yaselloh,rorrim

so i guess i've been a little amiss and truth be told is truth. i figure here's a condensed narrative of sorts, one of any many potential narratives, albiet not a full one, that vaguely touches upon what i've been learning in the past few (and yes, i am captain obvious today, so no bitching if nothing's really outstanding.):

clifford geertz on social trends
primordial attributes: the qualities which determine an individual's place in society. some attributes are innate - genotype (blood relations), phenotype (the construct of "race"), gender - and others ascribed - language, custom, region - but for the most part these are attributes which are determined outside an individual's control, hence primordial.
civil order: the desire for a stable society where safety and freedom of expression are protected and basic amenities are available. usually culminates with primordial attributes to create nationalism, or clashes to cause parochialism or tribalism.
integrative revolution: the process of integrating primordial attributes and civil order.
the moroccan bazaar: information as a commodity. globalization has created a situation where information is an effective exchange item itself. the quality, price, profit and other factors involved in bartering and transactions are dependant on the information of the individual.

federik baarth on ethnic groups
boundary: groups are defined by a dichotomy - members and outsiders. the identity of the group is to an extent defined by this distinction. this boundary allows an implicit understanding amongst members of shared knowledge or experience, and of limitations in communicating with outside groups. this is similar to the postmodernist "other" and when taken to the extreme, edward said's "orientalism".
negotiation of identity: an individual must negotiate and come to terms with their identity in the context of conflicting or similar groups they are a part of. the multitude of groups an individual is part of in society can often cause difficulties in negotiating proper behaviour in all contexts.

igor kopytoff, arjun appadurai on commodities
commodity: an object with an exchange value and a use value. the exchange value is not determined by an intrinsic factor of the object but rather as a result of the exchange occurring. in a modern capitalist context, currency is used as the default measure for exchange value of an object.
commodification: the process of an object becoming a commodity, whereupon it is available on the market. commodities with no further use such as labour or food are terminal commodities. otherwise objects will always be able to be exchanged, though this is dependant on whether or not the owner chooses to exchange the said object.
tiv spheres of exchange: the tiv of sub-saharan africa have a defined system of increasingly prestigious spheres of exchange. it is customary for goods in one sphere of exchange to be exchanged with those of another, but the disparity in social or economic worth makes this occur only in desperate circumstances.
singularity: an object of which there is only one, and has great worth as a result. an example? the mona lisa.
pricelessness: can be a bad thing, because how can you get rid of it in an exchange?

edward fischer on the trans-national broccoli trade
globalization: the relational construct resulting from an inter-dependant global community where participants are not necessarily aware of the effects of their choices on a broader scale. often the negative consequences result in tension, but there is also the opportunity to create something truly outstanding. (a paraphrased definition)
something better: aka desideratum. the desire for a better standard and quality of life, manifested at every level of sociocultural stratum. this is the impetus for odd efforts which offer a higher potential return at a greater potential risk.

marcel mauss
the gift: at face value a casual social exchange, the gift is actually a marker of an obligation of sorts, if only to recieve the gift politely. more evident in societies where currency has yet to make a significant impact, the gift is a social tool to achieve co-operation or establish mutually beneficial decisions.

renato rosaldo on reflexivity
positionality: the thoughts, values, decisions and identity of an individual is heavily dependant on their experiences prior to the present. their positional perspective and outlook on life are naturally subject to change.
reflexivity: the process of comparing one's current position with a previous situation, where reflection and contrast are primary vehicles to an even more comprehensive understanding.

that's it for now. class dismissed.


and for those that have stayed behind, here's a little food for thought.

we would all like to think that we live in a free world, but much of our freedoms are dictated by external circumstance. at a very rudimentary level, one cannot reasonably jump seven stories and expect to live. at a broader level, one cannot eat without money to buy food. at a more abstract level, one cannot shout 'fire' in a crowded hallway unless there is a fire. and as for identity, many aspects of lifestyle, belief, custom and language of the individual are firmly entrenched and have been since childhood a culmination of events. so how much of you is yourself and not the product of causality? of course, every choice is a combination of will, rationality, sentiment, madness, positionality etc., but at a deeper level, do we have a choice at all in the overall grand scheme of things, one which allows us to settle at a certain event horizon that we can know of comfortably in advance?

if we have successfully adapted in the integrative revolution and reconciled our primordial attributes with our desire for civil order, what would "something better" be in the larger context of globalization? what niche does our positionality allow us to see? what can we wilfully discard and embrace in terms of custom and language without erasing our prior cultural background? is it possible to negotiate the boundaries that define us to explore the singularity that is a unique self?

we would also like to think that most of these concerns are beyond the scope of convenient or conventional worry. but are they? history is prone to repeating itself, the greatest enemy is the one within, and i could go on so on and so forth without losing steam. so what do we do? is there a proactive measure resulting from reflexive reflection that we can enact, thereby ensuring some degree of control over individual identity and place in the world? how can we negotiate our said identities with the globalized economy, or the global village of friends and family?

these are questions where i do not have the answer. but the answer is not set in stone; it is firmly modelled, however, on the individual and the reaches and limits of their abilities. but do tell me what you think, if anything.