Monthly Archives: July 2011

Whigs and Hunters

Thompson, E.P. 1975. Whigs and Hunters: The Origin of the Black Act. New York: Pantheon Books. EP Thompson’s classic Whigs and Hunters: The Origins of the Black Act traces the confluence of property, law, and crime in a transitional moment … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Boundaries, Forests, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Power, Spatiality, Terror, The State, Violence | 4 Comments

Moral Economy of the Crowd

Thompson, E.P. 1993. Customs in Common: Studies in Traditional Popular Culture. New York: New Press. [Ch. 4 & 5] E.P. Thompson’s essay “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd” questions the usual portrayal of eighteenth century food riots as “spasmodic … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, City, Historical Materialism, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, The State, Violence | 7 Comments

Marx: Law on Thefts of Wood

Marx, Karl. 1842. “Debates on Law on Thefts of Wood.” Rheinische Zeitung. Nos. 298, 300, 303, 305 and 307. As editor of the Rheinische Zeitung in 1842-1843, Marx found himself having to cover what he deemed the “uninspiring debates” of … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Bandits, Forests, Illegality, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Power, Primitive Accumulation, The State | Comments Off on Marx: Law on Thefts of Wood

Understories in Northern New Mexico

Kosek, Jake. 2006. Understories: The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico. Durham: Duke University Press. Jake Kosek’s Understories: The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico is a solid model for the presentation of research. He brilliantly … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Everyday Life, Forests, Frontiers, Governmentality, Historical-Geographies, Land, Law, Michel Foucault, Nation/Nationalism, Place, Political Ecology, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Science & Tech., Spatiality, Territory, The Body, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

Weapons of the Weak

Scott, James. 1985. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance. New Haven: Yale University Press. James Scott’s influential Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance offers a compelling thesis on peasant politics and social change in … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Everyday Life, Hegemony, Land, Law, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

A Different Kind of War Story

Nordstrom, Carolyn. 1997. A Different Kind of War Story. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Carolyn Nordstrom’s A Different Kind of War Story is an incredible work of scholarship. She pulls no punches when it comes to portraying the frontline horrors … Continue reading

Posted in Everyday Life, Hegemony, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Peace, Post-Colonial, Scale, Terror, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

Culture of Terror, Space of Death

Taussig, Michael. 1984. “Culture of Terror, Space of Death. Roger Casement’s Putumayo Report and the Explanation of Torture.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 26(3): 467-497. In this essay, Michael Taussig wants to explore “the mediation of the culture of … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Dialectics, Forests, Frontiers, Historical-Geographies, Land, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Spatiality, Spectacle, Terror, Violence | Comments Off on Culture of Terror, Space of Death

Engendering Everyday Resistance

Hart, Gillian. 1991. “Engendering Everyday Resistance.” Journal of Peasant Studies. 19(1): 93-121. Gillian Hart’s much-cited article “Engendering Everyday Resistance” seeks to answer why women in the Muda region of Malaysia came “to define and prosecute their interests as workers, whereas … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Everyday Life, Gender, Land, Political Economy, Post-Colonial, Power, Race & Ethnicity, The State | Comments Off on Engendering Everyday Resistance

Taking the Jungle Out of the Forest

Peluso, Nancy and Peter Vandergeest. 2011. “Taking the Jungle out of the Forest: Counter-Insurgency and the Making of National Natures.” In Global Political Ecology edited by Richard Peet, Paul Robbins, and Michael Watts. New York: Routledge.  What are the interconnected … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Boundaries, Forests, Frontiers, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Maps, Nation/Nationalism, Political Ecology, Post-Colonial, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Scale, Science & Tech., Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Taking the Jungle Out of the Forest

The Antinomies of ‘Community’

Watts, Michael J. “The Sinister Political Life of Community: Economies of Violence and Governable Spaces in the Niger Delta, Nigeria.” Creed, Gerald. The Seductions of Community: Emancipations, Oppressions, Quandaries. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press. Community is often … Continue reading

Posted in Hegemony, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Land, Law, Michel Foucault, Political Ecology, Political Economy, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Scale, Sovereignty, Spatiality, Territory, The State, Violence | 1 Comment