When the whole wave of "ethnic conflicts" exploded, as if out of the blue, in Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s, I spent a total of more than 24 months as a social anthropologist and reporter in the war areas of Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia, Chechnya, Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. It surprised me that despite the considerable cultural differences between these areas, the post-communist nationalist conflicts were in many respects very similar. In this work I focus on their common features from the point of view of the agency of the participants as actors -the activists, soldiers and wider groups of those who agreed with or even supported them. What interests me is "why the boys go to war and why those who ought to have had some sense applaud them for it". This question is all the more urgent because these conflicts were often dominated by paramilitary volunteer units, even the regular armies were often formed at the beginning on a strikingly activist principle and initially the conflicts had unbelievably broad mass nationwide support. Using the extensive material of my own observations, and studies of nationalist political aesthetics, pre-war urban legends and popular metaphors I show how the conflicts developed from a political aesthetic of post-modern nationalisms (cultivated in a similar way in all cases), with its source deep in the contradiction between the universalism of radical modernisation and the nationally orientated cultural politics both cultivated by communist regimes. I try to show that war did not come out of the blue, or result from some politician pressing a button. I show how its political aesthetic first emerged very inconspicuously in the cultural sphere of the imagination of works of art, dreams and later manifestos, and then "exploded" on the squares in the form of great national spectacles (carefully followed by the media), to be followed by the performance of smaller already armed street-dramas, prewar parades, exercises and provocations from which the real armed conflict was eventually born. I seek to show the steps along the way from the ethos of war "on paper" and "in the marble of statues" to war in the field. I stress that for any real understanding of these movements of mass mobilisation it is essential not to consider the phenomena of nationalist (pre)war aesthetics, their embodiment through ritualisation and a certain mass ecstasy in isolation from each other, but to study them all as parts of one process. Particular emphasis is placed on work with temporality and the typical liminally ecstatic feeling, so typical for post-communist societies in the time of discontinuity, that an "explosion" is simply inevitable, that (in this time of the crisis of modernity and universalism), we must now finally "wake up", "be reborn" and "return to roots". To the expectation that everything is about to "hatch out".

This thesis has four separate but connected areas of interest: multiculturalism, autonomy, equality and feminism. These are brought together by considering an important critique of multiculturalism: that of the paradox of multicultural vulnerability. The case of minorities within minorities challenges whether multiculturalism does indeed help within minority groups. One of the ways these disputes have been resolved is through the evaluation of the alleged autonomy women practice in choosing illiberal practices. Whether women (and other at risk members) are considered to be autonomous will determine whether the practice will be tolerated by liberal states or not. However, what do we mean by autonomy. In the thesis I look at three different modern conceptions of autonomy through two intervening variables: socialisation and multiple identities. Theories of autonomy have been criticised by feminists because of the reliance on the idea of atomistic selves. The notion of socialisation places autonomy within embodied experiences, but it also brings to light the issue of adaptive preferences. Intersectionality or multiple identities also highlights the plural self as variable, conflicting and contradictory - all qualities that aptly describe the realities of lived experience. In the thesis I defend a tripartite understanding of autonomy that correlates with a differential understanding of the self. Through this it might become possible to speak about autonomy without essentialising identities, whilst simultaneously being sensitive about inequality.

This thesis is a cross-cultural comparative study of the racial identity of Black/White ‘mixed-race’ young people aged between 18–24 in Sydney, Australia and London, United Kingdom. I have been working professionally with mixed-race young people for nine years, and have become increasingly aware of their over-representation in Pupil Referral Units, the care system, and the Youth Criminal Justice system. I wanted to determine how mixed-people develop their identity, and understand the factors that are involved in their choices, thus improving the tools available for those professionals working with mixed-race young people. This project was completed using ethnography as the primary research tool. Semi-structured interviews and archival research based on the readily available literature on mixed-race people operated as other sources for primary and secondary sources of data. The results found that although mixed-race young people share close affiliation with the Black community, there was the development of a distinctive mixed-race community. This is sharply contrasted in Australia, where the concept of ‘mixed’ is considered offensive, and a relic of colonialism. Whilst the scrutiny that they face about their identity is immense, their ability to successfully manoeuvre and survive within the racial constraints of the socio-political environment that they exist in, is healthier than much of the available literature suggests. Difficulties faced by both mixed-race genders include being stereotyped, targeted and sexualised by White and Black people; being pulled between one’s outwardly expressed identity, and how one sees ones identification; and the complexity with their relationship with the Black community. In the future, it would be valuable to include elements of mixed-race history and issues of identification in the national curriculum, in addition to the inclusion of mixed-race themes into equality, inclusion and diversity training.

No description available.

In this research project, which is based on 12 months of residential ethnographic fieldwork, I explore the intersection of whiteness and social class in a rural English village. Drawing on a body of literature known as 'critical whiteness studies' I bring attention to the presence of race in this village location, and argue that although whiteness is largely invisible to the white English village residents, it nonetheless shapes their daily lives in numerous and important ways. I analyse how village residents claim a sense of belonging in the rural Worcestershire village of 'Mayfield' through attachments to place, to history and to people, and how belonging is also secured by unconscious, banal and everyday performances of whiteness, EnglislU1ess and rurality. Here I adopt Pierre Bourdieu's (1984) notion of cultural capital to argue that although the residents of Mayfield are demographically diverse, what unites them is their 'commonsense' understandings of how to fit in with local social networks, 'respectable' ways of living, and the associated decorums of whiteness. I am particularly concerned with how white English village residents define their identity and belonging in opposition to white Eastern European migrant labourers who work on the village's horticultural farms. I argue that in securing their position of hegemonic whiteness, villagers draw upon finely-tuned class distinctions and a racist rhetoric of difference, which positions the migrants as a different 'shade' of white. The migrants have white skins, but without the necessary cultural capital, they are positioned by Mayfield residents as low-status Others who cannot be integrated into village life. While the primary focus of this research is the English villagers of Mayfield, I also incorporate the migrants' perspective. In Mayfield, Eastern European migrants are talked about but not talked-to; observed but not known. Therefore the inclusion of migrant narratives in my thesis is an attempt to address this imbalance.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries are correctly viewed as the age of modem nationalism, a time when, in Europe, the United Kingdom, and beyond, this powerful cultural and political force firmly established itself. The story of nationalism in Britain and Ireland has, for the most part, been heavily documented by historians: the same level of academic scrutiny has not been extended to the English. Yet the assertion of a firm sense of Englishness, in an era when national identities appeared threatened by cosmopolitan forces within industry and empire building, is a notable development in the history of identity within the British Isles. This thesis explores English ethnic associations, and seeks to cast new light on English nationalism. The emergence ofthe Royal Society of St George (RSStG) in 1894 to orchestrate worldwide responses to nationalism, frames the thesis. For many ethnic groups, associations were the channel through which they celebrated their national identity. For the English captured in this study, the RSStG neatly articulated their sense of Englishness. Analysis of the Society's membership and activities illuminates the character of Englishness and the role it played in the homeland and in the 'near diaspora' within the UK, but beyond England itself. The work which follows draws upon a broad and disparate collection of sources. These include manuscript records of English associations, including the archives of the RSStG, the RSStG's journals, and an array of digitised newspapers, which were used to locate diffuse local instances of Englishness. Demonstrating that English identity was of central importance to many English people, manifested through their enthusiasm to subscribe to associations such as the RSStG, this thesis provides an original insight into Englishness and English identity-building and shows how, quite perceptibly, the English found their voice as a force within the field of national identities.

This thesis is an enquiry into expert-intensive work to support the aggregation and mass-dissemination of scientific articles. The enquiry draws on computer-supported actions and interactions between the people who worked as daily operators, and submitters who worked the system from remote as end-users. These recorded actions and interactions render visible matters of practical responsibility and competence with reference to reportable-accountable use of objects and devices. As a scholarly contribution, this thesis draws on the work started by Garfinkel and his followers, ie., the study programme of ethnomethodology. It poses a simple question—how do the people involved in these computer-supported actions and interactions do just what they do? In the attempt to answer that question, the enquiry shows that a competent and accountable use of system supports is manifested in reference to particular phenomena that need constant management—eg. warnings,anomalies, unknown entities, failing processes, disorderly work objects, and spurious actions—in short, phenomena of disorder. Records of how these phenomena are detected and attended to, and how particular problems are solved, reveals a complex relationship between computational functions and subtle human judgements. Without making generalised theoretical claims about this relationship, I conclude that remarkably little is known about the actual lived work that takes place in the operation and use of computer systems that are worked specifically to detect and cope with `anomalies' and thus require detective and reactionary labour. I offer this enquiry into the goings-on at this particular site as a singular opportunity to respecify problems of disorder.

How does the theory of multiculturalism contribute to understandings of citizenship and group-specific differences? This thesis critically examines policies and practices of citizenship and group-specific differences in Singapore in order to address this question. Singapore 's experience of multiculturalism is related to its postcolonial past, diverse population and racialised policy framework. Through the analysis of three cases, I investigate how the racialised identities of 'Chineseness ', 'Malayness' and ' lndianness ' are 'troubling' for existing theorisations of multiculturalism. The misrecognition of Chinese newcomers within a demographic 'majority' cannot be fully explained through a framework that emphasises the plight of 'minorities' and rectification through minority rights. Misrepresentations of Malay-Muslim identities suggest that practices of recognition through citizenship and rights-claiming may be complicit in exacerbating the unequal treatment of groups. Unwarranted discrimination against Indian citizens and non-citizens of various kinds also falls beyond the remit of multiculturalism, which focuses on citizenship rights as a solution to group-specific needs. To understand the misrecognition of 'minorities within majorities', I explore the memorialisation of Singapore's Chinese heritage through a conserved neighbourhood that is also a tourist attraction and gentrified locality. By analysing media images of Singapore's headscarf affair in 2013 and 2014, I examine how Malay-Muslims in Singapore are portrayed through practices of citizenship that appear to recognise the group while reinforcing stereotypes and undermining political voices. The investigation of securitisation practices in the aftermath of a recent riot in 2014 demonstrates how unwananted discrimination against South Asian 'Indian' lower-skilled migrants is similar to that faced by Singapore's South Asian 'Indian' citizenry, despite important differences. Drawing on my results, I put forward an expanded framework of multiculturalism that considers the multiplicity of identities and fine gradations of citizenship. By problematising 'majority/minority' categories, I argue that a more nuanced notion of 'minority' better illuminates the misrecognition of groups and their specific needs. While questioning the role of recognition, I propose that conceiving rights-claiming as a performative speech act offers a way of reclaiming its emancipatory potential. With regard to the misrecognition of migrant workers, I contend that theories of multiculturalism should place more emphasis on the relationship between cultural differences and economic hierarchies. For a more inclusive multiculturalist framework, I recommend a finely-graded concept of citizenship in order to unsettle the association between citizenship and group-specific rights.

No description available.

This thesis sets out to examine how the supposed ‘transformative’ qualities of reflective practice that are cited largely uncritically in education and health literature, viewed as a panacea, might be applied to race and difference. Central to this is the work of Donald Schön on reflection-in-action, which elevates practice above theoretical knowledge that Schön casts as a product of ‘technical rationality, influenced by the growth of higher education. Schön’s work through its pre-eminence on action gained much greater exposure, in contrast to Boud and Mezirow who placed a greater emphasis on the role of emotion and through this to draw attention to differing types of knowledge offering more holistic ways of knowing. The study is influenced by critical lenses from institutional ethnography (Smith 1987, 1990, 2005, 2006) and critical race theory (Delgado and Stefancic 2001) that draw on intersectionality in drawing up nuanced constructions of race and difference embedded in ‘texts’ forming everyday racism and sexism in the workplace, preventing educators from actively opposing institutionally discriminatory practices. Work on race, viewed in this study as a series of moments, has most recently seen the ascendancy of post-racism, suggesting that ‘authentic’ racism is a relic of the past. This has accelerated the stripping of critical spaces to examine race in education, both for trainees and also current practitioners. Work on race and difference in particular though needs to produce critical examinations of structure and agency in work settings. Space, resources and expertise for this are being denied, replaced by simplistic calls for an uncritical ‘meritocracy’ in education underpinned by a neo-liberal managerialist approach, focusing on efficiency and achievement discourses. Both IE and CRT build data from the ground up using informant perspectives to map the flows of power rather than through a ‘sociological’ critique of policy to produce narratives examining how ‘ruling relations’ are embedded in everyday taken for granted work processes. Drawing on visual methods, as well as interviews and observations this study produced rich, deeply descriptive data to uncover ruling relations, evidenced in policy as well as everyday practice. Methodological reflexivity produced a critique of the use of NVIVO as a data processing and reducing tool. Increasingly regarded as an indispensable part of the qualitative researcher’s ‘kit’, it leads to a predilection for grounded theory and therefore misses more nuanced readings of data. ‘I-poems’ provided entry to power relations of race, gender, age, class and religion in the settings via a richer alternative hermeneutic process. Producing narratives which gave access to emotions in the workplace and in relation to race highlighted how the presence of bureaucratic systems for ‘handling’ difference and the presence of multicultural ‘performance’, a facet of post-race work have resulted in producing an illusion of ‘race work’ with little informed examination, buttressed by strong, emotional constructs. This results in reflection being used for solitary, internal contemplation as a palliative rather than being a site of collaborative, critically informed, transformative action.