In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Feminist Studies 46, no. 2. © 2020 by Feminist Studies, Inc. 287 Julienne Obadia Responsibility, Respectability, Recognition, and Polyamory: Lessons in Subject Formation in the Age of Sexual Identity Introduction: It’s About Time “Sexuality” has become a strikingly capacious category in recent years. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans* have been joined by queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, Two Spirit, asexual, and ally, as the acronym LGBT increasingly serves (...) as a base for expanded formulations such as LGBTQQIP2SAA. In light of this trajectory, perhaps it should not have surprised me to hear so many of my polyamorist interlocutors identifying polyamory as their sexual orientation. While polyamory’s emergence as a named practice in 1990 was more closely associated with the sexual revolution than the gay liberation movement, the increasing intelligibility of polyamory as a sexual orientation, I argue, offers important insights into how, and to what effect, the category of sexuality is expanding, and illuminates contemporary mechanisms of subject formation in American late liberalism. It is tempting to analyze this phenomenon solely within the historical context of the twentieth century rise of identity politics. However, a focus on recent decades is insufficient for understanding the increasing capaciousness of the sexual orientation framework. I argue that, more than simply demonstrating a proliferation of sexual identities, polyamory ’s reconfiguration also highlights the powerful demands made of subjects of sexual orientation to be respectable by espousing particular forms of intimacy over others. These demands call for a longer historical 288 Julienne Obadia view of marriage, monogamy, and whiteness as constitutive of US social, political, and legal recognition. Consider my encounter with Steve: At the 2013 annual “Poly Living” convention in Philadelphia, organized by the polyamory advocacy group, Loving More, I gathered with the other attendees in a large circle in the main hall. After a brief welcome by the organizers, we introduced ourselves one by one and then dispersed for drinks and informal mingling. I took a seat alone and, after a moment, a man in his sixties with a graying ponytail and wearing a Hawaiian shirt approached me. “You’re an anthropologist?” he asked. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” I smiled and gestured at the seat across from me, and he introduced himself, putting his beer on the table beside mine and sitting down. Fidgeting nervously, he explained that he and his wife had been married for over twenty years, but the last several years had been sexless, with her desire waning while his had not. After learning about polyamory, he cautiously suggested it and she reluctantly agreed to let him do some sexual exploring outside the marriage, but with tight restrictions: He could go to events like these and could have limited sexual interaction with others, but he could not have penetrative sex, nor could he pursue any emotional or more-than-casual intimacy with anyone. He found these constraints difficult, understandably so at such events, where people were in fact encouraged to seek out emotional intimacy and enjoy a wide range of consensual connections. Such limitations ran counter to polyamory’s ethos, which, as indicated by the organization’s name, sought more love, although particular arrangements varied significantly. As he elaborated on these details, I realized that Steve was not simply sharing as people often did, unprompted, at these events, which seek to foster open communication, curiosity, and self-exploration. He was torn about how to identify his sexual desire and make sense of his difficulty finding fulfillment within his wife’s conditions. He paused, looking at me searchingly with a mix of distress and hope, and asked if his desire to see other people was natural. “Is it possible,” he asked, “that being poly is a sexual orientation I was born with, like being gay?” He hoped that, precisely in my capacity as an anthropologist, I might have some definitive expert knowledge about human sexuality—an incontrovertible yes or no about the provenance of his desire and the legitimacy of his dissatisfaction. Julienne Obadia 289 As Steve’s conundrum makes clear, the intelligibility of polyamory as an immutable sexual orientation is very recent. Its inclusion marks a dramatic shift from Eve Sedgwick’s observation nearly three decades ago... (shrink)

(English abstract further below.) -/- Wer denkt, Polyamorie erfordere ein geringeres Maß an Verpflichtung als Zweierbeziehungen, der liegt gründlich daneben. Wie aber gestaltet sich polyamoröse wechselseitige Verpflichtung idealerweise? In diesem Beitrag untersuche ich, ob sich ein bestimmtes, auf Iris Murdochs Konzeption von Liebe als gerechter Aufmerksamkeit beruhendes Ideal wechselseitiger Verpflichtung in romantischen Partnerschaften fruchtbar auf polyamoröse Beziehungsgeflechte anwenden lässt. Ich beginne damit, Murdochs im deutschsprachigen Raum kaum rezipierte Liebeskonzeption ausführlich darzustellen und diese dabei von Simone Weils Position abzugrenzen, der Murdoch (...) wesentliche Elemente entnimmt. In einem zweiten Schritt skizziere ich das von Murdochs Position inspirierte Ideal wechselseitiger Verpflichtung. In Auseinandersetzung mit Überlegungen, die John Enman-Beech und Julienne Obadia mit Blick auf die in polyamorösen Beziehungsgeflechten verbreitete Praxis angestellt haben, Beziehungsvereinbarungen einzugehen, werbe ich drittens für die skizzierte Idealkonzeption, indem ich zeige, dass sich mit ihr den von Enman-Beech und Obadia aufgeworfenen Herausforderungen, die sich im Zuge intrapolykularer Beziehungsvereinbarungen stellen, in zwei Hinsichten mit Erfolg begegnen lässt. Erstens hebe ich hervor, dass eine am skizzierten Ideal orientierte Praxis bereits die Art von prozeduralen Normen implementiert, auf deren Bedeutung Enman-Beech zu Recht hinweist. Zweitens argumentiere ich dafür, dass das skizzierte Ideal nicht den Schwierigkeiten ausgesetzt ist, die sich nach Obadia mit denjenigen Elementen intrapolykularer Beziehungsvereinbarungen verbinden, die sie als Vertragskomplex bezeichnet, und ein weniger pessimistisches Bild davon nahelegt, wie vermittelst solcher Beziehungsvereinbarungen konstituierte Individuen aufzufassen sind. -/- ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this paper, I focus on a certain ideal conception of how lovers may commit to each other in polyamorous relationships. Drawing on an analysis of Iris Murdoch’s adaptation of Simone Weil’s ideas, I sketch what I have elsewhere called the ideal lovers’ pledge—a conception of a commitment between lovers that is spelled out in terms of Weil’s and Murdoch’s shared notion of love as just attention. I then argue that this conception is well-suited to meet certain challenges that arise in the context of thinking about relationship agreements in polyamorous relationships, challenges that have been brought out in recent work by John Enman-Beech and Julienne Obadia. First, I show that practices of forging relationship agreements in polyamorous relationships that are oriented toward the ideal I propose will naturally implement the kind of procedural norms that Enman-Beech rightly highlights. Second, I argue that the ideal I propose does not generate the kinds of problems that according to Obadia arise due to a constellation of assumptions that she thinks underlie the practice of forging relationship agreements in polyamorous relationships – a constellation she dubs the contract complex. The proposed ideal thus suggests an alternative under-standing of such agreements and implies a less pessimistic account of what kind of individuals are constituted by way of forging such agreements. (shrink)

The lexicon of religion has been widely used in the context of the social and cultural transformations associated with the ‘digital revolution’, whether in metaphoric or in realistic terms. The study of digital magic/magic in digital times, the other side of the coin of the Sacred 2.0, is still in its infancy. Yet, references to magic are made frequently in reflections about the rapid development of the digitalisation of society and culture, and they deserve more in-depth study. This paper tackles (...) the issue of magic in and of new technologies, including artificial intelligence devices. After a broad outline of the presence of magic in the digital ecosystem, this paper will focus on the lexical surface and semantic references to ‘magical thinking’, explore the underlying reasons for such references and unveil the regimes of existence for magic. Finally, the paper questions the role of language in the construction of a ‘digital magic’ and the transformations of the semantic category of magic as seen through the prism of a cultural revolution, that of the digitalisation of societies. (shrink)

Cet article tente à la fois de parler des nouvelles réalités empiriques en Inde que la mondialisation a introduites et d’explorer les raisons de l’hypervisibilité de certaines de ces réalités empiriques et de la négligence d’autres. Les deux questions liées que cet article pose à la sociologie indienne sont les suivantes : Pourquoi la montée en puissance de nouveaux espaces urbains, d’une classe moyenne en expansion et d’une culture de la consommation, propulsée par la mondialisation, a-t-elle attiré autant d’attention de (...) la part de la sociologie indienne? Et pourquoi la crise simultanée de la société rurale, la précarité du travail, la montée du nationalisme culturel et son sectarisme de clocher ont-ils été si peu pris en compte? Les réponses aux questions ci-dessus, je suggère qu’elles peuvent être trouvées (i) dans les traditions intellectuelles dominantes de la sociologie indienne ; et (ii) dans ses pratiques locales quotidiennes. Cette double approche part du principe que la tentative de la sociologie indienne de s’adapter à la mondialisation ne peut être comprise en se limitant aux seules idées intellectuelles, mais qu’elle doit être appréhendée à travers les chemins désordonnés que le concept de mondialisation, comme d’autres concepts du Nord global auparavant, a empruntés pour arriver dans nos salles de classe, nos programmes d’études et notre sens commun. (shrink)

Communauté à vocation spirituelle et universelle fondée il y a un peu plus d’un demi-siècle en Inde du Sud, Auroville incarne par excellence la complexité et les paradoxes des utopies du XX e siècle. Inscrite dans une cité qui a traduit ses idéaux en réalisations architecturales et esthétiques concrètes, attachée à une volonté de poursuivre son « programme » malgré les difficultés rencontrées, Auroville cristallise les espoirs et déceptions de ceux et celles qui réfléchissent à la pertinence du concept en (...) ce tournant de millénaires. Mais plus qu’une discussion sur la notion d’utopie elle-même, appliquée à ce projet spirituel original dans son contenu (un mélange d’hindouisme et de scientisme) et dans sa forme, cet article entend surtout, conformément à l’approche anthropologique qui est retenue, réévaluer le terme sur la base de l’usage qu’en font les principaux concernés : les Auroviliens. (shrink)

The subject matter of this special issue is anything but new: religious diversity has already been widely discussed in theology, philosophy, history and sociology. many times, however, diversity has been measured against the yardstick of the changing face of monotheistic models of religion. Asian religions have stood at the opposite end of a spectrum of analytical models in religious studies ever since Max Weber’s classic analysis of Asian religions as mixed systems of beliefs per se. This distinction is, nevertheless, rather (...) problematic, and calls for a closer examination of the conceptual status of diversity, and of the forms it assumes in Asian contexts. (shrink)

Cet article se propose de reprendre et d’approfondir l’épineuse question des rapports entre technologies (principalement digitales, les NTIC) et mondialisation. Généralement considérés sous l’angle d’un parallélisme (les deux vont de pair) agrémenté d’une réciprocité (et s’influençant mutuellement), ces rapports sont plus souvent postulés que décrits en détail et plus encore, questionnés. L’objectif est ici moins de qualifier de manière définitive la nature de ces liens, que de souligner la richesse du champ de réflexion, et d’en tracer les contours à grands (...) traits et de présenter quelques pistes de réflexion récentes et fécondes, autour de concepts clefs, comme la « mondialisation technologique » ou « digitale ». (shrink)

This study draws on theory of dyadic morality and categorization to disentangle opportunistic behaviors from the perception by their victim that leads to the moral categorization of the perpetrator as an opportunist. We show that it is this moral categorization, not the behaviors, that determines the trust beliefs of the victim. Further, the effect of psychic distance on the process of perpetrator moral categorization as an opportunist depends on the form of opportunistic behaviors. Finally, this study questions the cultural universality (...) of opportunism by showing that effects of opportunistic behaviors on categorization vary across national cultures—based on data sets of French and Slovene exporters. (shrink)

Richard Rorty est certainement l'un des philosophes contemporains qui ont contribué le plus directement à la discussion internationale en philosophie. Cet ouvrage entend honorer sa mémoire en rappelant cet engagement, et en situant sa philosophie, dans ses propres termes, comme « la politique culturelle » qu'il a su promouvoir tout en pratiquant le dialogue philosophique comme le paradigme du dialogue transculturel dont nous avons aujourd'hui besoin.

Las feministas han reconocido la importancia de defender la capacidad de pensar de las mujeres y de pensarse a sí mismas; es necesario ir más allá: sólo logramos devolver el respeto a las dominadas duraderas producidas por el machismo patriarcal en el que aún vivimos, al establecer que su facultad de juzgar radica en el uso del diálogo que comparte con los hombres, además de su diferencia de sexo y que sólo podemos disipar todas las presuntas dudas planteadas por violadores (...) e intelectuales que se han mantenido machistas respecto a su facultad femenina de juzgar mostrando su origen en una segunda naturaleza común del lenguaje así como su eficacia. Apoyaremos nuestro análisis con un caso que fue noticia en los medios televisivos de Francia. (shrink)

Diese Situation wird als eine Kumulation aller Ungleichheiten beschrieben, die einen Menschen treffen können: soziale Klassenungleichheit, sexuelle Ungleichheit und Ungleichheit aufgrund der Rasse. Durch die Zuspitzung dieser Ungleichheiten lässt sich die große Zahl afrikanischer Migrantinnen erklären. Die Suche nach sozialer, ziviler und bürgerlicher Gleichheit, die nach dem Modell der von Männern propagierten und zur Schau gestellten Selbstbeherrschung gedacht ist, kann in dem Maße nicht erfolgreich sein, wie sie versucht, sich einem Macho-Modell zu unterwerfen, das der Natur des Menschen widerspricht. Weil (...) die zeitgenössische Anthropologie uns lehrt, dass dieser die Sprache erfinden musste, um sich das Leben zu ermöglichen und es jedes Mal neu zu harmonisieren, wenn er in eine Sackgasse gerät, weil die dialogische Vorstellungskraft, die den Dialog der Seele mit sich selbst antreibt, den Platon entdeckt hatte, durch das Gesetz der Wahrheit geregelt wird, müssen afrikanische Frauen erkennen, dass sie die Objektivität der ihnen auferlegten und der von ihnen selbst erfundenen Lebensbedingungen beurteilen müssen, um ihre Wahrheitsurteile mit ihren männlichen Partnern teilen zu können und um sich von jeglicher Herrschaft zu emanzipieren, unabhängig von ihrer Geschlechtszugehörigkeit. (shrink)

La philosophie du langage s'est développée au XXe siècle comme prima philosophia. L'auteure entend montrer que le vivant humain ne peut se réaliser qu'en forgeant sa faculté philosophique de juger à l'aide du dialogue. Mais il ne peut affirmer ses vérités qu'en jaugeant celles-ci aux effets de bonheur qu'elles transmettent. Cette régulation de l'usage du langage par l'esthétique inhérente à l'usage du jugement de vérité est en effet autant une condition de vie qu'une condition de son bonheur. Le tournant esthétique (...) qu'opère la conception de la philosophie comme esthétique culturelle prétend, quant à elle, que l'usage du langage n'est condition de vie de l'être humain qu'en déployant la dynamique d'harmonisation du monde, de soi-même et d'autrui à l'aide de l'imagination dialogique et du jugement de vérité. Seul l'exercice de ce jugement permet de juger si l'harmonie de vie exprimée dans la pensée et la parole rend aussi heureux les interlocuteurs que celle-ci leur fait partager sa vérité"--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Background: Hospital nurses are frequently the first care givers to receive a patient’s request for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (PAS). In France, there is no consensus over which medical practices should be considered euthanasia, and this lack of consensus blurred the debate about euthanasia and PAS legalisation. This study aimed to investigate French hospital nurses’ opinions towards both legalisations, including personal conceptions of euthanasia and working conditions and organisation. Methods: A phone survey conducted among a random national sample of 1502 (...) French hospital nurses. We studied factors associated with opinions towards euthanasia and PAS, including contextual factors related to hospital units with random-effects logistic models. Results: Overall, 48% of nurses supported legalisation of euthanasia and 29%, of PAS. Religiosity, training in pallative care/pain management and feeling competent in end-of-life care were negatively correlated with support for legalisation of both euthanasia and PAS, while nurses working at night were more prone to support legalisation of both. The support for legalisation of euthanasia and PAS was also weaker in pain treatment/palliative care and intensive care units, and it was stronger in units not benefiting from interventions of charity/religious workers and in units with more nurses. Conclusions: Many French hospital nurses uphold the legalisation of euthanasia and PAS, but these nurses may be the least likely to perform what proponents of legalisation call “good” euthanasia. Improving professional knowledge of palliative care could improve the management of end-of-life situations and help to clarify the debate over euthanasia. (shrink)

Objectives: To assess French district nurses’ opinions towards euthanasia and to study factors associated with these opinions, with emphasis on attitudes towards terminal patients.Design and setting: An anonymous telephone survey carried out in 2005 among a national random sample of French district nurses.Participants: District nurses currently delivering home care who have at least 1 year of professional experience. Of 803 district nurses contacted, 602 agreed to participate .Main outcome measures: Opinion towards the legalisation of euthanasia , attitudes towards terminal patients (...) .Results: Overall, 65% of the 602 nurses favoured legalising euthanasia. Regarding associated factors, this proportion was higher among those who discuss end-of-life issues with terminal patients , who consider competent patients should always be told their prognosis and who value the role of advance directives and surrogates in end-of-life decision-making for incompetent patients . Women and older nurses were less likely to favour legalising euthanasia, as were those who believed in a god who masters their destiny.Conclusions: French nurses are more in favour of legalising euthanasia than French physicians; these two populations contrast greatly in the factors associated with this support. Further research is needed to investigate how and to what extent such attitudes may affect nursing practice and emotional well-being in the specific context of end-of-life home care. (shrink)

In the United States, final amendments to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (“the Common Rule”) were published on January 19, 2017, and they will take effect on January 21, 2019. One of the most widely discussed provisions is that for the first time, federal regulations governing research with humans authorize the use of broad consent for future, unspecified research on individually identifiable biospecimens and associated data. Many questions have been raised about broad consent, including what effect (...) it will have on research and whether it adequately protects the interests of research participants.There are lessons to be learned for the U.S. and other countries by looking to countries that already have experience with broad consent for biobank collection and with the storage and subsequent use of the biospecimens and data. This article describes how broad consent works in five countries—Canada (in Quebec), Israel, Nigeria, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom—and with different types of biobanks: national biobanks, federated biobanks, and regional biobanks. Evaluating the provisions and challenges of the broad consent approaches in these countries can inform policies for this increasingly used approach to biobank regulation. (shrink)