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Who Gets the Remainder? Xenia Cherkaev w/ Amiel Bize

Who Gets the Remainder? Xenia Cherkaev w/ Amiel Bize

Talk On — Debates in Anthropology vor 1 Monat

The Ethics and Politics of Gleaning

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31:00

In this episode of Talk On, Xenia Cherkaev speaks with Amiel Bize
about their forthcoming special issue, 'Who Gets the Remainder?
The Ethics and Politics of Gleaning'. They explore gleaning—the
gathering and reuse of leftovers—as both a material practice and
a moral claim. Drawing on examples from biblical traditions, East
African fuel economies, Soviet factories, artisanal gold mining,
urban recycling, and early modern dockyards, they examine why
practices that may be illegal are often regarded as socially
legitimate. Central to the conversation is the concept of
“indeterminate property”: resources that are neither clearly
private nor public. The episode shows how claims to such
remainders challenge conventional ideas of ownership and market
value while expressing obligations to prevent waste, redistribute
resources, and preserve their usefulness. Gleaning thus emerges
as a source of dignity, freedom, community, and resistance to
alienating economic relations.

Read more about the project here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02757206.2026.2670645