"Winner of the Distinguished Scholarly Book Award, Labor and Labor Movements Section of the American Sociological Association" "Winner of the Distinguished Scholarly Book Award, Sociology of Development Section of the American Sociological Association" "Winner of the John Friedman Best Book Award, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning" Natasha Iskander is associate professor of urban planning and public policy at New York University's Wagner School of Public Service.
An in-depth look at Qatar's migrant workers and the place of skill in the language of control and power
Skill-specifically the distinction between the "skilled" and "unskilled"-is generally defined as a measure of ability and training, but Does Skill Make Us Human? shows instead that skill distinctions are used to limit freedom, narrow political rights, and even deny access to imagination and desire. Natasha Iskander takes readers into Qatar's booming construction industry in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, and through her unprecedented look at the experiences of migrant workers, she reveals that skill functions as a marker of social difference powerful enough to structure all aspects of social and economic life.
Through unique access to construction sites in Doha, in-depth research, and interviews, Iskander explores how migrants are recruited, trained, and used. Despite their acquisition of advanced technical skills, workers are commonly described as unskilled and disparaged as "unproductive," "poor quality," or simply "bodies." She demonstrates that skill categories adjudicate personhood, creating hierarchies that shape working conditions, labor recruitment, migration policy, the design of urban spaces, and the reach of global industries. Iskander also discusses how skill distinctions define industry responses to global warming, with employers recruiting migrants from climate-damaged places at lower wages and exposing these workers to Qatar's extreme heat. She considers how the dehumanizing politics of skill might be undone through tactical solidarity and creative practices.
With implications for immigrant rights and migrant working conditions throughout the world, Does Skill Make Us Human? examines the factors that justify and amplify inequality. "Iskander undoes skill's illusion to reveal the ways that the politics of skill capture and obfuscate everyday creativity and the imbrication of mind and body. Beautifully written and brilliantly observed, this truly astounding book opens new ways of thinking about materiality, power, and our relations to each other and the planet."-Bridget Anderson, author of Us and Them? "Combining rich theoretical discussion with fieldwork and extensive interviews, this innovative and wide-ranging book promises to change how we think about labor in the Gulf region. Paying careful attention to the lived experience of migrant work, Iskander provides a searching account of labor exploitation in Qatar and myriad forms of worker resistance. Highly recommended!"-Adam Hanieh, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter "This book is a remarkable accomplishment for its theoretical innovation, the astonishing fieldwork upon which it is based, and its clear and cogent findings about the new forms of training, organizing, and regulating workers emerging from the Persian Gulf region. A must-read for policymakers, scholars, and anyone committed to protecting labor rights in the future."-Peggy Levitt, Wellesley College and Harvard University
