Upbringing in places of scarcity: reproduction of violence and inequality in Latvian residential education
Kuupäev
2023-11-28
Autorid
Ajakirja pealkiri
Ajakirja ISSN
Köite pealkiri
Kirjastaja
Abstrakt
Internaatkool on kuulunud Läti haridus- ja sotsiaalsetesse tugisüsteemidesse suurema osa Läti ajaloost ning on suutnud üle elada mitmeid ajaloolisi ja ideoloogilisi muutusi. Sellele vaatamata ei ole see asutus pälvinud märkimisväärset teaduslikku tähelepanu ei kodu- ega välismaal. See on kummaline, sest internaadihariduse pikk ja keeruline ajalugu viitab sellele kui potentsiaalsele ainesele antropoloogiliseks analüüsiks. Internaatkooli etnoloogilise analüüsi läbiviimisel on võimalik tegeleda nii suurte makroskoopiliste perspektiividega, nagu ajalooline analüüs, kui ka kaasata valdkonna tegijaid sügavamal tasandil, mis võib jääda sotsioloogilise perspektiivi kohaldamisel tähelepanuta.
Käesoleva lõputöö eesmärk on analüüsida, kuidas on sotsiaal-majanduslik ebavõrdsus seotud vägivalla eri liikidega internaadihariduse kontekstis. Tuginesin seda küsimust käsitledes kontseptuaalsele raamistikule: vaatlesin internaatkooli kui mitme sotsiaalse valdkonna ja võimusuhete põimumist. Rakendasin mitmekülgset etnograafilist lähenemisviisi, et uurida erinevaid viise, kuidas internaadiharidus kohalikus kontekstis realiseerub, uurides nii institutsiooni tegelikku struktuuri ja suhteid kui ka selle ajaloolist olukorda ja laiemat poliitikat, mis on seotud selle valdkonnaga. Seda täiendas antropoloogiline analüüs, mis põhines minu enda autoetnograafilistel andmetel. Ajalooline analüüs oli uurimuse vajalik osa, sest nii kasulik kui ka problemaatiline pärand on kaasaegse internaatkooli alus.
Uuringust selgub, et internaatkool on pidevas muutumises, mis tuleneb nii järelevalvet teostavate isikute tegevusest kui ka asutuse enda töötajate otsustest. Internaadihariduse ebastabiilne positsioon tekib vastusena pidevalt muutuvatele sotsiaalsetele tingimustele, kus ainsaks püsiteguriks on domineerimissuhete olemasolu. Uuring näitab, kuidas need suhted aitavad kaasa ja säilitavad vägivalla pideva taastootmise nii individuaalsel kui ka struktuuri tasandil, väites, et selleks et tajuda, kuidas vägivald muutub igapäevaseks ja aktsepteeritavaks, tuleb arvesse võtta nii subjektiivseid kui ka objektiivseid vaatenurki ja tegevusi. Nagu see uuring näitas, ei ole vägivald see, mis tekitab ebavõrdsust, ega ka vastupidi, vaid mõlemad eksisteerivad pigem sümbioosis, kus ühe olemasolu nõuab ja tekitab teise olemasolu.
Residential school has been part of Latvian education and social support systems for better part of Latvian history and has managed to survive several changes in historical and ideological situation. Despite this the institution has not garnered significant scholarly attention neither locally nor abroad. This is peculiar as the long and complex history of residential education points towards it as potential rich point for anthropological analysis. By carrying out ethnological analysis of residential school it becomes possible to engage both with large macroscopic perspectives such as historical analysis as well as engage with actors within the field on deeper level that might be missed by application of sociological perspective. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the way how socioeconomic inequality is connected to different types of violence in a residential education context. I approached this question from the conceptual framework of viewing residential school as being enmeshed in several social fields and power relations. I applied multisited ethnographic approach in order to explore the various ways how residential education is realised in the local context through researching both the actual structure and relations within the institution as well as its historical situation and wider policies that connect to this field. This was complemented by anthropological analysis based in my own autoethnographic data. Finally, the historical analysis was necessary component of the research as both beneficial and problematic heritage forms basis of the contemporary residential school. The study reveals that the residential school exists in a constant state of flux which is the result of both the actions of supervising actors and the decisions made by the staff members of the institution itself. The unstable position of residential education arises as a response to everchanging social conditions where the only constant is the presence of relationships of domination. The study demonstrates how these relationships contribute and maintain existence of constant reproduction of violence both on an individual and structural level to argue that in order to perceive the way how violence becomes mundane and accepted both subjective and objective perspectives and actions need to be considered. As this research revealed, it is neither the violence which creates the inequality nor vice versa but rather both exists in a symbiotic relationship where the presence of one demand and creates the presence of the other.
Residential school has been part of Latvian education and social support systems for better part of Latvian history and has managed to survive several changes in historical and ideological situation. Despite this the institution has not garnered significant scholarly attention neither locally nor abroad. This is peculiar as the long and complex history of residential education points towards it as potential rich point for anthropological analysis. By carrying out ethnological analysis of residential school it becomes possible to engage both with large macroscopic perspectives such as historical analysis as well as engage with actors within the field on deeper level that might be missed by application of sociological perspective. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the way how socioeconomic inequality is connected to different types of violence in a residential education context. I approached this question from the conceptual framework of viewing residential school as being enmeshed in several social fields and power relations. I applied multisited ethnographic approach in order to explore the various ways how residential education is realised in the local context through researching both the actual structure and relations within the institution as well as its historical situation and wider policies that connect to this field. This was complemented by anthropological analysis based in my own autoethnographic data. Finally, the historical analysis was necessary component of the research as both beneficial and problematic heritage forms basis of the contemporary residential school. The study reveals that the residential school exists in a constant state of flux which is the result of both the actions of supervising actors and the decisions made by the staff members of the institution itself. The unstable position of residential education arises as a response to everchanging social conditions where the only constant is the presence of relationships of domination. The study demonstrates how these relationships contribute and maintain existence of constant reproduction of violence both on an individual and structural level to argue that in order to perceive the way how violence becomes mundane and accepted both subjective and objective perspectives and actions need to be considered. As this research revealed, it is neither the violence which creates the inequality nor vice versa but rather both exists in a symbiotic relationship where the presence of one demand and creates the presence of the other.
Kirjeldus
Märksõnad
Latvia, boarding schools, pupils, social equality, inequality, effects, violence, autoethnography, ethnology