SARAAHMED

Belowarefoursummaries,eachcorrespondingtooneofSaraAhmedsbooks: Differences
ThatMatter (1998),StrangeEncounters (2000),
TheCulturalPoliticsofEmotion (2004)and
QueerPhenomenology (2006).Wehaveincludedthesespecificbooksfortheywillhelpto
anchorourdiscussionsoverthenextmonth,andwehopethattheirsummariesmightprovide
averybriefintroductionintoAhmedswork,aswellasgiveanindicationofwheretofind
topicsthatparticularlyinterestyou.Thisisnottheextentofherscholarship(unfortunatelywe
couldntcoveritall!)forshealsohaswrittenthreemorerecentbooks ThePromiseof
Happiness (2010),OnBeingIncluded (2012)and WillfulSubjects
(2014)haseditedand
writtenmanybooksandjournalsandactivelywritesonherblog, feministkilljoys
.

DifferencesThatMatter (1998)

DifferencesThatMatter,
In SaraAhmedinterrogatestherelationbetweenfeminismand
postmodernismbyaskingthequestion,whichdifferencesmatterhere?.

Thebookbeginsbydemonstratinghowtheconventionalacademicortheoreticalapproach
tofeminismoperatesalwaysthroughpostmodernism,whichsubsumesfeministtheory,
allowingitbecomevisible(takenseriously)onlybybeingrenderedinvisible.Shearguesfor
theneedtoreconceptualisethisrelation,andtoacknowledgethatfeminismnecessarily
alreadyusestheoryasawayoforderingtheworld.Thetaskthenbecomesnottoauthorise
feministpracticeonthebasisofpostmodernism,buttomakeexplicitthetheoretical
frameworksalreadyinoperation,therebyspeakingbacktopostmodernismasafeminist.

Themeansbywhichthisspeakingbackisenactedisthroughaskingthequestionwhich
differencesmatterhere?,aquestionwhichdoesnotpresupposethestabilityofeither
postmodernismorfeminism,butpointsinsteadtothedifferenceslocatedwithin(andnotjust
between)theterms.Throughacloserreadingofcanonicalpostmoderntextsbyauthors
suchasDerrida,Barthes,DeleuzeandGuattariAhmedanalysesthewayinwhichthe
conventionallydefinitiveunderstandingofidentityanddifferenceisconstructedwithineach
text,openingoutthepossibilityofreinterpretationandrevealingpostmodernismasnota
stable,purecategory,butratherasconstructedthroughtheverydiscourseswhichassume
itsexistence.Ineachchapter,Ahmedasksnotwhatpostmodernismis,butratherwhat
thesediscoursesofpostmodernismaredoing,andhowthetextsstructureanunderstanding
of,forexample,thecategoryofwoman(Chapter3),themeaningofwomensrights
(Chapter1),orthesubjectoffeminism(Chapter4).

Askingwhichdifferencesmatterhere?worksnotonlytodestabilisetheterm
postmodernism,butalsotoproblematisetheconceptionofasingularfeministpositionfrom
whichtospeakback.ThroughthisquestionAhmedmakesvisiblethepoliticalactinvolvedin
theformationofafeministcommunity,inwhichsomedifferencesaredeemedtomatter,
whileothersareinevitablyrefused.Ahmedrefusestodesignatedifferenceasapure
categoryinoperationwithin,ordefinitiveof,feminism,butinsteadacknowledgesdifferences
asconstitutedthroughrelationsofforceandantagonism,unabletobesubsumedintoone
another.

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StrangeEncounters (2000)

StrangeEncounters exploresthewaysembodimentandcommunityareproducedthrough
thefigureofthestranger.Ahmedarguesthatwealwaysrecognisesomebody as
astranger,
ratherthansimplyfailingtorecognisethem,andthisactdifferentiatesusfromthestranger,
producingwho'we'are.Sheinsiststhatdifferenceisnotsomethingtobesimplyaccepted
orovercome,andiscriticalofthefrequentvalorisation(orrefusal)ofdifferencewithinmuch
feministandpostcolonialtheory,intheabsenceofanecessaryanalysisofthespecificityof
thosedifferences.Forinstance,acknowledgingthebodyasdifferentiatedthroughsexor
gender,Ahmedcontendsthatthereisnotnecessarilyanyanalysisoftheparticularityofthat
differenceandhowitmayintersectwithandbeinformedbyotherdifferences,suchasrace,
class,sexualityanddisability.

Throughadiscussionofmulticulturalfood,ethnographyandglobalfeminism,Ahmed
analysesthewaysinwhichWesterninstitutionsconstructthestrangerasfetish,orasthe
originofdifferencewhichthewhitesubjectcanappropriate,orconsume.Thiscanbe
identifiedwithinamulticulturalnationsuchasAustralia,wheretheculturalidentityof
strangersisreducedtoahomogenousandfixedoutwardappearanceofdifferencethat
concealsa'typical'Australianbeing(sameness).

Thebookendsbyexploringthepossibilityofamoreethicalencounterwiththeother:one
thatdoesnotseekabsoluteproximityorabsolutedistancebutacknowledgesresponsibility
inrelationsoflabourandknowledge.Ahmedinsistswemustlookatthemutually
constitutiverelationbetweenspeaking,knowledgeandlabour,andsoinsteadofsimply
asking,whoisspeakinghere?,ratherwemustask,whoisabletobeheard?,whois
knowing?,whoworks for
whom?.

TheCulturalPoliticsofEmotion (2004)

InTheCulturalPoliticsofEmotion,SaraAhmedasksthequestion:whatdoemotions do
?
Offeringdetailedandcontextualanalysesonemotionsincludingpain,hate,fear,disgust,
shameandlove,Ahmedseekstounfoldthedifferentwaysinwhichemotionsmove,stick
andcirculatehowtheyconstructandproducethevariousrelationsandorientations
betweenbodies,objectsandtheirworlds.

Ahmedparticularlyseekstotheorisehowemotionsworkuponthe surfaces
ofobjects,how
theyundosimpledistinctionsbetweenexteriorandinterior,betweentheindividualandthe
collective.ThiscanbeunderstoodsimplyinAhmedsexampleofstubbingonestoe,where
theinteriorfeelingofpainbringsthesurfaceofthebodytoonesattention,throughthe
contactitmakeswithanothersurface,exteriortoit.Similarly,yetonamoreabstractlevel,in
consideringanobjectthatonehates,itisatonceexpelled,yetisalsodrawnclose(forIstill
affects
thinkaboutit,itstill me).Thehatedobjectalsobecomesinstrumentalincreating
generalised,collectiveidentities,throughanextensionofinteriorandexteriorspace(thinkof
howfascismisorganisedaroundhate,creatingageneralisableinteriorandexterior,anus
andthem,thatistheninscribedonthebodiesofsomeandnotothers).

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Inthisway,itiscrucialforAhmedhowemotionsgetstucktoobjects,andhowtheyare
instrumentalinproducingandconstructingidentitypositions,throughtheircirculationand
accumulation,andthewayinwhichtheysaturateallformsoflanguageandrepresentation
fromadvertisingtopopularculturetopoliticalrhetoric.

Sheexploresthisinavarietyofexamples,includingtheeffectsofcolonialisminAustralia
(chapter2onpain,chapter5onshame)thefigureoftheterrorist(chapter4onfear)queer
andfeministattachments(chapter7and8)andtheblackbody(chapter3onhate)among
manyothers.Interlacingadiverserangeoftextsandwriters,fromphilosophy,
psychoanalysis,governmentreports,charitymarketingcampaigns,Aryanwebsitepages,
AudreLorde,FrantzFanonandKarlMarx,Ahmedseekstoforegroundanemotional
readingoftheworld,alongwiththepoliticalconsequencesandpotentialofwhatliesinsuch
areading.

QueerPhenomenology (2006)

Inthisbook,Ahmedseekstoqueerphenomenology,rethinkingthenormativeand
dominantwaysofconceivingspace,objectsandorientations.Throughherwriting,Ahmed
allowsmomentsofdisorientationtogather,exploringthepointswhenonedeviatesfrom
preestablishedlinesordirections,whenwhatisrelegatedtothebackgroundcomestothe
fore,orwhentheworldappearsslantwise.

Firstinterveningonthephilosophicalmovementofphenomenology(forinstancewriters
suchasHusserl,HeideggerandMerleauPonty)sheproceedsfromananalysisofqueer
objectswithinthisdiscourse,includingthewritingtableofthephilosopher(whichsupports
thewritingofphilosophyyetdisappearsfromitentirely)thepoliticsofhousework(for
examplethedomesticandfamiliallabourofHusserlswife,whichaffordedhimthespace
andtimeforhiswork)andtheprocessofcommodityfetishism(wherenaturalmaterialsare
madetranscendentthroughlabour),amongmanyothers.Throughthisanalysis,Ahmed
asksthequestions,howdoobjectsarrivetoconsciousnessintheshapethattheyappear?
Whatdoesitmeanwhencertainobjectsarerelegatedtothebackground?Howdoes
somethingcometobereachable,orontheotherhand,bracketed?

Inthesecondandthirdchapters,Ahmedthenmovestointervenewithin
sociallyconstructedspacesandorientations,focusingspecificallyonsexualorientation,and
theglobaldivisionbetweenEastandWest,orOccidentandOrient.Inthesechapters
shetraceshowspacesarebothsexualisedandracialised,lingeringonthemomentswhen
bodiesdeviatefromthestraightline,orwhenbodiesareconstructedasathomein
bothcasesexaminingandchallengingtheplaceofcertainsubjects,andtheirexclusionof
others.

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