One of the forms of violence that circulates in development contests operates through the very concept of traditionality. Aboriginal traditional ‘heritage’ is established through the prism of archaeology. It turns …
The Indian state under the current ruling political formation has over the past few years been pursuing a virulent campaign of a populist anti-intellectualism, targeting the humanities and the social sciences in particular.
For roughly seven years from around the middle of 2013, a very substantial section of the mass media in India has become overtly supportive of the Hindu nationalist, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi.
In Islam we consider niyat, intention, in all acts. I’ve heard Wurundjeri elders refer to womenjeka also as an expression of intention. What is the intent of these performances? It seems that public health is a measure that requires a distancing that is indeed not merely physical, but social. Western science requires data, costume, and gestures to make us feel safe. But this pandemic doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and so neither can those intentions. Performativity has material consequences.