Technologies of Commensuration:
Performativity and the Reform of Statistics in Turkey
(School of Anthropology, University of Arizona)
This talk examines the changing role of statistics in the apparatus through which objects and practices are being known and intervened upon (governed) in Turkey. It argues that statistics are a crucial piece of the assemblage of human and non-human things involved in the large-scale transformation of institutions in Turkey in line with EU norms and standards, and that this work of reforming of institutions, practices and ultimately livelihoods is often undertaken in the name of technical adjustments merely to collect better data. Hence through the study of changes in Turkey’s collection and use of statistics we are in a position to examine the processes through which collectivities in Turkey are made commensurable with those in the EU. By looking at the case of agriculture and agriculture statistics I show how it is through the reform of statistics along EU standards that a lot of the ‘work’ of engineering commensurability of social forms is accomplished. Finally, I suggest that what this means is that the work of reform is done through the reform of statistics at least as much as, if not more than, through more explicitly deliberative mechanisms, which points to the technopolitical nature of reform itself.
A short reception will follow Dr. Silverstein's talk, and then we will have an open conversation about current events in Turkey.
Schedule:
2PM - 4PM - Talk by Dr. Silverstein. Open to the public--no RSVP required.
4PM - 5PM - Open conversation about current events in Turkey. Please RSVP for the conversation from 4PM - 5PM.
Co-organizers for this talk include the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Department of Anthropology, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the Center for Folklore Studies.
