Surrendering to Utopia: An Anthropology of Human Rights

163 Pages·2009·1.13 MB·English

by  Mark Goodale

Advance Praise for Surrendering to Utopia
At a time of contrasting narratives about human rights, from irresponsible triumphalism to
cynical pessimism, here is a book that masterfully guides us into the complexities of
contextualized practices of human rights across cultures and national boundaries. It does this
by powerfully engaging anthropology, a discipline that has been marginalized by conventional
human rights scholarship to the latter’s greater loss. Thanks to Goodale’s very persuasive
argument, the record is finally being set right.
—Boaventura de Sousa Santos,
Universities of Coimbra, Warwick, and Wisconsin-Madison
This fluid and compelling book draws on a broad intellectual tradition to highlight how the
relationship between anthropology and human rights developed and what it could and should
become in the future. An engaging and thought-provoking read!
—Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, University of Sussex
This is a sophisticated, brave, and ultimately successful attempt to bridge the gap between
anthropology and normative theory. By taking on the intricate relationship between
anthropology and human rights, Goodale shows clearly why anthropology should matter, not
only academically, but also in the wider world of policy and politics. It is a timely book which
moves beyond the relativism-universalism dichotomy and thereby demonstrates what
anthropological theory in the 21st century ought to look like.
—Thomas Hylland Eriksen, University of Oslo
Goodale’s meditation on human rights through the prism of culture pulls off a compelling
discussion of the ways universalism and relativism continue to define international human
rights. He offers a fascinating history of the political deployment of the term culture, as well as
its use and abuse in national and international human rights struggles.
—Victoria Sanford, City University of New York
Stanford Studies in Human Rights
Surrendering to Utopia
An Anthropology of Human Rights
Mark Goodale
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2009 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Appendix 1: Originally published in American Anthropologist 49 (4): 539–543.
www.anthrosource.net.
Appendix 2: American Anthropological Association (1999).
http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/humanrts.htm.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Goodale, Mark.
Surrendering to utopia : an anthropology of human rights / Mark Goodale.
p. cm. -- (Stanford studies in human rights)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
9780804771214
1. Human rights--Anthropological aspects. 2. Political anthropology. I. Title. II. Series.
GN492.2.G66 2009
306.2--dc22
2008054818
Typeset by Bruce Lundquist in 10/14 Minion Pro
For Isaiah, Dara, and Romana
There is no substitute for a sense of reality.
Isaiah Berlin
Table of Contents
Advance Praise for Surrendering to Utopia
Stanford Studies in Human Rights
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Prologue - The phenomenology of human rights at 35,000 feet . . .
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Becoming Irrelevant
Chapter 3 - Encountering Relativism
Chapter 4 - Culture on the Half Shell
Chapter 5 - Human Rights along the Grapevine
Chapter 6 - Rights Unbound
Conclusion - Human Rights in an Anthropological Key
Appendix 1 - STATEMENT ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Appendix 2 - Declaration on Anthropology and Human Rights Committee for Human Rights
American Anthropological Association
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Stanford Studies in Human Rights
About the Cover Image
Acknowledgments
I WANT TO FIRST ACKNOWLEDGE the role that my students at both Emory University
and George Mason University have played in the shaping of this book. They have allowed my
human rights seminars over the years to serve as an important space in which ideas and
provocations have been tested, modified, debated, and, at times, found wanting. I have learned
much from their critical perspectives and have been encouraged by their willingness to
consider human rights in an anthropological key.
Funding for the research and analysis that inform different parts of this book was provided
by a number of institutions and fellowships over a period of time, including the National
Science Foundation, the Fulbright Scholar Program, the Organization of American States, and
the Irmgard Coninx Foundation, as well as several internal university grants at George Mason
University. A sabbatical during the early stages of writing was especially useful.
My wider thinking about anthropology and human rights has benefited from dialogue and
different kinds of critical engagement with too many generous colleagues to mention here.
Nevertheless, I must acknowledge, in particular, the following individuals: Sally Engle Merry,
Kamari Maxine Clarke, Richard A. Wilson, Laura Nader, Hans Joas, Ari Kohen, Eva Erman,
Kurt Shaw, Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, Michael Likosky, Shannon Speed, Scott Newton,
Kevin Avruch, Sara Cobb, Solon Simmons, Jane Cowan, Marie-Bénédicte Dembour, Sari
Wastell, Shalini Randeria, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Alain Pottage, Martha Mundy, John Dale,
Upendra Baxi, Mauricio García Villegas, and Anne Griffiths. I also benefited from the close
and critical readings of the book by two anonymous reviewers at Stanford University Press.
The development of this book has been much enriched by the opportunity to present ideas
during invited lectures and presentations at a number of institutions over the last few years. In
particular, I would like to thank my hosts, faculty colleagues, and students at the following:
University of Oxford (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies), University of Helsinki (the Erik
Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights and the Centre of Excellence in
Global Governance Research), University of Sussex (Department of Anthropology and the Law
School), Brandeis University (the Heller School for Social Policy), Georgia Institute of
Technology (Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts), Max Planck Institute for Social
Anthropology, University of Zurich (Institute for Social Anthropology), University of
Edinburgh (Faculty of Law), Chr. Michelsen Institute, University of Oregon (School of Law),
University of Bucharest (Institute for Public Policy), University College London (Department
of Anthropology), London School of Economics (Department of Anthropology), Humboldt
University (Social Science Research Center), University of Amsterdam (Institute for
Metropolitan and International Development Studies), University of Erfurt (Max Weber Center
for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies), and Harvard University (Department of
Anthropology).
Finally, I was fortunate to have Kate Wahl as my editor at Stanford University Press. Kate’s
support, expert guidance, and wisdom were much appreciated during the writing and
production of this book.