Contentious Lives: Two Argentine Women, Two Protests, and the Quest for Recognition (Latin America Otherwise)

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look into the people behind collective action
Review: I had to read CONTENTIOUS LIVES for a Sociology class I took recently, and, I must say, this book was a lot better than I had anticipated. What sociologist Javier Auyero has done is to try to focus on the human stories that go into collective action---in this case, two protests that took place in Argentina during two different times in the 1990s. Most of the time sociologists consider these riots in terms of group action, of what societal factors might have spurred a whole group into getting together and causing a riot or something. In fact, that is the kind of detached perspective that led Auyero to travel to Argentina in the first place. As he explains in an Epilogue, though, he met its two main characters, Laura and Nana, by chance, and it was then that the goal of his field research changed. His book focuses on the two women, digs deep into their personal histories, and tries to use these histories to explain what may have inspired these otherwise ordinary women to get involved in extraordinary actions.

The result of all this research is a book that is not only often fascinating (and quite readable), but, in a way, kind of uplifting too. These two women came from unfortunate pasts filled with disappointments (particularly with relationships), but their involvement in collective action was able to confer on them a considerable measure of dignity and respect, not only from others but for themselves. Even if history---or at least, government-engineered history---relegates the two incidents profiled in this book to oblivion, the people involved in it will certainly never forget it. In their own hearts, at least, they made a difference; and Auyero, through this terrific book, honors their achievements, as well as the achievements of all who have felt the need to get involved in political collective action. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A model of engaged ethnography
Review: Read this book, Auyero did it again. A wonderful and inspiring exercise of political ethnography, this book combines attention to biographical details, protest dynamics, and structural transformations in a stunningly well-written account. Hard to put it down.