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On De-Pathologizing Resistance

Theodossopoulos, Dimitrios (2014) On De-Pathologizing Resistance. History and Anthropology, 25 (4). pp. 415-430. ISSN 0275-7206. E-ISSN 1477-2612. (doi:10.1080/02757206.2014.933101) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:50889)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02757206.2014.933101

Abstract

This introductory essay draws attention to two processes, the pathologization and exoticization of resistance. Working independently or in parallel, these two processes silence resistance by depoliticizing it as illogical or idealizing it in out-worldly terms. In both cases, resistance is caricatured as abnormal or exotic and distanced from current political priorities. I argue that analytical de-pathologization and de-exoticization of resistance can (a) provide valuable insights on the silencing of resistance and (b) help us understand the relationship between hegemony and resistance in terms that stretch beyond the moderately pathologizing view of political inaction as apathy or “false consciousness”. In my analysis, I also engage with James Scott's seminal view of resistance, which, despite its de-pathologizing orientation, fails to capture the dialectical relationship of resistance and hegemony. I suggest that attention to the pathologizing and exoticizing workings of power may reveal the complexity and compromising ambivalence of resistance and contribute to the broader field of resistance studies, conceived as renewed interest in insurrectionary movements, rebellion, and protest.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1080/02757206.2014.933101
Uncontrolled keywords: Resistance, Protest, Pathologization, Exoticization, False consciousness, Hegemony
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
H Social Sciences
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Anthropology and Conservation
Depositing User: Dimitrios Theodossopoulos
Date Deposited: 23 Nov 2015 22:55 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:59 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/50889 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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