Rhythms of resistance: A way forward

Abstract

Resistance is a notion that can be viewed both from a common-sense perspective and from a scientific one. This volume contains a diverse range of empirical evidences of common-sense resistance in different cultural conditions. In each case, there is linkage with theoretical dimensions. These experiences facilitate a focus on resistance as a potential event for meaning-making, when faced with alternative perspectives. The common meaning of resistance has a loaded social value of opposition or contradiction. However, in recent psychological theory building, the term is value-free. Through explorations of life course dynamics in different domains, the process of active meaning-making has emerged from the instances of resistance. The primary focus of this book is to demonstrate how resistance as a phenomenon is key to human activity. We come to the conclusion that different forms of resistance have a similar process: neutralization, followed by one of the different forms: (a) counter-action (active event or symbolic), (b) escalated symbolic acceptance (of no action consequences) and (c) transversal displacement of action. Additionally, we have found some evidence to suggest that culturally significant issues or areas of heightened activity are more likely to elicit instances of resistance, in comparison with areas of lower significance. Thus, examples of resistance in different cultural settings can, in fact, provide evidence of the symbolic landscape of culture, making it possible to identify the contours of interaction through the study of resistance.