Publications by Jordan Liz
Inter-American Journal of Philosophy, 2021
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration consistently put the lives of undocume... more Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration consistently put the lives of undocumented immigrants and people in other countries at greater risk. Whether by continuing to deport people during a pandemic, failing to provide relief to undocumented workers, or even suspending refugee and asylum programs, the lives of non-US citizens were systematically endangered and made more vulnerable as a result of the prior administration's policies. This paper examines the biopolitical logic underlying the Trump administration's COVID-19 response and its implications for non-US citizens, especially Latin Americans. In doing so, this paper contributes to the literature on the biopolitics of immigration by shedding conceptual light on how, during the pandemic, the political project of defending the state from 'invading' immigrants is transformed into a public health project of defending the state from the COVID-19 virus.
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 2021
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, some countries, including the US, Chile, and Germany, have... more As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, some countries, including the US, Chile, and Germany, have considered issuing "immunity passports." This possibility has raised concerns and debate regarding their potential social, political and economic ramifications, especially for marginalized communities. This paper contributes to that debate by exposing that ways in which immunoprivilege already exists and operates within our present system of structural inequalities.
Public Philosophy Journal, 2020
COVID-19 has exposed the marginalization and discrimination experienced by various groups, includ... more COVID-19 has exposed the marginalization and discrimination experienced by various groups, including the elderly, the immunocompromised, and the poor, as well as women, racial minorities, and others. Drawing on Michel Foucault's account of state racism and biopower, I examine the ways in which racial and ethnic minorities have been made more vulnerable by the current pandemic. Although the bulk of the article focuses on issues of race, it has important implications for broader thinking about other forms of marginalization and for thinking about ways of achieving social justice on multiple fronts. Abstract State Racism, Social Justice, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Interrogating Gendered Pathologies, edited by Erin A. Frost and Michelle F. Eble, 2020
Philosophy Compass, 2020
Contemporary genetic and biomedical research on race and ethnicity has reignited the debate over ... more Contemporary genetic and biomedical research on race and ethnicity has reignited the debate over the biological significance of these categories. This article provides an overview of the critical literature concerning the categorization of Hispanic and Hispanic populations within these research programs. More specifically, this article focuses on issues regarding: The conceptualization of Hispanic identity, issues of data collection and generalization (e.g., the use of a specific Hispanic nationality as a stand-in for all Hispanics), the tension between social and biological classifications of ethnic populations, and the social, political, and scientific implications of genetic research for Latin America.
Genealogy, 2020
The "Hispanic Paradox" refers to the epidemiological finding that, despite a lower socioeconomic ... more The "Hispanic Paradox" refers to the epidemiological finding that, despite a lower socioeconomic status, Hispanics tend to have health outcomes (especially regarding mortality rates and life expectancy) that are similar to, if not better than, US non-Hispanic Whites. Within the public health literature, a number of explanations have been proposed focusing on reproductive and fertility rates, biological differences, cultural and lifestyle advantages, the impact of selective migration to the US, among others. Despite the abundant literature on this topic since the late 1980s, little work has been done on the paradox from a philosophical perspective. In this paper, I seek to address this gap by offering a genealogy of the "Hispanic Paradox." The bulk of this paper, then, focuses on exposing how the development of the Hispanic Paradox is epistemically tied to the prevailing anti-immigration discourse of the 1980s and 1990s. By highlighting the relationship between these two phenomena, this paper proposes a new direction for research into the biopolitics of immigration. More specifically, this paper suggests that the discourses of the "browning of America" and the Hispanic Paradox reveal a specifically biopolitical concern over the longevity of the United States as a White-majority country.
Critical Philosophy of Race , 2018
There has been increasing attention given to the way in which racial genetic clusters are constru... more There has been increasing attention given to the way in which racial genetic clusters are constructed within population genetics. In particular, some scholars have argued that the conception of “whiteness” presupposed is such analyses is inherently problematic. In light of these ongoing discussions, this article aims to further clarify and develop this implicit relationship between whiteness, purity and contemporary genetics by offering a Foucauldian critique of the discourse of race within these genetic admixture studies. The goals of this article, then, are twofold: first, to unearth some of the presuppositions operative in this genetics discourse that make possible a biological conception of race; and second, to examine some of the social and historical origins of those presuppositions. To this end, this article provides a brief genealogy of racial purity beginning with its formal legal codification in the one-drop rule.
Southern Journal of Philosophy, 2017
In “The Genealogy of Abstractive Practices,” Mary Beth Mader addresses a peculiar problem seeming... more In “The Genealogy of Abstractive Practices,” Mary Beth Mader addresses a peculiar problem seemingly inherent to Foucauldian genealogy—namely, all genealogies require the use of abstractive practices in order to be conducted; however, abstraction itself, just like the object of genealogy, is historically contingent. How, then, would one conduct a genealogy of abstraction itself? How to conduct, in other words, a genealogy whose object of inquiry is, at the same time, one of its operative tools? This commentary seeks to expand on Mader’s analysis by examining its implication for understanding Foucault’s methodology in general. That is, if Mader is correct, then it seems that Foucault does not in fact provide a rigid methodology, but rather aims to orient our attention to the contingent and discontinuous nature of history. In doing so, he aims to develop certain sensitivities and attitudes by virtue of which one is able to recognize epistemic ruptures that mark the transition between distinct epistemes.
Public Writing by Jordan Liz
Blog of the American Philosophical Association, 2021
https://blog.apaonline.org/2021/07/12/immunoprivilege-past-present-and-future/
International Pandemic Project, 2020
https://pensarlapandemia.com/2020/05/01/biopower-and-the-new-normals-of-covid-19/
Book Reviews by Jordan Liz
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books, 2021
Hypatia Online Review, 2020
https://www.hypatiareviews.org/reviews/content/472
Notre Dame Philosophical Review, 2020
https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/ethics-and-chronic-illness/
Metapsychology Online Review, 2018
http://metapsychology.net/index.php/book-review/beyond-bioethics/
Hypatia Online Review, 2017
https://www.hypatiareviews.org/content/just-life-bioethics-and-future-sexual-difference
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books, 2016
Metapsychology Online Review, 2016
http://metapsychology.net/index.php/book-review/a-short-history-of-medicine/
Metapsychology Online Review, 2016
http://metapsychology.net/index.php/book-review/on-the-government-of-the-living/
Encyclopedia Entries by Jordan Liz
Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, edited by Bryan S. Turner (editor in chief), Chang Kyung-Sup, Cynthia Epstein, Peter Kivisto, William Outhwaite, and J. Michael Ryan (co-editors), 2017
Beginning in the nineteenth century with the work of Gregor Mendel, genetics is the study of gene... more Beginning in the nineteenth century with the work of Gregor Mendel, genetics is the study of genetic variation and heredity in living organisms. Heredity is a biological process wherein offspring inherit certain genes from each of their parents. The expression of these genes then, in turn, influences the biological traits of the offspring. Many traits, however, depend on the expression of several genes and gene–environment interactions. While some of these traits are phenotypical, such as hair color, eye color, and skin color, other genes may make individuals biologically more susceptible to specific diseases. As such, genetic testing has greatly impacted medical practices by facilitating the discovery of these defective mutants in individual patients. Nevertheless, the growth of genetic studies and testing has prompted numerous criticisms from feminist, race theorists, and disabilities scholars about the social ramifications of genetic discourse.
Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Theory, edited by Bryan S. Turner (editor in chief), Chang Kyung-Sup, Cynthia Epstein, Peter Kivisto, William Outhwaite, and J. Michael Ryan (co-editors), 2017
For Michael Omi and Howard Winant, racial formation is a sociohistorical process by which racial ... more For Michael Omi and Howard Winant, racial formation is a sociohistorical process by which racial classifications are created, defined, and transformed via social, economic, and political forces. On their view, race is neither a transhistorical phenomenon with a fixed meaning nor a biological fact; rather, it is a dynamic and unstable concept whose influence structures both the ways individuals conceive of their own identity and that of others, and the political concerns and efforts of the state. Racial formation, then, occurs at two distinct levels: the micro‐level of “common sense” and everyday experiences, and the macro‐level of social institutions and political projects.
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Publications by Jordan Liz
Public Writing by Jordan Liz
Book Reviews by Jordan Liz
Encyclopedia Entries by Jordan Liz