"Explores the phenomenon of distrusting evidence coming from reliable sources with current examples including climate change and vaccine scepticism. The book argues that evidence resistance relates to a type of cognitive malfunction and distinguishes it from justified evidence rejection occurring in environments polluted with disinformation"--.

The problem of imaginative resistance holds interest for aestheticians, literary theorists, ethicists, philosophers of mind, and epistemologists. We present a somewhat opinionated overview of the philosophical discussion to date. We begin by introducing the phenomenon of imaginative resistance. We then review existing responses to the problem, giving special attention to recent research directions. Finally, we consider the philosophical significance that imaginative resistance has—or, at least, is alleged to have—for issues in moral psychology, theories of cognitive architecture, and (...) modal epistemology. (shrink)

Vulnerability and resistance have often been seen as opposites, with the assumption that vulnerability requires protection and the strengthening of paternalistic power at the expense of collective resistance. Focusing on political movements and cultural practices in different global locations, including Turkey, Palestine, France, and the former Yugoslavia, the contributors to_ Vulnerability in Resistance_ articulate an understanding of the role of vulnerability in practices of resistance. They consider how vulnerability is constructed, invoked, and mobilized within neoliberal discourse, the (...) politics of war, resistance to authoritarian and securitarian power, in LGBTQI struggles, and in the resistance to occupation and colonial violence. The essays offer a feminist account of political agency by exploring occupy movements and street politics, informal groups at checkpoints and barricades, practices of self-defense, hunger strikes, transgressive enactments of solidarity and mourning, infrastructural mobilizations, and aesthetic and erotic interventions into public space that mobilize memory and expose forms of power. Pointing to possible strategies for a feminist politics of transversal engagements and suggesting a politics of bodily resistance that does not disavow forms of vulnerability, the contributors develop a new conception of embodiment and sociality within fields of contemporary power. Contributors. Meltem Ahiska, Athena Athanasiou, Sarah Bracke, Judith Butler, Elsa Dorlin, Basak Ertür, Zeynep Gambetti, Rema Hammami, Marianne Hirsch, Elena Loizidou, Leticia Sabsay, Nükhet Sirman, Elena Tzelepis. (shrink)

We propose to characterize imaginative resistance as the failure or unwillingness of the reader to take a fictional description of a deviant reality at face value. The goal of the paper is to explore how readers deal with such a breakdown of the default Face Value interpretation strategy. We posit two distinct interpretative ‘coping’ strategies which help the reader engage with the resistance-inducing fiction by attributing the offending content to one of the fictional characters. We present novel empirical (...) evidence that shows that actual readers use these strategies and we flesh out the exact workings of these strategies by integrating them into a general formal semantic framework for interpreting fiction. (shrink)

Nursing has improved over the centuries from the physician's handmaiden to a recognised profession. Yet, the image of a nurse is often associated with notions of caring and nurturing‐ attributes considered feminine. Indeed, cultural, and societal biases exist that can deter men from entering the nursing profession where their sense of masculinity is questioned. Several studies have highlighted the existence of gender‐based stereotypes, stigma, rejection, loneliness and discrimination which impact the retention of men in the nursing profession. Despite the established (...) evidence regarding negative experiences, it appears limited attention has been paid to the men who decide to stay in nursing: how do they thrive in a profession wherein biases are evident within and in the wider societal context? Undoubtedly, several factors such as job security and financial incentives may contribute to men remaining in nursing. Beyond these, we borrow the notion of ‘constructive resistance’ to underscore that though the biases may be apparent, male nurses are able to construct alternatives that accommodate the image of a man in the nursing profession. Strategies such as developing the image as a ‘super nurse’ can create opportunities for male nurses to be preferred by other healthcare providers as well as female nurses. Thus, although resistance may usually appear as a negative phenomenon, constructive resistance represents hidden advantages which offers an opportunity to retain male nurses. These need to be highlighted and explored more as they can offer deeper insight into strategies that can be employed to improve retention and representation of men in nursing particularly at a time when the impact of nursing shortage remains a global issue. (shrink)

Metaphors abound in scientific discourse. Well-known examples include ‘the brain as a computer’ and ‘the organism as a machine’. Such metaphors, we argue, have both a theoretical and a practical aspect: they may serve as explanatory models, but also guide technological development, influence policy, reflect ideological assumptions, and reshape how we understand ourselves. These practical dimensions have prompted growing concern about the risks associated with metaphor use in science. While this concern has been widely noted, less attention has been paid (...) to the argumentative forms such criticism may take. This article addresses that gap by reconstructing resistance to scientific metaphors—specifically computer and machine metaphors—as a form of pragmatic argumentation, in which metaphor use is challenged on the basis of its practical consequences. It further shows how such argumentation may be supported by subordinate causal arguments that appeal to the metaphor’s highlighting/hiding structure. Drawing on the pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation, and analyzing examples from cognitive science, philosophy, and bioethics, the article demonstrates how metaphor resistance can be understood as a reconstructable form of argumentative critique—one in which metaphors become sites of normative contestation. (shrink)

In this paper, I examine some of the emotional dimensions of oppression under the heading of “emotional alienation.” If the experience of oppression is affectively attuned, then resisting oppression will likely involve dealing with these difficult, often painful, feelings. Resistance may require finding ways of pushing back against their potentially disempowering effects and developing other, more empowering, ways of feeling. Long-lasting forms of social oppression have a strong hold in people’s sense of self. Resistance, then, requires self-transformation. If (...) emancipation requires undoing disempowering emotional patterns, then self-transformation will require “undoing” ourselves. How is this undoing tied to developing a new consciousness? How does developing a “radically altered consciousness” (Bartky 1990) involve radically changing our ways of feeling? In this paper, I will argue that emotional disalienation need not be thought of in terms of suppressing or excising disempowering emotional patterns. I will contend that narrative thinking, as a relational process, can play an effective role in the struggle towards emancipation. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This paper reviews the dynamics behind, and ethical issues associated with, the phenomenon of drug resistance. Drug resistance is an important ethical issue partly because of the severe consequences likely to result from the increase in drug resistant pathogens if more is not done to control them. Drug resistance is also an ethical issue because, rather than being a mere quirk of nature, the problem is largely a product of drug distribution. Drug resistance results from (...) the over‐consumption of antibiotics by the wealthy; and it, ironically, results from the under‐consumption of antibiotics, usually by the poor or otherwise marginalized. In both kinds of cases the phenomenon of drug resistance illustrates why health (care) – at least in the context of infectious disease – should be treated as a (global) public good. The point is that drug resistance involves ‘externalities’ affecting third parties. When one patient develops a resistant strain of disease because of her over‐ or under‐consumption of medication, this more dangerous malady poses increased risk to others. The propriety of free‐market distribution of goods subject to externalities is famously dubious – given that the ‘efficiency’ rationale behind markets assumes an absence of externalities. Market failure in the context of drug resistance is partly revealed by the fact that no new classes of antibiotics have been developed since 1970. I conclude by arguing that the case of drug resistance reveals additional reasons – to those traditionally appealed to by bioethicists – for treating health care as something special when making policy decisions about its distribution. (shrink)

What does it mean to intentionally not perform an action? Is it possible to not perform an action out of resistant intention? Is there sufficient language for talking about this kind of behavior in the social sciences? In this article, a nonnormative vocabulary of not doings including resistant intentional omissions is developed. Unlike concepts that describe official, overt, and public resistance, James Scott’s everyday resistance and Albert Hirschman’s exit have made it possible to talk about the resistant inactions (...) of agents in the social sciences. But in order to grasp the ordinariness of this kind of oppositional behavior, philosophy of intentional omissions is used. (shrink)

Each year, millions of people die from poverty-related causes. In this groundbreaking and thought-provoking book, Gwilym David Blunt argues that the only people who will end this injustice are its victims, and that the global poor have the right to resist the causes of poverty. He explores how the right of resistance is used to reframe urgent political questions: is illegal immigration a form of resistance? Can transnational social movements, such as the indigenous rights movement, provide the foundations (...) for civil resistance to global poverty? If peaceful resistance fails, is armed struggle justified? Do people living in affluent states have a responsibility to help even if it requires them to break the law? Giving clear historical examples and engaging with fields including philosophy, international law, history, and international political studies, this volume addresses real-world issues from terrorism to activism. It will be important for anyone interested in applied philosophy and global injustice. (shrink)

The public health issue of bacterial multi‐resistance to antibiotics has gained awareness among the public, researchers, and the pharmaceutical sector. Nevertheless, the spread of antimicrobial resistance has been considerably aggravated by human activities, climate change, and the subsequent increased release of antibiotics, drug‐resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes in the environment. The extensive use of antibiotics for medical and veterinary purposes has not only induced increasing resistance but also other health problems, including negative effects on the (...) patient's microbiome. Preventive strategies, new treatment modalities, and increased surveillance are progressively set up. A comprehensive approach is, however, lacking for urgently tackling this adverse situation. To address this challenge, we discussed here the main causes driving antimicrobial resistance and pollution of the environment by factors favorable to the emergence of drug resistance. We next propose some key priorities for research, prevention, surveillance, and education to supervise an effective clinical and sustainable response. (shrink)

In this paper I explore how we ought to respond to the problematic inner lives of those that we love. I argue for an understanding of love that is radical and challenging—a powerful form of resistance within the confines of everyday relationships. I argue that love, far from the platitudinous and saccharine view, does not call for our acceptance of others’ failings. Instead, loving another means believing in their potential to grow and holding them to account when they fail. (...) I argue that loving others means meeting them where they are and working to understand the role that oppressive ideologies, coupled with cognitive biases, play in generating and entrenching their problematic mental states. I then argue that we ought not disengage with our loved ones or write them off as lost causes, nor should we accept that we will simply “agree to disagree.” Instead, we should stand in moral solidarity with our loved ones and press them to become better while simultaneously understanding that such moral growth is usually a slow and painful process—often, the project of a lifetime. (shrink)

In this essay, the resistant potential of curiosity will be first framed by theories of political curiosity writ large (drawn from Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, and Jacques Derrida) and then explicated through three case studies: the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s, prison resistance networks in the 1970’s, and a more recent initiative for accessible restrooms. From these archives, an anatomy of politically resistant curiosity will be drawn.

This study conducts a text-centred and comparative analysis of Samia Tamimi’s translation of Susan Abulhawa’s novel Mornings in Jenin from English into Arabic. By systematically applying the theoretical frameworks of postcolonialism and translation studies – particularly the concepts of domestication, foreignisation, and the politics of cultural rewriting – the research seeks to show how the act of translating Abulhawa’s diasporic text back to its culture of origin involves a complex process of renegotiating identity, memory, and political resistance. It shows (...) that the translated text, through specific and identifiable translation strategies of addition, deletion, and substitution, re-presents and potentially reframes the novel’s powerful message for its new, Arabic-speaking readership. The analysis has demonstrated that the translator’s choice of a consistent pattern of domestication of culturally and politically specific references to exile, identity, memory, and resistance, so as to conform to the target audience’s norms, tempers the novel’s nuanced postcolonial critique and blunts its challenge to settler-colonial hegemonic narratives. (shrink)

We argue the need for academics to resist and challenge the hegemonic discourse of sustainable development within the corporate context. Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory provides a useful framework for recognizing the complex nature of sustainable development and a way of conceptualizing counter-hegemonies. Published empirical research that analyzes sustainable development discourse within corporate reports is examined to consider how the hegemonic discourse is constructed. Embedded assumptions within the hegemonic construction are identified including sustainable development as primarily about economic development, progress, (...) growth, profitability, and “responsibly” managed levels of resource depletion. We call for multiple voices in the discursive field to debate and to resist closure and highlight the possibilities for academic researchers to actively resist the hegemonic construction. Specifically, we advocate vigilance and awareness, critical and reflective analyses, challenge and resistance based on other frames of reference, and strategies for communicating both within and outside the academy. (shrink)

Frantz Fanon offers a lucid account of his entrance into the white world where the weightiness of the ‘white gaze’ nearly crushed him. In chapter five of Black Skins, White Masks, he develops his historico-racial and epidermal racial schemata as correctives to Merleau-Ponty’s overly inclusive corporeal schema. Experientially aware of the reality of socially constructed (racialized) subjectivities, Fanon uses his schemata to explain the creation, maintenance, and eventual rigidification of white-scripted ‘blackness’. Through a re-telling of his own experiences of racism, (...) Fanon is able to show how a black person in a racialized context eventually internalizes the ‘white gaze’. In this essay I bring Fanon’s insights into conversation with Foucault’s discussion of panoptic surveillance. Although the internalization of the white narrative creates a situation in which external constraints are no longer needed, Fanon highlights both the historical contingency of ‘blackness’ and the ways in which the oppressed can re-narrate their subjectivities. Lastly, I discuss Fanon’s historically attuned ‘new humanism’, once again engaging Fanon and Foucault as dialogue partners. (shrink)

I examine a range of popular solutions to the puzzle of imaginative resistance. According to each solution in this range, imaginative resistance occurs only when we are asked to imagine something that conflicts with what we believe. I show that imaginative resistance can occur without this sort of conflict, and so that every solution in the range under consideration fails. I end by suggesting a new explanation for imaginative resistance—the Import Solution—which succeeds where the other solutions (...) considered fail. (shrink)

In this paper we focus on two claims, put forward by Feyerabend in his later writings , which constitute the metaphysical core of his view of scientific inquiry. The first, that we call the pliability thesis, is the claim that the world can be described by indefinitely many conceptual systems, none of them enjoying a privileged status. The second, that we call the resistance thesis, is the claim that the pliability of the world is limited, i.e., not all the (...) different conceptual systems that can be used to describe the world will be equally successful: the world offers resistance to some attempts to describe it. We show that, in spite of the later Feyerabend’s notorious antirealist leanings, the pliability thesis is fully compatible with a robustly realist view of science, and we suggest that, surprisingly, Feyerabend’s insights concerning the limited pliability of the world turn out to be those of a potential ally of sophisticated versions of scientific realism. (shrink)

This study suggests a conceptual proposal to analyse the ethics of resistance in organisations, drawing on Foucault’s practising self as a refusal and Schaffer’s ethics of freedom in opposition to the legitimacy of managerial control and the ethics of compliance. We argue that ethics is already part of such politics in the form of ethico-politics on the basis of participation in political action in organisations. Hence, the practising self as resistance in the face of the status quo of (...) managerial power in an ongoing dialectical process with others and for others comprises our conceptual proposal as an ethics of resistance. Acknowledging dialectics as the driver of the continuous reconstruction and co-construction of politics and praxis, we propose an ethics from the bottom up with a critical and radical perspective. Our contribution is based on opening up an ethico-political space for those who are ignored or suppressed in the ethics and organisations literature. (shrink)

This article traces the lives and careers of two prominent Hungarian women ethnographers, Tekla Dömötör and Linda Dégh, to explore the gendered dynamics of academic life in state socialist Hungary. Born into assimilated Jewish families around World War I, both navigated restrictive interwar educational norms, engaged in anti-fascist resistance during World War II, and pursued scholarly careers under socialist rule. Drawing on autobiographies, personal documents, and publications, the study examines how family responsibilities, domestic labour, and professional networks shaped visibility, (...) recognition, and career trajectories. Dömötör combined resistance activities, teaching, and international research with raising two children, eventually becoming the first female head of the Folklore Department at Eötvös Loránd University. Dégh contributed to the reorganisation of Hungarian folkloristics before emigrating to the United States. By linking biography with broader institutional and political contexts, the article illuminates the intersections of gender, personal life, and scientific authority in socialist and transnational academic settings. (shrink)

This article aims to contribute to the studies on democratic resistance amid populist autocratization by analyzing repression against civil society, democratic responses, and the interplay between them. It explores how and in what forms repression and democratic resistance develop, are contained and sustained during such autocratization, with an emphasis on populist electoral autocracies. Civil society plays a role in engaging with populist autocracies that possess electoral legitimacy, in contrast to the situation under closed autocracies, although these interactions occur (...) under challenging conditions. The mutually reinforcing relationship between liberal constitutional constructs and civil society challenges the stability of a populist electoral autocracy. The article employs several instances, primarily focusing on Türkiye’s populist electoral autocracy, to assess conceptual findings on repression, investigate the autocratic challenges, and illustrate strategies for democratic resistance. It highlights the roles of feminist mobilizations, human rights defenders, democratic partnerships, and judicial review against ongoing repression in nondemocratic contexts where democratic resistance appears robust. Despite the challenges faced by civil society in non-democracies, the vibrant practices of democratic resistance underscore the necessity for reforms in liberal-democratic constitutional frameworks. These reforms may encompass inclusive formal arrangements for civil society and institutional arrangements for democratic partnerships by reconsidering the civic-institutional relationship. In light of democracy-learning and democracy-defending experiences in nondemocracies, further research is needed on constitutional innovations, particularly regarding enhanced political participation, democratic partnerships, protection for human rights defenders, guarantees for political opposition, prevention of judicial repression, and rights-enforcing judiciaries. (shrink)

ABSTRACTCan there be a legal or a moral right to resist the government? Scholarly interest in the right of resistance has rarely focused on German philosophy, which has often been considered unusually committed to authority. Yet, during the Enlightenment German philosophers regularly attempted to justify not just conscientious refusal but also revolution. This essay explores the two dominant justifications, which were based in Wolffian perfectionism and Kantian relational theory. It argues that we can best understand the complexity of these (...) theories of resistance by exploring their contrasting views on the state’s purpose: providing material and spiritual welfare, or establishing freedom as independence. (shrink)

In this paper we develop a relational approach to the question of animal agency. We distinguish between agency and action and, using three examples of non-human animal behaviour, explore how human-other animal interactions might be understood in terms of action, agency and resistance. In order to do this we draw on the distinction between primary and corporate agency found in the work of Margaret Archer, arguing that, while non-human animals are able to act and to exercise primary agency, they (...) are unable to exercise corporate agency. Animals are therefore agents; they act and their actions have consequences, they also resist conditions which they do not like and, in some circumstances, are able to change the conditions of their agency. We discuss the place of animals in the social world and the political implications of this way of viewing animal agency. (shrink)

The #MeToo movement successfully united women to break the long silence surrounding the culture of sexual violence. In that light, it is no surprise that the movement has also been met with resistance since any movement that fights against the existing systems will invariably be found suspect in many ways and be subjected to all kinds of scrutiny. This chapter considers some of the attempts made to resist the successes of the #MeToo movement that have mainly taken place via (...) misrepresentation of the movement’s message, purpose, and actions, and puts this in the context of so-called benevolent sexism and the tendency for women resisting it to be vilified. (shrink)

People attribute resistance to bodies in Spinoza's physics. It's not always clear what they mean when they do this, or whether they are entitled to. This article clarifies what it would mean, and examines the evidence for attributing resistance. The verdict: there's some evidence, but not nearly as much as people think.

A new ontology that forms the groundwork for ethical practices of resistance What and how should individuals resist in political situations? While these questions recur regularly within Western political philosophy, answers to them have often relied on dogmatically held ideals, such as the distinction between truth and doxa or the privilege of thought over sense. In particular, the strain of idealist political philosophy, inaugurated by Plato and finding contemporary expression in the work of Alain Badiou, employs dualities that reduce (...) the complexities of practices of resistance to concepts of commitment. (shrink)

Introduction: Non-violent resistance, carried out by healthcare workers, has been a common phenomenon. Despite this and despite the issues this type of action raises, we know little about the healthcare workers who engage in this action and their perspectives about its justification. This exploratory study sought to address this gap, examining these fundamental questions amongst a sample of healthcare workers who have engaged in acts of resistance, exploring their understanding of non-violent resistance, its justification and the barriers (...) they faced in engaging in such action. Methods: Participants were recruited through Medact's ( https://www.medact.org/ ) member database and directed to an online survey hosted on Qualtrics. While participants were unlikely to be representative of the broader UK healthcare community, participants were in an advantageous position to comment on non-violent resistance. Descriptive quantitative analysis and a content analysis were conducted. Results: The majority of participants felt that non-violent resistance could be justified dependent on its cause and/or the action in question. Within this, most felt that if action were non-violent, that if it didn't harm patients and that if the issue in question had to do with health being compromised, action was often justified. A number of others framed their justification as being a right or duty to engage in non-violent resistance. In relation to barriers to engaging in non-violent resistance, these fell into three categories: personal, professional and broader concerns related to society or the general culture found in healthcare. Within these, time and concerns about registration or the consequences of engaging in action were cited as the greatest barriers. Conclusions: These results suggest that healthcare workers who regularly engage in non-violent action carefully thought through their actions, acknowledging the diversity of actions and issues that could be challenged, for many patient care remained a primary concern. There is a need for clarity from regulatory bodies and in particular the need for dialogue between healthcare bodies and healthcare workers who continue to engage in acts of non-violent resistance. (shrink)

Counterspeech is a kind of communicative resistance that tries to oppose, neutralize or remedy harmful speech. It can be defined as a form of non-coercive intervention that is, in some cases, available for just any competent speaker. In recent years, some philosophers of language have focused on analyzing and proposing different varieties of counterspeech in the hopes that their insights about communicative mechanisms can contribute to the development of efficient strategies of contention. This investigation is however still new and (...) in programmatic expansion. Our first goal then is to suggest a separation between two larger categories of counterspeech, confrontational and redirecting, adopting as an organizational criterion the impact of the interventions on the cooperativity between participants. Secondly, we propose a type of confrontational counterspeech, which we call elucidation, and a type of redirecting counterspeech, namely, reframing. In cases of elucidation, the recalcitrant hearer makes a problematic aspect of what was said especially salient. This is a way of calling the bigot out for the commitments that he/she undertakes in virtue of choosing to use certain words. In reframing, the recalcitrant hearer tries to neutralize the effects of code words by replacing them for semantically equivalent alternatives that have different social meanings and connotations. For example, replacing ‘ideologia de gênero’ (‘gender ideology’) by ‘diversidade de gênero’ (‘gender diversity’), when accommodated, gives the hearer additional control over the discursive topics (the QUD) and the “terms of the conversation”. (shrink)

Interviews formed an integral part of Foucault's work alongside and complementary to the published works. It is primarily in interviews that he elaborates on the implications of his historical studies for thinking about the problems raised by social and political movements. Like his published books, Foucault's lectures sought to engage with the social, political, and intellectual present in which they were presented. In this sense, they are closer to the interviews. This chapter focuses on the developments in his thinking about (...) power as these are displayed in his lectures between 1976 and 1979. It also discusses the role of strategy in relations of power. Building on the centrality of freedom to this concept of power as action on the actions of others, Foucault asserts that there is an intransigence of freedom and a corresponding “agonism” at the heart of power relations. (shrink)

Smartfounding is the opposite of “dumbfounding” introduced by Jonathan Haidt’s research on disgust. Dumbfounders have general competence at thought experiment. However, they are flustered by thought experiments that support repugnant conclusions. Instead of following the supposition wherever it leads, they avoid unsettling implications by adding extraneous information or ignoring stipulated conditions. The dumbfounded commit performance errors, often seeming to regress to the answers of people who lack formal schooling. Smartfounders retain their composure. They practice subversive compliance, obeying the instructions in (...) a way that spoils the aim of the thought experiment. Smartfounders offer a more sophisticated grade of resistance to thought experiment. Whereas the lower grades of resistance are merely fallacious, smartfounding often constitutes a penetrating internal critique of the thought experiment and sometimes of thought experiments in general. (shrink)

It is widely believed that some wars are just, and that the paradigm case of a just war is a defensive war. A familiar strategy used to justify defensive war is to infer its permissibility from the case of self-defensive killing. I show, however, that the permission to defend oneself does not justify killing, but instead calls for nonviolent resistance. I conclude that on the account of self-defense I develop, the appropriate way to respond to a war of aggression (...) is not by prosecuting a defensive war, but by engaging in a form of nonviolence I call pacific resistance. (shrink)

The main thesis of this article is that resistance and subversion are part of everyday life in most cultures, and that they are integral to the process of development. Many of our theories of social and moral development either fail to account for resistance, and treat it largely as anti-social, or view it as unusual activity sometimes undertaken by those who have reached a high level of development. Several examples are presented to illustrate that resistance and subversion (...) are common among people in positions of little power in the social hierarchy--especially on the part of women in patriarchal societies. Moreover, research has demonstrated that social conflict and resistance based on moral aims occur in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Especially among adults, conflicts occur over inequalities embedded in the structure of social systems that allow greater power and personal entitlements to some groups (e. g. social hierarchies based on gender, socio-economic class, ethnic or racial status). In their everyday lives adults come into conflicts with others and resist moral wrongs embedded in cultural practices that serve to further the interests of those in higher positions in the social hierarchy. Resistance frequently entails deceptive actions aimed at transforming aspects of the social system judged unfair and detrimental to the welfare of groups of people. (shrink)

Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore (2005) embodies the discourse of trauma with contrary human impulses of the need to know and the attempt to deny. It induces an undercurrent tension that resists either of the impulses. In the novel, the protagonist Kafka Tamura makes a surreal ‘getaway’ from the disturbing oedipal prophecy. Though it distorts his family and a peaceful reconciliation with his childhood self, he makes a conspicuous attempt to resist the explanation or acceptance of the truth that (...) he is the reason behind the destruction of his family. However, this act of conscious resistance simultaneously germinates the desire to know which is referred to as ‘accommodation’ in the scholarship of resistance. While resistance is characterized by an outward orientation, an aggressive and hostile defense against enemies, resilience is exclusively oriented towards the self. Resilience is a form of resistance that restores the subject to the original state. Murakami’s fiction depicts such transformation of the protagonist from being resistant to resilient. The chapter explores the complexities of resistance and accommodation, and investigates the potentiality of resistance without accommodation. With the critical analysis of the text, the chapter interprets Kafka’s evolution from being resistant to resilient as ‘an ecocentric ethic of interconnectedness’ as this evolution permeates a transposition of anxiety and pain from psychological to metaphysical realm, opening up a significant prospect of traumatic recovery. (shrink)

The literary works of Anita Nair represent social realism. She is among the pioneer writers of contemporary Indian English literature. Chain of Custody (2016) has been written in the sub-genre of crime fiction. It is the second book in the Inspector Borei Gowda series. It is also subtitled as ‘An Inspector Gowda novel’. In this text, she writes for the cause of trafficked children, forced prostitution, and child labour. This chapter examines the fictional resistance presented in this text by (...) the storyline, exposing the evil side of modernized cities and powerful men. Through this text, Nair proves that crime fiction can act as a medium of social commentary and presenting resistance against the evil forces. The formal structure of the chapter looks at the resistance on part of the victims, noble characters and the narrative strategies. Drawing on the insights and precision of agency theory, economic inequality and chain of custody, this chapter presents how crime fiction by women authors function as an act of resistance. (shrink)

The draft served as the primary vehicle for inducting young men into the military during the Vietnam War Era. It is estimated that of the nearly 500,000 who evaded the draft in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 10,000 were indicted for draft resistance. I was among those 10,000. Although there are numerous scholarly studies and personal memoirs of the draft resistance movement, most of these focus on east and west coast experiences. This chapter will concentrate on the (...) development of draft resistance in the Midwest, specifically in Minnesota, where I was a draft resister and antiwar organizer during my time in grad school at the University of Minnesota. Combining personal reflections with socio-historical analysis, this chapter will explore the ways in which draft resisters and their movement articulated peace advocacy during the Vietnam War. (shrink)

The chapter deals with the discourse of resistance in one of the most celebrated novels by Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis (1996). The existential framework of the novella opens up a huge space for a discussion of human existence and the resistance that operates throughout. It attempts to investigate the connection between the existence of a human being and the resistance that the person has to offer to it. The objective is to leave the reader to reflect upon (...) and analyse their life, which will let them understand in what ways human lives are interconnected through the same driving force. The interplay of repression and resistance, as well as that of power and resistance, is traced by focusing on Sigmund Freud and Michel Foucault's notion of resistance respectively. In both cases, there is a ‘formation of self’ which comes to the foreground. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist has suffered oppression, be it at a mental or physical level both in the form of a human being and after being changed into monstrous vermin. Living itself is resistance. Accepting the absurd while welcoming all the anxieties and fears is a resistance to the pessimistic thoughts of the meaninglessness we see in life. The chapter concludes with the metaphor of a mound of sand and how its existence is very much the same as a human existence in resisting the fall. It attempts to propose that resistance is an inherent part of human existence, no matter how subtly it persists in the lives of each and every individual. (shrink)

Over the last two decades the work of Jean-Luc Nancy and Giorgio Agamben has attracted widespread attention both within philosophy and more broadly across the human sciences. Central to the thinking of Nancy and Agamben is a shared theory of community that offers a model of resistance to oppressive power through radical passivity. This article argues that this model inherits the inadequacies of Martin Heidegger’s attempts to conceptualize society and history. More specifically, Heidegger’s understanding of collective history in terms (...) of ‘destiny’ implicitly regulates the figure of community proposed by Nancy and Agamben. This alignment with the Heideggerian notion of destiny means that these later thinkers fail to offer a credible model of resistance in terms of concretely determined means of productive counter-practices. As a consequence the usefulness of the thinking of Nancy and Agamben as a conceptual framework for emancipatory politics is at best extremely limited. (shrink)

This chapter examines the evolving strategies of feminist and LGBT+ movements in response to the rise of anti-gender mobilizations, proposing the concept of productive resistance as a shift from reactive to proactive approaches. Initially dismissed as marginal, anti-gender movements have successfully infiltrated political and public discourse, necessitating a strategic transformation in feminist and LGBT+ activism. While early responses focused on refuting accusations and defending existing rights, contemporary resistance has evolved into diverse and forward-looking strategies. The chapter categorizes these (...) strategies into eight types, including public actions, legal and institutional actions, watchdog advocacy, digital activism, strategic communication, community coalition building, strategic withdrawal, and empowerment and protective advocacy. Through a comparative analysis based on interviews with activists from eight European countries (Italy, Slovenia, France, Turkey, Spain, Poland, Greece, and Denmark), the chapter highlights that feminist and LGBT+ movements are not solely defensive but are actively shaping new social realities by advancing inclusive policies and reinforcing democratic principles. Productive resistance, as argued here, ensures that movements remain resilient, adaptive, and innovative, countering neoconservative threats while forging new avenues for social and political transformation. (shrink)

This chapter analyses how literature can be perceived as a brushstroke for reflecting resistance. In any form of narrative, we can see the face of resistance embedded in its choice of words, and the emotions that are subsequently evoked through it. This highlights the fact that the study of folklore, which is an oral narrative form, is picking up pace with the whole new trend of writing, and transcribing, to reconstruct history. In the present-day scenario, people from various (...) disciplines of the Humanities stream are consciously putting in efforts to collect local and global folklore, to preserve them as a form of written literature. This chapter deals with the question of how someone can read the folklores as an articulation of writing resistance. The writing of folklores is relevant since they stand as a testament to history; they portray the long-standing traditions, cultures, beliefs, and understandings of any community. Preserving folklores in written form can be treated as a tool to map the cultural fabric of indigenous natives, to express their resistance-action, and opposition to the hegemonic and oppressive mainstream culture. The chapter reads folktales of different places, with a special focus on the spirit of resistance which is a pivotal part of any cultural folklore. It discusses how these tales are documented in contemporary society to show representation versus reality, and “how these tales were written” can be seen as resistant and resilient. It attempts to study the oral narratives in written form and include them in mainstream history and discourses. (shrink)

Manjushree Thapa’s narratives as a saga of resistance tell about the marginalized, subjugated, and oppressed people. It depicts the grim reality of the masses and their living conditions in Nepal. The concept of resistance applies to all aspects of life, cultural, political, social and military, and it would be seen on both levels from individual to the social level. Resistance, is not merely an opposition, focuses on the need to hear the voices of the dispossessed and endeavours (...) to empower the ordinary. Literature of Resistance is not limited to political freedom only, rather it involves individual, cultural, social and personal freedom also. Theoretical insights and precision of resistance will be employed to discuss the select literary texts of Thapa in the perspective textual and contextual approaches. Literature on resistance is an effective form of making people conscious of the ground reality. It targets to bring the marginalized into the centre, and exposes the unjust practices of society. This chapter attempts to unearth the role of the intellectuals, youth and women in the resistance movement. This cultural resistance, as well as the historical events, led to the birth of revolutionary characters. To trace Nepalese folk’s traumatic experiences and resistance, I have chosen the literary works of Manjushree Thapa. (shrink)

What is at the heart of political resistance? Whilst traditional accounts often conceptualise it as a reaction to power, this volume (prioritising remarks by Michel Foucault) invites us to think of resistance as primary. The author proposes a strategic analysis that highlights how our efforts need to be redirected towards a horizon of creation and change. This text combines a range of political and philosophical scholarship and provides an innovative rethinking of Foucault's model of power relations that leads (...) towards a new autonomism for the 21st century. (shrink)

Organisational changes that threaten the status quo, such as moving away from unsustainable practices towards more sustainable ones, are bound to face resistance at the individual, group, and organisation levels. Resistance to change is a common phenomenon to planned changes, which slows and sometimes stops change efforts. It arises when passing from the known to the unknown and slows or stops movement. A myriad of barriers to change that affect the different organisational levels. Most of the literature has (...) focused on individual or organisational barriers, while few authors have focused on groups. The barriers to change can be analysed with the help of the Multi-dimensional Sustainability Influence Change (MuSIC) memework. Examples from four case studies are presented. Resistance to change is most easily overcome when it can be foreseen and neutralised in advance. Several strategies can be used to overcome the barriers at the different organisational levels. Sometimes the strategies may be used independently, other times combined. Overcoming barriers to change is both radical and incremental. Examples from three case studies are presented. There is, in general, incongruity between the barriers to change and the strategies being applied to overcome them. (shrink)

The new glamour of women working in geology included resistance and active engagement with fighting discrimination in the workplace. Women in geology wanted more rights, as well as autonomy in their dress and fashion. Working female geologists responded and engaged in the cultural changes of the twentieth century. The oil industry and newspapers attempted to be more inclusive to women in geology, like African-American geologists. African-American publications like Ebony published glamorous profiles of African-American women working in petroleum geology. The (...) oil industry attempted to promote a more inclusive type of glamour. Profiles and write-ups of women working in geology explored the changing gender roles and cultural expectations of women in the US society. Newspaper advice columnists attempted to respond to reader questions regarding the nature of the workplace and women working more closer to men in the petroleum field. Profiles of women working in geology often reflected the success and problems of the changing role of the working women in the twentieth century. (shrink)

Americanization and globalization have drawn the attention of contemporary novelists considerably. Salman Rushdie deals with the issues related to the bad effects of the hegemonic ideologies in his novel Fury (2001). America has been the dream of destination of people of the third world countries to fulfill their ambition. However, they have to face a lot of difficulties in the context of their ethnicity and identity. In the novel, Rushdie shows how a group of migrants in America are seriously disappointed (...) due to imposition of hegemonic American culture on them affecting their culture, ethnicity and identity. The novel delineates how globalization has been popularized for spread of capitalism and domination of superpowers, namely America and European countries. The migrants to America are seen struggling with the resultant problems of globalization and resisting them. They are often in the dilemma of choosing their own culture, and are also sometimes subject to impurity and adulteration. This chapter therefore discusses how the immigrants despite their resistance to Americanization and globalization are acculturated. (shrink)