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Silence, secrecy, ignorance, and the making of class and status across generations
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO)
Abstract A peculiar aura of uncertainty and difficulty of knowing surrounds class, and especially its transmission from one generation to another. In this programmatic text we trace silences around the reproduction of class through our ethnographic research in Kenya, Egypt, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Palestine, a... view more
A peculiar aura of uncertainty and difficulty of knowing surrounds class, and especially its transmission from one generation to another. In this programmatic text we trace silences around the reproduction of class through our ethnographic research in Kenya, Egypt, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Palestine, and among migrant diasporas that link those countries with Somalia, Afghanistan, Western Europe, Russia, and the Arab Gulf states. We propose a comparative and nuanced attention to the ways in which concealment and silences - that is, ways of not displaying things or not speaking openly about them even while they may be known; secrets - that is, knowledge that is actively prevented from circulating; and ignorance - that is, ways of not knowing or not addressing something, together contribute to the reproduction of social status across generations. That reproduction, we argue, is in need of not being known or addressed because the moral and institutional claims and the public image that are inherent to status are frequently contradicted or complicated by the process in which the resources have been gathered, and by the ways in which they are passed on. The passing on of status from one generation to another therefore needs to be understood in a way that is not restricted to its discursive and performative dimension of explicit markers and accomplishments. Marks of distinction, accomplishment of status - and also stigmas of discrimination and stories of failure - are likely to consist equally of aspects that are concealed, forcibly kept secret, or not addressed. At the same time, every display and utterance that qualitatively or quantitatively values a person’s or group’s standing vis-à-vis others is likely to be enabled and accompanied by blind spots and silences. These can be best studied from the bottom up through a qualitative enquiry.... view less
Keywords
generation; Intergenerational relations; social class; social status; secrecy; anthropology; knowledge transfer; Kenya; Egypt; Iran; Kyrgyzstan; Palestine; Somalia; Afghanistan; Western Europe; Russia; Arab countries
Classification
Ethnology, Cultural Anthropology, Ethnosociology
General Sociology, Basic Research, General Concepts and History of Sociology, Sociological Theories
Free Keywords
intergenerational relations; silence; anthropological theory
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
City
Berlin
Page/Pages
15 p.
Series
ZMO Programmatic Texts, 15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.58144/20231214-000
ISSN
2191-3242
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed