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A Taste for Oppression: A Political Ethnography of Everyday Life in Belarus (Anthropology of Europe #6)
by Ronan HervouetBelarus has emerged from communism in a unique manner as an authoritarian regime. The author, who has lived in Belarus for several years, highlights several mechanisms of tyranny, beyond the regime’s ability to control and repress, which should not be underestimated. The book immerses the reader in the depths of the Belarusian countryside, among the kolkhozes and rural communities at the heart of this authoritarian regime under Alexander Lukashenko, and offers vivid descriptions of the everyday life of Belarusians. It sheds light on the reasons why part of the population supports Lukashenko and takes a fresh look at the functioning of what has been called 'the last dictatorship in Europe'.
Teaching Political Sociology (Elgar Guides to Teaching)
Drawing on the diverse experience of a team of internationally recognised specialists, Teaching Political Sociology provides educators with a concise and accessible guide to the main topic areas likely to form part of term, semester or year-long courses in political sociology.The book focuses on the key pedagogic challenges posed to teachers of political sociology, from general issues of value-freedom and engagement with students’ political commitments to more specific issues which arise in relation to sensitive areas such as political violence and extremist ideologies of the far right. Chapters introduce readers to the state of the art in a wide range of topics, including race and postcoloniality, postcommunism, legal sociology, human rights and the sociology of war and peace. Highlighting the challenges and opportunities presented by these topics for political sociology teaching and curricula, the book provides an invaluable starting point for educators.Diverse in scope and approach, and offering an evaluation of appropriate literature at various levels, this book will prove an essential resource for teachers of political sociology and related fields such as international relations.
Teaching Social Policy: International, Comparative and Global Perspectives (Elgar Guides to Teaching)
Drawing together international perspectives and disciplinary sub-fields of comparative and global social policy, this book provides an insightful guide for educators and academics embarking on or revisiting the design and teaching of classes, courses and programmes in and around social and public policy.Teaching Social Policy captures the multi-disciplinary and multi-layered scope of social policy, exploring how this enables versatility in teaching and extends opportunities to expand knowledge and skills that may otherwise remain untapped. Chapters present ideas and examples of teaching activities to support learning in social policy, with a specific focus on approaches and tools to decolonise the social policy curricula. Serving as a practical guide for scholars teaching social policy, the book maps the terrain of student learning and explores novel ideas for teaching within the context of contemporary challenges facing higher education.Offering ideas, reflections and guidance on the challenges and benefits of internationalising and decolonising the curriculum, this dynamic book will be an invaluable resource for higher education educators, early career academics and course designers with an interest in social policy, social administration, sociology and public policy.
The Therapeutic Corporation
by James TuckerA growing number of contemporary organizations have management structures that are less centralized and hierarchical than the traditional bureaucratic model. This book takes a close look inside one such organization: an employee-owned manufacturing corporation. It addresses the question of how conflicts are handled when bureaucracy is greatly reduced--and its findings will surprise and enlighten many readers. Therapy, a behavior or practice normally thought to be confined to the offices of psychiatrists and the wards of mental hospitals, turns out to be the most common way of handling conflict in the postbureaucratic work environment. James Tucker reveals that this therapeutic system of social control contrasts sharply, and tellingly, with the more authoritative--often violent--systems of social control found in more centralized and hierarchical work settings, especially those of the past.
Transcending the Nostalgic: Landscapes of Postindustrial Europe beyond Representation (Making Sense of History #42)
by George Jaramillo Juliane TomannEven as the global economy of the twenty-first century continues its dramatic and unpredictable transformations, the landscapes it leaves in its wake bear the indelible marks of their industrial past. Whether in the form of abandoned physical structures, displaced populations, or ecological impacts, they persist in memory and lived experience across the developed world. This collection explores the affective and “more-than-representational” dimensions of post-industrial landscapes, including narratives, practices, social formations, and other phenomena. Focusing on case studies from across Europe, it examines both the objective and the subjective aspects of societies that, increasingly, produce fewer things and employ fewer workers.
Transforming Rural China
by Guy M. RobinsonOver the last four decades, China has witnessed dramatic economic growth, transforming into an economic powerhouse with considerable consequences for its rural regions. In this timely book, Guy M. Robinson adeptly navigates the principal elements, key events and significant changes of the transformation of China’s countryside.Chapters assess economic, social, and environmental aspects of China’s rural transformation, examining the central role of the Chinese Communist Party and government policies in shaping this change. Offering an interdisciplinary perspective, Robinson comprehensively explores the key events in the transition from a rural peasant society to a countryside that is a complex mosaic of ‘hollowed’ villages, ‘desakota’ peri-urban fringes, farming landscapes, tourist attractions, new villages, ‘left behind’ children and elderly, wholesale rural poverty alleviation, and degraded and newly restored ecosystems.This book will prove to be an essential read for academics and students of geopolitics, human geography, environmental studies, economics and finance, and development studies focusing on China. It will also be an invigorating read for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Chinese and Asian studies.
Translation and Interpreting as Social Interaction: Affect, Behavior and Cognition (Bloomsbury Advances in Translation)
Adopting the tripartite theory of social psychology as its theoretical framework, this book advocates that the three components of social interaction – affect, behaviour, and cognition – underpin the daily activities of translators and interpreters. In particular, it argues that the affect or emotion of translators and interpreters should not be overlooked or treated as a separate entity, but as a crucial link between their mental process (cognition) and physical process (behaviour). This central theme of the intertwining nature of the affect, behaviour and cognition of translators and interpreters is examined theoretically, empirically, and methodologically with contributions from around the world, featuring literary translation, translator training, and interpreters' practice. It is a timely contribution to the field of Translation Process Research where affect is increasingly recognised as playing a key role in translation and interpreting phenomena.
Trust: How Citizens View Political Institutions
by Dr Ben SeydWe seem to be living in an age of citizen distrust of social and political elites. Distrust is also seen to have numerous negative consequences for our civic and democratic life. Yet are western democracies really facing a crisis of trust? This book provides an extensive and up-to-date review of one of the most important topics in contemporary political life. It explores the nature and condition of trust today by exploring three key issues. What do we mean by trust? How far are levels of trust in decline? How damaging are the consequences of low trust for effective democratic governance? Seyd also considers how trust arises, and which factors might explain the declines in trust witnessed recently in many countries. Providing evidence from many countries, Trust: How Citizens View Political Institutions pays particular attention to Britain, which has seen a marked decline in public regard for political elites, making the country a vital case for identifying the causes and effects of low trust. Combining conceptual and empirical analysis, the book provides a timely analysis of a central issue in contemporary political debate.
The Two Faces of Fear: Violence and Inequality in the Mexican Metropolis (Global and Comparative Ethnography)
by Ana VillarrealOver the past two decades, increased criminal and state violence has profoundly transformed everyday life in Mexico. In The Two Faces of Fear, Ana Villarreal draws on two years of qualitative fieldwork conducted during a major turf war in Monterrey, Mexico to trace the far-reaching impact of fear and violence on social ties, daily practices, and everyday spaces. Villarreal brings two seemingly contradictory faces of fear into focus--its ability to both isolate and concentrate people and resources, deepening inequality. While all residents of one of Mexico's largest metropolises confronted new threats, the most privileged leveraged vastly unequal resources to spatially concentrate and defend one municipality more fiercely than the rest. Within this defended city, business, nightlife, and public space thrived at the expense of the greater metropolis. The book puts forth a new approach to the study of emotion and provides tangible evidence of how quickly fear worsens inequality beyond Mexico and the "war on drugs."
Two Tales of the Death of God
by Stephen LeDrewIn the 19th century Friedrich Nietzsche infamously declared that "God is dead." It turns out he was on to something. Across the western world, churches are emptying out and closing their doors, and more and more people are rejecting organized religion. In the early 2000s a group of intellectuals who collectively came to be known as the "new atheists" capitalized on this fact, capturing the imagination of young skeptics and igniting a movement for secularism by arguing that religion is the source of most of our social ills. They believed that the decline of religious belief could be attributed to the rise of modern science. This was only the most recent incarnation of a story that has been told since the 18th century Enlightenment, which forged a myth of social progress and western cultural supremacy that has lent legitimacy to the projects of imperialism and global capitalism ever since. The social sciences have another story to tell. It is the story of secularization: a theory that grapples with the astonishing fact of Christianity's fall from its position at the center of western culture. In this version of the story, God was not killed by science, but by a complex set of social and economic changes that have produced greater overall well-being and equality, and by shifting moral values that lead people to view religious ethics as a relic of a bygone era. Stephen LeDrew argues that only the social sciences can explain religion's fall from grace--and the dangers of its resurgence. A coalition of far-right religious extremists is currently working to dismantle democracy in order to preserve white Christian privilege. The evidence from secularization shows that only by working to achieve greater security and equality for all can we halt a descent into an abyss of nihilistic greed and intolerance.
Unconditional: Towards Unconditionality in Social Policy
by Malcolm TorryCan anything ever be truly unconditional? Can public services such as healthcare or education be unconditional? And can an income ever be unconditional? This incisive book responds to these questions with a qualified ‘yes,’ and considers whether a social policy regime based on unconditionality might ever replace neoliberalism.Beginning with an exploration of the meaning of unconditionality and how the term relates to concepts such as universality and reciprocity, Malcolm Torry lays the foundations for an understanding of what an unconditionality paradigm in social policy might look like. He investigates how social policy characterised by unconditionality might fit within the spectrum of welfare state regimes and sets out the arguments for and against unconditionality in healthcare, education, income provision, and other social policy areas. Chapters delve into the history and ethics of unconditionality in social policy, with close reference to Hebrew and Christian scripture and philosophers’ discussions on the possibility of unconditional giving.A key contribution to global debate on unconditionality in social policy, this invigorating book will prove an essential read for students and scholars interested in social and economic history, the economics of social policy, and Universal Basic Income. Its practical insights will also benefit journalists, think tank staff and policymakers.
Under the Spell of Freedom: Theory of Religion after Hegel and Nietzsche
by Hans JoasHow do the history of religion and the history of political freedom relate to each other? The variety of views on this subject in philosophy, the humanities and social sciences, and the public is broad and confusing. But the grandiose synthesis in which Hegel brought together Christianity and political freedom is still an enormous source of orientation for many-despite or even because of the influential provocations of Friedrich Nietzsche. As Hans Joas shows in Under the Spell of Freedom, a different view has developed in the religious thinking of the twentieth century based on a conception of history that is more open to the future and on a concept of freedom that is richer than that of Hegel. Using sixteen selected thinkers, Joas deconstructs the grand Hegelian narrative of human history as the self-realization of the idea of freedom, setting as a counterpart the sketches of a theory of the emergence of moral universalism. Further, taking the classical views of Hegel and his emphasis on the role of Protestant Christianity and the extremely negative views about Christianity in the work of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, Joas elaborates on this new understanding of religion and freedom, which avoids both Eurocentrism and an intellectualist view of religious faith and practice. The result is a forceful plea for a global history of moral universalism. Under the Spell of Freedom is an important step in this direction.
Understanding Biosocial Criminology: A Paradigm for the 21st Century (Understanding series)
by Anthony WalshInformative and insightful, this prescient book argues that biosocial criminology is a powerful paradigm for understanding criminal behavior, crucially outlining its nature via nurture perspective, as opposed to nature versus nurture.Examining the core correlations between criminal activity and the identifying characteristics of age, sex, race, intelligence and poverty, Anthony Walsh contends that the biosocial perspective is criminology’s future as it encompasses all relevant factors that influence human behavior, from neurons to neighborhoods. Walsh draws from evolutionary biology, genetics, and neurobiology to emphasize that in order to understand the traits and behaviors of any species, it is necessary to inquire about their function, phylogeny, ontogeny, and causation. Offering a unique perspective, Understanding Biosocial Criminology concludes that the environment is deeply involved in behavior, yet also insists that humans are not simply reactors to externalities.Uniting the biological and social sciences, this book will be an interesting read for academics, students and researchers in criminology, social psychology, and sociology and sociological theory. Its insight into criminal behavior will also be of interest to professionals and practitioners working in the legal field.
Understanding Collaborative Consumption (Understanding series)
This dynamic book explores the importance of collaborative consumption. Doing so is relevant at a time when the sharing economy has established itself as part of the mainstream market. Nearly 40 expert scholars across the globe go beyond the existing literature to investigate understudied community efforts and spaces, including innovative topics such as hand-me-downs and coworking.Championing an interdisciplinary approach, Understanding Collaborative Consumption follows a detailed framework to dissect its role within the sharing economy. Setting out a schema for understanding collaborative consumption and its paradoxes, it analyses the role of the consumer and provides an exploration of grassroots and community efforts. Contributors discuss platformed and branded efforts to extend the reciprocity based market, and conclude with an appraisal of negative externalities and emerging trends.Providing an in-depth examination of a sector that has in recent years rapidly grown in scope and breadth, this book will be a crucial read for academics and researchers of business management, marketing and sociology. It will also prove valuable to students and scholars interested in economic entrepreneurship, branding and the sharing economy.
Understanding Personal Mobilities (Understanding series)
by Aharon KellermanIn this thought-provoking book, Aharon Kellerman presents a wide-ranging understanding of personal mobilities; the mobilities which individuals initiate, direct, and operate physically and virtually and which constitute an expression of personal autonomy. He readdresses existing concepts and knowledge as well as assessing novel and emerging technologies for self-driven mobilities. Kellerman begins with a presentation of the critical introductory concepts related to personal mobilities, including discussions of movement and travel, origins, path and destination, and the social value of personal freedom. He examines the nature of virtual space and its relationship with the physical, exploring conceptualizations of cyberspace, hybrid space, spatial media and Internet space. Chapters further highlight existing and new conceptual and theoretical knowledge for the understanding of self-driven mobilities, such as proximity, interaction, and distance; everyday mobilities; personal (im)mobilities; and Covid-19 and post-pandemic impacts on future trends for personal mobilities. Expounding the basic human need for movement, this discerning book will prove an essential resource for students and scholars interested in mobilities across the disciplines of social geography, urban geography, sociology, transportation, and urban planning. Its interpretation of newly emerging practical realities for personal mobilities will also benefit transport and communications practitioners.
Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice
by Neil ThompsonWhat is social work? How is it carried out? What skills does it require?Despite its many challenges, social work remains a rewarding career that makes a difference. Understanding Social Work is a much-loved and highly acclaimed introduction to what is involved in the role, offering an excellent grounding in what the profession is all about. Neil Thompson provides a clear and helpful account of the knowledge, skills and values that underpin social work, makes clear what some of the main challenges of social work are and helps you rise to those challenges.Each engaging and succinct chapter supports the reader's learning and development with case studies, valuable advice from experienced practitioners, practical exercises and further reading suggestions. In this sixth edition, Thompson shares lessons from his expert witness work and offers renewed focus on the significance of loss and grief and the resurgence of interest in anti-racism in social work.It is an ideal starting point for people considering a career in social work, students beginning their social work journey and for experienced practitioners who want to revisit their roots.Accompanying online resources are available at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/the-effective-social-worker. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.
Unpacking Innovation: Corporate Dynamics, Business Models and Digital Technologies
by Marco CucculelliUnpacking Innovation is a detailed and empirically grounded account of business model diversity and innovation in the context of increasing competition and digitalization. Focusing on incumbent firms, the book presents a novel perspective on how business model reconfiguration can help companies to compete effectively with rivals.In light of the world’s ongoing radical technological transformation, this book emphasizes the need for companies to understand their business environment and consolidate their resources, competencies and strategies in order to stay competitive. It highlights how network relationships as well as product and process innovation significantly impact high-growth firms more than firms experiencing moderate growth. Expert contributors examine this increased impact of innovation on incumbent firms in depth, considering aspects such as the green profile of a business and its adoption of digital technologies such as robotics or AI. Various methodologies and data sources are used to underpin this analysis, including a unique survey administered to a large sample of small and medium-sized enterprises located in Italy.Inspiring researchers with more advanced data analysis techniques, Unpacking Innovation is an illuminating read for academics in organizational innovation, strategic management, economics of innovation and industrial organization. It will also be a useful resource for policymakers in the field.
The Urban Now: Living in an Age of Urban Globalism
by John R. ShortDrawing upon over a quarter of a century’s worth of research, The Urban Now illuminates our present urban condition. John Rennie Short captures the main features of this moment of urban significance, investigating the city as a crucial arena strategically located between global flows and national surfaces.Divided into seven distinct parts, concise and accessible chapters delve into the city and its relation to globalization, urban imaginaries, climate change, Covid-19 and public health, traffic, technology, and everyday life. Conducting poignant analyses of a diverse group of changing cities, including Cali, Megalopolis, Mparntwe and Syracuse, the book explores questions surrounding postcolonial culture, deindustrialization, social inclusion, informal economies, and new class relationships. Short ultimately highlights the progressive possibilities and redemptive power of the urban experience to change lives and attitudes.Providing a theoretically sophisticated and empirically informed assessment of public policies, this unique book will prove an essential tool for students and scholars of urban and regional studies, human geography, sociology and social policy. Practical in scope, its appeal will extend to policymakers and practitioners with an interest in cities, urban development, globalization and urbanization.
The Value of Theorizing: How New Theory Matters in Research Work and University Governance Practice
by Alexander StyhreIn this compelling book, Alexander Styhre presents a comprehensive analysis of the role and purpose of theory within the university setting. Critiquing current university governance practices which assess research quality based on citation frequency data, Styhre proposes an alternate measure of research quality based on contentful concepts in the space of reason.Focusing on the inner workings of scholarly communities, The Value of Theorizing evaluates the ‘quality as popularity’ fallacy and highlights the importance of alternative methods of thinking. Styhre draws on American pragmatism and analytical philosophy to construct his approach, bringing together theories of instrumental and methodological pragmatism. He goes on to dissect inferentialist theory, the semantics of language, and the political economy of new theory, amalgamating these to make an invaluable contribution to this ever-changing field.Highlighting the importance of reason in assessing the quality of theory in a university setting, this innovative book will prove an intriguing read for scholars of management and the social sciences with an interest in their research environment, as well as researchers of American pragmatism, analytical philosophy and the philosophy of language. It will also appeal to scholars, policy makers and university employees who are interested in refining university governance practices and the process of research.
The Virtue of Loyalty (The Virtues)
Loyalty is a highly contested virtue. One the one hand, some have wondered whether it is really a virtue at all. On the other, we might doubt whether a person who was not loyal to anything could be said to have a defined moral character. Loyalty is so fundamental to so many of our relationships and commitments that it is hard to imagine a world without it. Because it structures our lives by setting horizons and limits within which we make choices and conduct our affairs, it is difficult to appreciate how significant, profound, and pervasive its influence is. That said, loyalty is a particularly salient moral concept in the public sphere, where demands for loyalty of various sorts, not to mention accusations of disloyalty, often inspire fervently passionate responses. Although loyalty invites moral objections and poses philosophical puzzles, it is undeniably held in high regard and viewed with great significance by many people. This volume presents ten new academic essays on the topic of loyalty considered as a virtue, written by scholars in philosophy, law, religious studies, empirical psychology, and child development, and approached from a diverse array of backgrounds and perspectives. The Virtue of Loyalty aims to help readers attain a greater understanding of this complex and multifaceted virtue.
Voice and Nation in Plurinational Bolivia: Aymara Radio and Song in an Age of Pachakuti (Bloomsbury Studies in Linguistic Anthropology)
by Karl SwinehartThis book offers ethnographic accounts of Aymara language media activism in Bolivia during the presidency of Evo Morales (2006–2019). It draws on research conducted among Aymara language radio broadcasters, hip hop artists, and community members during a period of radical social change and Indigenous political resurgence (pachakuti) in South America's most Indigenous republic. The Plurinational Republic of Bolivia counts Aymara among its official languages, but Aymara's social status and transmission to newer generations raise concerns about whether, despite being one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages of the Americas, the threat of language obsolescence persists. This ethnographic account of Indigenous language activism shows how Aymara media and cultural workers combat this threat by making the language audible in diverse corners of Aymara life and examines the role Indigenous multilingualism plays in Bolivian politics. Through interviews and analysis of Aymara media texts, this study shows how language professionals determine how “the voice of the people” should sound. By introducing neologisms and archaicisms to avoid mixing Aymara with Spanish, Aymara language professionals disseminate a register of dehispanicized Aymara over the airwaves. The study reveals how these language professionals approach cultivating Aymara as more than a question of linguistic competence, but also of political commitment and anti-racist practice. Organized into two sections, one on radio and one on song, and including clear explanations and illustrations of key concepts in linguistic anthropology, this book listens to Aymara language advocacy from devout Catholics, union militants, and hip hop artists and fans, who hear in their language both the past and the future of Bolivia's Aymaras.