Affective Activisms and the Right to Have Rights in Turkey

Beschreibung

“An eloquent and moving account of collective struggles for rights, recognition and “a liveable life.” Through an analysis richly in dialogue with feminist and political theory, Avramopoulou powerfully illuminates the quest of precarious subjects to create new forms of living."

—Jane K. Cowan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of Sussex

“A fantastic contribution to the study of feminist and LGBTQI+ activist worlds in Turkey that is both stunningly original in its ethnographic observations and tremendously generative in its theoretical pursuits. A must read for scholars and students of social movements' claims for rights in authoritarian political atmospheres." 

—Yael Navaro, Professor of Social, Political and Psychological Anthropology, University of Cambridge

“Affective Activisms provides a richly ethnographic and powerfully original analysis of activism in contemporary Istanbul. Its an essential reading for understanding contemporary social and political struggles."

—Sarah Green, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki

"Affective Activisms' nuanced exploration of the intersections between local and global activism is both timely and relevant, offering valuable insights for scholars and activists alike." 

—Aslı Kotaman, CAIS Alumni

This book presents a novel study of contemporary social movements and activisms through extensive ethnographic research of feminist, LGBTQI+, and women’s religious groups in Istanbul from 2007 to 2015.  Chapters interweave personal accounts and life histories of individual activists to illustrate how activism is a performative and affective language of intersectional hopes, desires and dreams as much as it is a legal battle over who or what might appear as being broken under specific historical and social settings. Employing gender and sexuality as analytical tools, this book makes sense of local and transnational politics of resistance in the face of the re-emergence of authoritarian regimes, sexual harassment, gender violence, homo/trans phobia, and Islamophobia.

Eirini Avramopoulou is Associate Professor of Social Anthropology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece.

This book presents a novel approach to the study of contemporary social movements and activism. Based on extensive ethnographic research of the life and politics of feminist, LGBTQI+, and women’s religious groups in Istanbul from 2007 to 2015, it explores the affects, meanings, and interpretations these groups express in their activism—in particular, their strategic use of human rights’ language to claim institutional and social legitimacy and their reinterpretation of gender/queer theory across politics of difference to make sense of global dynamics that affect their everyday lives. Chapters interweave personal accounts and life histories of individual activists with specific historical events to demonstrate the activists’ dissidence regarding the conditions that have defined their differently marginalised positions in Turkey and the significance of the formation of unexpected alliances. The ambivalent, yet inescapable, bargaining tool of rights is analysed as a demand over affective democratic visions, citizenship and a life worth living, and thus the right to have rights, as it is argued, pushes us to reflect on how power works when the political and affective surplus value invested in the need to rethink of rights (even beyond human rights themselves) lies both in the search for ways of institutionalising and implementing rightful demands, as well as in outlining more affective visions of political resistance.

By arguing that activism is a performative and affective language that is defined by intersectional hopes, desires and dreams, as much as it engages with legal battles that define who or what might appear as being broken under specific historical and social settings, Affective Activisms employs gender and sexuality as analytical tools to make sense of local and transnational politics of resistance in the face of the re-emergence of authoritarian regimes, sexual harassment, gender violence, homo/trans phobia, and Islamophobia in Turkey and worldwide. It will be of interest to students and scholars across the fields of women's, gender and sexuality studies, queer theory, critical human rights and political theory, sociology, and social anthropology.

Autor*in

Eirini Avramopoulou

Themen in »Affective Activisms and the Right to Have Rights in Turkey«

LGBTQI+ activism Feminist activism Human rights Affect Turkey Politics of coalition Performativity Resistance Biopolitics Thanatopolitics

Stimmen zu »Affective Activisms and the Right to Have Rights in Turkey«

“An eloquent and moving account of collective struggles for rights, recognition and “a liveable life”, Affective Activisms explores the fraught yet tenacious collaborations of feminists, LGBTQI+ activists and female religious activists who decide, despite deep disagreements, to become allies in their demands toward the Turkish state and in the face of its ongoing violence. Through an analysis richly in dialogue —like her interlocutors— with feminist and political theory, Avramopoulou powerfully illuminates the quest of precarious subjects to create new forms of living.” (Jane K. Cowan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of Sussex)

“A fantastic contribution to the study of feminist and LGBTQI+ activist worlds in Turkey that is both stunningly original in its ethnographic observations and tremendously generative in its theoretical pursuits. A must read for scholars and students of social movements' claims for rights in authoritarian political atmospheres.” (Yael Navaro, Professor of Social, Political and Psychological Anthropology, University of Cambridge)

“Affective Activisms provides a richly ethnographic and powerfully original analysis of activism in contemporary Istanbul. Based on research and regular visits to Turkey between 2007 and 2015, the book centres on the actions of, and occasional unlikely alliances between, LGBTQI+ groups, feminist groups, and women defending their right to wear a headscarf. The book describes how they challenge taken for granted binary differences between Islamism and secularism, east and west. Through deeply conceptually and ethnographically engaged description, the book provides a powerfully original understanding of the ways that affect and activism ambivalently intersect, while being buffeted by the ongoing political, economic and social changes that shape these activists' worlds. Affective Activisms provides essential reading for understanding contemporary social and political struggles.” (Sarah Green, Professor of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Helsinki)

“Affective Activisms offers a rich, interdisciplinary analysis of contemporary gender and queer activism in Istanbul. Drawing from nearly a decade of comprehensive ethnographic research, the book intricately weaves together personal narratives, historical contexts, and theoretical insights to explore the dynamics of feminist, LGBTQI+, and religious activism. Through the lens of affect theory, the study highlights the emotional dimensions of activism, making a significant and original contribution to the fields of gender studies, political sociology, and activism. Its nuanced exploration of the intersections between local and global activism is both timely and relevant, offering valuable insights for scholars and activists alike.” 
(Aslı Kotaman, CAIS Alumni)

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