Highlights of the Catharine MacKinnon Lecture

Catharine MacKinnon came to LSE and gave a lecture called, "Women's Status, Men's States" on October 22, 2008. She was fiery and passionate and excitable -- her energy reinvigorated my academic drive to be here. Seeing her speak was also momentous for me personally because it took what Prof. Edlin taught in Philosophy of Law and brought it to life. I won't be able to recreate her fervor, so I've decided instead to post the notes that I took while listening to her speak:

In the last 25 years we've seen women confront the denial of their own humanity on a global scale:
-Women have NO humanity when they're violated by men in sexual ways.
-Women have begun to overcome the denial of atrocities by initiating the normative process of "becoming human."
-Until now, women have been confronted with the sentiment that, "if it's really happening it isn't so bad and if it's so bad it isn't really happening."
-Even with all their set backs, women can be viewed as halfway towards the goal of "becoming fully human" -- this is because even in its aspirational form, human rights have typically only described the rights of men. Recent developments in the human rights discourse and international law has made the term "human rights" more honest (i.e. reflective of female reality).

What is meant by labeling the state "male?"
- The structures and actions of the state are centrally animated by hierarchical, sexual politics
- Important caveat: not everything men do is male; but male is taken in this context to mean, "exhibiting or contributing to male dominance"
- Given that the state is demonstrably male, is the international system a counterbalance? Or does the international system assume the role of "meta male?"
- If the state is gendered and treats women as such through the law, does the international order discourage bias or reinvigorate it at even higher levels?

Does the international system depend upon the state as it currently exists?
- It's been argued that there is a democratic deficit (i.e. that national systems are more democratic are thus better suited for the resolution of human rights violations)...but it seems the international order is more democratic when it comes to the status of women
-Others point to the "death of the state," claiming that the state has been superceded by globalization, multinational organizations, organized crime, religion etc....but from the point of view of women, this has always been the case. Maleness transcends everyday life in a multitude of ways. Is it just more visible now?

State behavior that's typically male does these four things:
1. distinguishes public from private
2. naturalizes difference as dominance
3. hides coercion behind consent
4. obscures politics behind morality (i.e. power...who has it?)

**Women's best chance to avoid violations at home is to appeal to those that are spatially distant (and presumably less biased). Men's definition of objective is "I don't identify with that man, therefore I can be fair." MacKinnon claims that the international system is more progressive than that because the distance attenuates male dominance.**

Women = a truly global group
- Gender inequality = global system
- Sovereign jurisdiction = cultural exemption of male dominance. Common argument is that if it's a cultural universal "we can't do anything about it" and if it's a cultural particularity "we shouldn't do anything about it." This means that every form of female oppression is allowed.
-Sexual violations are considered private but they are shared, they are rationalized as consensual but they're coerced...

And finally, the question I wanted to ask but chickened out on...
In Feminism Unmodified you encourage your readers to think about the experience of women from the vantage point of 53% of the population...do you worry that forcing people to adopt this mentality of shared experience will make it difficult for people to relate to those that have experienced exceptional human rights atrocities...in a distant country, during genocide or in a repressive home down the street?

PS. My friend Kaitlin took the picture.

More Pictures of London

Photos:
1. If you look closely you'll see that the window of this abandoned building says "No War"
2. The front of my residence hall
3. Blackfriars bridge (the bridge I cross each morning en route to LSE)
4. St. Paul's Cathedral
5. Views from the Millennium Bridge (you can see London Bridge in the distance)
6-8. More St. Paul's Cathedral
9. Street performer at Camden Market
10. Holborn

Insert thoughtful response to Zimbabwe power-sharing deal and Sudanese ICC indictments here

I have received several celebratory emails from student organizations at the LSE praising the recent issuance of ICC indictments in Sudan. These emails have described the court's exertion of its juridical might as a necessary step towards eradicating impunity. These emails struck me as overly simplistic for several reasons:

1. The ICC is a highly politicized legal mechanism -- its administration of justice is selective and self-serving. As Tim Allen explains in his book, Trial Justice -- The International Criminal Court and the Lord's Resistance Army, "perhaps not surprisingly, the waters are being tested in parts of the world that are politically and economically of limited significance for the major powers. All the ICC's ongoing investigations are in Central Africa" (Allen, 2). Western "Super Powers" are exempted from the ICC's far reaching, juridical power. As Professor Gerry Simpson notes in Law, War & Crime, "the ICC may have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity but this is certainly not universal jurisdiction (universal jurisdiction was specifically rejected by the delegates at Rome). Any US soldiers suspected of committing crimes against humanity in Afghanistan would not be subject to it, and Russian Special Forces accused of murdering civilians in Chechnya are not subject to it." As a result, most "alleged war criminals in most places, most of the time, will not fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC" (Simpson, 47).

2. The organization's focus on collective rather than individual guilt is misplaced. Genocide is mass participatory -- deflecting attention from the abuses suffered at the hands of many, in favor of those committed by political elites, ignores the totality of the conflict's destructive power. It might also have the unintended effect of legitimating and making martyr's out of the accused (Simpson, 21).

3. Issuing indictments in the midst of a volatile, ethnic conflict could foment further violence and disrupt tenuous cease-fire agreements (as in Northern Uganda). Professor Simpson claims that "organizations like the ICC become the enemy of politics -- calling for punishment instead of negotiation, individual guilt and blame in the face of collective responsibility, and trial instead of immunity" (Simpson, 22).

4. African countries may not be receptive to what is often perceived as a Western, adversarial mode of justice. Okechukwu Oko argues in "The Challenges of International Criminal Prosecutions in Africa," that African citizens “deride international criminal prosecutions as judicial colonialism, imperial condescension, or worse, as ersatz efforts by the West to imbricate its failure to prevent tu quoque violence that continues to disfigure Africa.” The adversarial model is viewed this way because the “elaborate substantive and procedural rules [employed] are virtually incomprehensible to the local inhabitants,” and the type of justice pursued in these geographically distant tribunals is identified as “foreign” (Oko, 366).

On the Subject of the Collapsed Zimbabwean Negotiations...

1. Robert Mugabe has rewritten electoral laws to stay in power, has violently re-appropriated land, silenced and abused the opposition. Deception and manipulation is his political forte. Why are people surprised he's done it again? Giving such a skilled dictator even a "symbolic" governmental position was a mistake.

2. Robert Mugabe's rallying cry has been and always will be "us versus them." He hasn't moved past the injustices of apartheid and skillfully invokes these memories to draw continued support from his comrades (including Thabo Mbeki).

3. CRONYISM. Robert Mugabe and Thabo Mbeki have an unsettling, historically convoluted but deeply personal relationship. Mbeki has come under fire in the past for his policy of "quiet diplomacy" in Zimbabwe. Why rely on his powers of persuasion now with Robert Mugabe for a crisis with such severe sociopolitical and regional implications?

More musings

1. I bless my liberal arts education on a daily basis here -- I feel so prepared, actually more than prepared, to tackle the readings assigned and the questions posed to me. I have developed an academic routine that works for me (digesting dense analytical texts, outlining articles, writing essays and preparing for exams) and it seems to be carrying over nicely to my work at the LSE. I am also finding that I have encountered (or at least heard of) a lot of the authors I'll be reading this year. In fact in some instances, I will be re-reading materials. For some kids coming from more vocationally focused schools, these texts feel daunting and new. I feel blessed to have at least a little bit of knowledge in a broad range of topics.
2. There's no shortage of good people in this world. I have been here for three weeks and I can honestly say that I have already made lifelong friends. Friends that finish my sentences, understand my sense of humor, have similar interests, jam to the same tunes, and are equally motivated to travel the world. Friends that I already can't imagine living without.
3. I can be myself wherever I end up. It works for me.
4. Getting used to new surroundings takes time. Although London sometimes feels like a mass of endless pavement and I am often overtaken by aggressively maneuvering pedestrians... it has so much to offer. I haven't even scratched the surface. I have a long list of things I need to conquer before I can authoritatively say I like South Africa better. South Africa was just different...and I had a team of interstudy staffers making sure my transition was seamless.

Syllabus week

My long awaited, first week of classes at LSE was... anti-climactic. I started the week with exceedingly high expectations. I somehow assumed that as a masters student I could bypass the boring, administrative discussions that come with "syllabus week." False. Readings, assignments, and grading rubrics are unavoidable at every level of education, regardless of the location. I don't know why I thought it should be any other way...all of that information is essential on a first meet and greet with new professors at a new school. I guess I was just ready for full throttle, mind blowing intellectual rigor. I won't bore you with the information that was disbursed in these first lectures, but I will share one particularly unique encounter I had during syllabus week at LSE....

Approximately five minutes into my first lecture, one student ferociously shot her hand into the air (probably dislocating her shoulder in the process) to interrupt my lecturer and say, "I am a native English speaker of over 6 decades and I cannot understand a SINGLE WORD you are saying. Since this is an international institution (and many of the students here speak English as their second language) I'd suggest that you slow down." I was absolutely appalled but also perversely entertained... the professor swallowed his pride and instead of going on an indignant rampage, humbly admitted that he was always easily excitable on his first lecture. I realized right then and there in that stuffy, cramped lecture theatre that LSE is an entirely different institution than Dickinson College. The kids here are more self confident (a euphemistic understatement if ever there was one), and the classes are bigger... in fact, the whole vibe is just different. If that poor lecturer's experience is any indication of life at LSE for these highly accomplished intellectuals, I hope rapid Darwinistic evolution takes place so that they can all acquire the saintly patience needed to deal with the larger than life egos of their students.

Music I am Grooving To

Ben Harper, "With My Own Two Hands" (Excerpts)

I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place
Oh- with my
Oh- with my own two hands
With my own
Oh- with my own two hands
With my own
With my own two hands

I can make peace on earth
With my own two hands
And I can clean up the earth
Oh- with my own two hands
And I can reach out to you

Oh with my own two hands...

Brett Dennen, "All We Have"

oh, we're growing
faster than we ever could have dreamed
and our bellies are bulging
we're gonna burst right through our seams
it's got us all in competition
for wealth and recognition
globalization I say's a contradiction
for we can't keep paving over this world
we won't all fit in

all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise above
so we can rise above
and all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise
so we can rise above the madness

and there's enough wealth for everyone
but some have the most
and most have some
and there's enough food for us all to flourish
tell me why are so many malnourished
you say this weakness in an empty pocket, no
and I'll tell you this weakness in an empty heart
and you say there's strength in the power to control
and I'll tell you no, there's strength in only love and compassion

all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise above
so we can rise above
and all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise
so we can rise above the madness

soon we'll find our own way home
'cause we all need a little healing sometimes
soon we'll find our own way home
'cause we all need a little healing
so give love
it's the only thing that heals you
come on sisters, give it to your brothers
so give love
it's the only thing that heals you
cause we all need a little healing
so give love it's the only thing that heals you
come on brothers, give it to your sisters
so give love it's the only thing that heals you
'cause we all need a little healing

and I can rest to show you that love will always cure you
no matter what your sickness is
no matter what hurts you
so give love it's the only thing that cures you
we all need a little healing

and if you give it, I have learned
it'll all be returned
if you only give love
if you only just give your love

all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise above
so we can rise above
and all that we have is hope and love
so don't you worry child
don't you worry 'bout a thing
in the night
but those can lift us up
so we can rise
so we can rise above the madness


Michael Franti, "Hey World (Don't Give Up)" (Excerpts)

hey world
what do you say
should i stick around for another day or two
don't give me up one me
i won't give up on you
just believe in me
like I believe in you

tell me why on this corner
all the kids that use to come to run here
load their guns here
and tell me why it's okay
to kill in the name of the god we pray
tell me who says it's okay
to die in the name of the lives we save
tell me why there are child soldiers
tell me why they close the borders
tell me how to fight disease and
tell me now oh won't you please
the only thing i want to do
is to be in the arms of someone who believes in me
like i believe in you
and i say...

Martin Sexton, "Wild Angels" (Excerpts)

We are born with all this music in our heart
We tend forget a little each day right from the start
In a dream I rolled on back the clock and found another way
To remember the words

That we are wild angels
Believing in our childhood dreams
We are just trying to find our way back to
The source of the stream
We are wild and free

Even like the hills these songs they last forever
Even though the singer will be forgotten in good time
Even that a song can unify or move mountains
This I cry we sing because we must

We all love the sound of music in our head
And feel the joy and pain cause we aint dead
We have the power and the duty and the means to change the world
And to remember the words

Cause we are wild angels
Sent down from our childhood dreams
And we're just trying to get ourselves back to the source of the stream
We are wild and we are free

It's where we want to be

Come and join us on the journey down the winding road
Doesn't matter what you fear cause we are bold
We got the light inside us of the universe
Gonna let it flow like a raging river

Ready to Get Started

I have been here two weeks now... and it feels like a lifetime. I can't tell if it's because time is flying or because it's crawling by slowly. All I know is that I am anxious for classes to start. Everyone I have met has had at least three self-doubting, quarter life crises this week. Without a rigid schedule to follow or the freedom of vacation time spending, we've all had ample time to question our program selection, course choices, spending power, new found social lives and setting. Our departmental inductions and receptions were both exciting and nerve wracking; professors, program directors, deans and career center advisors all vomited important dates, policies and opportunities at us. They gave us just enough information to feel intrigued but overwhelmed, ready to start but uncertain about how to begin...

I can finally say with confidence that I have chosen the right classes within my course (and have conquered LSE's bizarre online registration process). I have also introduced myself to my personal advisor (Dr. Claire Moon) and my tutor; both are intimidatingly and inspiringly accomplished scholars. I feel lucky to have been placed with Dr. Claire Moon; her research interests coincide with my own -- she specializes in transitional justice and political reconciliation. I think she will be a tremendous resource when I begin to write my dissertation. (Although I am counting on Prof. Edlin's advice from abroad!)

Social interactions here are still...awkward. Pubs close very early here, clubs are not my scene, drinks are killer expensive, and the kids in my hall are from such varied backgrounds that it can be hard to establish any common ground. Accents are still hard for me to process and my nationality (and the pending presidential election) has become an inescapable/ dreaded conversation topic. Some foreign students seem to forget that although the US has a participatory democracy... individual American citizens do not have the authority to dictate executive governmental decisions (foreign policy or economic). They also fail to understand that it is unfair to expect any American to shoulder the blame for Bush's failed presidency. Not everyone is satisfied with the past 8 years and not everyone contributed to Bush's presidential victory. As a human rights student, it would be easy for me to ask critical questions of students hailing from countries with abysmal human rights records... but I don't. Why? Because it doesn't make for friendly conversation on a first meet and greet.

Anyway, in the description of my blog...I promised to share my feelings on global politics. I think it's finally time for me to discuss this dreaded presidential election. I downloaded the Palin/Biden debate yesterday online. Amy and I watched it in complete shock and horror as Palin appealed to the Joe Six Packs, hockey moms and Mavericks nationwide, fumbled through McCain's Congressional voting record and deliberately avoided any of the moderator's questions with a coy smile. I must admit, I have not been very engaged in this election cycle but Palin might have just triggered me to action. McCain is aged and Palin is young, inexperienced and ignorant. She seems to relish in her small town, small-mindedness. She has botched every major interview this past week and seems to be surviving PR events by regurgitating facts robotically. It's scary to think she could be our president or have any say in the selection of up to three Supreme Court Justices. What's even scarier is her broad base appeal...hockey dads everywhere have found their sexy political soulmate and staunch Republicans have found the bull dog they need to "reinvigorate" their platforms. Quite honestly, the whole thing makes me ill. Obama must be elected.