Resistance and the Arts of Domination

Miners and the Bolivian State

Bibliographic Data

ID4501428
AuthorsHarry Sanabria (Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, corresponding author)
Year2000
Volume27
Issue1
Pages56-81
Publication date2000-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLatin American Perspectives (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-582X • E-ISSN: 1552-678X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0094582x0002700105
OpenAlexW2027137649
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited80

The ever-growing scholarly literature on resistance-closely associated with now-classic works by James Scott (1976; 1985; 1990)-has consistently focused on historical conjunctures explaining emergence and consolidation of dominant social orders and their ideological, economic, political, and cultural underpinnings, mix of coercion and consent in varying historical contexts that accounts for more or less effective state rule and hegemony, and, especially, contexts and processes within and through which social groups creatively contest dominating and seemingly totalizing power of states, elites, and other power holders. There is a growing realization that seemingly dominant ideologies' are rarely if ever as pervasive as they seem to be, that behind apparent acquiescence to state and elite rule and domination are alternative visions, hopes, and expectations and a deep questioning of existing politico-economic arrangements and their ideological underpinnings, and that power of state and dominant classes, while very real, is rarely all-encompassing and hegemonic projects are often quite fragile and fragmentary. Subordinate groups are constantly questioning and challenging the terms of their subordination, do not engage in willing, even enthusiastic complicity in that subordination (Scott, 1990: 4, 86), and have available to them opportunities and repertoire-cultural, political, economic, social, and ideological-to challenge it. The resistance literature has amply documented manifold ways that subordinate, marginalized, or otherwise disposed but not entirely powerless social groups have (more or less) successfully confronted, maneuvered around, checked, challenged, skirted, or otherwise undermined closely overlapping forms of domination (Scott, 1976; 1985; 1990; Nash, 1988; Colburn, 1989; Leong, 1992; Gutmann, 1993; Reed-Danahay, 1993; Guha, 1994; Roseberry, 1994; Ortner, 1995). My purpose in this article is not to tread over familiar terrain-either to dwell on goals and achievements of resistance scholarship or to reiterate many critiques that have been leveled at it (see especially Abu-Lughod

Biology · Political science · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · The arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Latin American and Latino Studies · Law · Politics and Society in Latin America

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