New Books in Sociology

The Burning Forest: India's War Against the Maoists (Verso, 2019) by Nandini Sundar is an empathetic, moving account of what drives indigenous peasants to support armed struggle despite severe state repression, including lives lost, homes and communities destroyed.Over the past decade, the heavily forested,mineral-rich region of Bastar in central India has emerged as one of the most militarized sites in the country. The government calls the Maoist insurgency the “biggest security threat” to India. In 2005, a state-sponsored vigilante movement, the Salwa Judum, burnt hundreds of villages, driving their inhabitants into state-controlled camps, drawing on counterinsurgency techniques developed in Malaysia, Vietnam and elsewhere. Apart from rapes and killings, hundreds of ‘surrendered’ Maoist sympathisers were conscripted as auxiliaries. The conflict continues to this day, taking a toll on the lives of civilians, security forces and Maoist cadres.In 2007, Sundar and others took the Indian government to the Supreme Court over the human rights violations arising out ofthe conflict. In a landmark judgment, the Court in 2011 banned state supportfor vigilantism.The Burning Forest describes this brutal war in the heart of India, and what it tells us about the courts, media and politics of the country. The result is a granular and critical ethnography of Indian democracy over a decade.Nandini Sundar is a Professor of Sociology at the Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University, and has been visiting Bastar for over 25 years. Her first book, Subalterns and Sovereigns: An Anthropological History of Bastar (1854-1996) is an authoritative account of Bastar's colonial and post-colonial past.Stuti Roy has recently graduated with an MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Oxford.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman's book What Are Children For?: On Ambivalence and Choice (St. Martin's Press, 2024) presents a modern argument, grounded in philosophy and cultural criticism, about childbearing ambivalence and how to overcome it.Becoming a parent, once the expected outcome of adulthood, is increasingly viewed as a potential threat to the most basic goals and aspirations of modern life. We seek self-fulfillment; we want to liberate women to find meaning and self-worth outside the home; and we wish to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change. Weighing the pros and cons of having children, Millennials and Zoomers are finding it increasingly difficult to judge in its favor.With lucid argument and passionate prose, Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman offer the guidance necessary to move beyond uncertainty. The decision whether or not to have children, they argue, is not just a women’s issue but a basic human one. And at a time when climate change worries threaten the very legitimacy of human reproduction, Berg and Wiseman conclude that neither our personal nor collective failures ought to prevent us from embracing the fundamental goodness of human life—not only in the present but, in choosing to have children, in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

In this discussion, Hunter Hargraves, an associate professor and author, delves into the intricate relationship between discomfort and contemporary television. He explores how shows like 'The Wire' and 'Girls' utilize discomfort to reshape audience perceptions of pleasure and family in a neoliberal culture. Hargraves emphasizes that modern narratives provoke emotional responses, challenging viewers to confront societal issues like misogyny and precarity. He also investigates the cultural impact of reality television on democracy, underscoring its complex role in shaping public attitudes.

Each of us is endowed with an inheritance--a set of evolved biases and cultural tools that shape every facet of our behavior. For countless generations, this inheritance has taken us to ever greater heights: driving the rise of more sophisticated technologies, more organized religions, more expansive empires. But now, for the first time, it's failing us. We find ourselves hurtling toward a future of unprecedented political polarization, deadlier war, and irreparable environmental destruction.In Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World (Harvard University Press, 2024), renowned anthropologist Harvey Whitehouse offers a sweeping account of how our biases have shaped humanity's past and imperil its future. He argues that three biases--conformism, religiosity, and tribalism--drive human behavior everywhere. Forged by natural selection and harnessed by thousands of years of cultural evolution, these biases catalyzed the greatest transformations in human history, from the birth of agriculture and the arrival of the first kings to the rise and fall of human sacrifice and the creation of multiethnic empires. Taking us deep into modern-day tribes, including terrorist cells and predatory ad agencies, Whitehouse shows how, as we lose the cultural scaffolding that allowed us to manage our biases, the world we've built is spiraling out of control.By uncovering how human nature has shaped our collective history, Inheritance unveils a surprising new path to solving our most urgent modern problems. The result is a powerful reappraisal of the human journey, one that transforms our understanding of who we are, and who we could be.Harvey Whitehouse is Director of the Centre for the Study of Social Cohesion at the University of Oxford. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

How did the Algerian war of independence shape contemporary sociology? In Bourdieu and Sayad Against Empire: Forging Sociology in Anticolonial Struggle (Polity Press, 2023), Amin Perez, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Quebec in Montreal, explores the sociological practice and friendship of Pierre Bourdieu and Abdelmalek Sayad. Using a range of archival and contemporary methods, the book shows the impact of anticolonialism on these key figures in sociology and demonstrates the ongoing importance of their work today. Theoretically and historically rich, as well as being accessible, the book is essential reading across the social sciences and humanities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

In 1966 Benedict Anderson published 'The Languages of Indonesian Politics', a seminal paper exploring the development of Indonesian as a new language for talking about national politics. In that paper Anderson underlined the contrast between the formal/official style of Indonesian news reports and the colloquial, playful speech style of ordinary Jakartans as depicted through comics. Nearly six decades on, how do we understand the 'languages' of Indonesian politics? How are figures of politics constituted through language? Associate Professor in Indonesian Studies at The University of Sydney, Dwi Noverini Djenar, expands on these issues. She has worked on the stylistics of adolescent literature, focusing on the production and circulation of styles and their relationship to sociolinguistic change. Her current research focuses on language and relations among social actors in public spheres, particularly in broadcast settings. Novi is co-author of Style and Intersubjectivity in Youth Interaction (2018) and co-editor of Signs of Deference, Signs of Demeanour: Interlocutor Reference and Self-Other Relations across Southeast Asian Communities (NUS Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

Ethel Tungohan, Canada Research Chair in Migration Policy, shares insights on care activism among migrant domestic workers. She challenges stereotypes by showcasing the unique ways these workers care for themselves and their communities. The conversation explores the significance of 'dissident friendships' in activism, the emotional side of caregiving, and the historical struggles for rights in Canada. Tungohan emphasizes the need for integrating academia with grassroots activism, fostering hope and solidarity even during systemic challenges.

Mara Kardas-Nelson, an independent journalist focused on international development and health policy, delves into the world of microfinance with her latest book. She sheds light on the darker realities faced by women borrowers in Sierra Leone, revealing how high-interest loans have ensnared many in cycles of debt. Kardas-Nelson critiques the initial idealism of microfinance, exploring its colonial legacies and the often-overlooked local economic contexts. Through powerful narratives and sharp analysis, she challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding this controversial practice.

Join Joanne Rosenthal, a freelance curator and expert in Jewish art, as she explores sexuality within Judaism in her new book and related exhibition. Delve into the diverse experiences of ultra-Orthodox Jews and the evolving attitudes toward intimacy. Discover the intersection of radical feminism and Jewish identity through art, and how contemporary female artists bring ancient texts to life. Rosenthal also discusses the complexities of defining 'kosher sex' and integrating LGBTQ themes in Jewish culture, making for an eye-opening conversation.

Douglas J. Engelman, a sociology lecturer at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, shares his heartfelt journey in "A Boy Broken." He candidly discusses the moment his son revealed his mental illness and the subsequent challenges they faced together. Engelman emphasizes the stigma surrounding mental health and the crucial role of community support in advocacy. The podcast also reflects on healing, familial bonds, and the transformative power of sharing personal narratives, ultimately highlighting resilience in the face of profound loss.