Unthinking Capital: Conceptual and Terminological Landmarks

Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gennaro Ascione

In this article I take issues with some Eurocentric limits of the two contradictions of capital: capital/labour and capital/nature. These limits are exposed by elaborating on two theoretical insights from researches in critical race studies and indigenous political ecologies: respectively thingification and uncommon. These insights produce a tension between colonialism and capitalism, which calls for a post-Eurocentric process of concept formation. This reconceptualization of capital is pursued through the notion of muri, which the Japanese thinker Uno Kōzō deployed to designate a bold non-western pathway to reading Capital. The article elaborates and formulates three conceptual and terminological landmarks to unthinking capital for a global social theory.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 221
Author(s):  
Tina Magazzini

Contemporary European societies are increasingly diverse. Migration both within and to Europe has contributed over the past decades to the rise of new religious, racial, ethnic, social, cultural and economic inequality. Such transformations have raised questions about the (multi-level) governance of diversity in Europe, thus determining new challenges for both scholars and policy-makers. Whilst the debate around diversity stemming from migration has become a major topic in urban studies, political science and sociology in Europe, Critical Race Studies and Intersectionality have become central in US approaches to understanding inequality and social injustice. Among the fields where ‘managing diversity’ has become particularly pressing, methodological issues on how to best approach minorities that suffer from multiple discrimination represent some of the hottest subjects of concern. Stemming from the interest in putting into dialogue the existing American scholarship on CRT and anti-discrimination with the European focus on migrant integration, this paper explores the issue of integration in relation to intersectionality by merging the two frames. In doing so, it provides some observations about the complementarity of a racial justice approach for facing the new diversity-related challenges in European polity. In particular, it illustrates how Critical Race Studies can contribute to the analysis of inequality in Europe while drawing on the integration literature.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lene Myong ◽  
Elisabeth Lund Engebretsen ◽  
Mathias Klitgård ◽  
Ingvil Hellstrand

The field of gender studies is changing and solidifying at the same time. What kinds of developments can we trace in contemporary gender studies, and what is at stake for gender studies now? What are important questions for/in the field? How come gender studies in Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia) tend to shoulder or “house” adjacent fields that also deal with questions of power and difference, such as critical race studies for example? Why are we working in/with gender studies, and how do we contribute towards advancing gender and feminist studies in theory, teaching, politics and practice? In this roundtable, scholars in the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Stavanger grapple with these questions through examples from our own research and teaching. The purpose for this roundtable is to continue our local discussions and thinking with the field of gender studies nationally and internationally.


Author(s):  
Emanuela Lombardo ◽  
Petra Meier

Gender and policy studies needs to face challenges and cross boundaries if the discipline is to develop. This article argues that gender and policy studies needs to explicitly foreground the centrality of politics – the analysis of power – in approaching policy. The discipline confronts boundaries in relation to inclusivity, diversity and relevance. Inclusive gender equality demands challenging the hegemonising and marginalising boundaries in the field, which contributes to its relevance by placing politics and power centre stage. Openness to the diversity of gender and policy approaches, a more systematic and thoughtful application of intersectionality, cooperation with LGBTQI+, critical race studies and normative political theory provide opportunities to challenge boundaries and advance knowledge. We argue that explicit reflexivity about power dynamics and knowledge production, employing a plurality of approaches, will better equip the discipline to navigate major challenges and crises, and offer more nuanced democratic and egalitarian societal contributions.


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