Samira Kawash
Kawash reading notes:
Step into the subway at 34th Street, headed downtown, looking for a seat.
Spot a person in a cramped position by the door, folded like a fakir, taking up minimal space.
Body curled up, knees to face, feet twisted, with a thick knit cap on top and a large, tattered bag resting on the person.
Unable to discern much about the person’s identity (man/woman, race, age) but the position suggests youth.
The person is marked as homeless due to the position and belongings.
Train crowded, but surrounding seats empty, creating an invisible barrier around the person.
Other riders avoid the area, avoiding eye contact or proximity to the person.
The silent, collective response of the riders is mysterious and unified, as if an unspoken communication exists between them.
The homeless body is immobile and non-threatening, but still has a powerful effect on others in the subway.
Urban renewal in the 1980s led to gentrification and privatization, displacing marginal members of society, including the homeless.
Homelessness, especially visible street dwelling, became a symbol of failed progress and prosperity.
In media and politics, homelessness is seen as a problem caused by the homeless, not the system that produces it.
Policy focus is on controlling the homeless and protecting the public from them, rather than helping them.
Homeless individuals occupy public spaces but face exclusion as society debates who belongs to the public and who controls public space.
Violent exclusion of the homeless reflects a normative view of the public, where their displacement is seen as a threat to property and public space.
The homeless are often portrayed as victims or parasites outside society, reinforcing their separation from the public.
Advocacy and services for the homeless often exclude them from governance, reinforcing the divide between the public and homeless.
The image of the homeless as separate from the public overlooks their political and economic activities, like organizing, advocacy, and participation in public discourse.
The opposition between the public and homeless oversimplifies the reality of homelessness and suppresses complexities of their experiences.
The ideological opposition between the public and homeless produces material realities of exclusion in public spaces, creating the “homeless body” as a physical manifestation of this divide.
The homeless movement has fostered participation in public discourse through initiatives like street newspapers and community action groups.
Street newspapers, produced in various cities, feature homeless writing and employ homeless people, with vendors selling them for income.
A trade association for street newspapers was formed in 1996, and a group in Berkeley turned homeless artwork into greeting cards for fundraising.
Rosalyn Deutsche's analysis highlights the exclusion of the homeless from public spaces, particularly in her examination of New York's Jackson Park in 1991.
Jackson Park's controversy involved a neighborhood group locking the park gate to exclude the homeless, portraying them as illegitimate users of public space.
The gate represented a material and symbolic exclusion of the homeless, reinforcing a division between "legitimate" public space users and the homeless.
Exclusion technologies like the padlocked gate work both symbolically and materially, producing a distinction between public inhabitants and homeless "usurpers."
Homelessness is diverse, with factors like race, gender, age, and health influencing who becomes homeless and how it is experienced.
Traditional frameworks of homelessness may overlook the ideological force of homelessness as a specter that threatens the public, based on public perceptions of dirt, disheveled clothing, and panhandling.
In public space, homelessness often overrides individual identities, with the homeless body being marked by a specific mode of embodiment, defined by visible signs like belongings and disheveled appearance.
The "homeless body" is not an identity but a contingent condition that intersects with and occludes identity.
The homeless body is a mode of corporeality emerging in circumstances where the public struggles to define itself.
It is not an attribute of homeless people but an event marking their exclusion from the public.
The homeless body is tied to the contested meanings of public space, emphasizing exclusion rather than individual experiences of homelessness.
Mechanisms producing the homeless body aim to reduce homelessness to a simple exclusion from the public, reinforcing the exclusive representation of public space.
Homelessness is not just a moral or individual failure, but a systemic issue driven by economic forces causing dispossession and displacement.
Being homeless places individuals into public space, challenging the separation of public and private domains.
The homeless body is seen as a threat to public space, both ideologically (challenging the definition of public) and physically (occupying public space).
Policies targeting homelessness are part of a broader effort to secure public space, establish boundaries of inclusion, and define the "proper" citizen body.
The "war on the homeless" aims to eliminate not just homelessness, but to define the boundaries of public space and reinforce the division between the public and the homeless.
Public discourse on homelessness shifted from compassion to disavowal by the 1990s, focusing on eliminating the homeless rather than addressing causes.
Urban gentrification displaces homeless populations from previously stable zones, while settlements in areas like underpasses are seen as threats to be removed.
The homeless face increasing exclusion, with design innovations in cities (e.g., "bum-proof" bus seats, sprinklers, etc.) making public spaces hostile.
Proposals to "solve" homelessness include extreme ideas like deporting homeless people, though laws against behaviors like sitting or panhandling criminalize their existence.
Shelters provide temporary refuge, but they are highly regulated and often dangerous, leading many to avoid them.
Homelessness involves constant movement as individuals are excluded from public spaces, creating a condition of "placelessness."
The homeless experience a paradoxical condition where they are constantly moving without a destination, adding to their torment.
Homeless people’s daily struggle is marked by the inability to settle or find meaningful activities, as public spaces are not meant for them.
Public transportation becomes a refuge, not for travel but for passing time without a destination, emphasizing the endless cycle of homelessness.
Some homeless individuals, like Raymond, feel they do not truly "live" anywhere, existing in a state of displacement and nonexistence.
Placelessness is a key aspect of homelessness, embodying a state of nonexistence where the homeless have no place to be and no place to belong.
Homelessness, as placelessness, appears as a public nonexistence, but this absence is paradoxically present in public space.
The homeless body serves as a "limit-figure," positioned as both excluded and present, disrupting societal closure and unity.
The homeless person embodies a material barrier to societal homogeneity and harmony, representing an antagonism in public space.
The corporeality of the homeless body contrasts with the abstract notion of the public subject, making it a symbol of the “outside” of public space.
The perception of the homeless as "filth" links their body with waste and bodily excretions, marking a threat to the public's unity and cleanliness.
The societal desire for wholeness seeks to reduce the homeless body to nothing, attempting to erase its presence and restore social closure.
The closure of society seeks to deny a public place for the homeless body, creating a contradiction between their material existence and societal rejection.
To resolve this contradiction, society uses violent processes of containment, constriction, and compression, aiming not just to control but to erase the homeless body.
The homeless body is forced to minimize its presence, shrinking into smaller, more isolated spaces, reflecting urban policies focused on containment.
Shelters and services often allocate minimal space per person, creating overcrowded conditions, sometimes with brutal treatment, to minimize the homeless presence.
Dispossession causes the homeless to lose possessions, relationships, and security, reducing their extension in the world and forcing them into bodily compression.
Limited food, like soup, symbolizes the minimal sustenance given to the homeless, reinforcing their condition of insufficient nourishment and failure to thrive.
The withdrawal of public toilets further isolates the homeless, making them violate social norms of bodily control, reinforcing their exclusion from the public sphere.
The homeless are trapped in a circular logic: the city’s refusal to address their bodily needs increases their marginalization, marking them as unfit for public life.
The city’s refusal to address the bodily needs of the homeless does not eliminate those needs, leading to continuous and contingent emplacement of the homeless body.
The absence of public toilets forces homeless people to focus significant energy on bodily functions, such as predicting and controlling elimination.
The homeless body’s movements are mapped based on bodily necessities (toilets, warmth, rest, safety) rather than the city’s official, abstract locations (bus stations, libraries, etc.).
The city's official logic is based on fixed, functional places, with set meanings and uses, which excludes those whose activities don't align with these norms.
Although some unofficial uses of space are tolerated, the homeless body’s presence disrupts this functionalist view, creating a re-mapping based on bodily needs.
For the homeless, place is not stable; the locations they seek change depending on the situation, emerging and disappearing based on need.
The homeless body reveals the political and social production of spatial relations, showing that places are shaped by bodily functions, not fixed or abstract.
The homeless body is not a natural body but emerges through a continuous negotiation of bodily needs and the spaces available for those needs to be met.
The homeless body’s presence challenges the official meanings of public space, exposing these meanings as constructed and enforced rather than natural and stable.
The increasing war on the homeless is marked by escalating police tactics of removal and expulsion, aimed at securing public space against homeless presence.
Attempts by the homeless to create temporary, alternative spaces (e.g., Tent City, Thomkins Square Park) have been met with violent measures, reaffirming public space's exclusionary nature.
The presence of the homeless in public space does not directly subvert public meanings but instead reinforces their exclusion, as their embodiment in these spaces marks them as "not public."
The homeless body’s actions in public spaces, such as occupying subway seats, highlight the embodied contrast between homelessness and public space, but do not challenge the legitimacy of these spaces.
The cycle of exclusion is maintained by violence, both physical and ideological, which closes the circuit of public identity while simultaneously perpetuating its own violence.
Public security, aimed at excluding the homeless, is paradoxical: it promises safety but relies on violence to maintain the illusion of security.
The violence used to secure public spaces from the homeless ultimately undermines the very concept of security, exposing its inherent instability.
To disrupt the exclusionary public, visibility of the violence enacted on the homeless body might be more effective than simply increasing visibility of the homeless themselves.
Kawash reading summary:
Overview of the Homeless Body by Samira Kawash
Setting the Scene
The author describes a late-night subway encounter where she sees a body in a cramped space.
This body represents not just a person but the societal implications of homelessness.
Perception of the Homeless
The presence of the homeless in public spaces, like subways, elicits avoidance and discomfort among the public.
The body is not threatening yet creates significant social tension and exclusion among bystanders.
The Public Space and Homelessness
Impact of Urban Renewal
Urban renewal in the 1980s led to gentrification, marginalizing economically vulnerable populations.
The dominant narrative frames homelessness as a burden on society rather than a symptom of systemic economic failures.
Exclusion from Public Space
Policies focus on controlling homelessness rather than addressing its root causes, emphasizing exclusion.
The homeless are often viewed as outsiders, challenging the idea of belonging in public spaces.
The Ideological Constructs
Representation of the Public
The public sphere represents itself in opposition to visible homelessness.
This dynamic creates stereotypes, depicting the homeless as undeserving and separate from mainstream society.
Public discourse often infantilizes the homeless, treating them as dependents rather than fellow citizens.
The Materiality of the Homeless Body
Homeless Body as a Concept
The "homeless body" signifies the physical and systematic exclusions faced by those without homes.
The homeless embody a socio-political and economic critique of public life due to their displacement and lack of recognized space.
Corporeal Existence
The homeless body is marked by physical presence in spaces that deny their legitimacy and rights.
Discussions of homelessness must not ignore bodily experiences shaped by societal rejection.
Plight of the Homeless
Constant Motion and Navigating Space
Homeless individuals experience a lack of stability, often bound to remain in constant motion with no place to stay.
This mobility serves as a survival mechanism but also highlights the societal failure to provide basic human necessities.
The Cycle of Dispossession
Individuals experience cascading losses—job, home, relationships, belongings—leading to a narrowed existence focused on survival.
Societal neglect creates a condition where the homeless must reduce their identity to mere existence, impacting personal and social agency.
Symbolism of Violence and Exclusion
Violence against the Homeless
Policies targeting the homeless often stem from a discourse of public security, justifying exclusion and aggression.
The homeless body becomes a symbol of the violence inherent in the struggle for public space and identity in society.
Contemporary Realities
The homeless are increasingly subjected to intense policing and systematically denied dignity and resource access.
The disavowal of their needs only serves to reinforce boundaries defining who belongs to the public sphere.
Conclusion: Rethinking Public Spaces
Visibility and Recognition
Challenging the public to confront its own violent exclusion practices may lead to a reconsideration of the meaning of public space.
The narratives of the homeless must be brought to light, making visible the dynamics of exclusion and the need for inclusive policies.
Wider Implications
Examination of homelessness offers insight into broader issues of community, identity, and belonging in urban public life.
Addressing homelessness requires not just policy changes but a cultural shift toward recognizing and integrating the homeless into the public sphere.
MY THOUGHTS
This made me think of an earlier reading on disabilities, where people become uncomfortable when near disabled people due to a subconcious fear of becoming disabled. I think this theory could apply to homeless people as well. The disease and uncomformtable feelings is experienced due to the subconscious fear of becoming like them.