Oneself as Another: From Social Movement to Experience Movement

Social movements have been largely understood within western civilizational models emphasizing collective identity and a civic conception of action. This article explores two emerging forms of movement, the contemporary anti-globalization movement and the qigong movement that emerged in China over the 1980s. The qigong movement involves forms of embodiment and intensified personhood rather than collective identity. In the anti-globalization movement we encounter a break with representation, grammars of presence/absence rather than ‘we-ness’, and embodied communication. These movements underline singularity and experiences of oneself as another, suggesting a shift from ‘social movement’ to ‘experience movement’.