FINAL REVIEW -- MARCH
RACIALIZATION DISCRIMINATION AND THE LAW
AS/SOSCI 4440 6.0A
{SYNOPSIS AND GENERAL OVERVIEW: THE
FINAL SECTION OF THE COURSE HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO FIVE SUBJECT AREAS: (1) CRIME
IN CONTEXT {THE SOCIOLOGY CONCEPTION AND RELATIONSHIP OF DEVIANCE AND
CRIME; CRIMINAL JUSTICE MODELS; WHO IS THE TYPICAL CRIMINAL?; DANGEROUS
OFFENDER - EXERCISE· (2) GENDER JUSTICE {THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION
OF GENDER RELATIONS AND FEMINIST THEORIES (3) ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN CANADA
{ABORIGINAL WOMEN AND SELF-DETERMINATION; ABORIGINAL CHALLENGES TO THE STATE;
ABORIGINAL PEOPLE AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM; ABORIGINALITY AND SELF-GOVERNANCE (4) MINORITIES
AND THE MEDIA {MEDIA AS S FORM OF HEGEMONIC DISCOURSE; MEDIA IN THE
CONTEXT OF MULTICULTURALISM; MEDIA AS A CHALLLENGE CULTURAL DEMOCRACY (5) UNDERSTANDING
GLOBALIZATION {GLOBALIZATION AND GLOBALISM; CORPORATE GLOBAL MARKET
MODEL – FACETS AND CONSEQUENCE; INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY;
CONTRADICTIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER [EX: TRANSNATIONAL
CORPS: ENGINES FOR INJUSTICE OR CATALYSTS FOR GROWTH? -- TRANSNATIONAL
HYBRID IDENTITIES AND BLOOD CULTS]; “HUMANITARIAN” GLOBALIZATION [FRAMEWORK
FOR SPREADING WEALTH AND BENEFITS MORE EQUITABLY]}.
I) THE
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CRIME AND THE CRIMINALTYPE:
CRIME IN CONTEXT
WHEN SOCIOLOGISTS STUDY CRIME AND DEVIANCE, THEY
ATTEMPT TO ==== [1] LEARN WHAT TYPES OF BEHAVIOR ARE DEFINED AS DEVIANT, [2]
WHO DOES THE DEFINING, [3] HOW AND WHY PEOPLE BECOME DEVIANTS, [4] AND HOW
SOCIETY DEALS WITH DEVIANCE.
IN A SOCIAL SCENTIFIC PERSPECTIVE, CRIME IS A CULTURALLY
RELATIVE PHENOMENON, MEANING IT IS PART OF A CULTURAL “DISCOURSE” THAT
PROVIDES CONCEPTUAL MODELS FOR PEOPLE AROUND WHICH THEY MAP THE WORLD
{DIFFERENT UNARTICULATED FRAMES OF REFERENCE AND UNACKNOWLEDGED SETS OF
BELIEFS}. IN OUR SOCIETY, CULTURE DISCOURSES ON CRIME ARE
PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY POWER AS A PRIMARY FRAME OF REFERENCE.
THE ISSUE OF CULTURE, POWER
AND SOCIAL CONTROL — FROM A POLITICAL-ECONOMIC
POSITION, CONSTRUCTING IMAGES OF CRIME AND CRIMINALITZATION IS A SOCIAL CONTROL
STRATEGY THAT CREATES THE ILLUSION THAT THE “DANGEROUS CLASS” IS PRIMARILY
LOCATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCIAL HIERARCHY. THIS ILLUSION MELDS POVERTY AND
PUNISHMENT.
PREVAILING CRIMINAL JUSTICE (AND INJUSTICE) SYSTEM IS FASHIONED BY
POLITICAL DOMINATION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTROL
EX: STREET CRIME VS. ELITE CRIME ======> STREET CRIME IS TYPICALLY REFERRED TO
AS UNWANTED BEHAVIOR OR HARMFUL CONDUCT THAT TAKES PLACE AT THE STREET LEVEL
BY INDIVIDUALS ======> THEFT, SHOPLIFTING, ROBBERY, AND PHYSICAL AND
SEXUAL ASSAULT ARE F FEW EXAMPLES ======> THESE ARE THE CRIMES THAT OCCUPY
MOST OF THE TIME AND ATTENTION OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM == OBVIOUSLY, ALL
STREET CRIME DOES NOT OCCUR ON THE STREET; IT FREQUENTLY OCCURS IN THE HOME,
WORKPLACE, AND OTHER LOCATIONS.
ELITE CRIME REFER GENERALLY TO CORPORATE
AND POLITICAL CRIMES =======> [[EDWIN SUTHERLAND {WHITE COLLAR CRIME,
1949} DEVELOPED THE CONCEPT OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME OVER FIFTY YEARS AGO, BUT IT
WAS NOT UNTIL THE 1980S THAT THE PUBLIC REALLY BECAME AWARE OF ITS NATURE ==
SUTHERLAND DEFINED WHITE-COLLAR CRIME AS “CRIME COMMITTED BY A PERSON OF
RESPECTABILITY AND HIGH SOCIAL STATUS IN THE COURSE OF HIS OCCUPATION” ==
EXAMPLES INCLUDE EMBEZZLEMENT, FRAUD, GRAFT, ILLEGAL COMBINATIONS OF RESTRAINT
OF TRADE, MISREPRESENTATION IN ADVERTISING, INFRINGEMENT OF PATENTS,
ADULTERATION OF FOOD AND DRUGS, FEE-SPLITTING BY DOCTORS AND BRIBERY ==
WHITE-COLLAR CRIME IS USUALLY LESS SEVERELY PUNISHED THAT CONVENTIONAL
STREET CRIMES, WHICH ARE MORE APT TO BE COMMITTED BY MEMBERS OF THE LOWER
CLASS, EVEN WHEN THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE OF WHITE-COLLAR CRIME IS
GREATER == THERE IS LESS PUBLIC RESENTMENT OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME THAN OTHER
TYPES OF CRIME.]]
CRIMINAL JUSTICE MODELS:
(A) “RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE” REFERS TO A TRADITIONAL CRIMINAL
JUSTICE METHOD OF RETRIBUTION OR FIXING BLAME AND ATTACHING PUNISHMENT, (B) “RESTORATIVE
JUSTICE” REFERS TO AN INFORMAL MECHANISM FOR ADMINISTERING JUSTICE
THROUGH REMEDIAL MEANS SUCH AS MEDIATION AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION}}
[[EX: YOUTH JUSTICE ACT == IT REPLACES A LONG-STANDING FOCUS ON
PUNITIVE JUSTICE WITH A FOCUS ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE – PLACING A GREATER
EMPHASIS ON REHABILITATION, WHILE STILL HOLDING YOUTH ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR
ACTIONS]]
[[EX: DANGEROUS
OFFENDER LEGISLATION =====>[“INCAPACITATION” VERSUS “REHABILITATION”] ---
INCAPACITATE: TO DEPRIVE OF CAPACITY OR POWER; RENDER UNABLE ---REHABILITATE:
TO HELP TO READAPT; RESTORE TO HEALTH
IN RECENT DECADES, THE CONCEPT OF DANGEROUSNESS HAS NARROWED
CONSIDERABLY TO ENCOMPASS AN OFFENDER'S POTENTIAL TO COMMIT ACTS OF VIOLENCE OR
THOSE OF A SEXUAL NATURE.
WHILE IT CAN BE
SAID THAT DANGEROUSNESS IS THE POTENTIAL OF AN INDIVIDUAL TO CAUSE FUTURE HARM
TO OTHERS, HOW A LEGISLATIVE BODY {SOCIETY/CULTURE} DEFINES ‘HARM' IS KEY TO
THE DEFINITION OF DANGEROUSNESS. {?} =====>
NEW LEGISLATION IN CANADA: [BILL C-55, AN ACT TO AMEND THE CRIMINAL CODE
(HIGH RISK OFFENDERS), THE CORRECTIONS AND CONDITIONAL RELEASE ACT, THE
CRIMINAL RECORDS ACT, THE PRISONS AND REFORMATORIES ACT AND THE DEPARTMENT OF
THE SOLICITOR GENERAL ACT, CAME INTO FORCE ON AUGUST 1, 1997. THIS LEGISLATION
WAS PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S SCHEME TO DEAL MORE SEVERELY WITH CANADA'S
WORST CRIMINALS ==
I) THE NEW LAW REPEALED A PROVISION REQUIRING THE TESTIMONY OF TWO
PSYCHIATRISTS AT DANGEROUS OFFENDER APPLICATION HEARINGS; NOW, ONLY ONE MENTAL
HEALTH EXPERT MUST GIVE EVIDENCE AS TO THE DANGEROUSNESS OF AN INDIVIDUAL.
II) THE ACT ALSO CREATED A "LONG-TERM OFFENDER" DESIGNATION
THAT TARGETS SEX OFFENDERS AND ALLOWS FOR A PERIOD OF COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OF
UP TO TEN YEARS FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF THE LONG-TERM OFFENDER FROM CUSTODY
(SOLICITOR GENERAL OF CANADA, 1997).
III) ADDITIONALLY, THE ACT INCREASED THE TIME THAT A DANGEROUS OFFENDER
MUST SERVE IN PRISON BEFORE HE IS ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE, NOW SEVEN YEARS INSTEAD
OF THREE]].
TWO TYPES
OF INCAPACITATIVE MEASURES ARE USED TO DEAL WITH DANGEROUS OFFENDERS: {1}
PREVENTIVE OR INDETERMINATE CUSTODIAL SENTENCES AND {2} COMMUNITY NOTIFICATION.
{ASIDE
[NOT EXAMINABLE]THECRIMINALBLACKMAN === IN
HER 1998 BOOK, THE COLOR OF CRIME, KATHRYN RUSSELL SPEAKS OF THE
"CRIMINALBLACKMAN." === THE CRIMINALBLACKMAN IS A COMPOSITE OF WHITE
FEARS OF BLACK MEN’S CRIMINALITY == IT MAY BECOME SO STRONG AND SO WIDESPREAD
THAT IT ALLOWS FOR “RACIAL HOAXES,” IN WHICH A WHITE OFFENDER BLAMES AN AFRICAN
AMERICAN, USUALLY MALE, FOR THE OFFENSE IN QUESTION AND IS READILY BELIEVED BY
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENTS AND/OR THE GENERAL PUBLIC. === {{{EX: CRITICAL ANALYSIS
OF MEDIA COVERAGE— INFLUENCES PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF SERIOUS CRIME
AS LARGELY A MATTER OF RACE, REAL ESTATE (INCORPORATING CLASS
AND AREA), AND FAMILY CONSTITUTION [LEADING TO AN INDICTMENT OF
FAILED “MOTHERS” {RACIALIZED AND GENDER-IZED BY
WHITE PATRIARCHY]}}}
II) GENDER RELATIONS: FEMINIST THEORIES
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES
====> OFFER VARIOUS, SOMETIMES COMPETING, “SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST”
EXPLANATIONS FOR THE PERVASIVENESS OF RELATIONSHIPS OF DOMINATION AND
SUBORDINATION BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN ====> AND FOR A RANGE OF
UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT THE CHANGES REQUIRED TO REDRESS EXPLOITATIVE AND
OPPRESSIVE RELATIONSHIPS.
LIBERAL FEMINISTS
1) MAIN SOURCE OF GENDER INEQUALITY IS THE "PROCESS OF
SOCIALIZATION" (LEARNING PROCESS BY WHICH YOU ACQUIRE THE KNOWLEDGE,
SKILL, AND MOTIVATIONS REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE IN SOCIAL LIFE).
2) THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT SHAPED WOMEN’S LIVES WERE THE LAWS AND
PREJUDICES (SHARED BY MEN AND WOMEN) THAT EXCLUDED THEM FROM THE PUBLIC SPHERE
AND FROM THE RIGHT TO EARN THEIR OWN LIVING ON AN EQUAL FOOTING WITH MEN.
3) WOMEN STRUGGLED FOR THE RIGHT TO HIGHER EDUCATION, ENTRANCE INTO THE
PROFESSIONS, THE RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY AND HOLD PUBLIC OFFICE, AND FOR
SUFFRAGE, THE RIGHT THAT CAME TO SYMBOLIZE “FULL CITIZENSHIP.”
4) THE SOLUTION – EDUCATION = REMOVE INDIVIDUAL IGNORANCE.
THEREFORE, THESE LAWS AND THE PREJUDICES THAT UNDERWROTE THEM WOULD GRADUALLY
BE REPLACED BY EXTENDING EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY TO WOMEN.
SOCIALIST FEMINISM
1) OPPRESSIVE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SEXES ARE NOT SIMPLY DERIVATIVE OF
CLASS.
---THE “INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN SEX OPPRESSION AND CLASS EXPLOITATION
HAD TO BE ADDRESSED.”
2) A. FOCUSED ON THE LABOUR DONE BY WOMEN IN THE HOUSEHOLD—CALLED
DOMESTIC LABOUR—HELPS TO SUSTAIN THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM.
(A) REARING CHILDREN;
(B) SUSTAINING HUSBANDS.
RESULT: BOTH CAPITALISTS AND INDIVIDUAL MEN BENEFIT FROM THE UNPAID AND
PERSONAL SERVICE OF WOMEN IN THE HOME.
3) SOME SOCIALIST FEMINISTS ANALYZED THE INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE
PUBLIC SPHERE OF CAPITALIST AND STATE RELATIONS AND THE PRIVATE SPHERE OF THE
FAMILY/ HOUSEHOLD.
(A) (GENDER INEQUALITY ALLOWS FOR (CAPITALISM DONE AT FRACTION OF THE
COST;
(B) THE APPEARANCE OF THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
SUSTAINS THE UNEQUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN THROUGHOUT SOCIETY.
4) SOLUTION: OVERCOME THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SPLIT ===>
{OVERCOME} FAMILY WAGE; DENIAL OF EDUCATION; NO SOCIAL SUPPORTS FOR CHILD CARE.
RADICAL FEMINIST
1) GENDER INEQUALITY IS ROOTED IN THE MATERIAL CONDITIONS OF MEN AND
WOMEN. THE BIOLOGICAL FAMILY IS AN INHERENTLY UNEQUAL POWER DISTRIBUTION.
LIKE MARXISM WHICH CONTENDS:
MONOGAMY WAS THE FIRST FORM OF THE FAMILY TO BE BASED NOT ON NATURAL
CONDITIONS BUT ON ECONOMIC CONDITIONS: THE EXCLUSIVE AIMS OF MONOGAMOUS
MARRIAGE WERE TO MAKE THE MAN SUPREME IN THE FAMILY AND TO PROPAGATE, AS THE
FUTURE HEIRS TO HIS WEALTH, CHILDREN INDISPUTABLY HIS OWN.
2) THE SOLE PURPOSE OF MONOGAMOUS MARRIAGE IS TO SUBJUGATE THE FEMALE
SEX TO THE MALE ===> THEY LOCATE MEN’S POWER OVER WOMEN IN THEIR ABILITY TO
CONTROL WOMEN SEXUALLY AND TO DEVELOP THE INSTITUTIONS THAT ENSURE CONTINUING
CONTROL.
WESTERN SOCIETIES ARE A FORM OF PATRIARCHY -- RULE OF MEN, MEN ARE THE
MAIN BENEFICIARIES OF THESE SOCIETIES ====> IN A WORLD OF UNEQUAL POWER
RELATIONS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN, COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY ENSURES NOT ONLY
WOMEN’S SEXUAL DEPENDENCE UPON MEN BUT ALSO THEIR ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND
PSYCHOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE.
3) THE SOLUTION – THE ELIMINATION OF MEN AND THE TRADITIONAL
FAMILY FROM WOMEN'S LIVES -- "COMPULSORY HETEROSEXUALITY" IS THE KEY
WAY WOMEN ARE SUBORDINATED AND ENSLAVED IN THIS SOCIETY ===> WOMEN SHOULD
BUILD THEIR OWN INSTITUTIONS FROM HEALTH CLINICS AND WOMEN'S SHELTERS TO SMALL
BUSINESSES, ART GALLERIES ETC.
[[[FLERAS: PP.132
"SOCIAL PROBLEMS" == LIBERAL FEMINISM (LEVELING THE PLATYING
FIELD -- REMOVING DISCRIMINATORY BARRIERS) == MARXIST FEMINISM (WORKERS
(WOMEN AND MEN) OF THE WORLD UNITE -- RESTRUCTURE SOCIETY TO ELIMINATE PRIVATE
PROPERTY AT THE BASE OF EXPLOITATION) == RADICAL FEMINISM (HEY, HO,
PATRIARCHY HAS TO GO -- ELIMINATE PATRIARCHY AND THE NUCLEAR FAMILY THAT
SUPPORTS IT) == CULTURAL FEMINISM (CELEBRATE AND POLITICIZE WOMEN AS
DIFFERENT AND VALUABLE) == RAINBOW FEMINISM (COATS OF MANY COLOURS --
WHITE FEMINIST AND FEMINIST OF COLOUR HAVE DIFFERENT AGENDAS WHERE ADDITIONAL
PRESSURES RELATED TO RACISM AND ETHNICITY ARE SUPERIMPOSED ON AND INTERSECT
GENDER AND CLASS, AMPLIFYING INEQUALITY) == CONSERVATIVE FEMINISM (THE
GOOD OLD DAYS -- ESPOUSES A VIEW OF EQUALITY THAT ACKNOWLEDGES WOMEN IN
TRADITIONAL, MATERNAL, DOMESTIC ROLES TO CURE THE BREAKDOWN IN THE FABRIC OF
SOCIETY)]].
III) ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN CANADA
A STORY OF COLONIALIZATION, CULTURAL GENOCIDE AND RESURRECTION THROUGH
ORGANIZED RESISTANCE}}}
CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ABORIGINAL AND NON-ABORIGINAL
RELATIONSHIP IN CANADA:
1) INEFFECTUAL
GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE AND PATERNALISTIC HANDOUTS.
2) THROWING
MONEY AT A PROBLEM ====> EXPANDING LEGIONS OF EXPERTS IN HOPE OF FOSTERING
ASSIMILATION THROUGH SELF- SUFFICIENCY.
3) RHETORIC
OF SELF-GOVERNMENT AND A “NEW SOCIAL CONTRACT” ======> IN REALITY MOST
INITITATIVES SIMPLY REFORM/ TWEEK THE OLD ONE AND REFUSE TO RELINQUISH ANY
SUBSTANTIVE POWER.
SO, WHEN WE TALK OF THE “ABORIGINAL PROBLEM” IN CANADAWE NEED TO TALK
IN A WIDER DISCOURSE THAT PUTS THE BURDENS ON INSTITUTIONS SO THAT WHAT COMES
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE ARE THE POLITICS, THE CULTURE, AND THE ECONOMICS OF
DOMINATION
{{{THE CONTEMPORARY POLITICS
OF “ABORIGIALITY” REVOLVES AROUND THE KEY ISSUE OF
SELF-DETERMINATION ======> OR MORE ACCURATELY, ABORIGINAL MODELS OF
SELF-DETERMINING AUTONOMY =======> MEANS THE “DEVOLUTION” OF REPONSIBILITY
AND FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER ABORIGINAL LANDS AND AFFAIRS, AND THE
TRANSFERENCE OF RIGHTS AND AUTHORITIES TO ABORIGINAL PEOPLE ====> IN SHORT, LAND,
IDENTITY AND POLITICAL VOICE}}}
STRATEGIES OF RESISTANCE
FOLLOWING THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND MORE PARTICULARLY IN THE 1960S --
WHILE THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL STILL PREOCCUPIED INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN CANADA
AN AROUND THE WORLD -- A PLATFORM OF WIDER AND MORE PROACTIVE CONCERNS BEGAN TO
TAKE SHAPE THROUGH:
1. VIOLENT CONFRONTATION OR
ARMED RESISTANCE.
2. “DECOLONIZATION” OF THE
MIND STRATEGIES
3. NURTURING AND SUSTAINING
CULTURAL SYSTEMS.
4. NEW
AGENDA FOR INDIGENOUS ACTIVITY THROUGH A FRAMEWORK FOR GLOBAL STRATEGIC
ALLIANCES.
ABORIGINAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
TERMS OF ALL INHERENT SELF-GOVERNMENT AGREEMENTS ARE SET OUT IN A 1995
FEDRAL POLICY DOCUMENT; INHERENT SELF-GOVERNMENT IS BASED ON CONTINGENT RATHER
THAN SOVEREIGN RIGHTS --- THAT IS, ABORIGINAL SELF GOVERNMENTS MUST OPERATE
WITHIN THE CANADIAN FEDERAL SYSTEM, WORK IN HARMONY WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS, BUT
CONSISTENT WITH THE CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOM, AND ENHANCE THE
PARTICIPATION OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN CANADIAN SOCIETY
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA ENTAIL RETHINKING THE PLACE OF ABORIGINAL
PEOPLES WITHIN THE CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK – THE FOUR POLICY PILLARS ARE:
1) ACCELERATED LAND CLAIMS
SETTLEMENT,
2) IMPROVED SOCIOECONOMIC
STATUS ON RESERVES,
3) RECONSTRUCTION
OF ABORIGINAL-GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, AND
4) FULFILLMENT
OF ABORIGINAL CONCERNS (I.E., PRIVILEGING INDIGENOUS INTERESTS AND PRACTICES).
ABORIGINAL-PLUS STATUS
1.
THE
VERY THINGS THAT ABORIGINAL PEOPLE WANT ARE THE VERY THINGS WE HAVE (AND
SOMETIMES TAKE FOR GRANTED):
2.
PROTECTION
AND FREEDOM IN EXERCISING THEIR CULTURAL LIFESTYLES AND LANGUAGE;
3.
SELECT
ELEMENTS OF THEIR CULTURE CAN BE PRESERVED AND INTERPRETED WITHIN OUR
CONTEMPORARY FRAMEWORK;
4.
FREEDOM
FROM BUREAUCRATIC SUBJECTIVITY;
5.
ELIMINATION
OF DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM AGAINST THEM, SOCIALLY AND POLITICALLY, WHICH THEY
HAVE FACED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS; AND
6.
ACCESS
TO POWER, RESOURCES, STATUS AND MEANINGFUL DECISION-MAKING CAPABILITIES.
THIS
ABORIGINAL-PLUS STATUS ENTITLES:
O
THE RIGHT TO CONTROL LAND AND RESOURCES;
O
THE RIGHT TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND IDENTITY;
O
THE RIGHT TO CONDUCT THEIR AFFAIRS ON A NATION-TO-NATION BASIS; AND
O
THE RIGHT TO ESTABLISH INDIGENOUS MODELS OF SELF-GOVERNMENT.
LEVELS OF ABORIGINAL SELF-GOVERNANCE
STATEHOOD
*ABSOLUTE (DE JURE) SOVEREIGNTY
*INTERNAL + EXTERNAL JURISDICTION
*COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE WITH NO EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE
NATIONHOOD
*DE FACTO SOVEREIGNTY
*SELF-DETERMINING CONTROL OVER MULTIPLE YET INTERLINKED JURISDICTIONS
WITHIN A FRAMEWORK OF SHARED SOVEREIGNTY
*NATIONS WITHIN/PROVINCE-LIKE
COMMUNITY/MUNICIPALITY-BASED
*CONDITIONAL SOVEREIGNTY
*COMMUNITY-BASED AUTONOMY
*INTERNAL JURISDICTIONS, LIMITED ONLY BY INTERACTION WITH SIMILAR
BODIES AND HIGHER POLITICAL AUTHORITIES
INSTITUTIONAL
*NOMINAL SOVEREIGNTY
*DECISION-MAKING POWER THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL ACCOMMODATION
*PARALLEL INSTITUTIONS
IV) MINORITIES
AND THE MEDIA
FLERAS ARGUES THAT
MEDIA ARE PROBLEMATIC (SOCIAL PROBLEM) IN THEIR OWN RIGHT.
THERE IS A DOUBLE-EDGED NATURE OF MEDIA RELATIONS TO
SOCIETY AND SOCIETY-BUILDING – IT INFORMS AND IT IS COMPLICIT IN THE
INFORMATION [IT IS COMPLICIT IN GENERATING INFORMATION (A VIEW OF THE
WORLD); IT HAS AN “ASSUMPTIVE REALITY”
THIS COMPLICITY MAKES IT DOUBLY IMPERATIVE TO EXPLORE
HOW MEDIA CONTRIBUTE TO THE WAY IN WHICH INEQUITIES IN SOCIETY ARE CREATED,
EXPRESSED, MAINTAINED, CHALLENGED, AND TRANSFORMED.
MASS MEDIA IS
A FORM OF — UNPRECEDENTED — “HEGEMONIC” DISCOURSE
{{{{{FIRST,
DISCOURSES ARE ALWAYS TIME-BOUND, SPACE-BOUND, CULTURE-BOUND, BOUND BY
MULTIPLICITIES OF POWER RELATIONS THAT INFORM DAILY LIFE. //SECOND, THERE IS NO
“PURE” REALITY OUTSIDE OF WHAT IS REPRESENTED IN DISCOURSE}}}}
EX: CULTURAL
HEGEMONY, PARTICULARLY AS IT REFERS TO THE SUPREMACY OF A GROUP WHICH MANIFESTS
ITSELF IN TWO WAYS: AS DOMINATION AND INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL LEADERSHIP
(GRAMSCI, 1971; GIROUX, 1981).
1) MEDIA
ACTS TO REINFORCE POWER OF WHITE SOCIETY – DOMINATION AND INTELLECTUAL AND
MORAL LEADERSHIP
2) SOCIAL
SCIENTISTS BELIEVE WITH THE CHANGING FORMS OF DOMINATION THAT HAVE DEVELOPED IN
ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES. WITH THE RISE OF MODERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SOCIAL CONTROL HAS BEEN EXERCISED LESS THROUGH THE USE OF PHYSICAL DETERRENTS
AND INCREASINGLY THROUGH THE DISTRIBUTION OF AN ELABORATE SYSTEM OF NORMS AND
IMPERATIVES.
THOUGHT CONTROL ON
A MASS — INDEED “GLOBAL” — SCALE LEADS TO A SUBTLE AND ACCOMPLISHED SOCIAL
CONTROL HERETOFORE NON-EXISTENT. =====>
MEDIA IN THE
CONTEXT OF MULTICULTURALISM
1) MASS
MEDIA IN A MULTICULTURAL CONTEXT – THERE ARE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN THE RHETORIC
AND THE REALITY OF CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM AND ITS DIVERSITY COMMITMENTS AT
INSTITUTIONAL LEVELS.
2) FAILURE
BY MAJOR INSTITUTIONS TO INCORPORATE DIVERSITY INTO THE ORGANIZATIONAL
“MAINSTREAM”.
3) MEDIA
HAS BEEN SINGLED OUT AS VISIBLY NEGLIGENT IN RESPONDING POSITIVELY TO CANADA’S
EVOLVING DIVERSITY.
[THEREFORE] MANY
SOCIOLOGIST ARGUE THAT MEDIA CANNOT BE ANALYZED IN THE CONTEXT OF
MULTICULTURALISM BECAUSE MORE OFTEN THAN NOT MULTICULTURALISM IS HOSTAGE TO THE
MASS MEDIA CONTEXT.
bell hooks:
CULTURAL CRITICISM AND TRANSFORMATION
THESIS: TRANSGRESSION
(TRANSGRESSIVE ACTS) DOES NOT MAKE YOU RADICAL --- BUT RATHER --- WHAT YOU ARE
TRANSGRESSING IN THE SERVICE OF….
ANALYTIC
CONTEXTS:
1) WHITE
SUPREMACY (ASIDE: IN OUR CLASS WE HAVE USED THE TERM “CULTURAL HEGEMONY”)
2) CAPITALIST
3) PATRIARCHY
THE WORLD CULTURE
OF IDEAS INTERPLAYS WITH (MINORITY) SENSIBILITIES ====> “POPULAR CULTURE”
[MEDIA, MOVIES, HOLLYWOOD] CAN BE A LINK BETWEEN THE TWO
EX:
MINORITIES/WOMEN LIVE OUT LIVES OF “STEREOTYPICAL DELUSION” [SEXIST AND RACIST
AND CAPITALIST FANTASIES/ FALLACY]
POPULAR CULTURE
REFLECTS VALUES AND VALUE CONTRADITIONS ====> WE LIVE WITH CONTRADITIONS
BECAUSE OF THE VALUES THAT POP CULTURE PROJECTS (DISTORTED CONSCIOUSNESS)
=====>
EX: “THE
BLACK PRESIDENT” ON THE SERIES “24” IS AN IDEOLOGICAL DISCOURSE
ON THE VALUE OF WESTERN DEMOCRACY THAT IS CONTRADICTED BY SOCIAL REALITY OF
EVERYDAY LIFE
IT IS IMPERATIVE IN
THIS CONTEXT THAT WE DEVELOP OUR “CRITICAL THINKING” ====> CRITICAL
THINKING IS MORE THAN JUST A TOOL FOR SURVIVAL/ JOB, IT IS A PROACTIVE SENSE OF
AGENCY [THE ABILITY TO SEE SELF IN CONTEXT --- INSTITUTIONAL, STRUCTURAL
DIMENSION FOR IDENITY AND POLITICS].
V) UNDERSTANDING
GLOBALIZATION
THE DERIVATION OF THE TERM “GLOBALIZATION” IMPLIES
THAT IT INVOLVES WORLDWIDE PROCESSES THAT ARE RELATIVELY NOVEL AND STILL
UNFOLDING. THESE MULTIDIMENSIONAL PROCESSES ARE BEING EXPERIENCED
UNEVENLY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND IN DIFFERENT SECTORS OF SOCIAL LIFE.
GLOBALIZATION IS A
COMPLEX SET OF HUMAN FORCES INVOLVING THE PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION/
TRANSMISSION, AND CONSUMPTION OF TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND
SOCIOCULTURAL GOODS AND SERVICES WHICH ARE ADMINISTRATIVELY AND TECHNOLOGICALLY
INTEGRATED ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS
INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS IN A GLOBAL ECONOMY
SOME RESEARCHERS EQUATE
“GLOBALIZATION” TO AN EXERCISE IN “SOFT HEGEMONY,” THAT IS A TOOL BY RICH
SOCIETIES TO GAIN DISPORPORTIONATE ADVANTAGE (CHAN AND SCARRITT, 2002).
OTHERS ARE LESS SANGUINE: IN A STRONGLY WORDED CRITQUE,
WILLIAM ROBINSON (1996) COUCHES GLOBALIZATION IN APOCALYPTIC TERMS — AS A
PLANETARY STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE COSMOPOLITAN RICH AND THE PAROCHIAL POOR FROM
WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE. THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON HUMAN AND
ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDS IS COMPARABLE TO PREDATORY SCALE TO THE RAVAGES OF 19TH
CENTURY COLONIALISM. IN THAT CORPORATE GLOBALIZATION IS SIMPLY AN
EXTENSION OF A COLONIALISM AND CAPITALISM WITH ITS COMMITMENT TO EXPLOIT CHEAP
LABOUR UNDER INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS, IT’S
BUSINESS AS USUAL (NAGRA, 2003) ... (FLERAS, 2005: 366)
I SAY ======>
THIS PLANETARY STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE COSMOPOLITAN RICH AND THE PAROCHIAL POOR
FROM WHICH THERE IS NO ESCAPE BREAKS DOWN ALONG CULTURAL AND RACIAL LINES
EUPHEMIZED IN THE GEO-POLITICAL TERMINOLOGY OF — “THE NORTH-SOUTH BIFURCATION”
“GLOBALIZATION”
HAS AIDED IN THE RECONFIGURATION (RE-COLONIALIZATION?) OF THE WORLD POLITICALLY
AND ECONOMICALLY INTO THE “GLOBAL NORTH” AND THE “GLOBAL SOUTH”---- EX:
IMMIGRATION FLOWS// MARXIAN RESERVED ARMY OF INDENTURED WORKERS FROM THE SOUTH
OFTEN “WITHOUT PAPERS” AND EXPLOITED {NEO-COLONIALIST COMMITMENT TO EXPLOIT
CHEAP LABOUR} — “THE BOAT PEOPLE” ======> EX: TERRORISM AND SCOURGE (EVER
BROWN BODY — BODY OF COLOUR ---- IS A POTENTIAL TERRORIST — EX: "FLYING
WHILE BROWN" MEANS YOUR ARE SUBJECT TO GLOBAL RACIAL PROFILING)}}}
THE “BEST”
SOCIOLOGISTS ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF TRYING TO RE-THINK CANADIAN SOCIETY AND
GLOBAL-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS IN TERMS OF ETHNORACIAL REALITY — FROM THE
STANDPOINT OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN RACIALIZED AS DANGEROUS, AS ALIEN, AS
POTENTIAL THREATS TO WORLD HISTORY AND PROGRESS.
THE CHALLENGE
OF INCLUSION
SOCIAL FACT: TO
DATE, GLOBALIZATION IS AN EXCLUSIONARY FORCE, DENYING ACTIVE PARTICIPATION TO
PARTICULAR RACIALIZED REGIONS, CULTURES, AND CLASSES. IN TURN, THIS IS CAUSING
BACKLASH. FOR MANY NATIONS, CULTURES, INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS AND
INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORLD, MODERN GLOBALISM CONSTITUTES AN ELITEST,
NORTHERN-BASED, WESTERN-FOCUSED, TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPPORTED FORM OF ECONOMIC AND
CULTURAL IMPERIALISM.
IN ORDER TO TURN THIS VICIOUS CIRCLE INTO A VIRTUOUS
CIRCLE, THE PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK (WOLFENSON, 997:6) HAS ISSUED A
CHALLENGE OF INCLUSION “TO REDUCE ... DISPARITIES ACROSS AND WITHIN
COUNTRIES, TO BRING MORE PEOPLE INTO THE ECONOMIC MAINSTREAM, [AND] TO PROMOTE
EQUITABLE ACCESS TO BENEFITS OF DEVELOPMENT REGARDLESS OF NATIONALITY, RACE, OR
GENDER”
IN SOME SENSE, THE CHALLENGE OF INCLUSION IS TO CHANGE THE
INERTIA OF GLOBALIZATION FROM AN IMPOSITION “FROM ABOVE” BY
GREEDY CORPORATE INTERESTS TO A “BOTTOMS-UP” FOCUSED
GLOBALIZATION THAT PUTS PEOPLE AHEAD OF PROFITS (STAR AND ADAMS, 2003)
[AS R. ALAN HEDLEY
PUT IT IN — “UNDERSTANDING GLOBALIZATION”] WHETHER THIS CHALLENGE BECOMES
REALITY REMAINS TO BE SEEN; HOWEVER, UNTIL IT DOES, THE WORLD AS A WHOLE CANNOT
TRULY BE CHARACTERIZED AS GLOBALIZED.
HUMANITARIAN
GLOBALIZATION
PRIORITIZES HUMAN NEEDS AND CONCERNS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK
OF GLOBALIZATION THAT SPREADS THE WEALTH AND BENEFITS MORE EQUITABLY
--- IT IS ABOUT CONSERVING COMMUNITY AND PROVIDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE,
PUTTING PEOPLE'S NEEDS ABOVE PROFIT, USING LOCAL RESOURCES, ENCOURAGING
DIVERSITY (FLERAS 372)
IT IS CHARACTERIZED
BY A “BOTTOMS-UP” NEO-GLOBALIZATION THAT ENSURES BENEFITS ARE EQUITABLY
DISTRIBUTED, RATHER THAN A “TOP-DOWN” GLOBALIZATION THAT IS DRIVEN BY
TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATIONS PRIMARILY FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE CORPORATE ELITE
TOA ACHIEVE
HUMANISTIC GLOBALIZATION WE NEED TO:
·
SHIFT
ECONOMIES FROM PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT TO PRODUCTION FOR LOCAL MARKETS
·
BECOME
LESS DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND MARKETS
·
DISTRIBUTE
INCOME TO CREATE A MORE THRIVING INTERNAL MARKET
·
DE-EMPHASIZE
GROWTH TO ENURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
·
SUBJECT
THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO MONITORING BY PUBLIC SOCIETY
·
ENCOURAGE
PRODUCTION AT ALL LEVELS TO PRESERVE THE INTEGITY OF SOCIETY