Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Although U.S. environmental breast cancer activists have been concerned with numerous types of toxins, in the mid 1990s they became especially interested in a group of chemicals called endocrine disrupters. These homone mimicking chemicals are believed to cause breast cancer and an array of other conditions afflicting women, men, children and wildlife. In this paper, I discuss how breast cancer activists’ interest in "endocrine disrupter theory" have led them to construct "disease kinships" between breast cancer and this array of disorders afflicting other human and non-human populations—specifically children, men, and wildlife—as well as the earth itself I also highlight how, and to what extent, activists’ efforts on behalf of these other populations differ; whereas activists have done much to protect the health of children, they have done less to promote the health of men, wildlife and the earth’s natural resources. Such differences demonstrate that activists’ disease-kinship building is not just a biological and scientific process, but also a cultural, political and ideological one.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In his narratives of Orientalism and cultural imperialism, Edward Said has interrogated Marxist theory to reveal its Eurocentric groundings. Said's engagement with Marxist theory, however, is a complex one. In the spirit of what he refers to as "contrapuntal" reading, he criticizes the Orientalist traces of Marxist theory, yet appreciates its radical anchoring. A postcolonially informed Marxist theory, I would argue, will benifit from Said's intervention. However, the Saidian framework itself has its theoretical difficulties, ranging from its inability to overcome bourgeoise universalism to problematic readings of Marx and other Marxist theorists. But more importantly, if Marxist theory (or more specifically, its poststructurally- postcolonailly engaged renditions) wants to confront the rupture points of the Enlightenment project in politically meaningful ways, it needs to develop modes of epistemic and cultural critiques that Said promises but ultimately fails to offer. A theoretically/politically useful strategy is to push Said to the directions of postcoloniality that he may not be ready to explore.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Despite the critiques of marriage as an institution, same-sex marriage is now a reality in 5 countries and 1 US state and in many other jurisdictions some form of separate provision has been introduced to recognise same-sex relationships. These separate provisions are, for the most part, based on the marriage model with many being what the Vermont Supreme Court referred to as a “parallel and equivalent” alternative to marriage. I have argued elsewhere that same-sex marriage and parallel and equivalent provisions will not change marriage in any way that might render it less problematic from feminist and queer perspectives. Yet some form of legal recognition of relationships for some purposes is both inevitable and necessary. The question then becomes: (how) is it possible to move away from the marriage model in the legal recognition of relationships? Two separate provisions, reciprocal beneficiaries in Hawaii and the opt-in provision for caring relationships in Tasmania, allow those in non-sexual relationships to register and receive some legal protection. In the UK, the Civil Partnership Act is a marriage-like, or parallel and equivalent, provision but during passage of the legislation an attempt was made, supported by the Christian Institute, to attach an amendment that would allow those within the prohibited degrees of relationship to register and thus be subject to all of the legal consequences of marriage. This amendment failed but following enactment of the legislation two ‘spinster sisters’ took action against the UK government claiming discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights (Burden and Burden v. UK). In this paper I consider the extent to which the separate provisions in Hawaii and Tasmania and the invocation of the ‘spinster sisters’ in the UK parliament and the Burden case might provide opportunities to move away from marriage as the paradigmatic legal relationship between adults.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: For years the notion that we need to move beyond the black/white binary has dominated much of the literature in race and ethnic relations. Scholars have identified the limitations of this binary framework and its impact on key social issues. This paper will use a discussion of the affect the black/white binary on cross-racial organizing between African Americans and Latino/as in Georgia to frame a more general discussion about moving beyond it. Through an investigation of interviews and participant observation conducted with black women and Latina organizers in Georgia, I contend that our inability to move beyond the black/white binary is due, in part, to our inability to move this largely abstract theoretical discussion to everyday reality. I suggest that in order to move beyond this binary we must first identify how it manifests on a day-to day-level. Findings suggest that the encompassing strength of the binary creates many challenges for organizers that are particularly difficult to articulate at the moments they occur. This paper explores how the black/white binary manifests in organizing with particular attention to how the binary structures the way African American women and Latina respondents think about themselves and others. Additionally I argue that until we can recognize this binary as one framework, not the framework; we will never be able to envision another, more equitable, world.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: A growing number of scholars find traditional constitutional knowledge wanting, whether in excluding new forms of political authority, or failing to facilitate emancipatory change. This problematises the link between constitutionalism and democracy, and in particular highlights the limited conception of democracy underpinning orthodox constitutional thought. We can identify two responses to the ongoing crisis in constitutional knowledge: one updates the Enlightenment model to include non-state constitutional sites, the other makes this model, and its Western modernist underpinnings, a central feature of epistemological debate. This paper addresses what is at stake in these responses: Is an attenuated constitutional discourse, to the extent it is associated with modernity, necessarily a hegemonic discourse? Do traditional categories such as representation and participation provide an adequate basis from which to address non-state concentrations of political power? Can new bases of constitutional knowledge support democratic politics, and if so, what form does this take?