|
|
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > General
The articulation between persistence and change is relevant to a
great number of different disciplines. It is particularly central
to the study of urban and rural forms in many different fields of
research, in geography, archaeology, architecture and history.
Resilience puts forward the idea that we can no longer be truly
satisfied with the common approaches used to study the dynamics of
landscapes, such as the palimpsest approach, the regressive method
and the semiological analysis amongst others, because they are
based on the separation between the past and the present, which
itself stems from the differentiation between nature and society.
This book combines spatio-temporalities, as described in
archeogeography, with concepts that have been developed in the
field of ecological resilience, such as panarchy and the adaptive
cycle. Thus revived, the morphological analysis in this work
considers landscapes as complex resilient adaptive systems. The
permanence observed in landscapes is no longer presented as the
endurance of inherited forms, but as the result of a dynamic that
is fed by this constant dialogue between persistence and change.
Thus, resilience is here decisively on the side of dynamics rather
than that of resistance.
Trajectories of Empire extends from the beginning of the Iberian
expansion of the mid-fifteenth century, through colonialism and
slavery, and into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in Latin
American republics. Its point of departure is the question of
empire and its aftermath, as reflected in the lives of contemporary
Latin Americans of African descent, and of their ancestors caught
up in the historical process of Iberian colonial expansion,
colonization, and the Atlantic slave trade. The book's chapters
explore what it's like to be Black today in the so-called racial
democracies of Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba; the role of medical
science in the objectification and nullification of Black female
personhood during slavery in Brazil in the nineteenth century; the
deployment of visual culture to support insurgency for a largely
illiterate slave body again in the nineteenth century in Cuba;
aspects of discourse that promoted the colonial project as
evangelization, or alternately offered resistance to its racialized
culture of dominance in the seventeenth century; and the
experiences of the first generations of forced African migrants
into Spain and Portugal in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
as the discursive template was created around their social roles as
enslaved or formerly enslaved people. Trajectories of Empire's
contributors come from the fields of literary criticism, visual
culture, history, anthropology, popular culture (rap), and cultural
studies. As the product of an interdisciplinary collective, this
book will be of interest to researchers and graduate students in
Iberian or Hispanic Studies, Africana Studies, Postcolonial
Studies, and Transatlantic Studies, as well as the general public.
In a globalizing and expanding world, the need for research
centered on analysis, representation, and management of landscape
components has become critical. By providing development strategies
that promote resilient relations, this book promotes more
sustainable and cultural approaches for territorial construction.
The Handbook of Research on Methods and Tools for Assessing
Cultural Landscape Adaptation provides emerging research on the
cultural relationships between a community and the ecological
system in which they live. This book highlights important topics
such as adaptive strategies, ecosystem services, and operative
methods that explore the expanding aspects of territorial
transformation in response to human activities. This publication is
an important resource for academicians, graduate students,
engineers, and researchers seeking a comprehensive collection of
research focused on the social and ecological components in
territory development.
The Chaos Precinct presents a compelling, brave – at times, lyrical – narrative of how migrant Ethiopians have shaped a trading post in Johannesburg’s inner city.
On maps it is defined as the eastern edge of the original administrative area of Johannesburg. Those of us who have encountered the area of the city centre roughly bounded by Plein, Troye, Pritchard and von Brandis Streets have coined various names for it. The Ethiopian Quarter, Little Ethiopia and Little Addis are phrases we exchange in animated conversations about this unique entrepreneurial explosion. This exoticises a booming makeshift shopping hub that emerged without any formal planning intention or support. Municipal officials speak informally of the area as the ‘Chaos Precinct’. But the traders in the area call it by the hallmark road – Jeppe. For them it is a place of opportunity and fevered trade – in which the annual revenue generated is twice that of Africa’s wealthiest shopping mall. Jeppe is a dynamic, exuberant nerve centre that fosters entrepreneurship.
Fortunes are made, loved ones back home are supported and commodities flow across Southern Africa – particularly fast fashion. Local and cross border traders arrive on buses and taxis to buy shoes, t-shirts, dresses, underwear, jeans, suits, wallets, belts, nail clippers and cosmetics. Though situated on the dry Highveld, Jeppe is an entrepôt which bears a close resemblance to major port cities.
Co-operativism and Local Development in Cuba consists of a series
of pathbreaking essays on the role of co-operativism, and the new
co-operatives, in the democratic transformation of Cuba and the
government's plan to update the model in the current context. The
contributors are well-known specialists on Cuba, co-operativism and
local development. With a shared concern for how an increased focus
on co-operativism and local development can contribute to the
updating of the Cuban model and the advance of socialism, the
contributors to the book have placed an analysis of the issues
involved in the broader context of the international co-operative
movement and the ongoing capitalist development process in Latin
America. Contributors include: Milford Bateman, Al Campbell, Grizel
Donestevez Sanchez, Cliff DuRand, Olga Fernandez Rios, Julio C.
Gambina, Camila Pineiro Harnecker, Sonja Novkovic, Dayrelis Ojeda
Suris, Gabriela Roffinelli, Frederick. S. Royce, Dean Sinkovic,
Henry Veltmeyer, Marcelo Vieta.
At a time when politicians place increasing importance on the role
of 'community' in overcoming social problems, "Searching for
Community" asks the vital question 'what is community, anyway?'. Is
it an answer to social problems or an illusion to be dismissed?
This insightful book is written from the perspective of the late
Jeremy Brent's thirty year involvement as a youth worker in
Southmead, a housing estate in Bristol and a place where discourses
of community run strong. "Searching for Community" presents a
variety of perspectives to challenge the ways in which areas of
poverty and disrepute are represented. It examines ways to
understand and engage with the troublesome concept of 'community',
vividly describing the collective actions of young people and
adults to show the way community is enacted as a combination of
dreams, actions and materiality.Providing a unique mix of practical
knowledge and a sophisticated analysis of popular, professional,
and theoretical ideas of community, "Searching for Community" makes
uneasy reading for those looking for simplistic solutions to issues
including youth crime, social marginalisation and community
empowerment. This accessible book is a must-read for students and
practitioners in the fields of community development, sociology and
youth work who wish to get beyond the rhetoric and engage with the
complexities of discourses of community.
As a society, we have learned to value diversity. But can some
strategies to achieve diversity mask deeper problems, ones that
might require a different approach and different solutions? With
"Inclusion," Steven Epstein argues that in the field of medical
research, the answer is an emphatic yes.
Formal concern with diversity in American medical research, Epstein
shows, is a fairly recent phenomenon. Until the mid-1980s, few paid
close attention to who was included in research subject pools. Not
uncommonly, scientists studied groups of mostly white, middle-aged
men--and assumed that conclusions drawn from studying them would
apply to the rest of the population. But struggles involving
advocacy groups, experts, and Congress led to reforms that forced
researchers and pharmaceutical companies to diversify the
population from which they drew for clinical research. That change
has gone hand in hand with bold assertions that group differences
in society are encoded in our biology--for example, that there are
important biological differences in the ways that people of
different races and sexes respond to drugs and other treatments.
While the prominence of these inclusive practices has offered hope
to traditionally underserved groups, Epstein argues forcefully that
it has drawn attention away from the tremendous inequalities in
health that are rooted not in biology but in society. There is, for
instance, a direct relationship between social class and health
status--and Epstein believes that a focus on bodily differences can
obscure the importance of this factor. Only when connected to a
broad-based effort to address health disparities, Epstein explains,
can a medical policy of inclusionachieve its intended effects.
A fascinating history, powerful analysis, and call to action,
"Inclusion" will be essential reading for medical professionals,
policymakers, and any concerned citizen.
Peculiar Whiteness: Racial Anxiety and Poor Whites in Southern
Literature, 1900-1965 argues for deeper consideration of the
complexities surrounding the disparate treatment of poor whites
throughout southern literature and attests to how broad such
experiences have been. While the history of prejudice against this
group is not the same as the legacy of violence perpetrated against
people of color in America, individuals regarded as ""white trash""
have suffered a dehumanizing process in the writings of various
white authors. Poor white characters are frequently maligned as
grotesque and anxiety inducing, especially when they are aligned in
close proximity to blacks or to people with disabilities. Thus, as
a symbol, much has been asked of poor whites, and various
iterations of the label (e.g., ""white trash,"" tenant farmers, or
even people with a little less money than average) have been
subject to a broad spectrum of judgment, pity, compassion, fear,
and anxiety. Peculiar Whiteness engages key issues in contemporary
critical race studies, whiteness studies, and southern studies,
both literary and historical. Through discussions of authors
including Charles Chesnutt, Thomas Dixon, Sutton Griggs, Erskine
Caldwell, Lillian Smith, William Faulkner, and Flannery O'Connor,
we see how whites in a position of power work to maintain their
status, often by finding ways to recategorize and marginalize
people who might not otherwise have seemed to fall under the
auspices or boundaries of ""white trash.
Within Western Buddhism, practitioners are often assumed to be
white and middle-class. Based in ground-breaking empirical
research, Cosmopolitan Dharma: Race, Sexuality, and Gender in
British Buddhism explores the stories of Buddhists from minority
communities, through a rich analysis of their lived experiences.
Smith, Munt and Yip explore their various contestations of dominant
white and heteronormative cultures in Western Buddhism. Using
cosmopolitanism as the theoretical lens, Cosmopolitan Dharma argues
convincingly that the Buddhist ethos of human interconnectivity
needs to be further developed to truly embrace the 'Other' of
different kinds (not least Western Buddhism's own internal
'Others'). Cosmopolitan Dharma, through Buddhists' own narratives,
explores how cultural politics from the ground up can offer a more
inclusive philosophy and lived experience of spirituality.
Showcasing the work of more than 200 women writers of African descent, this major international collection celebrates their contributions to literature and international culture.
Twenty-five years ago, Margaret Busby’s groundbreaking anthology Daughters Of Africa illuminated the “silent, forgotten, underrated voices of black women” (Washington Post). Published to international acclaim, it was hailed as “an extraordinary body of achievement… a vital document of lost history” (Sunday Times).
New Daughters Of Africa continues that mission for a new generation, bringing together a selection of overlooked artists of the past with fresh and vibrant voices that have emerged from across the globe in the past two decades, from Antigua to Zimbabwe with numerous South African contributors. Key figures join popular contemporaries in paying tribute to the heritage that unites them. Each of the pieces in this remarkable collection demonstrates an uplifting sense of sisterhood, honours the strong links that endure from generation to generation, and addresses the common obstacles women writers of colour face as they negotiate issues of race, gender and class, and confront vital matters of independence, freedom and oppression.
Custom, tradition, friendships, sisterhood, romance, sexuality, intersectional feminism, the politics of gender, race, and identity—all and more are explored in this glorious collection of work from over 200 writers. New Daughters Of Africa spans a wealth of genres—autobiography, memoir, oral history, letters, diaries, short stories, novels, poetry, drama, humour, politics, journalism, essays and speeches—to demonstrate the diversity and remarkable literary achievements of black women.
New Daughters Of Africa features a number of well-known South African contributors including Gabeba Baderoon, Nadia Davids, Diana Ferrus, Vangile Gantsho, Barbara Masekela, Lebogang Mashile and Sisonke Msimang.
|
|