Kinship, Ethnicity and Gender Module - Undergraduate Poster Exhibition 2024

IRDR0031 BY: PIPER EVERETT, CHLOE DRYSDALE, YUHAN QIANG, ALICE COLLINS, DONGYING CAO

KINSHIP AND GENDER PATTERNS IN SYRIAN COMMUNITIES MAIN ARGUMENT THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA HAS CHANGED THE STRUCTURE OF SYRIAN FAMILIES DUE TO A SHIFT IN KINSHIP AND GENDER PATTERNS. THESE CHANGES CAN BE EXAMINED THROUGH THE LENS OF THREE KEY ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORIES.

CONTEXT

CHANGES TO FAMILY STRUCTURE

CONFLICT BEGAN MARCH 2011 WITH ANTIGOVERNMENT PROTESTS AND IS STILL ONGOING PRESIDENT BASHAR AL-ASSAD RESPONDED VIOLENTLY, WHICH ESCALATED THE CONFLICT CONFLICT CAUSED MASS DESTRUCTION, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INSTABILITY AND MASS DISPLACEMENT - SYRIAN PEOPLE PAYING THE PRICE (EL-MASRI, HARVEY AND GARWOOD, 2013) MAP FROM OSMANDZIKOVIC (2020) DATA SOURCE: UNHCR/RELIEFWEB, AFP

LINKS TO ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORIES 1. LÉVI-STRAUSS’ ALLIANCE THEORY 2. CHALLENGES TO THE CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF ‘KINSHIP’ 3. POSTCOLONIAL FEMINISM

2023 REFUGEE NUMBERS BY UNHCR: EXTERNAL: 5.1 MILLION INTERNAL: 6.8 MILLION TOTAL: MORE THAN 12 MILLION

INCREASED DIVORCE RATE, POLYGAMY RATE, WOMEN HEADING REFUGEE FAMILIES (KARASPAN, 2017) CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT, MILITARY INVOLVEMENT AND TRAUMA (WILLIAMS, 1990) WOMEN FEEL LOSS OF FEMININITY AS CAN’T LOOK AFTER FAMILY (EL-MASRI, 2013) EARLY MARRIAGE SEEN AS PROTECTION FOR WOMEN/GIRLS. (EL-MASRI, 2013) MEN FEEL POWERLESS AND USELESS AS WOMEN’S WORKLOAD HAS INCREASED AND MEN’S HAS DECREASED (EL-MASRI, 2013)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: EL-MASRI, R., HARVEY, C. AND GARWOOD, R. (2013). SHIFTING SANDS: CHANGING GENDER ROLES AMONG REFUGEES IN LEBANON. [ONLINE] OXFAM LIBRARY, PP.1–44.

AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://OXFAMILIBRARY.OPENREPOSITORY.COM/BITSTREAM/HANDLE/10546/300408/RR-SHIFTING-SANDS-LEBANON-SYRIA-REFUGEES-GENDER-030913EN.PDF?SEQUENCE=1 HUSAIN, A., NASHWAN, A. AND HOWARD, S. (2016). CHAPTER 9. MIDDLE EASTERN IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES. IN: A. DETTLAFF AND R. FONG, EDS., IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES: CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE PRACTICE. [ONLINE] COLOMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, PP.247–281. AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.7312/DETT17284-011 KARASAPAN, O. (2017). THE WAR AND SYRIA’S FAMILIES. [ONLINE] BROOKINGS. AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://WWW.BROOKINGS.EDU/ARTICLES/THE-WAR-AND-SYRIASFAMILIES/ LÉVI-STRAUSS, C. (1962). THE SAVAGE MIND. CHICAGO: THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS. OSMANDZIKOVIC, E. (2020). BATTLE FOR SYRIA’S IDLIB TAKES ITS TOLL ON MIGRANTS, REFUGEES AND TURKEY’S TIES WITH EU. [ONLINE] ARAB NEWS. AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://WWW.ARABNEWS.COM/NODE/1639201/MIDDLE-EAST UNHCR (2023). SYRIA EMERGENCY | UNHCR. [ONLINE] UNHCR. AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://WWW.UNHCR.ORG/EMERGENCIES/SYRIA-EMERGENCY WILLIAMS, H.A. (1990). FAMILIES IN REFUGEE CAMPS. HUMAN ORGANIZATION, [ONLINE] 49(2), PP.100–109. AVAILABLE AT: HTTPS://WWW.JSTOR.ORG/STABLE/44126440

IRDR0031: Kinship, Ethnicity, and Gender

Taiwanese Kinship: Quiet Resistance

History of Colonisation Colonised by the Portoguese, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese since 1600s ‘White Terror’ Dictatorship 1949-1992 Image source: https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/taiwandesigners-guide-explore-taipei/

Ciel Sheridan, Hiba Ishtiyaq, Josephine Lee, Kathryn McNichol, Tasnia Uddin

Power, Resistance, Institutionalisation and Habitus: Kinship as national identity Foucault: Acceptance of multiple truths allow for resistance to power structures Bourdieu: Power and institutionalisation create and reinforce a new habitus of multiple truths Scott: Instead of an open revolt, resistance is expressed through daily practices Image source: Hu, C. Y. (2014), Taiwanese Aboriginal Art and Artifacts: Entangled Images of Colonization and Modernization

Taiwan Independence vs. Unification

Defying the “Singular Truth”

Image source: https://media.tacdn.com/media/attractions-content-1x-1/0b/f8/91/22.jpg

Figure 1: Data from Election Study Center, National Chengchi University (2023) Election Study Center, NCCU (2023). Taiwan Independence vs. Unification with the Mainland. [online] esc.nccu.edu.tw. Available at: https://esc.nccu.edu.tw/PageDoc/Detail?fid=7801&id=6963 [Accessed 1 Mar. 2024].

Institutionalisation References: Foucault, M. (1982). “The Subject and Power.” Afterword in Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, ed.

Hubert L. Dreyfus and Paul Rabinow. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

Bourdieu, P. (2004). Structures and the habitus. Material culture: Critical concepts in the social sciences, 1 (part 1), pp.116-77.

Scott, J. (1990). Domination and the Arts of Resistance : Hidden Transcripts. [online] S.L.: Yale University Press. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1np6zz [Accessed 8 Mar. 2024].

Spatial

Symbols Clothing Diplomatic

Architecture

Night markets

The Taiwanese identity is made up of multiple truths and understandings Rejection of a homogeneous collective identity resists repeating the ‘singular truth’ imposed by colonial powers Reinforces kinship ties.

Normalising indigenous and colonial legacies creates an identity based on social inclusion over exclusionary forms of nationalism

Identity Politics and Labelling: The Ethnic Exclusion of the Rohingya People Consequences of the ‘Self-Other’ Dichotomy Context The Rohingya People are an ethnic minority group originating from region of Rakhine State, Northern Myanmar.

Primarily Muslim, their lineage can be traced back to the 8th century.

Their status became contentious postindependence of Myanmar - despite recognition during colonial rule.

Since, they have been refused citizenship, facing genocide, persecution, restriction and exclusion.

Over a million forced to flee to Bangladesh 25,000 killed since 2018.

Explicit Othering Explicit othering is the oppressive process of creating a conscious and unconscious categorisation of a social group as ethically inferior.

This is enabled via preferential political accommodation, social exclusion narratives and even targeted geographical division.

Rohingyas’ Self-Reinforcement of Social Categorisation The Looping Effect by Ian Hacking:

Examples of Explicit Othering The idea of Categorisation 1982 Citizenship Act: the codification of ethnic exclusion Bureaucratic labelling as a tool for alienation: Three categories of citizenship (the 1962 military regime) full, associate, naturalised and foreigners The power of ‘Ethnocracy’ demonstrated by urban planning: the placement of migrant camps are divided from central Myanmar.

Photo by Mohammed Salim Khan for NPR, 2023

The Looping Effect can be used to explore the impact of labelling as a tool for social alienation This looks at the reinforcement of ‘other’ - reducing and transforming Rohingya self-identification The ‘self and other’ dichotomy is used as a vehicle for the creation of a Buddhist ethnostate Socially constructed classifications shape and influence individuals social, political and economic interactions

Rohingya Resilience & Resistance The Rohingya Identity has endured despite decades of violence, discrimination and persecution. This has often been understood through the community’s use of resistance - refusing victimhood and ensuring survival.

Many forms of resistance have often remained informal, embedded within every day actions.

This can be seen through: The use of Taranas: Rohingya Music, Art and Songs - holding and preserving identity Burying of the dead without authority permission Women displaying pregnancy to avoid sexual abuse, and ensure the continuation of bloodline It can be argued that the strongest form of daily resistance has been surviving in the face of genocide.

Arabella Liu, Iman Chaudhry, Robert Parlett, Oliver Peters & Naomi Gill IRDR0031: Kinship, Ethnicity & Gender

Ahmed, B. & Sammonds, P. (2024) Defying Genocide in Myanmar: Everyday Resistance Narratives of Rohingyas, Journal of Genocide Research, 26:1, 25-47, DOI: 10.1080/14623528.2022.2078074 Hacking, I. (1999) The social construction of what? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Islam, M, T., (2018). The Stateless Rohingya: Victims of Burma’s Identity Politics and Priority for R2P. University of Bradford. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohammad-Islam52/publication/330502290_The_Stateless_Rohingya_Victims_of_Burma%27s_Identity_Politics_and_Priority_for_R2P.pdf Khan, M.S., (2023) Photos: This is life in the world's largest refugee camp, as seen by their own. Available at: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/12/22/1220506014/rohingya-refugee-photographers-unhcr-nansenaward-bangladesh-myanmar.

Oh, S-A. (2016) Myanmar’s Mountain and Maritime Borderscapes: Local Practices, Boundary-Making and Figured Worlds. Singapore: ISEAS.

Matriarchy IRDR0031_23-24 Kinship, Ethnicity and Gender Savane Belliard May Budd Lawrence Johnson Xinyuan Jiang Kexin Xu

Gender

Mosuo

Kinship

The De-Colonial Reality of a Matriarchy: The case of Mosuo Society

Introduction

Backround on Mosuoso society structure

The Mosuo, an ethnic group found in the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, practice a matriarchal structure where women, particularly mothers, hold a central role in society, though they embody a genuine sense of gender equality. Matriarchal societies are distinct from patriarchal ones; they live in a truly gender-egalitarian way. GoettnerAbendroth (2018) points out that misunderstandings about these societies often stem from Western perspectives on societal organization, leading to misconceptions and biases.

Walking marriage is not binding You remain with your maternal family throughout your entire life Uncles and brothers take on paternal role Fathers can choose to be involved in their child’s life Women hold significant authority within the household and community The grandma is the most powerful in the family Women take care of the household, while men earn money outside

Source: China News Service/Visual China Group/Getty Images, 2017

Source: BBC,2005

Source: Imagechina, 2010

Theory The discipline of matriarchal studies is a relatively modern field, matriarchy is mentioned throughout anthropology, but often through a Colonial, Western, male lens. Recent matriarchal studies describe matriarchy as being characterised by matrilineality, matrilocality, and women as keepers of the land and distributors of food, based on a structured gift economy (Mann and Goettner-Abendroth, 2015).

Western ideas of matriarchy are often informed through Orientalist ideology. Edward Said describes Orientalism being pervasive and reiterating stereotypes and Orientalist ideas (Said, 1978). Western perceptions of matriarchy as being exotic and sexualised come from these ideologies.

Sources: Goettner-Abendroth, H. (2018). Re-thinking ‘Matriarchy’ in Modern Matriarchal Studies using two examples: The Khasi and the Mosuo. Asian Journal of Women’s Studies, 24(1), pp.3–27. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2017.1421293.

Reeves Sanday, P. (1998). Matriarchy as a Sociocultural Form: An Old Debate in a New. [online] Available at: https://web.sas.upenn.edu/psanday/articles/selected-articles/matriarchy-as-a-sociocultural-form-an-old-debate-in-a-new-light/.

Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books.

Wang, Y. (Alex) and Morais, D.B. (2014). Self-representations of the matriarchal Other. Annals of Tourism Research, 44, pp.74– 87. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2013.09.002.

Deconstructing Colonial/Western lens The external gaze tends to exoticize the walking marriage practice through the way it is viewed and labelled, misrepresenting how Mosuo construct their society, perpetuating and projecting patriarchal and colonial ideals. Although Mosuo people are organised in a mother-centered and matrilineal structure, there is no prominent social hierarchy.

This can be reflected in men’s unrestricted position in the household and within society. The fact that there is no word or conception of issues such as rape or domestic violence, reflecting how mother-centered it is and how valued women are.

Exploring gender and kinship literature and theories helps deconstruct the colonial and western lense, and allows us to see Mosuo society without projecting Orientalism rhetoric.