices. We also consider what the differences between the sites might reveal about the enabling conditions for conviviality in such neighbourhoods.
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Papers by Tamlyn Monson
rapid demographic change, where the established population is already marginalised and feels further threatened by newcomers. Drawing on ethnographic research in Newham, United Kingdom, and Mshongo,
South Africa, we advance debates on conviviality by revealing how perceptions of inequality, lack of civility, and lack of reciprocity shape symbolic boundaries against newcomers, which may in turn be softened by convivial practices. We also consider what the differences between the sites might reveal about the enabling conditions for conviviality in such neighbourhoods.