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Books > Social sciences
In Spectacular Men, Sarah E. Chinn investigates how working class
white men looked to the early American theatre for examples of
ideal manhood. Theatre-going was the primary source of
entertainment for working people of the early Republic and the
Jacksonian period, and plays implicitly and explicitly addressed
the risks and rewards of citizenship. Ranging from representations
of the heroes of the American Revolution to images of doomed
Indians to plays about ancient Rome, Chinn unearths dozens of plays
rarely read by critics. Spectacular Men places the theatre at the
center of the self-creation of working white men, as voters, as
workers, and as Americans.
Since the Zuma presidency weakened crime intelligence, violent crime
surged, with murder rates rising over 75%. South Africa faces severe
femicide, and most murderers evade justice. Prisons fail by
perpetuating crime; harsher sentences do not help. Edwin Cameron, after
visiting prisons, advocates for reform. Along with colleagues, he
suggests abolishing minimum sentences, cash bail, and decriminalizing
drug use to improve safety and justice.
The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics provides a comprehensive
look at the political life of one of Europe's most exciting and
turbulent democracies. Under the hegemonic influence of Christian
Democracy in the early post-World War II decades, Italy went
through a period of rapid growth and political transformation. In
part this resulted in tumult and a crisis of governability;
however, it also gave rise to innovation in the form of
Eurocommunism and new forms of political accommodation. The great
strength of Italy lay in its constitution; its great weakness lay
in certain legacies of the past. Organized crime - popularly but
not exclusively associated with the mafia - is one example. A
self-contained and well entrenched 'caste' of political and
economic elites is another. These weaknesses became apparent in the
breakdown of political order in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
This ushered in a combination of populist political mobilization
and experimentation with electoral systems design, and the result
has been more evolutionary than transformative. Italian politics
today is different from what it was during the immediate post-World
War II period, but it still shows many of the influences of the
past.
In 2005, hurricane Katrina and its aftermath starkly revealed the
continued racial polarization of America. Disproportionately
impacted by the ravages of the storm, displaced black victims were
often characterized by the media as "refugees." The
characterization was wrong-headed, and yet deeply revealing.
Sanctuary: African Americans and Empire traces the long history of
this and related terms, like alien and foreign, a rhetorical
shorthand that has shortchanged black America for over 250 years.
In tracing the language and politics that have informed debates
about African American citizenship, Sanctuary in effect illustrates
the historical paradox of African American subjecthood: while
frequently the target of legislation (slave law, the Black Codes,
and Jim Crow), blacks seldom benefited from the actions of the
state. Blackness helped to define social, cultural, and legal
aspects of American citizenship in a manner that excluded black
people themselves. They have been treated, rather, as foreigners in
their home country. African American civil rights efforts worked to
change this. Activists and intellectuals demanded equality, but
they were often fighting for something even more fundamental: the
recognition that blacks were in fact human beings. As citizenship
forced acknowledgement of the humanity of African Americans, it
thus became a gateway to both civil and human rights.
Waligora-Davis shows how artists like Langston Hughes underscored
the power of language to define political realities, how critics
like W.E.B. Du Bois imagined democratic political strategies, and
how they and other public figures have used their writing as a
forum to challenge the bankruptcy of a social economy in which the
value of human life is predicated on race and civil identity.
What does it mean for men to join with women as allies in
preventing sexual assault and domestic violence? Based on life
history interviews with men and women anti-violence activists aged
22 to 70, Some Men explores the strains and tensions of men's work
as feminist allies. When feminist women began to mobilize against
rape and domestic violence, setting up shelters and rape crisis
centers, a few men asked what they could do to help. They were
directed "upstream," and told to "talk to the men" with the goal of
preventing future acts of violence. This is a book about men who
took this charge seriously, committing themselves to working with
boys and men to stop violence, and to change the definition of what
it means to be a man. The book examines the experiences of three
generational cohorts: a movement cohort of men who engaged with
anti-violence work in the 1970s and early 1980s, during the height
of the feminist anti-violence mobilizations; a bridge cohort who
engaged with anti-violence work from the mid-1980s into the 1990s,
as feminism receded as a mass movement and activists built
sustainable organizations; a professional cohort who engaged from
the mid-1990s to the present, as anti-violence work has become
embedded in community and campus organizations, non-profits, and
the state. Across these different time periods, stories from life
history interviews illuminate men's varying paths-including men of
different ethnic and class backgrounds-into anti-violence work.
Some Men explores the promise of men's violence prevention work
with boys and men in schools, college sports, fraternities, and the
U.S. military. It illuminates the strains and tensions of such
work-including the reproduction of male privilege in feminist
spheres-and explores how men and women navigate these tensions.
Orwell's first work -- a sensitive and insightful description of
the life of the working poor in Paris and the homeless in London.
It is still very relevant today, and while aimed at the casual
reader, it is of interest to the scholar and activist.
Can we predict how well--or how poorly--two strangers will get
along? According to social psychologist William Ickes, the answer
is yes. Drawing upon relevant research findings from his 30-year
career, Ickes explains how initial interactions are shaped by
gender, race, birth order, physical attractiveness, androgyny, the
Big Five dimensions, shyness, and self-monitoring.
Ickes's work offers unprecedented insights on the links between
personality and social behavior that have not previously been
compiled in a single source: how sibling relationships during
childhood affect our interactions with opposite-sex strangers years
later; why Latinos have a social advantage in initial interactions;
how men react to the physical attractiveness of a female stranger
in a relatively direct and obvious way while women react to the
attractiveness of a male stranger in a more indirect and subtle
way; and how personality similarity is related to satisfaction in
married couples.
This relatively short, highly accessible work serves as an ideal
supplementary text for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in
personality and social psychology. It will also appeal to scholars
working in the fields of personality and social psychology and to
laypersons who are interested in learning what researchers have
discovered about the links between personality and social behavior.
Fashion History: A Global View proposes a new perspective on
fashion history. Arguing that fashion has occurred in cultures
beyond the West throughout history, this groundbreaking book
explores the geographic places and historical spaces that have been
largely neglected by contemporary fashion studies, bringing them
together for the first time. Reversing the dominant narrative that
privileges Western Europe in the history of dress, Welters and
Lillethun adopt a cross-cultural approach to explore a vast array
of cultures around the globe. They explore key issues affecting
fashion systems, ranging from innovation, production and
consumption to identity formation and the effects of colonization.
Case studies include the cross-cultural trade of silk textiles in
Central Asia, the indigenous dress of the Americas and of Hawai'i,
the cosmetics of the Tang Dynasty in China, and stylistic
innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. Examining the new lessons that
can be deciphered from archaeological findings and theoretical
advancements, the book shows that fashion history should be
understood as a global phenomenon, originating well before and
beyond the fourteenth century European court, which is continually,
and erroneously, cited as fashion's birthplace. Providing a fresh
framework for fashion history scholarship, Fashion History: A
Global View will inspire inclusive dress narratives for students
and scholars of fashion, anthropology, and cultural studies.
From the 494 B.C. plebeians' march out of Rome to gain improved
status, to Gandhi's nonviolent campaigns in India, to the
liberation of Poland and the Baltic nations, and the revolutions in
North Africa, nonviolent struggles have played pivotal roles in
world events for centuries. Sharp'sDictionary of Power and Struggle
is a groundbreaking reference work on this topic by the "godfather
of nonviolent resistance." In nearly 1,000 entries, the Dictionary
defines those ideologies, political systems, strategies, methods,
and concepts that form the core of nonviolent action as it has
occurred throughout history and across the globe, providing
much-needed clarification of language that is often mired in
confusion. Entries discuss everything from militarization to
censorship, guerrilla theater, pacifism, secret agents, and protest
songs. In addition, the dictionary features a foreword by Sir Adam
Roberts, President of the British Academy; an introduction by Gene
Sharp; an essay on power and realism; case studies of conflicts in
Serbia and Tunisia; and a guide for further reading. Sharp's
Dictionary of Power and Struggle is an invaluable resource for
activists, educators and anyone else curious about nonviolent
alternatives to both passivity and violent conflict.
"Gene Sharp is perhaps the most influential proponent of nonviolent
action alive."--The Progressive
"Sharp has had broad influence on international events over the
past two decades, helping to advance a global democratic
awakening."--The Wall Street Journal
" Sharp's] work has served as the template for taking on
authoritarian regimes from Burma to Belgrade."--The Christian
Science Monitor
The sustainability of Networked Collaborative Learning (NCL) is a
key topic of discussion amongst the institutions where it has been
or may potentially be introduced. In order to determine the extent
of NCL's sustainability, the added value university education may
yield by adopting collaborative learning strategies must be
quantified. In turn, an understanding of the implications NCL
produces in terms of design and management is gained. After
comparing NCL with other Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)
approaches and discussing the possible reasons for adopting it, a
multidimensional model for the sustainability of NCL is proposed.
The model is characterized by four dimensions: pedagogical
approaches, e-teacher professional development, instructional
design models and valuation/assessment approaches. Each of these
dimensions is examined on the basis of the author s direct
experience gained through applying NCL to his university teaching.
Delineates a framework for NCL sustainabilityProvides an
instructional design model for NCDescribes an original approach to
the evaluation of collaborative learning processes"
Rituals combining healing with spirit possession and court-like
proceedings are found around the world and throughout history. A
person suffers from an illness that cannot be cured, for example,
and in order to be healed performs a ritual involving a prosecution
and a defense, a judge and witnesses. Divine beings then speak
through oracles, spirits possess the victim and are exorcized, and
local gods intervene to provide healing and justice. Such practices
seem to be the very antithesis of modernity, and many modern,
secular states have systematically attempted to eliminate them.
What is the relationship between healing, spirit possession, and
the law, and why are they so often combined? Why are such rituals
largely absent from modern societies, and what happens to them when
the state attempts to expunge them from their health and justice
systems, or even to criminalize them? Despite the prevalence of
rituals involving some or all of these elements, this volume
represents the first attempt to compare and analyze them
systematically. The Law of Possession brings together historical
and contemporary case studies from East Asia, South Asia, and
Africa, and argues that despite consistent attempts by modern,
secular states to discourage, eliminate, and criminalize them,
these types of rituals persist and even thrive because they meet
widespread human needs.
Winds of Change examines the global development of the wind energy
industry from a political, social movements-based perspective. It
argues the wind energy industry developed successfully in certain
regions and countries in large part because the environmental
movement influenced its growth. Vasi then defines and analyses the
three main pathways through which the environmental movement has
contributed to industry growth: it has influenced the adoption and
implementation of renewable energy policies, it has created
consumer demand for clean energy, and it has changed the
institutional logics of the energy sector. The book uses
quantitative analysis to present the big picture of the global
development of the wind energy industry, then draws on qualitative
analyses to understand why countries such as Germany, Denmark, or
Spain are world leaders in wind energy, while other countries such
as the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada have a somewhat
underdeveloped wind power industry. It also analyzes how the
environmental movement contributed to the recent growth of the
market for renewable energy certificates in the United States. The
book also examines the remarkable transformation of the electricity
sector in different countries, showing how environmentalists in
Germany, Denmark, United States and United Kingdom contributed to
wind turbine manufacturing by becoming entrepreneurs, innovators,
and/or advocates, and, furthermore, how environmental groups and
activists formed new companies that specialize in wind-farm
development and operation, and pressured utility companies to
invest in renewable energy by using tactics such as protests,
lawsuits, and lobbying for stricter regulation. In conclusion, Vasi
presents the main implications for future studies on industry
development and social movement outcomes, as well as for the future
growth of the renewable energy sector.
In Genocide Denials and the Law, Ludovic Hennebel and Thomas
Hochmann offer a thorough study of the relationship between law and
genocide denial from the perspectives of specialists from six
countries. This controversial topic provokes strong international
reactions involving emotion caused by denial along with concerns
about freedom of speech.
The authors offer an in-depth study of the various legal issues
raised by the denial of crimes against humanity, presenting
arguments both in favor of and in opposition to prohibition of this
expression. They do not adopt a pro or contra position, but include
chapters written by proponents and opponents of a legal prohibition
on genocide denial.
Hennebel and Hochmann fill a void in academic publications by
comparatively examining this issue with a collection of original
essays. They tackle this diverse topic comprehensively, addressing
not only the theoretical and philosophical aspects of denial, but
also the specific problems faced by judges who implement
anti-denial laws. Genocide Denials and the Law will provoke
discussion of many theoretical questions regarding free speech,
including the relationship between freedom of expression and truth,
hate, memory, and history.
At a moment when the term "Democracy " is evoked to express
inchoate aspirations for peace and social change or particular
governmental systems that may or may not benefit more than a select
minority of the population, this book examines attempts from
ancient Mesopotemia to the democratic movements of the early
twenty-first century to sustain and improve their own lives and
those of outsiders who have migrated into territory they regard as
their own. Democratic activists have formed organizations to
regulate the distribution of water, to restore the environment, and
to assure that they and their children will have a future. They
have organized their relations with deities and those who held
secular power, and they have created particular institutions that
they hoped would help them shape a good, free, and creative life
for themselves and those who follow. They have also created laws
and representative bodies to serve their needs on a regular basis
and have written about the difficulties those they have elected to
office have maintaining their ties to those who brought them to
power in the first place. Since early times, proponents of direct
or participatory democracy have come into conflict with the leaders
of representative institutions that claim singular power over
democracy. Patriots of one form or another have tried to reclaim
the initiative to define what democracy should mean and who should
manage it. Frequently people in small communities, trade unions,
repressed, exploited, or denigrated racial, religious, political,
or sexual groups have marched forward using the language of
democracy to find space for themselves and their ideas at the
center of political life. Sometimes they have re-interpreted the
old laws, and sometimes they have formulated new laws and
institutions in order to gain greater opportunities to debate the
major issues of their time. Whatever conclusions they come to, they
are only temporary since changing times require new solutions,
assuring that democracy can only survive as a continuous process.
As such and as a system of beliefs, democracy has many flaws. But
looking cross-culturally and trans-historically, it still seems
like democracy still holds promise for improving the lives of all
the world's people.
Dr. Marie Maynard Daly received her PhD in Chemistry from Columbia
University in 1947. Although she was hardly the first of her race
and gender to engage in the field, she was the first African
American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in the United States.
In this book, Jeannette Brown, an African American woman chemist
herself, will present a wide-ranging historical introduction to the
relatively new presence of African American women in the field of
chemistry. It will detail their struggles to obtain an education
and their efforts to succeed in a field in which there were few
African American men, much less African American women.
The book contains sketches of the lives of African America women
chemists from the earliest pioneers up until the late 1960's when
the Civil Rights Acts were passed and greater career opportunities
began to emerge. In each sketch, Brown will explore women's
motivation to study the field and detail their often quite
significant accomplishments. Chapters focus on chemists in
academia, industry, and government, as well as chemical engineers,
whose career path is very different from that of the tradition
chemist. The book concludes with a chapter on the future of African
American women chemists, which will be of interest to all women
interested in science.
Many practical books for music educators who work with special
needs students focus on students' disabilities, rather than on the
inclusive classroom more generally. In Including Everyone: Creating
Music Classrooms Where All Children Learn, veteran teacher and
pedagogue Judith Jellison offers a new approach that identifies
broader principles of inclusive music instruction writ large. As
she demonstrates in this aptly-titled book, the perceived
impediments to successfully including the wide diversity of
children in schools in meaningful music instruction often stem not
from insurmountable obstacles but from a lack of imagination. How
do teachers and parents create diverse musical communities in which
all children develop skills, deepen understanding, and cultivate
independence in a culture of accomplishment and joy? Including
Everyone equips music teachers with five principles of effective
instruction for mixed special needs / traditional settings that are
applicable in both classroom and rehearsal rooms alike. These five
guidelines lay out Jellison's argument for a new way to teach music
that shifts attention away from thinking of children in terms of
symptoms. The effective teacher, argues Jellison, will strive to
offer a curriculum that will not only allow the child with a
disability to be more successful, but will also apply to and
improve instruction for typically developing students. In this
compelling new book, Judith Jellison illustrates what it takes to
imagine, create, and realize possibilities for all children in ways
that inspire parents, teachers, and the children themselves to take
part in collaborative music making. Her book helps readers
recognize how this most central component of human culture is one
that allows everyone to participate, learn, and grow. Jellison is a
leader in her field, and the wealth of knowledge she makes
available in this book is extensive and valuable. It should aid her
peers and inspire a new generation of student teachers.
A major question for liberal politics and liberal political theory
concerns the proper scope of government. Liberalism has always
favored limited government, but there has been wide-ranging dispute
among liberals about just how extensive the scope of government
should be. Included in this dispute are questions about the extent
of state ownership of the means of production, redistribution of
wealth and income through the tax code and transfer programs, and
the extent of government regulation.
One of N. Scott Arnold's goals is to give an accurate
characterization of both modern liberalism and classical
liberalism, explaining along the way why libertarianism is not the
only form that classical liberalism can take. The main focus of
Arnold's book, however, concerns regulation--specifically, the
modern liberal regulatory agenda as it has taken shape in
contemporary American society. This is the set of regulatory
regimes favored by all modern liberals and opposed by all classical
liberals. It includes contemporary employment law in all its
manifestations, health and safety regulation, and land use
regulation. The heart of the book consists of a systematic
evaluation of arguments for and against all the items on this
agenda. It turns out that there are good arguments on both sides
for most of these regulatory regimes. Because of this, and because
someone's vision of the proper scope of government will ultimately
prevail, some procedural requirements that all liberals could agree
to must be satisfied for one side to impose legitimately its values
on the polity at large. These procedural requirements are
identified, argued for, and then applied to the elements of the
modern liberal regulatory agenda. Arnold argues that many, though
not all, of these elements have been illegitimately imposed on
American society.
The white nationalist movement in the United States is nothing new.
Yet, prior to the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville,
Virginia, many Americans assumed that it existed only on the
fringes of our political system, a dark cultural relic pushed out
of the mainstream by the victories of the Civil Rights Movement.
The events in Charlottesville made clear that we had underestimated
the scale of the white nationalist movement; Donald Trump's
reaction to it brought home the reality that the movement had
gained political clout in the White House. Yet, as this book
argues, the mainstreaming of white nationalism did not begin with
Trump, but began during the Obama era. Hard White explains how the
mainstreaming of white nationalism occurred, pointing to two major
shifts in the movement. First, Barack Obama's presidential tenure,
along with increases in minority representation, fostered white
anxiety about Muslims, Latinx immigrants, and black Americans.
While anti-Semitic sentiments remained somewhat on the fringes,
hostility toward Muslims, Latinos, and African Americans bubbled up
into mainstream conservative views. At the same time, white
nationalist leaders shifted their focus and resources from protest
to electoral politics, and the book traces the evolution of the
movement's political forays from David Duke to the American Freedom
Party, the Tea Party, and, finally, the emergence of the Alt-Right.
Interestingly it also shows that white hostility peaked in 2012-not
2016. Richard C. Fording and Sanford F. Schram also show that the
key to Trump's win was not persuading economically anxious voters
to become racially conservative. Rather, Trump mobilized racially
hostile voters in the key swing states that flipped from blue to
red in 2016. In fact, the authors show that voter turnout among
white racial conservatives in the six states that Trump flipped was
significantly higher in 2016 compared to 2012. They also show that
white racial conservatives were far more likely to participate in
the election beyond voting in 2016. However, the rise of white
nationalism has also mobilized racial progressives. While the book
argues that white extremism will have enduring effects on American
electoral politics for some time to come, it suggests that the way
forward is to refocus the conversation on social solidarity,
concluding with ideas for how to build this solidarity.
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