Gender–age systems and social change: a Haugaardian power analysis based on research from northern Uganda

Harris, Colette

Abstract

This paper studies power through data focusing on gender–age relations gathered ethnographically among the Acholi of northern Uganda. It analyses these data through a framework combining Haugaard’s notions of dispositional, episodic and discursive/tacit power, with Arendt’s ideas on authority, and Bourdieu’s on disposition and habitus. I suggest using ethnographically collected data makes an important contribution to studying power and propose replacing the idea of gender and power as a simple binary relationship with the concept that gender–power relations are always crossed with multiple modalities, among which, for gerontocratic settings like most in Africa, age holds particular significance. I conclude that gender analysis based on the local habitus is critical for empirical explorations of social interactions.

Citation

Harris, C. Gender–age systems and social change: a Haugaardian power analysis based on research from northern Uganda. Journal of Political Power, 5(3), 475-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2012.735119

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Dec 12, 2012
• Deposit Date: Oct 22, 2016
• Journal: Journal of Political Power
• Print ISSN: 2158-379X
• Electronic ISSN: 2158-3803
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 475-492
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2012.735119