Ulteriori informazioni
"What roles do our identities play in democratic politics? When we participate in citizens' assemblies or in social movement gatherings, we are judged by how we look, which clothes we wear, by our skin colour, gender and body language. Prejudice does not only lead to discrimination but also limits the freedom of expressing ourselves. The Politics of Becoming explores radical democratic acts of disidentification to counter this problem. Anonymity in masked protest, pamphleteering, street graffiti and online debate interrupts our everyday identities. By concealing who we believe ourselves to be, anonymity allows us to live our multiple selves. In the digital age, anonymity becomes an inherent part of everyday communication. Through our smart devices we express our selves differently. As cyborgs our identities are disrupted and reassembled. We curate self-representations on social media, create avatars, share selfies and choose the skin colour of our emojis. To counter discrimination and express ourselves more freely in democratic spaces, we need to embrace our inner multiplicity. This argument does not break with the feminist politics of presence. Claiming and reinterpreting marginalized identities is a crucial element of an emancipatory democratic strategy. The Politics of becoming, however, re-reads presence as the performative act of self-creation. Drawing on queer, gender, feminist, and anarchist thinking, this book argues for an interruption of the dominant order to engage in self-transformation"--
Sommario
- 1: Becoming Subject to Change: An Introduction
- 2: Becoming Assemblage: Democratic Spaces
- 3: Becoming Present: Feminist Interventions
- 4: Becoming Multiple: Identity, Interrupted
- 5: Becoming Anonymous: Absence as Presence
- 6: Becoming Cyborg: New (Inter)faces
- 7: Unleashing the Democratic Microverse: Towards Systemic Transformation
Info autore
Hans Asenbaum is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. After receiving his PhD in 2019 at the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster, he held a position as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies in Potsdam, Germany. His work focuses on radical democracy, democratic innovations, inclusion, marginalization and social identities. Hans is a co-convenor of the PSA Participatory and Deliberative Democracy Specialist Group and an associate editor of Democratic Theory.
Riassunto
When we participate in political debate or protests, we are judged by how we look, which clothes we wear, by our skin colour, gender and body language. This results in exclusions and limits our freedom of expression. The Politics of Becoming explores radical democratic acts of disidentification to counter this problem. Anonymity in masked protest, graffiti, and online debate interrupts our everyday identities. This allows us to live our multiple selves. In the digital age, anonymity becomes an inherent part of everyday communication. Through our smart devices we express our selves differently. As cyborgs our identities are disrupted and reassembled. We curate self-representations on social media, create avatars, share selfies and choose the skin colour of our emojis.
The Politics of Becoming encourages us to engage in a revolution of the self. Democratic pluralism is not only a matter of institutional design but also about how we express our identities. Inner revolutions change our personal realities and plant a seed for democratic futures.
Praise for The Politics of Becoming:
"The Politics of Becoming presents a striking and creative reworking of key aspects of democratic theory and practice, inviting the reader to rethink what presence, democratic spaces, equality, pluralism, and freedom now can and should mean. This revelation of ways to be democratic is essential reading for anyone interested in the contemporary prospects for democracy." John Dryzek
"Social movement studies have often noted that, while normative standards aim at inclusivity, participatory spaces often discriminate marginalised subjects. This important volume reflects on how a politics of becoming can contribute to improve democratic qualities." Donatella della Porta
"This uniquely relevant book draws a map to our civic future, and invites us to digitally transport ourselves there." Zizi Papacharissi
Testo aggiuntivo
At a time when the wearing of masks has become virtually obligatory, Hans Asenbaum explores the emancipatory potential that is opened up when concealing one's identity becomes a conscious political choice rather than a government directive. While democracy is usually associated with appearing in the public space, Asenbaum argues that democratic politics today is as much about invisibility and anonymity. In this highly original book, he aims to think through the deadlock of identity politics by proposing an alternative politics of disidentification.
