Few terms elicit such strong and varied feelings and yet have so little clarity as "democracy." Leaders of large states use "democracy" to designate their nations' public character even as critics and rivals use the term to validate their own political perspectives. In Envisioning Democracy, the editors and contributors address the following questions: What does democracy mean today? What could it mean tomorrow? What is the dynamic of democracy in an increasingly interdependent world? Envisioning Democracy explores these questions amid the dynamic of democracy as a political phenomenon interacting with forms of economic, ethical, ethnic, and intellectual life. The book draws on the work of Sheldon S. Wolin (1922-2015), one of the most influential American theorists of the last fifty years. Here, scholars consider the historical conditions, theoretical elements, and practical impediments to democracy, using Wolin's insights as touchstones in thinking through the possibilities and obstacles facing democracy now and in the future.

Unique and exciting, this ethnographic study is the first to address a little-known subculture, which holds a fascination for many. The first decade of the twenty-first century has displayed an ever increasing fixation with vampires, from the recent spate of phenomenally successful books, films, and television programmes, to the return of vampire-like style on the catwalk. Amidst this hype, there exists a small, dedicated community that has been celebrating their interest in the vampire since the early 1990s. The London vampire subculture is an alternative lifestyle community of people from all walks of life and all ages, from train drivers to university lecturers, who organise events such as fang fittings, gothic belly dancing, late night graveyard walks, and 'carve your own tombstone'. Mellins presents an extraordinary account of this fascinating subculture, which is largely unknown to most people. Through case study analysis of the female participants, Vampire Culture investigates women's longstanding love affair with the undead, and asks how this fascination impacts on their lives, from fiction to fashion. Vampire Culture includes photography from community member and professional photographer SoulStealer, and is an essential read for students and scholars of gender, film, television, media, fashion, culture, sociology and research methods, as well as anyone with an interest in vampires, style subcultures, and the gothic.

Unique and exciting, this ethnographic study is the first to address a little-known subculture, which holds a fascination for many. The first decade of the twenty-first century has displayed an ever increasing fixation with vampires, from the recent spate of phenomenally successful books, films, and television programmes, to the return of vampire-like style on the catwalk. Amidst this hype, there exists a small, dedicated community that has been celebrating their interest in the vampire since the early 1990s. The London vampire subculture is an alternative lifestyle community of people from all walks of life and all ages, from train drivers to university lecturers, who organise events such as fang fittings, gothic belly dancing, late night graveyard walks, and 'carve your own tombstone'.Mellins presents an extraordinary account of this fascinating subculture, which is largely unknown to most people. Through case study analysis of the female participants, "Vampire Culture" investigates women's longstanding love affair with the undead, and asks how this fascination impacts on their lives, from fiction to fashion. "Vampire Culture" includes photography from community member and professional photographer SoulStealer, and is an essential read for students and scholars of gender, film, television, media, fashion, culture, sociology and research methods, as well as anyone with an interest in vampires, style subcultures, and the gothic.

Income inequality has skyrocketed in Canada over the past few decades. The rich have become richer, while the average household income has deteriorated and job quality has plummeted. Common explanations for these trends point to globalization, technology, or other forces largely beyond our control. But, as Jobs with Inequality shows, there is nothing inevitable about inequality. Rather, runaway inequality is the result of politics and policies - what governments have done to aid the rich and boost finance and what they have not done to uphold the interests of workers. Drawing on new tax and income data, John Peters tells the story of how inequality is unfolding in Canada today by examining post-democracy, financialization, and labour market deregulation. Timely and novel, Jobs with Inequality explains how and why business and government have rewritten the rules of the economy to the advantage of the few, and considers why progressive efforts to reverse these trends have so regularly run aground.

This book documents the wide range of contemporary communes and other intentional communities providing sanctuaries for like-minded people to pursue cooperative alternatives to media-stoked consumerism and the relentless tempo of change that characterizes mainstream life in 21st-century America and Europe. Common Purse, Uncommon Future: The Long, Strange Trip of Communes and Other Intentional Communities explores the many new types of communal living being tried in America and Europe today. A growing number of people disenchanted with the pressures and demands of mainstream lifestyles are drawn by the nostalgic appeal of traditional, mostly agrarian and artisanal, lifestyles as practiced in residential communities where liminal rituals of membership serve to validate pacts to live and work together in cooperative social and economic relations. Manzella focuses on the ways in which today's most innovative and controversial ecovillages diverge from the hippie communes of yesteryear's counterculture and from older communal forms such as kibbutzim and arts and crafts colonies, and how today's nonsectarian spiritual and volunteer service communities differ from traditional religious communes and ashrams. He reports his field investigations of a whole new generation of communal living experiments, such as residential land trusts, survivalist retreats, urban cohousing, green housing cooperatives, student co-ops, and New Age organic agrarian communes.

In this original and unusual work, Lucy Chesser explores the persistent recurrence of cross-dressing and gender inversion within Australian cultural life. Examples of cross-dressing are to be found in almost every area of Australian historical enquiry, including Aboriginal-European relations and conflict, convict societies, the goldrushes, bushranging, the 1890s and its nationalist fiction, and World War One. The book compares and contrasts sustained life-long impersonations whereby women lived, worked and sometimes married as men, with other forms of cross-dressing such as public masquerades, cross-dressing on the stage, and the prosecution of men who sought sexual encounters while disguised as women.

"About The Half That Was Never Told"

by John Williams ISBN 13: 978 1 84747 004 1
Published: 2006
Pages: 147

Description

Skinheads, Rastas and Hippies reflects John's involvement in the alternative culture of the 1970s through to the 1990s. He saw a common denominator between the different ethnic and sub-culture groups i.e. Rastas mixing with hippies/ skinheads etc. It was these experiences coupled with his own diagnosis of schzophrenia that lead John to put pen to paper. A truly entertaining read the story reflects John's upbringing and youth in the mixed and sometimes volatile Brixton in South London.

About the Author

John was born in Jamaica in 1955, he currently lives in Brixton, South London. John has had various jobs but has struggled to find employment since becoming ill with schizophrenia. His interests include reading, football and meeting people. He has two children - Adrian aged 16 and Samantha who is 12 years of age. John wrote his book in order to share his perception of his experiences and interpretation of his life issues and tribulations. He believes that the seventies and early eighties were key years in defining the issues of today.

Book Extract

" I have been hanging around and it looks like I am wasting time. You should know that good drop out hang about smoking dope and not ever get a bad day but when you hear of down and out they are even worst. Sometimes I wonder if I would get back on my feet. So far the smoking seems to be all right. Now I am ripe again, big up dropouts.

The truth is that you are trying to be wild and free, as you would like to be without problems, like sunshine after the rain, big up drop out big up and have a better day. Or is it sunshine in the rain. Can you see how much, right on and look how it recurs, at least have a good look. Look as I was saying to a good friend not knowing how she got to be my friend. At first we could not see each other's way, but look how now we see thing like the same.

Supporting Children and Their Families Facing Health Inequities in Canada fills an urgent national need to analyze disparities among vulnerable populations, where socio-economic and cultural factors compromise health and create barriers. Offering solutions and strategies to the prevalent health inequities faced by children, youth, and families in Canada, this book investigates timely issues of social, economic, and cultural significance. Chapters cover a diverse range of socio-economic and cultural factors that contribute to health inequality among the country's most vulnerable youth populations, including mental health challenges, low income, and refugee status. This book shares scientific evidence from thousands of interviews, questionnaires, surveys, and client consultations, while also providing professional insights that offer key information for at-risk families experiencing health inequities. Timely and transformative, this book will serve as an informed and compassionate guide to promote the health and resiliency of vulnerable children, youth, and families across Canada.