Several months ago I asked for suggestions for readings for a senior seminar
called "Women at the Margins." I received a lot of wonderful suggestions and
have incorporated many into the course, and will send the syllabus to be
archived shortly. In the meantime, my students and I have just finished
reading Tsing's _In the realm of the diamond queen_, and the following question
came up in response to Tsing's theoretical critiques:
It seems to us that, despite the language of world-system theory that rejects
the linearity and teleology of modernization theory, world-system theory
nevertheless implies that the core is essentially more valued than the
periphery, and by implication everyone in the world-system wants to be
core-like.
Conversely, Tsing, as a post-modern theorist, seems to argue that while
marginality exists, people in "out of the way places" do not necessarily adopt
the meanings and perspectives of the core; their is difference and resistance
within marginality that elevates the interpretations of the marginalized
relative to those of the core.
Any comment?
Candice Bradley
Candice.Bradley@Lawrence.edu