Michelle Bastian

the contradictory simultaneity of being with others: exploring concepts of time and community in the work of Gloria Anzaldúa

While social geographers have convincingly made the case that space is not an external constant, but rather is produced through inter-relations, anthropologists and sociologists have done much to further an understanding of time, as itself constituted through social interaction and inter-relation. Their work suggests that time is not an apolitical background to social life, but shapes how we perceive and relate to others. For those interested in exploring issues such as identity, community and difference, this suggests that attending to how temporal discourses are utilised in relation to these issues is a key task. This article seeks to contribute to an expansion of the debate about time and sociality by contributing an analysis of a variety of ways in which Gloria Anzaldúa utilises temporal concepts as part of her work of rethinking social identity and community. In particular, I suggest that in contesting homogeneous identity, Anzaldúa also implicitly contests linear temporal frameworks. Further, in creating new frameworks for identity, I suggest the possibility of discerning an alternative approach to time in her work that places difference at the heart of simultaneity. I suggest that the interconnection between concepts of time and community within Anzaldúa’s work indicates, more broadly, that attempts to rework understandings of relationality must be accompanied by reworked accounts of temporality.

Haraway’s Lost Cyborg and the Possibilities of Transversalism

D onna Haraway’s entire body of work is permeated by her interest in finding ways of allowing heterogeneous actors to work productively together. This interest weaves its way through the cyborg, the Modest_Witness, and now the companion species. Within all these figures lies the desire to develop “vulnerable, on-the-ground work that cobbles together non-harmonious agencies and ways of living that are accountable both to their disparate inherited histories and to their barely possible but absolutely necessary joint futures” (Haraway 2003, 7). Strangely enough, while Haraway’s comments on technology have been widely explored, this important work on coalition building has been largely overlooked. Accordingly, this article attempts to map out the contours of a cyborg theory of coalition. I examine Haraway’s suggestion that we must relinquish our sense of bounded identity in order to work with threatening and frightening others. However, I also suggest that, while becoming cyborgian has appealing possibilities, it is equally important to understand the pain and fear that inevitably coincide with the attempt to critically evaluate one’s own subject position. Discussions of the difficulties of actually reworking our conceptions of subjectivity are limited in Haraway’s own work, so as a response to this problem I seek to bring Haraway’s theories into conversation with the theoretical aspects of transversal politics as they are expressed by Cynthia Cockburn and Nira Yuval-Davis. This theory of building coalitions for peace outlines some of the practical issues involved in learning how to perform the identity work necessary for interacting openly with others. Transversalism is a particularly apt conversation partner for Haraway since it is a situated practice that seeks to remain specific to the needs of the particular women involved while also offering tools and ideas that can inspire others in their coalition work. As such, it adds a valuable apparatus