1- Labeled as “Nagar India Activism” 1. Define the feminist organizations established in North India discussed in the article: MahilaSamakhya and Vanangana. What is ‘grass-roots’ activism? Why are the feministsactivists grass-roots activists? Who are the women that are the activists? What were their objectives? 2. Discuss the street play: How is it formed? What are some of the issues brought up by the play? 3. Explain the significance of spatial strategies, when the feminist activists perform the street theaters in both the natal and marital villages of the murdered women. 4.The plays were performed in the streets – please discuss why the fact that these plays were performed in the village streets were important. Why is the ‘street’ a good stage to question social and political problems?
MahilaSamakhya was a government-funded program that started in three states and sponsored by Delhi; however, Vanangana was born in 1994 to realize similar objectives. Both organizations have a bittersweet history’ as they have worked as contemporaries and as partners (Nagar).
This collective effort, of Mahila Samakhya and Vanangana, is a grass-roots movement because it operates at the lowest tier of society (villages and colonies), where the issues, such as patriarchy and domestic violence are more potent and stubborn. The engagement with average people, in the ordinary conditions/environment, makes this political-social effort a grassroots activist, with political-social objectives embedded with economic goals. For instance, rural women are employed by Mahila Samakhya to engage troubled women in villages. On the other hand, urban women, who are in strategic positions, devise financial and other strategies to bring positive in the lives of these women. It must be acknowledged that not all-feminist activism can be classified, as grassroots activists, as in most of the cases these movements are operating at a strategic level, and instrument used to bring change are quite different (Nagar).
Both Mahila Samakhya and Vanangana have devised a strategy of street play to provoke critical thinking. A part of the strategy is to narrate these tragic stories, through street plays in natal and marital villages of these women, who have either suffered or killed. It pushes communities to look at the incident from a different perspective and push them to question these norms and values that undermine women in society. The Streets seem to the perfect stage to use these tragic narratives as an instrument to provoke critical thinking.
2-For the reading by Mitchell Duneier (1999) “The magazine vendors” 1. What are the many ramifications for the vendors once they began living in the streets? 2. What type of mentality do they have (page 60)? 3. Think about the different ways in which Ron and Marvin explain how they ended up as vendors. 4. What is the ‘morality of pricing’? How does it relate to self-worth? You must write at least a full paragraph for each of these four guiding points.
From the study of the article, we know that streets have its own culture and 6th Avenue has its reality, which influences those, who live there. For instance, vendors, who live on the street are involved in drug abuse, which reduces their ability to function and improve their lives. Similarly, streets provide temporary residence, which reduces the motivation for a house with facilities. Also, matters complicate further, from drug abuse to drug trafficking as it is easy money and an individual already knows his potential customers.
Most of the vendors have the fuck it mentality, which implies that they do not care anymore. This mentality is directly or positively connected with depression and reduced optimism. It has also been suggested that this mentality is responsible for the prevailing drug abuse among the vendors. It has been described as a form of retreats, rather than a form of resignation (Duneier).
On page 60, of the book Sidewalk (chapter Magazine Vendor) sub-topic Fuck it Mentality is discussed in detail. The writer asserts that this mindset is prevalent among magazine vendors. He has also explained how this mindset affects lives of these magazine vendors, who live on the streets.
Marvin, who is a Vietnam War veteran, had to spend time in jail for armed robbery, after which his prospects regarding of a decent job diminished. To survive, he had to become a brick scavenger and then ended up being a vendor. Ron came from Jamaica, and because of the few opportunities available to him, he had no choice but to opt for magazine vendor. He could not escape the prevailing culture of drug abuse.
The morality of pricing is associated with the concept of selling of books at a particular price. There is a price, which is considered the minimum price, which a vendor will take. In the same context, there is the point; a person would not go low. It is self-worth; a point beyond which morals and values of a person do not allow a person to go(Duneier).
3-Please answer the questions as best you can base on your reading of the article “The World is Spiky.” Do NOT use outside sources. According to Friedman, the “world is flat.” What does this metaphor mean? The author, Florida, proposes another metaphor: “world is spiky.” What does that mean? Why does he propose it and how does that challenge Friedman’s idea? Explain how patents and light emissions are used as examples to support Florida’s argument.
Friedman used the metaphor to make the point that the word is a level playing field, where different countries would use their competitive advantage to meet economic and social goals. He tried to explain globalization, competitiveness, and commerce in his book titled World is Flat. On the other hand, Florida is the view that globalization has only changed economic landscape or world-economy; however, it has not made it a level playing field, as it has been suggested by Friedman.
Florida has divided the economic landscape into valleys, hills, and cities, and he has suggested that this landscape continues to change. For instance, cities, which are the center of knowledge and innovation, may diminish, as it has in past and hills, which are manufactured economies, may turn into cities. Also, Florida has identified cities as an engine of growth. The patent is a reflection of innovation, which keeps technology to certain industrialized regions. Also, from light emissions, we learn that the population and abundance of resources do not count, but rather the exploitation of resources by employing technology, which is why World is Spiky (Florida).
4-Explain the following quotes: “The banana has a history, a gendered history.” (pg.127); and what is “feminization of agriculture”? (pg. 136) 2. Discuss how food consumption items like the banana (or, coffee, sugar, pineapple…) are increasingly produced mainly by women all over the world. Discuss the local and global gendered division of labor in the production of these items. What roles/jobs do women take? How does women’s participation in export food production effect their lives? What are the working conditions like? 3. Reflect upon your own consumption experiences to think about the global circulation of goods and food items. How can we become more aware as consumers? Why is it important to be aware and understand the global patterns and networks of consumption?
It implies that Banana is associated with a particular gender. For instance, United Fruit’s advertisement depicted banana as half woman, and since then it has been associated with woman. However, in India, it is associated with masculinity because of its shape and size. Therefore, the banana has a gendered history (Enloe).
Because of fewer opportunities in Industry and corporate, a large number of women are working in agriculture fields and producing consumptions items like banana and coffee. We also learn, industry and corporate discriminates against women, which causes various kinds of economic issues, such as gender wage gap.
The increased participation in the economy has affected the lives of women; however, because of challenges, these changes have not occurred fully. As consumers, we aid these women and improve their economic condition by opting more for those consumer goods that are produced by women (Lastarria-Cornhiel).
5-Connelly and Kennedy which of the 3 Perspectives on Population would Raspail be? Which of the 3 Perspectives on Population would Connelly and Kennedy be? How do demographic issues feed into/influence racism and nationalism? Think about how the different groups in the novel are represented. How does Raspail write about the people from India that are on the boats? How does he write about the French? (Provide some examples of each) What is the consequence of writing in these two different ways? Why do they use the John Donne quote? Why is that a relevant metaphor for their discussion of migration?
Jean Raspail had a perception and theory regarding rapidly increasing population. He is the view that when economic growth is slower than population growth, it creates challenges of various kinds, which include, mass starvations. In such cases, humans follow their instincts and traditions and move towards more prosperous regions (follow the food).
Populations/communities are always apprehensive of large-scale migrations, as not only they presume that it would be difficult to adjust to people of a different perspective, but also they fear that economic opportunities for them would reduce drastically. Also, asection of society starts to believe that its majority would become a minority, which will undermine established norm, culture, tradition, and order.
Different groups are depicted, by Raspail, as desperados, who are seeking food and shelter, and for that, they are willing to take any measure, which could ensure their survival. For instance, Indians have been depicted as determined and desperate, who have stormed the ships and pressed the sailors to take them to the shores of Southern France. In contrast, he has depicted French soldiers and sailors as individuals that lack the determination and courage to push these Indians back (Connelley and Kennedy).
The consequence of writing in such manner provides two different pictures, of two different groups of people. Also, it would help in stating their perspective and objective. For instance, it suggests that despite the culture of France and its tradition are under threat; French authorities lack the courage to stop this forming of a new reality.
The metaphor suggests that the world has to contribute to ensuring collective progress, as the consequences of uneven progress may have better results for the world and it may bring various kinds of changes, which include massive demographic changes.
Work Cited
Connelley, Matthew and Paul Kennedy. “Must It Be The Rest Against The West.” The Atlantic Monthly (1994): 61-84.
Duneier, Mitchell. “The Magazine Vendors.” Sidewalk. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. 43-80.
Enloe, Cynthia. Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. Univ of California Press, 2014.
Florida, Richard. “The World is Spiky.” The Atlantic Monthly (2005): 48-51.
Lastarria-Cornhiel, Susana. “Feminization of Agriculture: Trends and Driving Forces.” Anuual. 2006.
Nagar, Richa. “Mujhe Jawab Do! (Answer me!): Women’s grass-roots activism and social spaces in Chitrakoot (India).” Gender, Place & Culture 7.4 (2000): 341-362.
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