Latin American Anthropology Seminar - Professor Charles Hale

Latin American Anthropology Seminar Series, hosted by the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)

Opening session by Charles R. Hale, SAGE Sara Miller McCune Dean of Social Sciences Professor, UC Santa Barbara, USA

Intersectional Groundings: Recentering Economics in Indigenous Struggles for Autonomy 

This presentation looks back on a half-century expansion of formally recognized indigenous rights, from language and cultural identity, to political representation and territory; and looks forward to deepening existential threats to these very rights, in the form of political violence, resource extraction, racial capitalism, and climate calamity. The focus of these reflections is the place of economic activity—organization of production, sustainable management of resources, the trade-off between self-sufficiency and market dependency, etc.—within broader struggles to claim, defend, and exercise hard-won rights. Drawing on my own activist research in this past era, I observe that cultural-political rights generally took precedence over demands for economic transformation, and attempt to explain why. Next, I turn to the problem of what Olúfémi O. Táíwò has called “elite capture” of identity politics, and consider how a recentering of struggles for economic empowerment might yield a reinvigorated intersectional praxis. I conclude calling attention to what Garifuna activist intellectual Miriam Miranda once referred to as “defensive production,” whereby cultural-political and territorial rights are secured primarily by self-determined economic activity, rather than top-down state recognition.

All are welcome to attend this free seminar, starting at 5pm GMT (rescheduled from 13 October). Booking is essential to receive details on how to log in to seminars. Please follow the Book Now link at the top of this page to make your booking. 

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The Latin American Anthropology Seminar Series is convened by Jessica Sklair (QMUL), Denisse Román-Burgos (Aberdeen) and Ainhoa Montoya (CLACS, SAS).

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