The Embodiment of Caste

Abstract

Caste is often presented as a stable or fixed form of social stratification that conditions the behaviour of its members.This occludes the micro-structural process by which caste is embodied.This article uses empirical work on caste protest to discuss the fluid nature of embodied activity, and the analytical utility of two social constructionist accounts: the tacitly pre-given structures of Bourdieu's model are compared to the continuous creation model of Foucault.Whereas the internalized structures of Bourdieu's habitus initially appear to make most sense of the embodiment and permanence of caste, we contend that a Foucauldian approach offers better insight into the interactional basis of social structures and identity formation.The article reconsiders both theories in light of these empirical data and concludes that analysing interaction at a local level enables us to better comprehend the emergence of social structural features in a caste context.

Progress, Public Health, and Power: Foucault and the Homemakers' Clubs of Saskatchewan*

“…In recent decades, other sociologists have produced interesting studies of systematic efforts to shape the health of various populations. Foucault (1980) himself wrote a short essay on “The Politics of Health in the Eighteenth Century.” Related and significant historical analyses have been published by Donzelot (1979), Valverde (1991), and Rose (2007), and recently, authors such as Chase (2006), Cowley, Mitcheson, and Houston (2004), Curtis (2002), Gorringe and Rafanell (2007), Joyce (2001), López and Robertson (2007), Lupton (1995), Peterson and Bunton (1997), Raby (2005), Rimke (2000), Wall (2001), and Wright, O'Flynn, and Macdonald (2006) have applied Foucauldian insights to the study of public health and closely related phenomena. The domain of public health is fascinating, for it demonstrates the complex ethical and sociological issues of working to mold the thoughts and actions of human beings.…”

Madurai Formula Films: Caste Pride and Politics in Tamil Cinema

“…In others, however, it is the use of attire, mannerisms and bearing that connote particular castes. One important caste marker in the context of dominant masculinity, of course, is the moustache (Gorringe and Rafanell 2007). In consideration of the physical performance of masculinity, one of the most visible and effective practicesthe styling of facial hair-comes to the fore in these films.…”

Consenting to Domination? Theorising Power, Agency and Embodiment with Reference to Caste

“…For all the nuances of his work, in other words, he fails to recognise the central role that all individuals play in creating regimes of power. Drawing on earlier work (Gorringe and Rafanell, 2007) – which focused on empirical material – this paper outlines the analytical basis of an intrinsic model of power. The foundation of this position is that it is interactions between conscious individuals (both power‐holders and subjects) that underpin social structures and that power cannot exist independently of such actions.…”

“…We call this an ‘extrinsic’ conception of power (cf. Gorringe and Rafanell, 2007). Extrinsic models not only reify power outside individuals' activity – thus failing to provide an explanation of the bases/nature/origin of power – but also render agency, resistance and domination analytically obscure.…”

“…In contrast to portraits of a stable or immutable ideological system, this stress on the politics of caste relations tallies with a closer reading of the historical and empirical data and foregrounds the contingent processes through which caste hierarchy is constructed and reconstructed. We have argued elsewhere (Gorringe and Rafanell, 2007) that caste is a continually created social structure/phenomenon, and that its depiction as harmonious is a theoretical imposition which does not correspond to the empirical reality of how caste is lived, practised and permanently contested.…”