Bob White, Sylvie Genest, Daniel Côté, Maude Arsenault et Francine Saillant seront à la conférence du SPA/SSPC: Practices that Harm Practices that Heal/Ecologies of Mind, à San Diego, aujourd’hui à 18h30 (heure de l’est).
Pour y assister, cliquez sur ce lien.
Le congrès se déroulera du 27 au 30 mai. Pour consulter le programme, cliquez ici.
Information sur le symposium:
The objective of this panel is to highlight the efforts made by anthropologists and other social scientists to integrate the theoretical framework and methods of systems thinking into their research. Systems thinking is considered here as a modeling methodology that facilitates the understanding of complex cultural phenomena, such as the dynamics of social relations in a cross-cultural context. Among the various lines of research in this area, this panel focuses more specifically on the various phenomena that are encapsulated by the concept of superdiversity, introduced initially by Vertovec in the context of his work on the evolution of migration patterns (2022). Through this lens, it is possible to refocus the scientific project of anthropology in the sphere of a central problematic well known to the followers of systems thinking, that of “change of change”, which was explored by the anthropologist Gregory Bateson in the context of a general theory of communication, aimed at explaining the movements of adaptation or mutation of the “mind” of human societies (1972). From this perspective, a system is conceived as a theoretical object designed to support and guide the modeling of “wicked problems”, such as the increasing complexity of intercultural relations in contemporary urban settings. A “cultural system”, such as the one Bateson might have called the “mind” of a city, is, in this sense, an artificial model endowed with fundamental generic properties that are assigned to it by a hypothesis to qualify its structure, functioning and processes (White and Genest 2020). To maintain this tripartite division systemic modeling, we will give priority to those proposals that put forward the study of such a “cultural system” by examining the interconnections necessary for the maintenance of its organization (structure); the operative modalities of its internal intelligence (functioning); or its dispositions to change, both static and schismatic (process).
- THE PARADOX OF PLURALISM IN MUNICIPAL INTEGRATION POLICY IN QUÉBEC: Bob W. White Université de Montréal Researchers in social sciences have become increasingly interested in the question of pluralism in the context of local government, especially with regards to municipal administrations’ efforts to make cities more inclusive. What can municipal action show us about the evolution of pluralist thinking? How do cities in pluralist societies mobilize the principles of pluralism in their attempts to ensure greater social cohesion as urban spaces become more and more diverse? This article proposes the use of a systemic framework to show how municipal governments in the predominantly French-speaking province of Québec have attempted to go beyond the paradoxes that structure pluralism in rapidly diversifying urban settings.
- USING SYSTEMIC THEORY TO MODEL PUBLIC POLICY ON DIVERSITY: THE PAIX MODEL FOR COUNTERING XENOPHOBIA IN QUÉBEC: Sylvie Genest Université du Québec à Montréal
This contribution consists of presenting the first version of the PAIX model, a protocol for alerting and intervening against xenophobia that was developed from an in-depth study and systemic understanding of the concerns expressed by Quebec citizens during the general consultation and public hearings on Bill no. 60 (Charter affirming the values of secularism and religious neutrality of the State as well as equality between women and men) and framing the requests for accommodation between January 14 and February 20, 2014). This model tests the scope of the heuristic metaphor method advocated by Gregory Bateson in his writings on the ecology of the mind while mobilizing the grid of analysis of orders and their limits as operationalized by the philosopher André Comte-Sponville from the reflection of Blaise Pascal. The proposal concerns the use of a measure of evaluation of the nature and the degree of risk that involves, for the culture of the majority group, an index of “cultural strangeness”. This risk can be level 1 (low), 2 (limited), 3 (important) or 4 (excessive) depending on whether it is a code of defect (D), error (EE), perversion (P) or sabotage (S) – DEEPS – of the culture rooted in the environment weakened by the presence of cross-cultural challenges. - ARE HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS FAILING IMMIGRANTS? TRANSNATIONAL MIGRATION AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION IN THE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION PROCESS IN QUÉBEC: Daniel Côté Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail
The changing world of work, which increasingly depends on the use of temporary and atypical forms of employment, has had a disproportionate effect on the health and well-being of immigrants. When they have to find a health professional for the first time or report an accident at work, the journey through the maze of medical-administrative bureaucracy can be long and arduous. The aim of this article is to describe the analytical contribution of systems thinking by presenting three situations that illustrate the importance of connecting the individual, organisational, and societal levels, especially focusing on the interplay between these levels. The analysis of intercultural dynamics in the immigrant workers’ compensation process sheds light on the way that healthcare systems lead to various forms of marginalisation and exclusion. Throughout this text we ask the question: what can we see with systemic theory that would otherwise be invisible? - AN ETHNOGRAPHER IN THE FIELD: HOW A SYSTEMIC APPROACH CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND AND EXPLAIN WHAT WE DO: Maude Arsenault Université de Montréal
In fieldwork, ethnographers are called to “collect data” by observing his surroundings and talking to local actors. In order to do so, he or she needs to be able to observe while people act in their everyday activities, and also to build relationships in order to gain the trust of his or her collaborators. How does this adaptation of actions and words happen? How does the ethnographer learn to act and react with regard to particular moments and events? This article advocates for a systemic approach to answer these questions. It will look at a particular fieldwork experience–that of doing participatory observation among health professionals working in the context of super-diversity–to shed light on how ethnographer’s adapt to different forms of knowledge and institutional roles. The latter will thus be considered as a system with its own finality and structure, although the analysis in my presentation will mostly look at how ethnographers adapt to this “exotic” professional setting. The key concepts of systems thinking (feedback, transduction and schismogenesis) will be used to make sense of what is happening to the ethnographer in the field and potentially for his/her impact in terms of how the system evolves over time. - A MULTIMODAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH TO COHABITATION Francine Saillant Université Laval
In the context of a city internationally known for its tourism and history (Quebec City), Canada, we initiated an action research in pursuit of an harmonious cohabitation between different groups in its most diverse neighborhood (Saint-Roch), but also the one that has been stigmatized for the longest time due to its large street population, sex work, drug users, poverty, and immigration. This diverse neighborhood is also composed of a hipster population of artists, start-up workers, members of academic institutions, shopkeepers, as well as a modest income population. The tourist, industrial, commercial, and artistic vocation of the neighborhood, which has been revitalized over the past 20 years, contrasts with the visibility of marginalized groups that is often pointed out. A multi-modal anthropology device was set up to address the issue of cohabitation and to promote encounters between the various social groups, between marginalized groups and others. This device supported by the City of Quebec is the creation of an urban route composed of seven creative stations based on social participation, inter-group dialogue and art. It brings together researchers, social workers, artists, marginalized people and the general population to create a new collective narrative of the neighborhood and to understand cohabitation and noncohabitation. Photography, archives, sculpture, drawing, installation, are all modes of entry into both individual and collective narratives. The co-creative, participatory, pluralistic and multimodal approach of the project represents an experimental systemic approach that poses many challenges for both evaluation and ethnography. The presentation aims to outline the multimodal device and the challenges it poses for research and evaluation and its relation to Batesonian systemism.