🌏📚 2026 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
(Trao quyền cho các cộng đồng bên lề trong bối cảnh xung đột và khủng hoảng môi trường)
compiled by Louis Quang Vo
🧩 Under the project:
Cultivating the Humanities and Social Sciences and Supporting Underrepresented Scholars of South and Southeast Asia (CHSS)
(Dự án: Phát triển KHXH&NV và hỗ trợ học giả chưa được đại diện đầy đủ ở Nam Á & Đông Nam Á)
📅 Date (Thời gian): January 30–31, 2026
📍 Venue (Địa điểm): 10–12 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
🤝 Co-organizers (Đơn vị đồng tổ chức):
- Association for Asian Studies (AAS) (Hiệp hội Nghiên cứu Châu Á)
- University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM (USSH–VNUHCM) (Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM)
🏛 Host (Đơn vị đăng cai): USSH–VNUHCM
💰 Sponsor (Nhà tài trợ): Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – Sida (Cơ quan Hợp tác Phát triển Quốc tế Thụy Điển)

🗓 DAY 1 – FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026
🕗 08:00–08:30
📝 Registration (Đăng ký)
🖼 Student Poster Exhibition (Triển lãm poster sinh viên)
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Local Environmental and Social Issues
(Tiếp cận liên ngành đối với các vấn đề môi trường & xã hội địa phương)
🕣 08:30–09:00
🎤 Opening Ceremony (Lễ khai mạc)
🕘 09:00–10:30
🧩 Panel 1 (Phiên thảo luận 1): Identity in the (Re)Making
(Bản sắc trong quá trình (tái) kiến tạo)
👩🏫 Chair (Chủ tọa): Elora Shehabuddin (UC Berkeley, USA)
🗣 Discussant (Phản biện): Rajeshwari Deshpande (Savitribai Phule Pune University, India)
📄 1.1 Politics of Shia Identity in Postcolonial Lucknow (1947–2024)
(Chính trị bản sắc Shia tại Lucknow hậu thuộc địa)
👤 Presenter (Báo cáo viên): Malka Zehra (India)
📄 1.2 Urban Politics and Citizenship: Social Identity of Slum Dwellers in Sri Lanka
(Chính trị đô thị và căn tính xã hội của cư dân khu ổ chuột ở Sri Lanka)
👤 Hasitha Jeewanthi (Sri Lanka)
📄 1.3 State Categories and Everyday Life: Identity among Kurmis and Santals
(Phân loại của nhà nước và đời sống thường nhật: bản sắc của người Kurmi & Santal)
👤 Prosanta Sarkar (India)
📄 1.4 Religion and Ethnic Identity among the Co Ho Chil in Lam Dong
(Tôn giáo và bản sắc tộc người của cộng đồng Co Ho Chil ở Lâm Đồng)
👤 Mai Minh Nhat (Vietnam)
☕ 10:30–10:50
Tea Break (Giải lao)

🕥 10:50–12:20
🧩 Panel 2: Sociocultural Pluralism and Wellbeing
(Đa dạng xã hội – văn hóa và phúc lợi)
👩🏫 Chair: Ngo Thi Phuong Lan (Vietnam)
🗣 Discussant: Truong Thi Thu Hang (Vietnam)
📄 Political Instability and Trauma
(Bất ổn chính trị và trải nghiệm sang chấn) – Sara Gul (Pakistan)
📄 Buen Vivir and Traditional Forestry Practices
(Triết lý “Sống tốt” và thực hành lâm nghiệp truyền thống) – Ei Ei Mon (Myanmar)
📄 Welfare Schemes for Tribal Communities in India
(Chính sách phúc lợi cho cộng đồng bộ tộc ở Ấn Độ) – Shital Gaikwad
📄 Unheard Voices from Waziristan
(Những tiếng nói bị lãng quên từ Waziristan) – Mohammad Anwar Khan
🍽 12:30–13:30
Lunch (Ăn trưa)
🕜 13:30–15:00
🌿 Panel 3: Gendered Ecology
(Sinh thái học dưới lăng kính giới)
👩🏫 Chair: Nguyen Thi Hong Xoan
🗣 Discussant: Nancy Peluso (USA)
📄 Women, Ecological Memory, and Climate Migration
(Phụ nữ, ký ức sinh thái và di cư vì khí hậu) – Sonalika Chaturvedi
📄 Climate, Gender, and Migration in Jakarta
(Khí hậu, giới và di cư ở Jakarta) – Ica Wulansari
📄 Gendering the Plantationocene
(Giới hóa thời đại đồn điền) – Nanthanoot Udomlamun
📄 Climate Change and Women’s Livelihoods in the Mekong Delta
(Biến đổi khí hậu và sinh kế phụ nữ ở ĐBSCL) – Hoang Thi Viet Ha; Duong Van Khanh
☕ 15:00–15:20
Tea Break (Giải lao)
🕒 15:20–17:00
✊ Panel 4: Feminist Agency in Development
(Tác nhân nữ quyền trong phát triển)
👩🏫 Chair: Ratna Noviani (Indonesia)
🗣 Discussant: Anagha Tambe (India)
📄 Women Visionaries in Sri Lanka’s Development
(Phụ nữ lãnh đạo trong phát triển Sri Lanka) – Lavangi Ranasinghe
📄 Tribal Women and Governance in India
(Phụ nữ bộ tộc và quản trị truyền thống) – Snigdha Hansda
📄 Women-Led Education and Climate Resilience in Hunza
(Giáo dục do phụ nữ dẫn dắt và khả năng thích ứng khí hậu) – Shehnaz Gul
📄 Tourism Development in Hoi An under Climate Change
(Du lịch Hội An trong bối cảnh biến đổi khí hậu) – Ho Nhu Ngoc
🗓 DAY 2 – SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026
🕘 09:00–10:30
⚖ Panel 5: Environmental Justice
(Công bằng môi trường)
📄 Environmental Justice in the Philippines
(Công bằng môi trường tại Philippines)
📄 Governance of Common-Pool Resources in Vietnam
(Quản trị tài nguyên chung ở Việt Nam)
📄 Climate Risk and Securitization in Kashmir
(An ninh hóa rủi ro khí hậu ở Kashmir)
📄 Campus-to-Community Sustainability Education
(Giáo dục bền vững từ nhà trường đến cộng đồng)
🕚 11:00–12:30
🌍 Panel 6: Community Responses to Climate Change
(Phản ứng của cộng đồng trước BĐKH)
📄 Community Empowerment and Waste Management
(Trao quyền cộng đồng & quản lý rác thải)
📄 Educational Leadership for Climate Solutions
(Lãnh đạo giáo dục và giải pháp khí hậu)
📄 Disaster Early Response Unit in Indonesia
(Đơn vị phản ứng sớm với thiên tai)
📄 Nature-Based Adaptation in the Mekong Delta
(Thích ứng dựa vào tự nhiên ở ĐBSCL)
🕜 13:30–15:00
🧭 Panel 7: Marginality and Uncertainty
(Vùng bên lề và bất định)
📄 Language Shift in Northern Laos
(Chuyển dịch ngôn ngữ ở Bắc Lào)
📄 Land Conflict in Minangkabau Society
(Xung đột đất đai ở Minangkabau)
📄 Gender and Honour in Telangana
(Giới và danh dự ở Telangana)
📄 Cultural Capital of Minority Women
(Vốn văn hóa của phụ nữ dân tộc thiểu số)
🕒 15:20–16:50
⚔ Panel 8: Conflicts, Contests, and Change
(Xung đột, tranh chấp và biến đổi)
📄 Peasant Agency after Land Privatization
(Tác nhân nông dân sau tư nhân hóa đất đai)
📄 Rebel Governance in the Naga Hills
(Quản trị nổi dậy ở Naga Hills)
📄 Hip-Hop and Youth Liberation in Indonesia
(Hip-hop và giải phóng thanh niên)
📄 Health Insurance Use in Vietnam’s Highlands
(Sử dụng BHYT ở Tây Nguyên)
🏁 17:00–17:30
🎓 Closing Ceremony (Lễ bế mạc)
Tuyệt, mình sẽ giữ nội dung chương trình bằng tiếng Anh, đồng thời:
✅ Thêm icons/emojis cho dễ đọc & dùng cho poster/fanpage
✅ Chú thích tiếng Việt cho các thuật ngữ quan trọng (panel, chair, discussant, venue, etc.)
✅ Giữ văn phong academic – chuẩn hội thảo
🌏📚 2026 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
“EMPOWERING THE MARGINS DURING CONFLICTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES”
(Trao quyền cho các cộng đồng bên lề trong bối cảnh xung đột và khủng hoảng môi trường)
🧩 Under the project:
Cultivating the Humanities and Social Sciences and Supporting Underrepresented Scholars of South and Southeast Asia (CHSS)
(Dự án: Phát triển KHXH&NV và hỗ trợ học giả chưa được đại diện đầy đủ ở Nam Á & Đông Nam Á)
📅 Date (Thời gian): January 30–31, 2026
📍 Venue (Địa điểm): 10–12 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
🤝 Co-organizers (Đơn vị đồng tổ chức):
- Association for Asian Studies (AAS) (Hiệp hội Nghiên cứu Châu Á)
- University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU-HCM (USSH–VNUHCM) (Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM)
🏛 Host (Đơn vị đăng cai): USSH–VNUHCM
💰 Sponsor (Nhà tài trợ): Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – Sida (Cơ quan Hợp tác Phát triển Quốc tế Thụy Điển)
🗓 DAY 1 – FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2026
🕗 08:00–08:30
📝 Registration (Đăng ký)
🖼 Student Poster Exhibition (Triển lãm poster sinh viên)
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Local Environmental and Social Issues
(Tiếp cận liên ngành đối với các vấn đề môi trường & xã hội địa phương)
🕣 08:30–09:00
🎤 Opening Ceremony (Lễ khai mạc)
🕘 09:00–10:30
🧩 Panel 1 (Phiên thảo luận 1): Identity in the (Re)Making
(Bản sắc trong quá trình (tái) kiến tạo)
👩🏫 Chair (Chủ tọa): Elora Shehabuddin (UC Berkeley, USA)
🗣 Discussant (Phản biện): Rajeshwari Deshpande (Savitribai Phule Pune University, India)
📄 1.1 Politics of Shia Identity in Postcolonial Lucknow (1947–2024)
(Chính trị bản sắc Shia tại Lucknow hậu thuộc địa)
👤 Presenter (Báo cáo viên): Malka Zehra (India)
📄 1.2 Urban Politics and Citizenship: Social Identity of Slum Dwellers in Sri Lanka
(Chính trị đô thị và căn tính xã hội của cư dân khu ổ chuột ở Sri Lanka)
👤 Hasitha Jeewanthi (Sri Lanka)
📄 1.3 State Categories and Everyday Life: Identity among Kurmis and Santals
(Phân loại của nhà nước và đời sống thường nhật: bản sắc của người Kurmi & Santal)
👤 Prosanta Sarkar (India)
📄 1.4 Religion and Ethnic Identity among the Co Ho Chil in Lam Dong
(Tôn giáo và bản sắc tộc người của cộng đồng Co Ho Chil ở Lâm Đồng)
👤 Mai Minh Nhat (Vietnam)
☕ 10:30–10:50
Tea Break (Giải lao)
🕥 10:50–12:20
🧩 Panel 2: Sociocultural Pluralism and Wellbeing
(Đa dạng xã hội – văn hóa và phúc lợi)
👩🏫 Chair: Ngo Thi Phuong Lan (Vietnam)
🗣 Discussant: Truong Thi Thu Hang (Vietnam)
📄 Political Instability and Trauma
(Bất ổn chính trị và trải nghiệm sang chấn) – Sara Gul (Pakistan)
📄 Buen Vivir and Traditional Forestry Practices
(Triết lý “Sống tốt” và thực hành lâm nghiệp truyền thống) – Ei Ei Mon (Myanmar)
📄 Welfare Schemes for Tribal Communities in India
(Chính sách phúc lợi cho cộng đồng bộ tộc ở Ấn Độ) – Shital Gaikwad
📄 Unheard Voices from Waziristan
(Những tiếng nói bị lãng quên từ Waziristan) – Mohammad Anwar Khan
🍽 12:30–13:30
Lunch (Ăn trưa)
🕜 13:30–15:00
🌿 Panel 3: Gendered Ecology
(Sinh thái học dưới lăng kính giới)
👩🏫 Chair: Nguyen Thi Hong Xoan
🗣 Discussant: Nancy Peluso (USA)
📄 Women, Ecological Memory, and Climate Migration
(Phụ nữ, ký ức sinh thái và di cư vì khí hậu) – Sonalika Chaturvedi
📄 Climate, Gender, and Migration in Jakarta
(Khí hậu, giới và di cư ở Jakarta) – Ica Wulansari
📄 Gendering the Plantationocene
(Giới hóa thời đại đồn điền) – Nanthanoot Udomlamun
📄 Climate Change and Women’s Livelihoods in the Mekong Delta
(Biến đổi khí hậu và sinh kế phụ nữ ở ĐBSCL) – Hoang Thi Viet Ha; Duong Van Khanh
☕ 15:00–15:20
Tea Break (Giải lao)
🕒 15:20–17:00
✊ Panel 4: Feminist Agency in Development
(Tác nhân nữ quyền trong phát triển)
👩🏫 Chair: Ratna Noviani (Indonesia)
🗣 Discussant: Anagha Tambe (India)
📄 Women Visionaries in Sri Lanka’s Development
(Phụ nữ lãnh đạo trong phát triển Sri Lanka) – Lavangi Ranasinghe
📄 Tribal Women and Governance in India
(Phụ nữ bộ tộc và quản trị truyền thống) – Snigdha Hansda
📄 Women-Led Education and Climate Resilience in Hunza
(Giáo dục do phụ nữ dẫn dắt và khả năng thích ứng khí hậu) – Shehnaz Gul
📄 Tourism Development in Hoi An under Climate Change
(Du lịch Hội An trong bối cảnh biến đổi khí hậu) – Ho Nhu Ngoc
🗓 DAY 2 – SATURDAY, JANUARY 31, 2026
🕘 09:00–10:30
⚖ Panel 5: Environmental Justice
(Công bằng môi trường)
📄 Environmental Justice in the Philippines
(Công bằng môi trường tại Philippines)
📄 Governance of Common-Pool Resources in Vietnam
(Quản trị tài nguyên chung ở Việt Nam)
📄 Climate Risk and Securitization in Kashmir
(An ninh hóa rủi ro khí hậu ở Kashmir)
📄 Campus-to-Community Sustainability Education
(Giáo dục bền vững từ nhà trường đến cộng đồng)
🕚 11:00–12:30
🌍 Panel 6: Community Responses to Climate Change
(Phản ứng của cộng đồng trước BĐKH)
📄 Community Empowerment and Waste Management
(Trao quyền cộng đồng & quản lý rác thải)
📄 Educational Leadership for Climate Solutions
(Lãnh đạo giáo dục và giải pháp khí hậu)
📄 Disaster Early Response Unit in Indonesia
(Đơn vị phản ứng sớm với thiên tai)
📄 Nature-Based Adaptation in the Mekong Delta
(Thích ứng dựa vào tự nhiên ở ĐBSCL)
🕜 13:30–15:00
🧭 Panel 7: Marginality and Uncertainty
(Vùng bên lề và bất định)
📄 Language Shift in Northern Laos
(Chuyển dịch ngôn ngữ ở Bắc Lào)
📄 Land Conflict in Minangkabau Society
(Xung đột đất đai ở Minangkabau)
📄 Gender and Honour in Telangana
(Giới và danh dự ở Telangana)
📄 Cultural Capital of Minority Women
(Vốn văn hóa của phụ nữ dân tộc thiểu số)
🕒 15:20–16:50
⚔ Panel 8: Conflicts, Contests, and Change
(Xung đột, tranh chấp và biến đổi)
📄 Peasant Agency after Land Privatization
(Tác nhân nông dân sau tư nhân hóa đất đai)
📄 Rebel Governance in the Naga Hills
(Quản trị nổi dậy ở Naga Hills)
📄 Hip-Hop and Youth Liberation in Indonesia
(Hip-hop và giải phóng thanh niên)
📄 Health Insurance Use in Vietnam’s Highlands
(Sử dụng BHYT ở Tây Nguyên)
🏁 17:00–17:30
🎓 Closing Ceremony (Lễ bế mạc)
🌍🌊 Climate, Gender, and Migration: Intersectional Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity in Coastal Jakarta
(Khí hậu – Giới – Di cư: Tính dễ tổn thương giao thoa và năng lực thích ứng tại vùng ven biển Jakarta)
👩🏫 Presenter (Báo cáo viên): Ica Wulansari
🏫 Affiliation (Cơ quan): Paramadina University, Jakarta, Indonesia
🧩 Intersectionality and Feminist Political Ecology
(Giao thoa & Sinh thái học chính trị nữ quyền)
🔹 Intersectionality (tính giao thoa) is an approach to analyzing power relations (quan hệ quyền lực) by identifying multiple social categories (e.g., gender, class, ethnicity) as interconnected case studies.
🔹 Feminist Political Ecology (FPE) (Sinh thái học chính trị nữ quyền) recognizes gender (giới) as a key variable shaping:
- Access and control over resources (quyền tiếp cận & kiểm soát tài nguyên)
- Interactions with class, social status, race, culture, and ethnicity
(giai tầng, địa vị xã hội, chủng tộc, văn hóa, tộc người)
→ which influence ecological change processes (quá trình biến đổi sinh thái) and people’s struggles for livelihoods and sustainable development (sinh kế & phát triển bền vững)
📚 (Rocheleau et al., 1996)
🔹 FPE employs qualitative methods (phương pháp định tính) using:
- Triangulation methodology (phương pháp tam giác hóa)
- Visual and interpretative findings (phân tích trực quan & diễn giải)
- Map-making illustrations (bản đồ hóa)
to understand actors’ situated knowledge (tri thức gắn với bối cảnh của các chủ thể)
📚 (Sundberg, 2017)
⚠️ “Climate change is not gender neutral”
(Biến đổi khí hậu không trung tính về giới)
🌐 According to UNDP (United Nations Development Programme – Chương trình Phát triển Liên Hợp Quốc):
“Climate change is not gender neutral.”
This means climate change creates multidimensional inequality and insecurity
(bất bình đẳng & bất an đa chiều) especially for female migrants (phụ nữ di cư).
📊 Studies show strong intersections between:
- Migration (di cư)
- Class (giai tầng)
- Gender (giới)
together with economic and social drivers (yếu tố kinh tế – xã hội) of vulnerability and discrimination.
🔍 A gender perspective (góc nhìn giới) is required to understand:
- Power dynamics (động lực quyền lực)
- Decision-making processes (quá trình ra quyết định)
in policies and legal frameworks (chính sách & khung pháp lý) related to climate migration.
🌧 Gender Dimensions in Climate Change
(Khía cạnh giới trong biến đổi khí hậu)
🗣 Local perceptions (nhận thức địa phương):
“The current conditions are not the same as 20–30 years ago.
Waves and winds are stronger, and seasons are more inconsistent.”
(Hiện nay sóng gió mạnh hơn, mùa vụ thất thường hơn so với trước kia.)
🌊 Tidal flooding (lụt do thủy triều) now occurs once a year, whereas it was rare over 10 years ago.
🏗 Sea wall construction (xây đê chắn sóng) was implemented by the local government to prevent flooding.
However:
❌ Lack of supervision (thiếu giám sát)
❌ No systematic mitigation and preparedness measures
(biện pháp giảm thiểu & chuẩn bị ứng phó)
→ reduces effectiveness.
🚺 Insufficient Gender-Sensitive Climate Adaptation
(Thiếu thích ứng khí hậu nhạy cảm về giới)
👩🍳 Women engage in small-scale commercial activities
(hoạt động kinh tế nhỏ lẻ) because:
- Husbands’ income from fishing is unstable (bấp bênh)
- Women must sell:
- prepared food (thức ăn chế biến sẵn)
- processed seafood (hải sản chế biến)
⚖️ Gender-just adaptation policies
(chính sách thích ứng công bằng giới)
have not yet been established, leading to:
➡️ Weak adaptive capacity (năng lực thích ứng thấp)
🏝 Case Study: Tidung Island (Đảo Tidung)
(Thuộc quần đảo Seribu, vùng ven biển Jakarta)
🌱 Environmental degradation (suy thoái môi trường):
- Marine pollution (ô nhiễm biển)
- Damage to coral reefs and seagrass beds
(rạn san hô & thảm cỏ biển)
👨👩👧 These threats affect livelihoods of 1,098 residents, mainly:
- Fishermen (ngư dân)
- Families dependent on:
- Tourism (du lịch: homestay, du lịch biển, tàu thuyền)
- Processed seafood production (sản xuất hải sản chế biến)
🧪 Methodology (Phương pháp nghiên cứu)
📌 Focus Group Discussion (FGD – thảo luận nhóm tập trung)
with 35 women:
- 20 housewives (nội trợ)
- 15 high school students (học sinh THPT)
🗣 Local climate language (ngôn ngữ địa phương về khí hậu):
- along = abundance of fish (nhiều cá)
- paceklik = scarcity of fish (ít cá, mất mùa cá)
These terms show how climate change is understood through livelihood experience
(trải nghiệm sinh kế) rather than scientific language.
🌏 CHSS SYMPOSIUM
🌱 CLIMATE CHANGE AND LIVELIHOODS FOR WOMEN IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM
(Biến đổi khí hậu và sinh kế của phụ nữ tại Đồng bằng sông Cửu Long, Việt Nam)
👩🏫 Presenters (Báo cáo viên):
- Dr. Hoàng Thị Việt Hà, MBA
- Dương Văn Khánh
🏫 Affiliation (Đơn vị): Dong Thap University (Trường Đại học Đồng Tháp)
✍️ English notes compiled by Louis Quang Vo.
(Ghi chép tiếng Anh bởi Louis Quang Vo)
🧩 Slide 3: Outline (Dàn ý)
Climate Change & Livelihoods for Women in the Mekong Delta (MD), Vietnam
(Biến đổi khí hậu & sinh kế của phụ nữ ở ĐBSCL)
1️⃣ About climate change & the situation in the MD
(Khái quát về BĐKH & tình hình tại ĐBSCL)
2️⃣ Impacts of climate change on women’s livelihoods
(Tác động của BĐKH đến sinh kế phụ nữ)
3️⃣ What are the solutions?
(Giải pháp là gì?)
4️⃣ Are there any opportunities?
(Có cơ hội nào không?)
🛠 Slide 4: What Are the Solutions?
(Các giải pháp là gì?)
⏳ Short-term supports (Hỗ trợ ngắn hạn)
🌱 Increase the value of gardens and boost crop productivity
(Nâng cao giá trị vườn tược & năng suất cây trồng)
→ through technological advancements (tiến bộ công nghệ) and
new plant varieties (giống cây trồng mới)
💰 Financial support solutions
(Giải pháp hỗ trợ tài chính)
👩👩👧 Encouraging local solutions through Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
(Khuyến khích giải pháp địa phương thông qua nhóm tự lực)
🌡 Reducing the impact of prolonged heat waves
(Giảm tác động của các đợt nắng nóng kéo dài)
🏛 Convergence of sectors and services at local levels
(Phối hợp liên ngành & dịch vụ ở cấp địa phương)
📌 Middle Section (Key Social Insight – Nhận định xã hội học)
📖 Studying for rural women in the Mekong Delta often does not mean changing their lives immediately, but helping them overcome shyness and integrate better into a fast-paced society.
(Việc học của phụ nữ nông thôn ĐBSCL không hẳn làm thay đổi cuộc sống ngay, mà giúp họ vượt qua sự e dè và hòa nhập tốt hơn với nhịp sống hiện đại.)
🏠 As women join the economy and earn higher incomes, their share of power within households will change.
(Khi phụ nữ tham gia kinh tế và có thu nhập cao hơn, quyền lực của họ trong gia đình cũng thay đổi.)
🕰 Long-term supports (Hỗ trợ dài hạn)
🎓 Education for women
(Giáo dục cho phụ nữ)
⚖ Promoting gender equality policies
(Thúc đẩy chính sách bình đẳng giới)
🧠 Changing societal perceptions of women’s roles
(Thay đổi nhận thức xã hội về vai trò phụ nữ)
💼 More career opportunities for women
(Nhiều cơ hội nghề nghiệp hơn cho phụ nữ)
👩🌾 Slide 5: Women and Climate Change in the MD
(Phụ nữ và biến đổi khí hậu ở ĐBSCL)
🌧 How will climate change affect the MD?
(BĐKH ảnh hưởng ĐBSCL như thế nào?)
📈 More: floods, droughts, natural disasters
(Nhiều hơn: lũ lụt, hạn hán, thiên tai)
📉 Less: predictable rainfall
(Ít hơn: lượng mưa ổn định, dễ dự đoán)
⚠ Result: increase in hunger and poverty
(Hệ quả: gia tăng đói nghèo)
👩👩👧 How about poor women in the MD?
(Phụ nữ nghèo ở ĐBSCL thì sao?)
🧺 Increased workload:
- producing food (sản xuất lương thực)
- managing farms (quản lý ruộng vườn)
- collecting resources (water, fuel, etc.)
(thu gom nước, nhiên liệu…)
❤️ Poorer health (sức khỏe suy giảm)
🚨 Higher risk of sexual harassment
(nguy cơ quấy rối tình dục cao hơn)
😰 Added stress in supporting family members
(áp lực chăm lo gia đình tăng)
🏙 More rural-to-urban migration
(di cư từ nông thôn ra thành thị nhiều hơn)
🌍 Slide 6: Causes of Climate Change
(Nguyên nhân của biến đổi khí hậu)
🌿 Natural causes (Nguyên nhân tự nhiên)
☀ Variations in solar activity
(biến đổi hoạt động Mặt Trời)
🪐 Changes in Earth’s orbital parameters
(thay đổi quỹ đạo Trái Đất)
🌋 Volcanic eruptions
(núi lửa phun trào)
🌊 Natural variability in ocean circulation patterns
(biến động dòng hải lưu)
🌬 El Niño and La Niña phenomena
(hiện tượng El Niño & La Niña)
🏭 Human causes (Nguyên nhân do con người)
⚡ Energy production (sản xuất năng lượng)
🌳 Deforestation (phá rừng)
🏗 Industry and construction
(công nghiệp & xây dựng)
🚗 Transportation (giao thông vận tải)
🌾 Unsustainable agricultural practices
(canh tác không bền vững)
🛒 Overconsumption of natural resources
(khai thác & tiêu thụ tài nguyên quá mức)
Female Visionary Leaders for Development: Gender, Development and State University Education in Sri Lanka – A Case Study
Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka lavangistudy@gmail.com P.K.G.I. Lavangi Ranasinghe
[Slide: Discussion Outline]
Discussion
- Women and Visionary Leadership
- Pathways to Ensure Women Becoming Visionary Leaders
- State Universities, Practical Realities and Inclusion of Female Visionaries
[Slide: Women’s Activism Quote]
“I think in the area of women’s activism, there again I see a difference. Students who are working connected to conventional political parties, I think there are much fewer females involved, people who do politics in universities, those who belong to mainstream political parties, they are much less likely to adopt women” (Field Data, 2021-2022).
- Most of the time, leaders of the student unions of the research field were held by male students. Even in the faculties which have majority of female students, this pattern could be seen.
- They have included very few female members to the union council, but in the recent past, there were no female students who held the higher positions in majority of state university student unions.
- This pattern can be seen even in the other students’ societies in the university. Most of the time, female students are the ones who nominate those male students for leadership positions in those student societies.
- According to field data, the major factor that respondents highlighted here is female students are mostly considered as a group who cannot stay in public spaces at night and have traveling issues alone, and male students are stronger at facing challenges (for example –participating in protests, etc.).
[Slide: Data Collection]
Data Collection
- A qualitative research
- An exploratory research
- However, the questionnaire survey method was used to collect basic demographic and main statistical details.
- Structured interviews were done as a qualitative data-collecting method. Therefore, triangulation has been done.
- There were 3 stages of data collection as below,
- Stage 1– Distributing questionnaires among academic staff of the said faculties and campuses of the University of Colombo and administration level officers of the selected government institutions.
- Stage 2 – Using the data gathered in stage 1 by questionnaires, the main issues and problems were recognized. Those main issues and problems were discussed further through structured interviews.
- Stage 3 – The main issues and problems recognized by stages 1 and 2 of data collection were discussed with the key informants to have a much deeper understanding.
[Slide: Political Culture Quotes]
“Our political culture is a reflection of male domination. You know, sometimes it is violent, sometimes very much harsh. There is a particular kind of personality that fits into these politics. For instance, if you take leadership positions in administration, women are very few. You have a vast majority of men. You know…it reflects the social, cultural, political, and economic process of the country. So, there is a kind of natural selection; women have other responsibilities too. And those responsibilities constrain them from getting and playing leadership roles” (Field Data, 2021-2022).
- Patriarchy, Femininity & Masculinity
“So, they have gender roles. So, I think gender roles are still quite rigid in the country. You can work, but you know working is something different from holding a leadership position. Because leadership positions are far more demanding than occupying a job” (Field Data, 2021-2022).
- University’s advocacy role in positively changing social ideologies, discourses, attitudes is important.
“Actually, the leadership…. I think we cannot refuse that the university contributes to producing visionary leaders. University has a considerable contribution to producing visionary leaders. Because most of the leading women in the administrative leadership positions of the country are state university productions. But I do not think we contribute more to that. Because we produce visionary leaders, it is an optional thing in a university system. If you want to be a visionary leader or if I have an inborn potential, then I can develop that potential or whatever through this system because the system supports you. But the thing is, if somebody cannot recognize their potential or inborn talent to be a visionary leader, then we cannot get the expected outcome from the system” (Field Data, 2021-2022).
[Slide: Women’s Role Quote]
“Women play a critical role in child care, the well-being of the family and in the social, political and economic development of the country. We believe that citizens, families, communities and societies are shaped through the guidance and nurturing of women. Therefore, harnessing the contribution of women is vital to our short and long term development plans……… We will build on the high levels of literacy and education of women to be equal partners in development but also to harness their skills to prepare the next generation to face the challenges ahead” (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, 2020, p.27).
- As we can see in this regard ‘family’ has been getting special attention in current Sri Lankan development agenda. Although it has been emphasized national leadership to strengthen development, it is important to have insights on how we enhance correct leadership and vision in other spheres of the processors and institutions which are connected to development too.
[Slide: Women and Visionary Leadership]
Women and Visionary Leadership
- Visionary Leadership goes beyond just being charismatic, and there would be no leadership without a vision, as vision is fundamental to being a better leader.
- ‘Vision’ and ‘Leadership’ have an intimate relationship. ‘Envisioning’ is more about being forward-looking, having the possibility to share a view of the future (Ibarra & Obodaru, 2009, p. 59).
- “Females are visionary but in a different way.”
- “Females hesitate to go out on a limb.”
- “Females do not put much stock in vision.” (Ibarra and Obodaru, 2009: 59).
[Slide: State Universities]
State Universities, Practical Realities and Inclusion of Female Visionaries
- The power relations between females and males do have a significant negative impact on females’ visionary leadership.
- Although state universities have no restrictions or barriers against females in theory, in practice, the cultural and social background of the country restricts females only to be in the privet sphere in most instances.
- “State university agenda is same for both males and females. According to our country’s cultural background, it makes women homebound. It should be changed” (Field Data, 2021-2022).
- Although there are female graduates passed from state universities in the country who have the capacity and potential to be visionary leaders, most of them have not come to the public; their inclusion is restricted by themselves or by other factors.
[Slide: Pathways to Ensure…]
Pathways to Ensure Women Becoming Visionary Leaders
- Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals focuses on promoting gender equality and empowering females.
- Goal 4 of the Millennium Development Goals focus on eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education
- SDG 5 focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
- Gender Mainstreaming:
- Cultural argument
- Nature argument
- History argument
- Common sense argument
- Female’s participation, representation, training, encouragement, and empowerment of individual females in university structures.
- Female governance structures and power positions in universities.
- The theoretical approach to gender has considered gender roles, responsibilities, needs, issues, relations, and politics of gender. Also, it has explained institutional structures, practices, and cultures. It is also important to think of the fact that gender is not only about females, and it also needs to consider men’s issues as well (Wickramasinghe, 2012p. 13).
Tribal Women and Traditional Governance (India)
[Title Slide] TRIBAL WOMEN AT THE MARGINS: UNDERSTANDING DISPOSSESSION AND AGENCY THROUGH TRIBAL TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE IN INDIA (A CASE STUDY OF SANTALS)
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
- The Santal Parganas is home to the Santal community which is India’s third largest Adivasi groups.
- It is rich for it’s oral traditions, communal relations and a customary governance system called the Manjhi Pargana system.
- This governance framework regulates land distribution, conflict resolution at the village level.
- Within this system, the authority is largely male dominated even though woman’s labour and ritual roles are central to community.
RESEARCH RATIONALE
- This study thus focuses on internal dynamics of power, belongingness and gender within santal customary institutions. Why are santal women experiencing dispossession? How can we understand a santal woman’s agency under dispossession?
CASE STUDIES:
- 1- Subhasini Soren, a daughter married into ghar jawae claims right. Subhasini being the legitimate owner according to customary law, continues to face persistent challenges and intimidation from male relatives, illustrating how women’s land rights often remain insecure even when formally recognised within tribal customs.
- 2- Sushmita Murmu, a widow fighting for ownership rights. A mother of two daughters, she continues to struggle for her and her children’s rights to their home and property, relying on customary authorities for support and intervention.
- 3- Kinu Murmu, a separated women forced out of house. Customary justice, often fails to protect women from social and familial exclusion.
PERSISTING PROBLEMS
- The decision making process of baisi under manjhi and more hor excludes women’s participation. How can there be any change in the customs and practices in favour of women when women are not directly involved in the process of governance?
- It is also important to note that traditional institutions are also facing challenges.
- Government policies meant to strengthen traditional local self governance like PESA has in turn weakened tribal institutions due improper implementation.
- Due to loopholes in the SPT act and it’s misuse, tribal land is being usurped by non tribals, multinational corporations are encroaching upon tribal lands for mining activities, market is expanding, demography is changing, customs are challenged, tribal land and identity is under threat. How can an institution which is in the process of dispossession itself protect it’s dispossessing women?
TOWARDS CONCLUSION
- Through Kimberle Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality ,it can be understood that tribal women such as santals face multiple level of marginalisation .
- A tribal woman exists in the nexus of state, traditions, governing institutions, identity, poverty, migration, displacement, formal law, customary laws.
- Efforts are needed both within the customary institutions and statutory institutions for positive transformation in the conditions of tribal women.
- Discussions and deliberation while providing adequate space for women both in community and politics can be a small step towards change.
Topic 2: Tidung Island & Climate (Indonesia)
Tidung Island
- Tidung Island located in the Seribu Islands of the Jakarta coastal zone is experiencing environmental degradation in the form of marine pollution and damage to coral reefs and seagrass beds. This vulnerability threatens the livelihoods of Tidung Island residents, who are predominantly fishermen and who support 1,098 people.
- Tidung Island features a tourism industry that includes homestays, marine tourism, and boat transportation services. In addition, the economic well-being of Tidung Island residents is supported by the production of processed seafood products by small and medium-sized businesses.
- The data collection method involved a focus group discussion that included 35 women residing on Tidung Island, comprising 20 housewives and 15 high school students.
- Local language of climate change: along and paceklik to show in terms of fish abundance.
Topic 3: Plantationocene & Gender Polycultures
Research Question & Key Argument
- How does the Plantationocene function as a gendered regime of extraction?
- Argument: The Plantationocene operates not only through ecological and racial simplification, but through binary gender systems that render feminised and queer labor legally and economically extractable.
- Southeast Asian cultural texts reveal “gender polycultures”—fragile survival practices within plantation ruins.
Gender Polycultures as Survival Formations
- Gender polycultures (López Toledano & Zega):
- Fragile, compromised relational forms that resist monocultural purity.
- Examples:
- Ah Hock’s feral Plot (care in ruins)
- Thongkham & Jingna’s queer solidarity (outside inheritance)
- Vulnerable yet vital: Exist outside kin/commons, yet sustain life.
Topic 4: General Climate Change Information
Causes of Climate Change
- Natural causes
- Variations in solar activity
- Changes in the Earth’s orbital parameters
- Volcanic eruptions
- Natural variability in ocean circulation patterns
- The El Niño and La Niña phenomena
- Due to humans
- Energy production
- Deforestation
- Industry, Construction
- Transportation
- Unsustainable agricultural practices
- Overconsumption of natural resources
Topic 5: Women’s Leadership (Sri Lanka)
Pathways to Ensure Women Becoming Visionary Leaders
- Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals focuses on promoting gender equality and empowering females.
- Goal 4 of the Millennium Development Goals focus on eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education
- SDG 5 focuses on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls.
- Gender Mainstreaming:
- Cultural argument
- Nature argument
- History argument
- Common sense argument
- Female’s participation, representation, training, encouragement, and empowerment of individual females in university structures.
- Female governance structures and power positions in universities.
- The theoretical approach to gender has considered gender roles, responsibilities, needs, issues, relations, and politics of gender. Also, it has explained institutional structures, practices, and cultures. It is also important to think of the fact that gender is not only about females, and it also needs to consider men’s issues as well (Wickramasinghe, 2012p. 13).
Women-Led Education in Hunza (Pakistan)
[Slide: Emergent Praxis]
Emergent Praxis
Schools as Community Resilience Hubs
• The Central Thesis:
• Resilience is not a subject taught, but a practice lived.
• In the absence of a formal “Mountain Resilience Curriculum,” everyday teaching adapts to become an instrument of survival and adaptation.
• Shift in Function: Schools transition from purely academic institutions to multi-functional community hubs that anchor social stability during environmental shocks.
• Systems View (Diagram):
• Center: THE SCHOOL
• Learning Continuity: Informal classes during closures to prevent dropout.
• Disaster Literacy: Integrating Indigenous warning signs & protocols.
• Psychosocial Care: Emotional stability & trauma support for children.
• Gender Reflexivity: Recognizing shifting labor loads for boys & girls.
• Quote: “Education as adaptation in real-time.”
[Slide: Implications & Recommendations]
Implications & Recommendations
Bridging Research, Governance, and Community Action
• Policy (Governance Reform):
• Inclusive Governance: Mandate women educators’ participation in local District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) committees.
• Curriculum Localization: Allocate provincial funds to formalize climate-literate curricula integrating local languages (Burushaski/Wakhi).
• Labor Recognition: Formally recognize and compensate the “shadow labor” of disaster response performed by teachers.
• Practice (Community Action):
• Scale Community Initiatives: Replicate the student-led plantation and cleanliness drive models across all 25 schools in the district.
• Target Boys’ Dropout: Develop flexible schooling schedules and vocational bridges for boys engaged in seasonal labor.
• Teacher Training: Expand the “Rooted in Resilience” training to include psychosocial first aid certification.
• Academia (Future Research):
• Reframe Vulnerability: Move beyond binary gender analysis to investigate intersectional male vulnerabilities in mountain economies.
• Longitudinal Tracking: Conduct multi-year studies to track the long-term impact of climate-induced labor on boys’ life outcomes.
• Valuation Studies: Quantify the economic value of women’s uncompensated care work during climate disasters.
[Slide: Selected References]
Selected References
Key Scholarship & Data Sources
• Climate & Adaptation: Carey, M. (2020). Glacier retreat and community adaptation in the Karakoram. Mountain Research and Development, 40(2), 123–135.
• Disaster Risk: Hussain, I., Ali, S., & Khan, F. (2021). Climate hazards and educational continuity in high-altitude Pakistan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 55, 102119.
• Education in Emergencies: Mendenhall, M., & Odgaard, R. (2019). Education in emergencies: Gendered approaches to schooling. Comparative Education Review, 63(3), 367–389.
• Theory Framework: Rocheleau, D., Thomas-Slayter, B., & Wangari, E. (2013). Feminist political ecology: Global issues and local experiences. Routledge.
Contact Info:
shehnaz.gul@kiu.edu.pk
+923115808313
KIU Hunza Campus
🌏🏛 Tourism Development in Hoi An World Heritage in the Context of Climate Change: Identifying Emerging Risks
(Phát triển du lịch Hội An – Di sản thế giới trong bối cảnh biến đổi khí hậu: Nhận diện rủi ro mới)
👩🏫 Author (Tác giả): Ho Nhu Ngoc
📍 Case Study (Địa bàn nghiên cứu): Hoi An, Vietnam
✍️ English notes compiled by Louis Quang Vo.
🧩 1. Core Premise: Tourism as a Vital but Vulnerable Livelihood
(Du lịch: sinh kế thiết yếu nhưng dễ tổn thương)
📊 The paper establishes that Hoi An is economically dependent on tourism (du lịch), which contributes 65.34% of total production value (65,34% tổng giá trị sản xuất) — far higher than industry or agriculture.
🏛 Heritage value (Giá trị di sản):
Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Di sản thế giới UNESCO), known for its:
- Indigenous architecture (kiến trúc bản địa)
- Chinese, Japanese, and European influences (ảnh hưởng Trung Hoa – Nhật – châu Âu)
👩 Women’s role (Vai trò của phụ nữ):
Tourism is a major livelihood source for women through:
🌱 Community tourism (Du lịch cộng đồng):
- Managing homestays (e.g., Cam Thanh eco-village)
(quản lý homestay, làng sinh thái Cẩm Thanh)
🚤 Leadership (Lãnh đạo địa phương):
- Women-led initiatives transforming fishing boats into passenger boats in Cam Kim
(phụ nữ dẫn dắt mô hình chuyển tàu cá thành tàu du lịch)
♻️ Environmental stewardship (Bảo vệ môi trường):
- Women’s Union organizes waste collection and recycling
(Hội Phụ nữ tổ chức thu gom rác & tái chế)
⚠️ 2. The Climate Crisis: Emerging Risks
(Khủng hoảng khí hậu và các rủi ro mới)
Climate change is framed not as a future threat but as a present reality (thực tại hiện hữu), driven by:
🌡 Rising temperatures (nhiệt độ tăng)
🌊 Sea-level rise (mực nước biển dâng)
Two main risks are identified:
➡️ Flooding (lũ lụt)
➡️ Erosion (xói lở)
🌧 A. Flooding: Frequency and Intensity
(Lũ lụt: tần suất và cường độ)
📍 Current reality:
Hoi An floods regularly between September–December (tháng 9–12).
📈 Escalation:
- In November 2020, there were 7 flash floods (7 trận lũ quét).
📊 Historic highs:
- A flood in 2025 reached over 3.4 meters, exceeding the historic flood of 1964.
🏚 Impacts:
Flooding affects the historic core zone (vùng lõi di sản):
- Damages ancient wooden houses
(làm hư hại nhà gỗ cổ) - Disrupts transportation and tourism activities
(gián đoạn giao thông & du lịch)
🌊 B. Coastal and Riverbank Erosion
(Xói lở bờ biển và bờ sông)
🏖 Cua Dai Beach (Bãi biển Cửa Đại):
- Loses 10–20 meters of land annually
(mất 10–20m đất mỗi năm) - Caused by:
- Sea-level rise (nước biển dâng)
- Storm surges (nước dâng do bão)
- Sea-level rise (nước biển dâng)
💰 This directly reduces tourism revenue
(doanh thu du lịch) by destroying scenic landscapes.
🏞 Riverbank instability (Bất ổn bờ sông):
- Thu Bon & De Vong rivers consist of loose sediment (trầm tích rời)
- Highly vulnerable to:
- Strong currents
- Sand mining (khai thác cát)
- Strong currents
🛠 3. Strategic Recommendations for Adaptation
(Chiến lược thích ứng)
🏛 1. Diversify Tourism Products (Indoor Adaptation)
(Đa dạng hóa sản phẩm du lịch – thích ứng trong nhà)
Because outdoor tourism is cancelled during floods, the city should develop:
- Museums (bảo tàng)
- Cooking classes (lớp dạy nấu ăn)
- Traditional craft villages (làng nghề truyền thống)
These can operate regardless of weather conditions.
(hoạt động không phụ thuộc thời tiết)
📢 2. Crisis Communication & Policy
(Truyền thông khủng hoảng & chính sách)
📡 Provide real-time information
(cập nhật thời gian thực) via:
- Live cameras
- Social media
💳 Apply flexible refund policies
(chính sách hoàn tiền linh hoạt)
to reduce tourists’ financial anxiety during the rainy season.
🌿 3. Resilient Infrastructure
(Hạ tầng thích ứng)
🌱 Invest in nature-based solutions
(giải pháp dựa vào tự nhiên):
- Mangrove restoration (phục hồi rừng ngập mặn)
- Coastal forest protection (bảo vệ rừng ven biển)
🏗 Build:
- Flood-resistant buildings (nhà chống lũ)
- Raised infrastructure (nâng cao nền hạ tầng)
🎯 4. Conclusion
(Kết luận)
Climate change threatens the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)
(Giá trị nổi bật toàn cầu) of Hoi An as a World Heritage site.
🔬 The paper calls for future research to focus on:
👩👩👧 Marginalized groups (nhóm yếu thế):
- Women-led households (hộ gia đình do phụ nữ làm chủ)
- Informal workers (lao động phi chính thức)
These groups have the lowest adaptive capacity
(năng lực thích ứng thấp nhất) to climate shocks.
Nancy Lee Peluso — Professor of the Graduate School, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM), University of California, Berkeley.
🎤🌿✨ Edited Transcript: Discussant Remarks (Panel 3)
(with icons & emojis for readability)
🧠📖
“I know it is very hard in the very short term to come up with exactly what is happening there, so please forgive me if I get it wrong, because I am sure I will. But what I would really like to talk about—that I do think affects in very different ways the stories that we have heard and the really wonderful, deep analyses of ecological disaster (which is kind of taken for granted in most of the stories we just heard)—is complexity. 🔍🌍
🌏🌀
There are four very complex situations in all the places that you describe, even if those are fictional worlds. I think one of the big differences, of course, with a fictional account is that the author of that account is the one who is in charge of creating a narrative that is dependent on their ability to demonstrate complexity. They decide what happens and what you think—or what we think as readers—is going to happen. ✍️📚
📊🤔
And so, the analyst is in this kind of weird situation of having to not only judge how they depict something in a very interesting and insightful way, but whether or not you want to accept the singular—often singular—narratives that they produce about what is going to happen to everybody.
👥🌊
Whereas if you are thinking about a living account—an account of a differentiated community, differentiated in some way or another—as a researcher, you are surrounded by a swirling mass of decisions and decision-makers, of people who are just trying to decide what to do, whether it is to survive, to move forward, or to move away. So you have this constant complexity that is unfolding right in front of you with the people that you are living with or visiting or interviewing in depth. So that is the backdrop to what I am thinking about here as we move forward. 🏡🗺
⚖️🧑🤝🧑
Another thing I think was in common, but not always stated outright in this way, is that everyone… I mean, it is a thing now, isn’t it, to not want to see people who are victims as only victims. Of course, we don’t want to think that. But again, in the fictional accounts, it is necessary to most of the narratives to have the people be victims in order to generate interest. 📖🎭
❓🧩
And yes, I haven’t read the novels that you were dealing with, but it is just something to think about that requires the analyst to ask: What are the “ironings-over,” the homogenizations that are present in this narrative?
🔎📘
How is it that I can recognize complexity? How can I move beyond the “received wisdom” of this author and what is influencing them, and what is often the macro story of what is going on in that tale?
🧠🗣
So whether we are analyzing fiction or living experiences, panelists are in an excellent position to actually challenge or test that received wisdom—to take a more suspicious perspective on what is being put out there and say: “Would it always be women who are the bigger victims?” or “Does climate change affect women or girls more?” 🌡👩👧
Well, yes, we all accept that generally. But what makes that true in different places is different. And if we are thinking about alternatives to what has been going on, we need to know more about the how and the why and the under what conditions this becomes true.
🎓💭
So I guess that is a tall order for new researchers in particular. You are thinking, “Oh, who am I to say this is a lot more complex than you’re talking about here?” But at the same time, that is exactly what you bring to the process. That is exactly where your contribution is going to be because you are going to go, “Wait a minute, this isn’t really how it was described. There is something different that is going on here.” 🚀📑
🔗👩🔬
And by explaining a new concept, a new context, thinking relationally about people of different genders or different economic classes, or actually trying to think intersectionally—which personally I find really hard to do in some kind of abstract way because it is so complex. 🧩🌐
📚🧬
So, how do we move out of this? I think the way to do it—what has worked for me—is moving into a mode of research that really foregrounds people’s lives and their own experiences. And one way of doing this is through collecting life histories and genealogies of families, of individuals, of laborers, of plantation workers, of the people who are migrating from one place to another. 👨👩👧👦🌍
🏘➡️🏙
You can think about exactly how within the context of a family—maybe a multi-sited family or a “stretched” family—someone is in a city finding work, but the bulk of the family may still be back in a village. Or there may be five or six children that go to different places and so they are stretched across many different directions. It is through those life histories and the complexities that arise in their own experiences, or the way an author is depicting it, that you can start to see how these differences came to be. 🧵📜
🔬📊
We are talking about life histories at a kind of micro level. It is not just kinship like it used to be. It is about work, it is about migration patterns. It is about relations to land and resources at different points in someone’s life. Whether that is a temporal distinction or it is a distinction of: “How many children did you have at this particular point in time? What was going on when the third child was born? What happened when that child was 12 years old? What was going on when the volcano erupted?” 🌋⏳
⏱🧠
The life history provides you a frame through which you can get at all this empirical difference and then stand confused before it for a long while and let it mature and marinate, so that through a slow process of thinking about this, ideas about what people have in common and what is different start to emerge. 🌱💡
🧭🔍
So, I think the key in these cases is—and I’m not saying people are doing this, I’m just saying there is a tendency sometimes to stop the research when they’ve heard what they expected to hear—to instead search out the counterfactual, the thing that doesn’t make sense, the person that is described as the “weird” person in a village because of this experience or that experience. Those are the things you want to pursue. Find the things that don’t fit. Find out what is different about that particular person or circumstance. 🧑🌾❓
🌾🚶♀️
Let me just give you one quick example about how I think sometimes we all homogenize in ways that aren’t really helpful to understanding what is going on. Take a word like “migration.” Okay, I am an Agrarian Studies person, and for Agrarian Studies there used to be pretty much one explanation about migration: it is always bad.
🚫🏡
Migration is always bad. And yes, people don’t want to leave their homes, but there are all kinds of different things going on within that one little word, “migration.” You have short-term and long-term migration. You have circular and permanent migration. You have government-sponsored and resettlement kinds of migration. You have spontaneous migration. You have government-sponsored migration in Indonesia where people are given land and told to move. 🌍🗺
Now, whether or not that worked depends on the place. That depends on the people. That depends on what the risks and uncertainties are and on things that couldn’t always be predicted.
🏗👷
But you have also got migration into a place for work and out of a place for work. So, something like labor migration: You have forced labor. Okay, that is a different kind of migration than an opportunistic kind of labor when there is a structure for people to go and find ways to find jobs and recognize in advance that there will be hardships, that they may have a terrible boss, that there could be very bad things that happen, but that there are also possibilities for something else to happen. ⚖️🌱
🎤📘
So again, for me that is an easy kind of thing because I just came out of a research project thinking about this. But anyway, I am not really in the business of giving lots of advice to you guys because you really know the places that you are working on. I thought the things that you put out there were beautifully described and some of them extremely elegant, but I was left wanting to hear just a little bit more about complexity. ✨🧠
And so I look very much forward to your next drafts of these papers. Thank you so much. 🙏📑

























