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1002:7.1 [2016/07/19 21:15] – Ryan Schram (admin)1002:7.1 [2018/09/09 16:43] – [City air makes you free] Ryan Schram (admin)
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-# Global networks # +~~DECKJS~~ 
 +# City air makes you free #
  
-## Global networks ##+## City air makes you free ##
  
-Neil Maclean+Ryan Schram
  
-Mills 231, A26 +Mills 169 (A26)
  
-neil (dot) maclean (at) sydney.edu.au+ryan.schram@sydney.edu.au
  
-Monday, September 5 and Wednesday, September 7, 2016+September 10, 12, 2018
  
-## Reading ## +Available at http://anthro.rschram.org/1002/7.1
  
-Mcintosh, Janet. 2010. “Mobile Phones and Mipoho’s Prophecy: The Powers and Dangers of Flying Language.” American Ethnologist 37 (2): 337–53. doi:10.1111/j.1548-1425.2010.01259.x.+### Reading ### 
 + 
 +Brenner, Suzanne. 1996. “Reconstructing Self and Society: Javanese Muslim Women and ‘the Veil.’” American Ethnologist 23 (4): 673–97. doi:10.1525/ae.1996.23.4.02a00010. 
 + 
 + 
 +### Supplemental reading ###  
 + 
 +Schram, Ryan. in press. "[[:religion_and_economy|Religion and economy]]," The international Encyclopedia of Anthropology: The Anthropology of Religion (pre-publication draft, 27 November 2015).  
 + 
 +## Before we get going ## 
 + 
 +Before we get going, I should mention that my slides for today are 
 +much denser than usual. This lecture is also much denser and more 
 +abstract. So I suggest that you concentrate on listening and use the 
 +words on the screen as a guide to the main points. Don't try to copy 
 +down everything on the screen. All of the slides are online on 
 +http://anthro.rschram.org. 
 + 
 + 
 +## The rise of cities ##  
 + 
 +### US urbanisation ### 
 + 
 +* USA 1900: 30% of people live in cities 
 +* USA 1990: nearly 80% live in cities (US Census 1995). 
 + 
 +### World urbanisation ### 
 + 
 +* In 1800, 3% of the world lived in cities. 
 +* In 1900, 19%. 
 +* In 2000, 47% ... and recently over half of people live in cities (The Economist 2007). 
 + 
 + 
 +What do you think are the main differences between rural and urban societies? 
 + 
 +## What is a contemporary society? ## 
 + 
 +This class is about the conditions of life and society in the contemporary world.  
 + 
 +The contemporary world is:  
 + 
 +* Interconnected. Everyone lives in some kind of conjuncture of cultures and orders.  
 +* Fluid. Societies are produced through their interactions with other cultures, and every society is a product of their history. 
 +* Complex. Many different kinds of logic coexist within every society, like reciprocity and commodity exchange, or in-the-world or on-the-world 
 +* Defined by unintended side-effects. All societies are changing all the time, but change goes in different directions, and history is not linear or progressive.  
 + 
 +In other words, anthropologists argue that you cannot understand life in the contemporary world by a **"from-to" story**, e.g. from tradition to modernity, from oral to literate, or from sustainable husbandry to industrial exploitation. Each contemporary society is a **"both-and" story**.  
 + 
 +## Multiple modernities ## 
 + 
 +This week we taking a second look at the concept of modernity. Today I 
 +want to talk about modernity as a distinct kind of change.  
 + 
 +On Wednesday, I want to argue that there is more than one kind of 
 +modernity. Specifically, 
 + 
 +* All societies change, but not all societies end up being the same. 
 +* Not all kinds of social change are progress. 
 + 
 +By the end of this week, I hope to have explained why anthropologists 
 +for the most part are very skeptical that there is such a thing as 
 +modernity. They prefer to talk about it as multiple modernities, each 
 +with its own logic and history. 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 +## Max Weber: the man, the myth, the sociologist ## 
 + 
 +Max Weber (1864-1920) is widely considered the founder of modern 
 +sociology. Along with Emile Durkheim, he is credited with some of 
 +social science's main ideas. 
 + 
 +Weber's approach to social forms starts from the view that there are 
 +different types of society, and one can compare them to understand 
 +each better. 
 + 
 +## Weber and modernity ## 
 + 
 +For Weber "traditional" societies were different from "modern" 
 +societies. 
 + 
 +Traditional societies are based on following rules because 'this is 
 +the way it has always been.' 
 + 
 +Modern societies allow more freedom for individuals to make 
 +choices. Modern societies are based on agreements between individuals. 
 + 
 +Weber says that modern societies are **more rational** than 
 +traditional societies. 
 + 
 +## That doesn't sound like anthropology ## 
 + 
 +Weber did not look at cultural differences the way that 
 +anthropologists do. His views about social change are ethnocentric. He 
 +assumed that all societies were moving toward greater rationality, 
 +which he saw in the German state. 
 + 
 +Let's look at Weber's key ideas to see how he arrives at this idea of 
 +modernity. 
 + 
 +## Weber's theory of society ## 
 + 
 +Weber's theory of society starts with the concept of "social action". There are four types of social action, each based on a type of meaning they embody. 
 + 
 +* Traditional: I do it because this is how it has always been. 
 +* Affective: I do it because it expresses my emotions. 
 +* Value-rational: I do it because this is the best possible way to 
 +  advance a collective goal of my society. 
 +* Instrumental-rational: I do it because I get the most for the least 
 +  amount of effort. 
 + 
 +## Social action and society ## 
 + 
 +People are always motivated to act by a combination of all four types 
 +of motivation: tradition, affect, value-rationality, and instrumental 
 +rationality. 
 + 
 +One type of motivation is always predominant in a single form.  
 + 
 +People do different kinds of actions in different kinds of contexts.  
 + 
 +Different social institutions call on people to be different kinds of 
 +actors and to think about themselves and the value of their action in 
 +a certain way. 
 + 
 + 
 +## Examples ## 
 + 
 +Think about these examples. Each of these actions has a different 
 +meaning for the person who does them. 
 + 
 +Giving a fruit loaf. It's getting close to the holiday season and so 
 +there's lots of family gatherings. You may feel obligated to do 
 +something for the people hosting a party for you. Mauss would say that 
 +this obligation is reciprocity. Weber didn't believe in 
 +reciprocity. It's a tradition. You basically do it out of habit. 
 + 
 +Giving change to the Salvos.  
 + 
 +Buying ramen noodles. 
 + 
 +Each of these have different kind of primary motivation. Each social 
 +role one plays -- relative, donor, customer -- embodies a different 
 +value. 
 + 
 +## Religion as a type of social action ## 
 + 
 +What kind of value does religion embody? Or, from an actor's point of 
 +view, what is the motivation for participating in religious worship 
 +and a religious organization? 
 + 
 +## Religion as a type of social action ## 
 + 
 +In most senses of the word, people are not motivated to participate in 
 +religion for reasons of economic gain, at least not primarily. It 
 +isn't **instrumentally rational**, at least not primarily. 
 + 
 +By the same token, religious institutions are not set up to create a 
 +space for people to pursue self-interested goals. 
 + 
 +Many people find religion emotionally satisfying. But many people find 
 +soap operas emotionally satsifying too, so that can't be the only 
 +motivation. 
 + 
 +Tradition, yes, perhaps. 
 + 
 +## Religion as ethics ## 
 + 
 +For Weber, some religions draw people because they give them an answer 
 +to the ultimate meaning of life, and show them how to be an ethical 
 +person. They ask people to do things based on "value 
 +rationality". Pursuit of a collective goal is the reason why people 
 +pray, worship and participate in a religious community. 
 + 
 +## Religion is rationalization ## 
 + 
 +Religion is a force in society because it gives people an alternative 
 +to tradition. It forces them to examine why they do what they do. 
 + 
 +In other words, religion rationalizes people's social behavior. 
 + 
 +## Religious change leads to social change ## 
 + 
 +Weber argued that many religious movements sowed the seeds of social 
 +revolutions. 
 + 
 +As society became more rationalized in general, he believed people 
 +would not need religion to give them motivation to be rational. They 
 +could rely on systems based on instrumental rationality, like 
 +bureaucracy and markets. 
 + 
 +## The Protestant Ethic ## 
 + 
 +The Weber thesis is that the development of an ascetic form of 
 +Protestant Christianity spurred the development of market exchange and 
 +capitalist production. This is presented in his famous book //The 
 +Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism// (1905). 
 + 
 +## The Protestant Ethic ## 
 + 
 +Calvin teaches that salvation is for the elect. There's nothing you 
 +can do to earn salvation. 
 + 
 +What you do with your life has nothing to do with your relationship to 
 +God. 
 + 
 +If you were successful, it was a **sign** that you were in the 
 +elect. Wealth is not valuable for its own sake. 
 + 
 +A person should follow one's "calling" as a duty to God. 
 + 
 +The **means** of earning a living (a calling) are separate from the **ends** 
 +(a living, wealth and success). Thus if one is wealthy, one can be 
 +deatched from this wealth and deal with objectively. 
 + 
 +## Twist! ## 
 + 
 +Protestant reformers condemned people for being consumed with 
 +worldliness: being greedy and venal. Greed is bad.  
 + 
 +Because their philosophy was based on a new way of thinking of the 
 +person as an individual, they actually paved the way for disembedding 
 +the economy from social relationships. 
 + 
 +Greed is good? Not really. Weber concludes that Protestantism led to 
 +people believing that self-interest is just human nature. 
 + 
 +## Modernization theory ## 
 + 
 +In the past, anthropologists and sociologists wanted to know how 
 +societies became more modern, and moved toward the type of society 
 +found in Europe. This school is called **"modernization theory."** 
 + 
 +Robert Bellah, Tokugawa Religion (1957). 
 + 
 +James Peacock, Muslim Puritans (1978).  
 + 
 +## Why is Weber's theory influential? ## 
 + 
 +Even though Weber was ethnocentric in some ways, he did think that 
 +culture played a role in the history of society. 
 + 
 +The values people learn from cultural institutions, especially 
 +religion, cause a society to change. 
 + 
 +## The Secularization Thesis ## 
 + 
 +Weber's argument that religion would eventually become less important 
 +is called the "secularization thesis" 
 + 
 +* Religious ethics forces people to reorganize society in ways that 
 +  separate traditional practices and rules from higher values. 
 +* As societies become more rationalized, religious institutions are 
 +  separated from other domains of society. 
 +* Religious identity becomes a private matter. 
 +* Overall, people become less involved in religious activities. 
 + 
 +## Problem: Secularization isn't happening ## 
 + 
 +For many years, people have observed a return to religion. 
 + 
 +As more modern forms of society have developed, new religions are 
 +developing too. 
 + 
 +While Europe and Australia are highly secular in some ways, religion 
 +is still a defining feature of people and groups. 
 + 
 +This is not what Weber predicted! 
 + 
 +## The paradox of religion ## 
 + 
 +Religion causes people to be rational, and to rationalize their lives 
 +and their environment. But this rationality does not lead to 
 +secularism or modernity in a classic sense. 
 + 
 +## Why revival in Java? # 
 + 
 +Brenner considers several theses: 
 + 
 +* A 'return' to tradition  
 +* Symbolic shelter 
 +* Maintain social esteem 
 + 
 +She ultimately rejects all these as insufficient explanations.  
 + 
 +## Reform and Islamic modernity ## 
 + 
 +She ultimately chooses to take seriously the explanation that her own 
 +informants gave her. 
 + 
 +Brenner's informants described religious change as a 'movement', a 
 +kind of training, and as self-discipline. 
 + 
 +In other words, it was a new way of seeing oneself. It is a means to a 
 +new subjectivity. 
 + 
 +## Islamic modernity and Suharto's modernity ## 
 + 
 +Brenner contrasts the Islamic movement with the nationalism of the New 
 +Order and the goverment of Suharto (1960s-1990s). 
 + 
 +**New Order**: Modernity through consumerism and capitalism. 
 + 
 +**Islamic movement**: Modernity through creating autonomous individual 
 +believers who can choose to follow a pure Islamic ethic. 
 + 
 +What do these visions of the future have in common? 
 + 
 +What do they differ on? 
 + 
 +## Why secularism? ## 
 + 
 +**World Values Survey 2014, Australia, "How important is religion to 
 +you?"**: 
 + 
 +* 'Important' 31.1 % 
 + 
 +* 'Not very important' or 'not at all important' 65.3% 
 + 
 +* Compared to around 60% in Scandinavian countries and 30% in the US. 
 + 
 +Do these figures surprise you? Why is religion so unimportant to a 
 +majority of Australians, and for that matter, many European countries 
 +too, but not the US? 
 + 
 + 
 + 
 +## References ## 
 + 
 +Bellah, Robert N. 1957. Tokugawa Religion: The Values of Pre-Industrial Japan. Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press. 
 + 
 +The Economist. 2007. “The World Goes to Town,” May 3. http://www.economist.com/node/9070726. 
 + 
 +Peacock, James L. 1978. Muslim Puritans: Reformist Psychology in Southeast Asian Islam. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. 
 + 
 +“Urban and Rural Population: 1900 to 1990.” 1995. United States Census Bureau. October. https://www.census.gov/population/censusdata/urpop0090.txt. 
 + 
 +Weber, Max. 1905. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of 
 +Capitalism. London: Unwin Hyman. https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/weber/protestant-ethic/index.htm. 
 + 
 +World Values Survey. 2014. "World Values Survey Wave 6: 2010-2014: 
 +Online Data Analysis: V.9 Important in Life, Religion." World Values 
 +Survey Database. Accessed June 
 +30, 2014. http://worldvaluessurvey.org/.
  
-## Lecture slides ##  
  
-Neil will post his lecture slides on [[http://elearning.sydney.edu.au|Blackboard]] under this week's learning module.  
  
 ## A guide to the unit ## ## A guide to the unit ##
  
 {{page>1002guide}} {{page>1002guide}}