December 3, 2024 - December 16, 2024 | |
Trinidad’s Petro-State Crisis: Ryan Jobson Analyzes the Disconnect Between Oil Wealth and Daily Life | |
|
In The Petro-State Masquerade: Power and Sovereignty in Trinidad and Tobago, 2023-24 CISSR Monograph Enhancement Fellow and Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Ryan Cecil Jobson examines the relationship between oil, politics, and identity in Trinidad and Tobago. Drawing on historical and ethnographic research, Jobson explores how the nation’s oil-driven governance model, established during earlier booms, is now threatened by declining fossil fuel production and the loss of state control. Despite growing financial instability, government officials continue to promote the illusion of limitless resources, which Jobson calls a “masquerade of permanence.”
Jobson’s analysis highlights the disconnect between the state’s image of an oil-rich nation and the day-to-day experiences of ordinary citizens, including oil workers and activists. He argues that Trinidad and Tobago’s identity as a petro-state is fragile, shaped by evolving interactions between natural resources, money, and political power. The book also delves into these contradictions and how they are reflected in cultural practices like Carnival, illustrating how ordinary people challenge and resist the narratives of the petro-state.
As Jobson welcomes the publication of The Petro-State Masquerade and continues his exploration of C.L.R. James' writings, his projects highlight the importance, relevance and urgency of his research. Through these efforts, Jobson contributes to a deeper and more critical understanding of both past and present issues, challenging traditional ideologies and addressing the nuanced realities of the Caribbean and the Americas.
| |
|
Jobson is working on numerous fieldwork-focused projects, guided by his belief in the importance of "building an intellectual community, not just extracting data." This ideology is evident in The Petro-State Masquerade, a historical and ethnographic study of the complex relationship between fossil fuels and political power in Trinidad and Tobago. Drawing on Jobson’s personal connections to the Caribbean and his focus on fieldwork, The Petro-State Masquerade analyzes issues of extractivism, race, and power in the Caribbean. It also calls for a rethinking of national identity and decolonization in the region. He has additional upcoming projects, like the rejuvenation of Michel-Rolph Trouillot's Peasants and Capital, where he introduces new perspectives.
To further aid and enhance his work, CISSR awarded Jobson a Monograph Enhancement award to support map creation, subvention costs, and indexing/formatting for The Petro-State Masquerade. CISSR provides University of Chicago faculty with book workshop and/or monograph enhancement awards to support scholarly manuscripts and provide faculty with an opportunity to improve their manuscripts as they prepare to publish their work.
The Petro-State Masquerade is available from The University of Chicago Press.
| | |
|
|
December 4
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, the Katz Center for Mexican Studies, and the Center for Latin American Studies
“Japón (2002)” Screening
7pm
Max Palevsky Cinema, Ida Noyes
1212 E. 59th St.
| |
Around Town and Down the Road | |
|
Early Modern Mediterranean World Workshop
Various Tuesdays 12:00pm — 1:30pm in Pick Hall
December 3:
Rachel Tils, PhD Candidate, University of Chicago, History
| |
Immigration Workshop
Various Mondays 12:30pm — 1:45 pm in Pick 105
December 3:
**looks like they are done - double check
| |
Demography Workshop
Thursdays 12:30pm — 1:50pm in NORC Room 232, 1155 E. 60th St.
December 5:
Signe Svallfors, Stanford University
| |
|
Latin American History Workshop
Alternate Thursdays, 4:30 – 6 pm in Pick 118
December 5:
Eduardo Terra Romero, PhD Candidate, University of Chicago, History
| |
Empires Workshop
Various Mondays 12:30pm — 2:00pm in Pick 105
December 9:
Isaak Nahimovsky, Yale University, Department of History
| |
Curating Citizens' Verdict on Indonesian Democracy | |
Sana Jaffrey, 2017–18 CISSR Dissertation Fellow, Research Fellow and Lecturer at the Australian National University, and nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, published an article, "Curating Citizens' Verdict on Indonesian Democracy," in the National Bureau of Asian Research. The article reviews Diego Fossati's book, Unity through Division: Political Islam, Representation and Democracy in Indonesia, which explores how citizens evaluate democracy based on their experiences rather than institutional criteria. Fossati argues that ideological divisions, particularly between Islamists and pluralists, drive public perceptions of democracy and that meaningful participation influences satisfaction with democratic governance. Jaffrey commends the book's use of public opinion surveys and electoral data but critiques its limited empirical framework. She notes that while Fossati highlights ideological cleavages, the book does not fully connect these to rising satisfaction with democracy alongside declining democratic quality in Indonesia. She also questions how Islamist satisfaction aligns with increasing political restrictions and extralegal actions. Despite these gaps, she acknowledges Fossati's contribution to understanding citizens’ diverse perspectives on democratic quality in Indonesia and encourages further study on the ways that voters perceive their own institutions.
Read full article here.
| | |
Race and Imperialism: A New Perspective in International Relations | |
Adom Getachew, CISSR Faculty Board Member and 17-18 Book and Manuscript Awardee, is Professor of Political Science and Race, Diaspora & Indigeneity. In a recent reflection published in a special issue of Security Studies, she examines how race and imperialism, though foundational to international relations scholarship, became marginalized after World War II. However, scholars like those in the Howard School of International Relations have continued to challenge this exclusion and argue for the importance of race in global politics.
Getachew highlights recent efforts to bring race and racial hierarchy back to the forefront of international relations, particularly in the wake of global protests following George Floyd’s murder. These works cut across traditional academic boundaries, linking domestic racial regimes to international policies and practices. Contributors to the special issue investigate how racial ideologies have historically legitimized imperial expansion and continue to influence state behavior. Getachew argues that this scholarship does more than fill a gap - it reclaims a narrative that had been deliberately marginalized, reasserting the importance of race in understanding international relations.
Read more about the issue here.
| | |
Becoming Malleable: A New Approach to Anthropology’s Ethics and Inclusivity | |
Michele Friedner, CISSR Faculty Board Member, 2021-22 Monograph Enhancement Fellow, and Chair of the Department of Comparative Human Development, cowrote an article with Matthew Wolf-Meyer of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Becoming Malleable”, published in the Journal of the American Ethnological Society, emphasizes rethinking everyday research and engagement practices with a focus on malleability – defined as adaptability and the moral responsibility to meet others' needs. Friedner and Wolf-Meyer argue that anthropological research should not only theorize about ethics, embodiment, and communication, but also apply these concepts to professional and personal practices. They contend that reflecting critically on malleability can foster a more inclusive and responsive anthropology.
The article highlights how anthropologists' daily practices can reinforce exclusivity, even when their theories promote inclusivity. For instance, failing to provide accessible copies or accommodations during presentations implies that only able-bodied participants can fully engage in the discipline. Embracing malleability, such as using image descriptions or offering fidget devices, aligns with anthropology’s ethics and expands its ability to include diverse human experiences. The authors stress that capacity-based approaches can recognize and validate different forms of communication and sensory experiences, challenging traditional, narrow standards that often exclude atypical communicators, like nonverbal or neurodivergent individuals. True inclusivity, they argue, occurs when anthropology extends its adaptability beyond fieldwork to create environments that value all forms of human ability. This shift would lead to an anthropology that better reflects human diversity and ethical responsibility. The authors call for a change in how anthropologists interact with colleagues, students, and the wider academic community, advocating for an anthropology that embodies malleability as an ethical and inclusive practice.
Read the full article here.
| | |
Study: Social Norms, Not Just Rules, Shape Fair Punishment | |
The working paper Anti-Social Norms, co-authored by 2024-25 & 2018-19 CISSR Faculty Fellow James Robinson, argues that formal rules alone can't fully prevent opportunistic behavior, so third-party punishment is needed to ensure fairness. However, social norms can either help or hurt fairness. The paper looks into the "don’t be a toad" norm as it is referred to in Colombia, which discourages "snitching." In situations where third-party punishment was used to enforce fairness, this norm rendered the punishments ineffective. While most players disapprove of the norm, they expect others to follow it, making it anti-social or unfair. Using an evolutionary model, the paper shows that following the norm can offer advantages in social dilemmas, and that differences in how much people dislike the norm can make it stick. The study also finds that historical exposure to political violence, which increased the shaming of "snitches," made people more sensitive to this norm.
Read the full paper here.
| | |
Matthew Kruer Challenges Colonial Narratives in Lecture on Bacon’s Rebellion | |
|
Matthew Kruer, 2021-22 CISSR Faculty Fellow and Assistant Professor of History, gave a lecture titled "Colonial Anarchy, Indigenous Power: 'Bacon’s Rebellion' and the Susquehannock Nation" at the Omohundro Institute at William & Mary in February 2024. Drawing from his book Time of Anarchy, Kruer argued that the role of the Susquehannock Nation in Bacon’s Rebellion has been overlooked in traditional accounts focused on race and class. He showed how the Susquehannocks’ 1675 raids exposed colonial weaknesses and changed power dynamics in Virginia.
Kruer’s broader project looks at how Indigenous nations, forced to become "tributary" subjects of the British crown, influenced the British Empire. By engaging with British political ideas, Indigenous leaders pushed for shared sovereignty, challenging both imperial and settler views of power. Kruer’s work demonstrates how Indigenous political thought helped shape modern ideas of sovereignty and influenced the creation of American citizenship.
The lecture called for a rethinking of colonial history to recognize Indigenous political influence. Kruer’s approach, which emphasizes Indigenous contributions to governance and empire-building, was praised for challenging traditional narratives and offering a more nuanced view of colonial power.
Read about the lecture here.
| | | | |
