Browsing by Author "Vosloo, Jana Lydia"
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- ItemBetween buzzwords and bodies: investigating the ambiguities of Allyship with Judith Butler’s relational thinking(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Vosloo, Jana Lydia; Du Toit, Louise; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis aims to investigate and deepen the concept of “allyship” from a relational lens. By asking how feminist philosopher Judith Butler’s relational thinking might offer a more nuanced account of allyship, I suggest that there are certain limitations within the current academic and social discourse surrounding allyship, particularly concerning acts of public assembly in the form of protest action. These limitations are identified based on the “surplus in meaning” that stems from ambiguous acts of allyship on an ontological, ethical and political level, as informed by both my personal experience during protest action and the specific case study of the “human shield” as a perceived act of allyship. Every focal point of this thesis, therefore, seeks to sketch how Butler’s relational thinking can offer a helpful lexicon to engage fruitfully with the ambiguities of allyship. In Chapter Two, I set out to explain what constitutes Butler’s relational thinking. By providing a broader overview of her theoretical oeuvre, I frame Butler’s relational thinking as an intertwined account of ontology, ethics, and politics. I then continue to discuss each of these three aspects respectively. In doing so, I point out that Butler’s relational ontology offers an alternative ontology against sovereign subjectivity; a distinct account of the Butlerian subject (as always in process, discursive, performative, and opaque); and a social ontology that is embodied. I also show how Butler’s relational ethics advocates for “the liveable life” that seeks to reduce precarity by focusing on our shared sense of precariousness and responsibility for the other. Lastly, I claim that Butler’s constructivist account of political agency translates into a politics of subversion that can offer new ways of considering transformative political action. Having provided a clear understanding of what Butler’s relational thinking entails, Chapter Three aims to pave the way towards considering how Butler’s relational thinking can be traced within her thoughts on public assembly and alliances. Specifically, this chapter provides a thematic exploration of Butler’s book Notes Towards a Performative Theory of Assembly (2015) as a potentially fruitful source with the broader problem of the allyship discourse in mind. In doing so, I explore Butler’s politics of precarity and vulnerability; her ontological understanding of alliances as uneasy and unpredictable; and her ethics of cohabitation that centre around our obligations towards unchosen others. Finally, Chapter Four provides a more concrete analysis of the allyship discourse with Butler’s established relational lens. By drawing out the themes of “privilege”, “support”, and “action” from the prevailing definition of allyship, I identify the ontological, ethical and political shortcomings and assumptions within the allyship discourse. Through this, I argue that the allyship discourse perpetuates sovereign subjectivity, overly simplistic and dichotomous thinking, as well as narrow understandings of support and action. In contrast, I show how Butler’s relational thinking can avoid these shortcomings as it allows for more dynamic, intersectional, interdependent, uneasy, unpredictable and embodied ways of understanding allyship. In this way, Butler provides a theoretical lexicon that can speak to the “surplus in meaning” of allyship by critically emphasising – and embracing– what happens between bodies and buzzwords.