Anthropology 101: Necropolitics and the Power of Death

Acknowledgment of Country

• The lecture acknowledges that it takes place on the lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, recognizing their traditional custodianship and connection to the land.

Introduction: Zombies as a Complement to Witches

• The lecture introduces the film White Zombie (1932) as a key reference point, drawing parallels between its themes and Evans-Pritchard's anthropological work on witchcraft.

• Zombies, akin to witches, serve as cultural reflections of societal fears, anxieties, and underlying social issues, providing insights into a culture's collective psyche.

• The original zombie concept, rooted in Haitian Vodou, features figures like Papa Develier who use mystical powers to reanimate the dead for their bidding, highlighting themes of control and exploitation.

• Witches employ mystical forces to influence and affect bodies, while zombies represent a cultural manifestation of bewitchment that extends beyond death, capturing the imagination and cultural anxieties.

• White Zombie functions as a social drama, exploring the potential dangers and consequences of magical forces within a community.

Assessment 3: Clarifications

• Written responses should be articulate and well-structured in full sentences, prioritizing clarity over formal citations.

• The use of bullet points is discouraged in written responses to promote narrative coherence and detailed explanations.

• While a time limit is in place, students have some flexibility and should not be overly concerned if they exceed it slightly.

• No extensions will be granted for the assessment deadlines, emphasizing the importance of time management and preparation.

• Students unable to complete the assessment within the specified dates should apply for special consideration, following university policies and procedures.

• For effective revision, students are encouraged to revisit study guides, class recordings, slides, weekly discussion guides, and assigned readings available on Cloud Beacon, reinforcing key concepts and themes.

Recap: Core Concepts of Culture

• Culture is a multifaceted construct comprising various elements, including cuisine, rituals, and language, all contributing to a shared way of life.

• Anthropology offers a holistic approach to understanding how individuals perceive the world, form concepts, communicate ideas, organize socially, and engage in actions within their cultural context.

• Ethnography involves extended immersion within a culture to facilitate a deep and comprehensive understanding of its intricacies and nuances.

• Key concepts include the study of categories (how we conceive and categorize the world) and structures (kinship, political, economic) and their functions within a society.

• A central goal of anthropology is to challenge assumptions by making the familiar seem strange and the unfamiliar appear more familiar, fostering cross-cultural understanding and empathy.

Critiquing Positivism and Embracing Dynamic Nominalism

• Positivism posits that categories possess an objective existence prior to human naming and classification.

• Anthropology challenges positivism, advocating for dynamic nominalism as a more nuanced approach.

• Dynamic nominalism suggests that categories, while seemingly naming real entities, are recursive and subject to continuous re-evaluation.

• Classifications not only categorize but also classify individuals, and their repeated use leads to an impression of naturalness (Bourgeois).

• Hacking describes this phenomenon as a looping effect, where classifications influence and are influenced by those they classify.

• Medical examples illustrate how characteristics evolve into symptoms, and emotions become signs of disease, reflecting the dynamic nature of categorization.

• Anthropologists critically examine categories such as race and intelligence, questioning their validity and social implications.

• Categories are socially constructed rather than existing objectively in nature, underscoring the influence of culture and society on classification systems.

Anthropological Interest in Conceptualization

• Anthropologists explore how different cultures conceptualize the world, drawing on works like Lucian Levi-Brule's "How Natives Think" and Claude Levi-Strauss's "The Savage Mind."

• A key aspect of understanding a culture involves examining how it interprets the causes of misfortune and adversity.

• Studying Zande society provides insights into its cultural axioms and institutions.

• In Zande society, a central axiom is that all misfortunes stem from witchcraft, shaping social interactions and beliefs.

• Institutions maintain this axiom through oracles controlled by experts influenced by aristocrats, reinforcing power structures.

• Michel Foucault highlights the interconnectedness of power and knowledge within a society.

• Power seeks to be irreversible, cumulative, and immortal, forming its own imaginary and superstition (Jean Baudrillard).

• Zande society's gerontocracy and patrilineal system preserve power within specific segments of society.

• Everyday reasoning reinforces the power-knowledge nexus, perpetuating existing social hierarchies.

• Cultural techniques, such as secondary elaboration, allow for interpretation and some level of freedom within the dominant paradigm.

The Persistence of Witchcraft and Magic

• Witchcraft and magic endure due to the ongoing human need for explanations that extend beyond mechanical reason and scientific understanding.

• Crises amplify the persistence of witchcraft, as individuals seek explanations that surpass natural or human causes during times of uncertainty.

• There is a continuing functional need for metaphysical and magical explanations to address unresolved questions and existential anxieties.

Zombies as a Complement to Witchcraft

• Zombies originated in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti, linked to demonic figures like Papa Doc Develier and Vodou traditions.

• Becoming a zombie implies a perpetual existence under the control of another, often with malevolent intent, reflecting themes of subjugation.

• Modern zombie narratives often attribute zombieism to exogenous factors, such as extraterrestrial forces, diseases, or fungal infections, mirroring contemporary fears.

• Zombies, similar to witches, serve as expressions of cultural crises and tensions, reflecting deeper societal anxieties.

• Witches embody anxieties about neighbors and interpersonal relationships, while zombies symbolize social crises or concerns about free will and consumerism in modern society.

Biopolitics and Necropolitics

• Michel Foucault introduces the concept of biopolitics, wherein governments exert power over life by promoting certain forms of existence through institutions and policies.

• Governments employ categories to quantify, assess, and allocate resources, shaping the lives of their citizens.

• Achille Mbembe argues that governments can create states of exception, suspending their own rules during crises, with significant implications for individual rights.

• Necropolitics involves governments exerting power over death, determining who is allowed to live and who is relegated to death, often disproportionately affecting marginalized populations.

• Witches and zombies underscore the plight of those marginalized, disenfranchised, and relegated to bare existence within a culture.

• Magical and mystical rationalities can be weaponized to expel and exclude individuals from mainstream society.

• Governments and institutions may exploit these logics to push individuals into positions of rightlessness and marginality, perpetuating systemic inequalities.

Conclusion

• The study of witchcraft and necropolitics offers insights into the darker aspects of power dynamics and their profound effects on marginalized populations