The Amerikas Colloquium

Florence E. Babb (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Culture and Economy in the Urban Global South: Shifting Gender and Ethnic Subjectivities among Andean Migrants to Lima, Peru

My paper begins with a discussion of recent directions in research on urban economies in the global South, emphasizing new developments in response to neoliberal globalization and the intensification of pressures on those working in the informal economic sector. I set in relief the inequalities and contestations experienced by different races, genders, and social classes. I note the significant turn from political economy to culture—and the current balance between the two as a backdrop to our conference on Urban Economies.

I turn to my long-term Andean research and my recent work conducted in Lima, Peru as a case in point. I consider experiences of women and men who have left the Andean region for economic, political, and other reasons and now are negotiating new identities in the capital city. Dress, language, music, cuisine, and other cultural forms are among the practices that may either be eroded or retained in the migration process. At a time when Peruvians are reckoning with both deep-seated racism and a desire to manifest interculturality, my work examines persistent exclusionary practices and the responses of Lima’s migrants in negotiating gender and ethnic subjectivities. I close by suggesting a conceptual framework for understanding how migrants are reshaping the landscape of contemporary urban life.

Paper to be presented as keynote for the conference on Urban Economies: Cultural Perspectives on Grassroots Entrepreneurs and Neighborhood Economies, University of Munich, July 14-15, 2016.

When?            Thursday, July 14 2016, 6 - 8 pm

Where?           Oettingenstr. 67, Raum L155,  site map

The complete AMERIKAS Program organised by Prof. Eveline Dürr here  to download (70 KB)