Alternative and Activist Conceptions of Work from the Individual to the Organizational

 These papers are connected by the concept of work. While the authors address distinct issues at different scales, all look at how people navigate inequalities, understand themselves as (dis)’empowered,’ and address inequalities through work. Each author conceives of their own, anthropological work as engaged or activist, alongside the situations they discuss. Jennifer Ayres focuses on the secondary markets of two thrift stores, both of which are dedicated to confronting HIV/AIDS. She notes, however, that the aesthetics of each store provide divergent contexts and opportunities for envisioning and engaging in HIV/AIDS activism. Claudia Cojocaru compares the multiple ways women’s sexual behavior in Japan is defined and marked by outsiders such as policy makers and activists. She suggests that the ascription of “victim” to women in sex trade is often hasty and arbitrary insofar as women themselves understand their work differently. Sarah Fessenden compares the anarchist-inspired work of Food Not Bombs to other charitable organizations in their approaches to hunger. Siobhán McGuirk assesses NGOs’ ascription of “doubly marginalized” to LGBT asylum seekers, looking at the roots and consequences of this labeling. Together, these papers shift back and forth from organizational to individual ideas and practices about “work.” Ayres and Fessenden explicitly engage with activist organizations and analyze their strategies for working with informal and secondary markets to affect social and political change. Conversely, Cojocaru and McGuirk focus on the contrast between organizationally imposed definitions and how people choose to represent themselves. All pay critical attention to pressing concerns, including HIV/AIDS, sex trafficking, hunger, and immigration rights. Through the authors’ innovative engagement with the concept of work, this panel examines how serious social issues are envisioned – and how they might be more effectively confronted.

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