Pimp my fluff: A Thousand Plateaus and other theoretical extravaganzas

Abstract

This article is fueled by irritation with obscurantism in and posturing around ‘theory’ in contemporary anthropology. It examines three examples of contemporary anthropological production that build on what has become a cult reference in this regard, the incomprehensible A Thousand Plateaus by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. These examples involve the reconceptualization of crafting (Ingold), of causation (Remme) and of the rhizome (Mueller), each of which mobilizes Deleuze and Guattari’s conceptual lexicon in a specific and distinct way. Nourished by these examples, and despite her initial skepticism, the author concludes that the obscurity of Deleuze and Guattari’s overwrought prose can nonetheless lead to interesting anthropological analyses that engage variously with this work to produce real theoretical and empirical insights. The article concludes, however, that the disciplinary economy of this production values ‘theory’ over and above attempts to describe ‘reality’. Then, building on Boltanski’s distinction between ‘reality’ and ‘the world’, it proposes what the author argues is a more useful mobilization of theory, dedicated to producing more accurate and just descriptions of the world we live in.

Light, hope and COVID-19 in Aotearoa New Zealand

“…These meanings are informed by the personal, the political, and the academic. The practice that informs this can be enhanced and obscured by the rigours of academic style (Hertz 2016). I offer, much like Wolf 's (1992) work, first, an academic introduction, and second, a visual ethnography and its companion text -a fairytale precursor.…”

“…Two weeks in, lockdown began and the field site shrank. The simple practice of image-making was complexified by theoretical and methodological insights from my ongoing research at the intersection of medical and environmental anthropology -mainly that the former cannot be considered without the latter; and my own research into how multimodal forms of ethnography, particularly visual and creative, change knowledge production (Herbst 2019;Hertz 2016;McGranahan 2020;Narayan 2012;Pink 2007). This daily visual practise became an ethnography of the borderlands created and revealed during this particular pandemic (Adams and Nading 2020) as borders flex, dissolve, and are remade.…”

Typecast! Some lessons from Norwegian public anthropology

“…Research communication courses are already included in a number of graduate programmes. Changing the prestige structure that has confused obscurity with profundity and forced us to turn the blame for not comprehending the incomprehensible onto ourselves, so delightfully dissected by Ellen Hertz (2016), might take longer. Yet, with a new generation driven by a desire to be understood, reward structures that promote intellectual haziness, and communicative introversion should eventually go out with a whimper-at least if it is joined by a corresponding revaluation of merit in academic hiring, as Borofsky (2019) advocates, and as the recent modification to the AAA assessment criteria encourages.…”

Abstract Market Theory, by Jon Roffe

“…Contrary to the vast majority of contemporary productions trying to play out of Deleuzian hype, this book brilliantly demonstrates how it is possible to build a convincing theory of the 'market' based on an intimate knowledge of Deleuze and Guattari. Indeed, Abstract Market Theory offers an excellent answer to the legitimate concerns raised on works by sociologists and anthropologists making use of such literature (Hertz 2016). Specifically, by developing a philosophical argument shedding light on how temporality plays a pivotal role in the articulation of market and society, Roffe discusses an element that is often let down or poorly addressed by social scientists.…”