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SUMMARY:The Uncertain State: Uncertainty as everyday experience and mode o
 f governmentality in contemporary India - Geert de Neve (University of Sus
 sex)
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251125T160000Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20251125T180000Z
UID:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d1909624-558b-4dce-904f-65262a1e5aa2/
DESCRIPTION:In this presentation\, we draw on the concept of uncertainty t
 o explore the ways in which poor and predominantly low-caste villagers in 
 India experience the state in their everyday lives. Through a focus on sev
 eral social protection schemes in contemporary Tamil Nadu\, we present eth
 nography of everyday narratives about localised encounters with bureaucrat
 ic processes and actors to illustrate what this uncertainty consists of\, 
 how it is produced\, and what its effects are on the rural poor.  We exami
 ne how uncertainty is articulated through various interrelated modalities\
 , of which we consider four here: temporal\, material\, procedural and tho
 se related to classification and eligibility.  We unpack each of these eth
 nographically in order to\, firstly\, reveal the effects of bureaucratic p
 rocesses and state (in)action on the rural poor\, and to show how uncertai
 nty engenders both agency and paralysis. Secondly\, drawing on a growing l
 iterature on bureaucratic processes in South Asia\, we consider uncertaint
 y as a mode of governmentality through which the state exerts control over
  its populations and produces variegated forms of citizenship that are mar
 ked by a considerable degree of indifference towards its most vulnerable c
 itizens.  We contribute to a conceptualisation of governmentality as a hig
 hly indirect and fragmented process that nevertheless results in the produ
 ction of systemic neglect and in the construction of some citizens as expe
 ndable and undeserving of state attention.\nSpeakers:\nGeert de Neve (Univ
 ersity of Sussex)
LOCATION:St Antony's College (Pavilion Room)\, 62 Woodstock Road OX2 6JF
TZID:Europe/London
URL:https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/d1909624-558b-4dce-904f-65262a1e5aa2/
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DESCRIPTION:Talk:The Uncertain State: Uncertainty as everyday experience a
 nd mode of governmentality in contemporary India - Geert de Neve (Universi
 ty of Sussex)
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