Indiana University Press blog

Translation as a Lens To Analyze the Politics of Legal Change

SPECIAL ISSUE: Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Winter 2014) 

SYMPOSIUM: Regulatory Translations: Expertise and Affect in Global Legal Fields; Istanbul, Turkey; May 16-18, 2013

Guest Editors: Türem Ziya Umut & Andrea Ballestero

The workshop and this special issue attempt to mobilize “translation” as a heuristic to observe, understand, and explain regulatory circulations. The goal has been to work with translation as a lens through which we can analyze the politics of legal and regulatory change in different parts of the globe at different temporalities. The authors attempt to show the potential that joining the two concepts, regulation and translation, offers for critical reflection. As a concept that so firmly grasps the imagination and practice of both subjects and objects of social scientific research, translation offers a productive window to analyze the politics of law and regulation and the sharing of technical questions, theoretical resources, and practical concerns between social commentators and practitioners.

We consider this special issue a contribution to an effort to think about the complex phenomenon of regulatory movements by using translation as an analytic frame. This exploratory introduction to regulatory translations speaks to the curiosity of scholars and practitioners interested in the ongoing transformations of regulatory regimes, legalities, and forms of globalization in which we participate.

Excerpt from the introduction.

Türem Ziya Umut is Assistant Professor, Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History, Boùaziçi University. His research examines global circulation and production of legal and economic technologies in the neoliberal era such as competition laws, and independent expert agencies.

Andrea Ballestero is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Rice University. Her research examines the ethical, technical, and economic entanglements through which the human right to water is constituted in Latin America.

Read the Introduction for Free: Regulatory Translations: Expertise and Affect in Global Legal Fields, Türem Ziya Umut, Andrea Ballestero

Read more about Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies at their website. 

Subscribe to the electronic version at Indiana University Press on JSTOR.

Book reviews: Labor Disorders in Neoliberal Italy

"Molé's book is an ethnographically sound and theoretically sophisticated contribution to the understanding of how neoliberal policies are experienced and embodied in Southern Europe, and also of how such policies are conceptualized in medical and legal terms. As such, it is recommended for those interested in the anthropology of Italy, for medical and legal anthropologists, and for students of labor relations." —American Ethnologist

"Molé’s analysis is thus multifaceted, sophisticated, and full of insightful observations. Yet ... the most intriguing contribution of this book is how it may open the eyes of Americans (and others) to our own social constructions of work and workplace change... Molé’s exploration of mobbing in Italy is both informative and insightful." —American Journal of Sociology

Books & Books to host signing with john powell

The Books & Books store in Coral Gables, FL will host a book talk and signing with Racing to Justice author john a. powell December 12 at 8 p.m. 

In his book, powell persuasively argues that we have not achieved a post-racial society and that there is much work to do to redeem the American promise of inclusive democracy. Culled from a decade of writing about social justice and spirituality, these meditations on race, identity, and social policy provide an outline for laying claim to our shared humanity and a way toward healing ourselves and securing our future. Learn more about Racing to Justice in this book trailer:

UC Berkeley to host book launch for 'Racing to Justice'

The University of California, Berkeley will host a book launch for john a. powell's Racing to Justice November 7. He will discuss his new book from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Maude Fife Room, 315 Wheeler Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. A reception and booksigning will follow the lecture. 

For more information about Racing to Justice, visit the IU Press website or watch this book trailer:

More October events for 'Racing to Justice' author john a. powell

Racing to Justice author john a. powell has two more events lined up for this month. The first takes place October 19 when powell will sign copies of Racing to Justice at the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA. The signing will take place at the Marin Civic Center in the Main Exhibit Expo Hall from 6:15 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. For more information about the conference, visit the Bioneers website.

Then on October 22 at 4 p.m. (EST), powell will appear on "A Safe Place to Talk About Race" hosted by Sharon Davis of VoiceAmerica. During this live one hour show, powell will discuss current issues around race and his book, Racing to Justice. Listeners can call in or submit questions online. Tune into the show on the VoiceAmerica website.

5 reading selections for the political season

Just in time for the political season, we've released new books that examine four important issues in American politics today.

1. Does style matter more than substance in politics?

It’s a common complaint that a presidential candidate's style matters more than substance and that the issues have been eclipsed by mass-media-fueled obsession with a candidate’s every slip, gaffe, and peccadillo. In Creatures of Politics, the authors Michael Lempert and Michael Silverstein explore political communication—debates, ads, interviews, speeches, and talk shows—in American presidential politics, focusing on "message"—not simply an individual’s positions on the issues, but the craft used to fashion the candidate-creature the public sees.

Read excerpt

 

2. Should we keep the filibuster?

Authors Richard A. Arenberg and Robert B. Dove passionately argue that yes, we must preserve the filibuster, which they call the "soul of the senate." Their new book Defending the Filibuster contends that the filibuster protects the rights of the minority in American politics, assures stability and deliberation in government, and helps to preserve constitutional principles of checks and balances and separation of powers.

Read excerpt

 

3. Does the Voting Rights Act still serve American democracy?

Passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) changed the face of the American electorate, dramatically increasing minority voting, especially in the South. Daniel McCool's book The Most Fundamental Right is an effort to understand the debate over the Act and its role in contemporary American democracy.

Read excerpt

 

4. Is America a post-racial society?

Two new books dispute the claim that America has become a post-racial society since the historic election of the first African-American president. In Nation of Cowards, David H. Ikard and Martell Lee Teasley propose that Americans need to talk more about race, and that such a conversation can take place only with passionate and organized pressure from black Americans. They argue that neither Obama nor any political figure is likely to be in the forefront of addressing issues of racial inequality and injustice.

Read excerpt

IU Press podcast

Renowned social justice advocate john a. powell persuasively argues in Racing for Justice that we have not achieved a post-racial society and that there is much work to do to redeem the American promise of inclusive democracy. He challenges us to replace attitudes and institutions that promote and perpetuate social suffering with those that foster relationships and a way of being that transcends disconnection and separation.

Read excerpt

Book trailer

Fourth World Conference to host booksigning with john a. powell

john powell will sign copies of his new book Racing to Justice during the Fourth World Conference on Remedies to Racial & Ethnic Economic Inequality. The event takes place October 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on the University of Minnesota campus. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required. powell will also be one of the featured presenters at the conference. Visit the Humphrey School of Public Affairs website for more details.

To learn more about Racing to Justice, visit the IU Press website or watch this book trailer:

Why America is not a post-racial society

Spike Lee recently discussed the concept of a post-racial America with CNN's Don Lemon.

Lee's view that racism did not disappear after Barack Obama was elected president is shared by three IU Press authors in their new books. In Nation of Cowards, authors David H. Ikard and Martell Lee Teasley show the paradox of Barack Obama’s historic rise to the US presidency and the ever-increasing social and economic instability of African American communities. They argue that Americans are no where near having a post-racial society, and that we as a country need to talk more about racism. You can hear more about the authors' ideas for starting productive conversations on race in this IU Press podcast.

Renowned social justice advocate john a. powell also agrees that we have not achieved a post-racial society. In his new book Racing to Justice, powell persuasively argues that there is much work to do to redeem the American promise of inclusive democracy. Culled from a decade of writing about social justice and spirituality, these meditations on race, identity, and social policy provide an outline for laying claim to our shared humanity and a way toward healing ourselves and securing our future. Watch him discuss race in this video:

For the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an anniversary—and new scholarship

On this day in 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law—legislation that, "during the height of the Civil Rights movement...changed the American electorate, dramatically increasing minority voting, especially in the South."

The VRA remains a topic of impassioned debate: For while reauthorization of certain impermanent provisions of the Act passed "by a wide margin in the House, and unanimous in the Senate" in 2007, the "lopsided tally hid a deep and growing conflict." Next month, IU Press will publish the newest addition to the debate: The Most Fundamental Right: Contrasting Perspectives on the Voting Rights Act, edited by Daniel McCool.

The Most Fundamental Right is "an effort to understand the debate over the Act and its role in contemporary American democracy," and asks whether the VRA is "the cornerstone of civil rights law that prevents unfair voting practices, or ... an anachronism that no longer serves American democracy?" Thus the "conversation" continues.

Visit the IU Press website to find out more information about The Most Fundamental Right, as well as pre-order copies.

Upcoming book explores necessity of filibuster rule

The Huffington Post recently highlighted the debate over Senate's filibuster rule, which, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has "been abused." Should it remain in practice as it stands?

Authors Richard A. Arenberg and Robert B. Dove explore the necessity of maintaining this rule as protection for the minority in American politics in their upcoming book, Defending the Filibuster, due out this September. They offer an instructive historical overview of the development of Senate rules, define and describe related procedures and tactics, examine cases related to specific pieces of legislation, and consider current proposals to end the filibuster or enact other reforms. Arguing passionately in favor of retaining the filibuster, they offer a thought-provoking assessment of the issues surrounding current debates on this contentious issue.

Contact Mandy Clarke for advance review copies or interview requests.