Anthropology Matters Journal, 2008, Vol 10 (1)

Engaging Anthropology

Editor: Ingie Hovland

Editorial: A tribute to Paul Hendrich - engaging anthropology

Alpa Shah (Goldsmiths, University of London)

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Articles

My dog's the champ: an analysis of young people in urban settings and fighting dog breeds

Saffron Burley (Goldsmiths, University of London)

There is a growing phenomenon of young people in urban areas owning fighting dog breeds, such as Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers and English Bull Terriers. Many people find these youths and their dogs threatening, and many more are concerned that the dogs are being trained to fight, and to deliberately intimidate. As well as the perception of these young people as a threat, there is also a host of anti-cruelty sentiments directed at them. The purpose of this exploration is to examine the origins and characteristics of this phenomenon and the societal responses in regards to it, especially in the context of wider society's historical tendency to assume the worst of this particular group, and the way that many dominant views on this issue echo typical "moral panic" anxieties. I hope to also reveal the extent of more subtle needs and nuances in the behaviour of these young people and the deeper motivations behind their choice to own and train fighting dog breeds, by using a more sensitive, ethnographic approach to flesh out the picture. I will then apply the understanding gained from this exploration to inform my understanding of the challenges and considerations facing youth and community work in regards to young people, highlighting our aim as youth workers to link our work to broader issues of inequality in society.

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Control, cohesion and consumption: constructing young people through participation and citizenship

Rachel Ashcroft (Goldsmiths, University of London)

This article examines participation as a "discursive fact". Using the framework of Foucault, it explores the importance of participation and citizenship as "ordering concepts" in the New Labour project. Moreover, it argues that participation is part of a wider discourse of control, cohesion, and consumption. By de-politicising participation, New Labour serves to enhance its own legitimacy. This is the logical outcome of government as systems of thought and action. Youth and community practitioners also objectify youth, exercising similar discursive power in their own work. Putting participation into practice thus presents a challenge for workers, as they are required to recognise their power and to exercise it in a reflexive way.

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Youth participation: creating good citizens or good subjects?

Helen Clark (Goldsmiths, University of London)

This article seeks to locate the idea of youth participation in the wider anthropological debates on nationalism and citizenship. By examining UK Government policy such as the Respect Action Plan (Home Office 2006) and the Youth Matters Green Paper (DfES 2005), the article will analyse the Government's approach to young people as citizens. Drawing on theories of republican and liberal citizenship the article will seek to show that the Government's thinking on citizenship and young people is somewhat confused, and that this has a direct impact on the forms of participation offered to young people. Using my own experience as a youth worker I will show the impact this has on youth work practice and the ways in which young people experience citizenship and participation in everyday situations. Ultimately it will be argued that the Government's approach to citizenship is leading to the creation of good subjects rather than good citizens.

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Empowering to disempower: a dilemma when working with adults with learning difficulties

Beccy Blow (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Is the use of participatory techniques effective in empowering and engaging adults with learning difficulties within their "communities"? Despite the progress that has been made to introduce structures for consultation, it is not clear to what level people are participating. Participation appears to be driven by a Government agenda that is more about achieving consultation forums and less about listening to what is being said or making efforts towards inclusive practice. Who ultimately benefits from empowering practices? This paper discusses the complex ethical considerations of adopting participatory processes with adults with learning difficulties. The potential for individuals to contribute in participatory processes often rests on their ability to communicate verbally within consultative structures and ultimately depends on a degree of interpretation. The challenge for the researcher is to create a meaningful participatory dialogue with research participants whilst facing the difficulties associated with claiming that messages have been clearly understood. This paper draws parallels between the ways in which power relations are analysed in both contemporary learning difficulty discourse and participatory practice and discourse in development work. I also reflect on the use of labelling in the context of learning difficulty and the ways in which labels can be used as a form of control. Participatory techniques can, without significant adjustment and adaptation, result in reinforcing a lack of power. The language of empowerment disguises institutional forms of discrimination that continue to exclude people with learning difficulties from participating as equal citizens.

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A modern moral panic: the representation of British Bangladeshi and Pakistani youth in relation to violence and religion

Rayen Salgado-Pottier (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Moral panics have arisen about young British Pakistani and Bangladeshi males along two veins: violence and religion. Throughout this article I shall demonstrate that these young men should be considered modern "folk devils", by placing them at the end of a succession of young deviants who have been repeatedly vilified. This is firstly explored through notions of ethnicity and criminality, via the analysis of media, government and public responses to "gangs" and the "riots" that took place in several northern industrial towns in the UK in 1995 and 2001, as well as Paris in 2005. Then the moral panic surrounding religion is explored, which seems to have overtaken the latter but still features the same protagonists. "Islamophobia" is discussed in relation to xenophobic media and state representations of young Muslim men and how the latter interact with these derisive stereotypes. Exploring the increased interest of non-practising young Muslims in Islam, I suggest that this has had both beneficial and adverse consequences.

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Charting a new course for Deptford Town Hall

Paul Hendrich (Goldsmiths, University of London)

Goldsmiths, one of the colleges in the University of London, is the current owner of Deptford's former Town Hall, an ornately sculpted building on a maritime theme. Controversially, the figures celebrated on the front of this building have close associations with the British slave trade. The paper attempts a new historicisation of Goldsmiths in relation to Deptford Town Hall, racism and resistance to racism. It further explores anthropological theory and methods in order to ascertain the institutional responsibilities of Goldsmiths to adequately address this controversial artefact. Finally I briefly examine how theory can inform action in the development of a local campaign.

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