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Doing the Right Thing: How Colleges and Universities Can Undo Systemic Racism in Faculty Hiring

by Marybeth Gasman

An honest confrontation of systemic racism in faculty hiring—and what to do about itWhile colleges and universities have been lauded for increasing student diversity, these same institutions have failed to achieve any comparable diversity among their faculty. In 2017, of the nation’s full-time, tenure-track and tenured faculty, only 3 percent each were Black men, Black women, Hispanic men, and Hispanic women. Only 6 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander men, 5 percent were Asian/Pacific Islander women, and 1 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native. Why are the numbers so abysmal? In Doing the Right Thing, Marybeth Gasman takes a hard, insightful look at the issues surrounding the recruitment and hiring of faculty of color. Relying on national data and interviews with provosts, deans, and department chairs from sixty major universities, Gasman documents the institutional forces stymieing faculty diversification, and she makes the case for how such deficiencies can and should be rectified.Even as institutions publicly champion inclusive excellence and the number of doctoral students of color increases, Gasman reveals the entrenched constraints contributing to the faculty status quo. Impediments to progress include the alleged trade-off between quality and diversity, the power of pedigree, the rigidity of academic pipelines, failures of administrative leadership, lack of accountability among administration and faculty, and the opacity and arbitrariness of the recruitment and hiring process. Gasman contends that leaders must acknowledge institutional failures of inclusion, pervasive systemic racism, and biases that restrict people of color from pursuing faculty careers.Recognizing that individuals from all backgrounds are essential to the creation and teaching of knowledge, Doing the Right Thing puts forth a concrete call for colleges and universities to take action and do better.

The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine

by Shigehisa Kuriyama

An illuminating account of how early medicine in Greece and China perceived the human bodyWinner of the William H. Welch Medal, American Association for the History of MedicineThe true structure and workings of the human body are, we casually assume, everywhere the same, a universal reality. But when we look into the past, our sense of reality wavers: accounts of the body in diverse medical traditions often seem to describe mutually alien, almost unrelated worlds. How can perceptions of something as basic and intimate as the body differ so? In this book, Shigehisa Kuriyama explores this fundamental question, elucidating the fascinating contrasts between the human body described in classical Greek medicine and the body as envisaged by physicians in ancient China. Revealing how perceptions of the body and conceptions of personhood are intimately linked, his comparative inquiry invites us, indeed compels us, to reassess our own habits of feeling and perceiving.

Urban Inequalities from Space: Earth Observation Applications in the Majority World (Remote Sensing and Digital Image Processing #26)

by Monika Kuffer Stefanos Georganos

Rapid transformation processes occur in the Majority World, where most of the global population is living (estimated around ¾ of the global population), often deprived of access to infrastructure, services, exposed to hazards and degrading environmental conditions. The continuous urbanization in many African, Asian and Latin American cities is coupled with rapid socio-economic and demographic changes in urban, peri-urban, and rural areas. These changes often increase socio-economic fragmentation and existing disparities. According to the United Nations, of the 36 fastest growing cities (with an average annual growth rate of more than 6%), seven are located in Africa, while 28 are found in Asia. On top of the socio-economic transformations, the increasing impact of climate change is expected to increase local vulnerabilities. However, data to understand these transformation processes and relationships are either unavailable, scarce or come with high degrees of uncertainty. Earth Observation information and methods have a great potential to fill data gaps, but they are not exploited to their full potential. Most urban remote sensing studies in the Majority World focus on the primary cities, while not much is known about secondary cities, urbanizing zones or peri-urban areas. Attempting to measure and map environmental and socio-economic phenomena through remote sensing is fundamentally different from extracting bio-physical parameters. In general, studies done by researchers of the Minority World do not sufficiently understand the information needs and capacity demands of the Majority World, especially related to user requirements and ethical perspectives. In this book, we aim to provide an outlook on how Remote Sensing can provide tailored solutions to information needs in urban and urbanizing areas of the Majority World, e.g., in terms socio-economic, environmental and demographic transformation processes. We will provide methodological and application pathways insupport of local and national information needs as well as in support of sustainable development, and specifically, supporting the monitoring of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The book combines an overview of innovations in applications, methodologies and data use, showing the capacity of Earth Observation to fill global knowledge gaps.

Same-Sex Desire and the Environment in Norwegian Literature, 1908–1979

by Per Esben Svelstad

This book explores how ideas of nature and the nonhuman play an important part in literary depictions of same-sex desire in twentieth-century Norwegian literature. Critically probing dichotomies such as pastoral/urban and human/animal, the chapters show how literary fiction constructs, represents, and interprets experiences of same-sex love and attraction, traditionally conceived as “unnatural.” Providing in-depth studies of a variety of texts, this book demonstrates the merits of bridging the gap between the “de-naturalizing” project of gender and queer theory on the one hand, and, on the other, the ecocritical centering of material, nonhuman environments.

The Routledge International Handbook of Positioning Theory (Routledge International Handbooks)

by Luk Van Langenhove Cynthia H. Brock Mary B. McVee Bo Allesøe Christensen

This handbook is the first of its kind to explore Positioning Theory. Taking inspiration from the groundwork set by Rom Harré and collaborators such as Bronwyn Davies, Fathali Moghaddam, Luk Van Langenhove, and others the book explores the emergence, historical context, and disciplinary applications of Positioning Theory and its basic precepts as a social psychological theory.This volume encompasses over 20 chapters across four sections, assimilating cross-disciplinary insights that try to understand the theoretical underpinnings, methodological applications, and contemporary relevance of Positioning Theory. Part 1 explores the movement of scholarly figures and their numerous works on the subject. It discusses the foundational origins and the historical contexts of the existing theories on positioning and new directions for scholarship. Part 2 examines the methodological and narrative investigations used for data analysis in positioning research, navigating through the epistemological orientations and theoretical landscapes of Positioning Theory. Part 3 explores numerous applications across disciplines to consider the reach and influence of positioning within and across multiple disciplines. Lastly, the authors contemplate the future directions for Positioning Theory.Featuring researchers from leading research institutions from across the globe, the book is important reading for scholars interested in positioning and Positioning Theory. We recommend this handbook for graduate-level courses in social psychology, communication, discourse studies and related disciplines.

GIS for Environmental Applications: A practical approach

by Xuan Zhu

GIS for Environmental Applications provides a practical introduction to the principles, methods, techniques and tools in GIS for spatial data management, analysis, modelling and visualisation, and their applications in environmental problem solving and decision making. It covers the fundamental concepts, principles and techniques in spatial data, spatial data management, spatial analysis and modelling, spatial visualisation, spatial interpolation, spatial statistics, and remote sensing data analysis, as well as demonstrates the typical environmental applications of GIS, including terrain analysis, hydrological modelling, land use analysis and modelling, ecological modelling, and ecosystem service valuation. Case studies are used in the text to contextualise these subjects in the real world, examples and detailed tutorials are provided in each chapter to show how the GIS techniques and tools introduced in the chapter can be implemented using ESRI ArcGIS (a popular GIS software system for environmental applications) and other third party extensions to ArcGIS to address.The emphasis is placed on how to apply or implement the concepts and techniques of GIS through illustrative examples with step-by-step instructions and numerous annotated screen shots. The features include: Over 350 figures and tables illustrating how to apply or implement the concepts and techniques of GIS Learning objectives along with the end-of-chapter review questions Authoritative references at the end of each chapter GIS data files for all examples as well as PowerPoint presentations for each chapter downloadable from the companion website. GIS for Environmental Applications weaves theory and practice together, assimilates the most current GIS knowledge and tools relevant to environmental research, management and planning, and provides step-by-step tutorials with practical applications. This volume will be an indispensable resource for any students taking a module on GIS for the environment.

The Routledge International Handbook of Positioning Theory (Routledge International Handbooks)


This handbook is the first of its kind to explore Positioning Theory. Taking inspiration from the groundwork set by Rom Harré and collaborators such as Bronwyn Davies, Fathali Moghaddam, Luk Van Langenhove, and others the book explores the emergence, historical context, and disciplinary applications of Positioning Theory and its basic precepts as a social psychological theory.This volume encompasses over 20 chapters across four sections, assimilating cross-disciplinary insights that try to understand the theoretical underpinnings, methodological applications, and contemporary relevance of Positioning Theory. Part 1 explores the movement of scholarly figures and their numerous works on the subject. It discusses the foundational origins and the historical contexts of the existing theories on positioning and new directions for scholarship. Part 2 examines the methodological and narrative investigations used for data analysis in positioning research, navigating through the epistemological orientations and theoretical landscapes of Positioning Theory. Part 3 explores numerous applications across disciplines to consider the reach and influence of positioning within and across multiple disciplines. Lastly, the authors contemplate the future directions for Positioning Theory.Featuring researchers from leading research institutions from across the globe, the book is important reading for scholars interested in positioning and Positioning Theory. We recommend this handbook for graduate-level courses in social psychology, communication, discourse studies and related disciplines.

Mass Fatality Management Concise Field Guide

by Mary H. Dudley

This student mainstay continues to be organised around constitutional themes, with new material on local elections, the politics of the centre and the limits of state power. Essential for all introductory students of British politics and current affairs.

Education and Dialogue in Polarized Societies: Dialogic perspectives in times of change

by Ola Erstad James V. Wertsch Bente E. Hagtvet

A number of scholars within the social sciences and the humanities have elaborated on the cultural and psychological dimensions of living through social, economic and political crises. Still, developments during the last decade have created an awareness that something fundamental of the human condition is at stake, especially for the young generation growing up today, with a devastating environmental crisis, globalization, large scale migration, the impact of digitalization and so forth. The consequence has been increased polarization between nations, communities, and people, where the dialogue for human understanding seems to vanish. The basic rationale underlying this book is that education is a key social system where learning to take different perspectives, to stimulate dialogue and intersubjectivity are fundamental for social and cultural development. We bring together scholars from North-America and Europe, but with relevance on a global scale. The four sections in the book cover theoretical explorations referring to the power and generativity of the writings of the Norwegian scholar Ragnar Rommetveit (section 1), diverse chapters and examples on the societal conditions for dialogue and the role of education (section 2), empirical illustration on the role of digital technologies (section 3), and micro-analytical studies of learning dialogues at home, in kindergarten and school (section 4).

The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers

by Monica K. Miller

Although the world has experienced many epidemics, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is exactly that--novel. The impacts on society's way of life, education, family, and economy are drastic. As a result, people seek explanations that have answers rooted in social science. The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call to Action for Researchers draws on theories derived from the social sciences to address the multitude of questions raised by the pandemic and to inspire a future generation of researchers. This book focuses specifically on the social science of a pandemic. While medical, health, and other sciences are critical to understanding a pandemic, so, too, is understanding the role of society and person. Together, psychology and society shape every aspect of life, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception to this pattern. Parts of society--and science--will be forever affected. Edited by Monica K. Miller, The Social Science of the COVID-19 Pandemic is a collection of academic essays written by a group of international authors. The book begins by overviewing the timeline of the pandemic and how it affected life. It then discusses behaviors and experiences during the pandemic, followed by sections on outcomes after the pandemic and best practices for conducting future studies during or about the pandemic. This book is an expansive, go-to text designed to help promote recovery from the pandemic, to minimize the negative effects of similar events in the future, and to inform social science research going forward.

To the Ends of the Earth: How Ancient Explorers, Scientists, and Traders Connected the World

by Raimund J. Schulz

A sweeping history of ancient exploration, the first full-scale account in over a century Odysseus. Jason and the Argonauts. Heracles. Greek mythology is full of tales of heroes setting out for the unknown. Such tales reflected and instilled a sense of confidence in the Greeks as they explored the limits of their world. Their voyages of discovery (and conquest), most dramatically under Alexander the Great, are but the most famous examples of ancient exploration. These expeditions were built on earlier voyages, notably those by Bronze Age Egyptians and Mesopotamians, and led to further global travel, trade, and warfare among the Romans, Persians, Scythians, Indians, and Chinese. To the Ends of the Earth is the first modern history of ancient exploration in over a century. Ranging from the Mediterranean Bronze Age to the third century CE, it reveals long-distance, explorative campaigning to be more than a mere ephemeral phenomenon of ancient history. Rather, exploration was, and still is, an integral and driving force of economic, political, and cultural development. Through the prisms of trade, travel, and politics, Raimund J. Schulz provides a sweeping, 1000-year history of all of Eurasia. He traces the pathways and periods of ancient discovery--from the North Atlantic to China, from the Russian steppes to the Sahara--understanding these journeys not as isolated actions, but within their political, military, economic, and cultural contexts. This book explains why adventurers, traders, colonisers, generals, and envoys set out over and over to explore new horizons, the intentions that guided them, and the long-term consequences of their discoveries. By the third century CE remote civilizations were connected as never before and the foundational dynamics of these voyages later contributed to European overseas exploration in the Early Modern Age. To the Ends of the Earth not only offers a fresh look at the ancient world, but also significantly contributes to an understanding of premodern world history by releasing Greco-Roman antiquity from its relative isolation and placing it in a global context.

Necessary Conversations: Understanding Racism as a Barrier to Achieving Health Equity (Culture of Health)

by Alonzo L. Plough

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Necessary Conversations: Understanding Racism as a Barrier to Achieving Health Equity reflects the conviction that a true prioritization of health in our communities is impossible without a commitment to racial equity. Drawing on the pivotal social events of 2020 in America, it extends a powerful call to action based on a growing body of evidence that racism is the underlying cause of so many poor health outcomes. Contributors across health, education, law, and media further the longstanding work of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create a "Culture of Health" by engaging in authentic discussions about the systems and structures that harm people of color and offering provocative ideas and strategies to inspire action. Necessary Conversations ultimately highlights the importance of building leadership and partnerships through those who are most affected in the community. It considers what it would take to overhaul institutions that treat people differently on the basis of race and recognizes that we all must share resources and join together to support the advancement of health and racial equity.

Islands in a Cosmopolitan Sea: A History of the Comoros

by Iain Walker

Many people today have never heard of the Comoros, but these islands were once part of a prosperous regional trading economy that stretched halfway around the world. A key node in the trading networks of the Indian Ocean, the Comoros prospered by exchanging slaves and commodities with Arab and Indian merchants. By the sixteenth century, the archipelago served as an important supply point on the route from Europe to Asia. The twentieth century brought the establishment of French colonial rule and a plantation economy. Since declaring its independence in 1975, the Comoros has been blighted by more than twenty coups, a radical revolutionary government and a mercenary regime. Today, the island nation suffers chronic mismanagement and relies on remittances from a diaspora community in France. Nonetheless, the Comoros is largely peaceful and culturally vibrant-- connected to the outside world in the internet age, but, at the same time, still slightly apart. Iain Walker traces the history and unique culture of these enigmatic islands, from their first settlement by Africans, Arabs and Austronesians, through their heyday within the greater Swahili world, to their decline as a forgotten outpost of the French colonial empire.

Intersectionality: A Philosophical Framework (The Romanell Lectures)

by Naomi Zack

In Intersectionality, philosopher Naomi Zack presents a novel philosophical account of intersectionality - the process by which people already oppressed, experience more oppression because of their intersecting identities. Examples include women who experience racism or poor people who are under-served. Identifying such intersections allows for more precise analysis of oppression, as well as newly recognized identities, such as blackwomen or homeless people of colour. Zack here explores the meaning of intersectionality through analysis of current events and controversies including the #MeToo movement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and class opportunities for minorities in higher education. Her analysis develops a robust definition of intersectionality in terms of inclusion, recognition, and diversity; works out ontological issues about the relationship between persons, labels, and identity; explores the distinction between abstract philosophical thinking and activism; and discusses how intersectionality can be an effective basis for empowerment, as well as understanding. Zack's distinctively philosophical account explains how intersectionality, considered as a method of analysis, works and can be employed in many areas of progressive thought across varying disciplines. She concludes that identifying and challenging the injustice of oppressions logically requires a broad humanistic framework, that intersectionality cannot be reduced to mere talk of diversity and inclusion, and that intersectionality itself is a progressive method of analysis worthy of philosophical attention.

People of the Rainforest: The Villas Boas Brothers, Explorers and Humanitarians of the Amazon

by John Hemming

In 1945, three young brothers joined and eventually led Brazil's first government-sponsored expedition into its Amazonian rainforests. After more expeditions into unknown terrain, they became South America's most famous explorers, spending the rest of their lives with the resilient tribal communities they found there. People of the Rainforest recounts the Villas Boas brothers' four thrilling and dangerous 'first contacts' with isolated indigenous people, and their lifelong mission to learn about their societies and, above all, help them adapt to modern Brazil without losing their cultural heritage, identity and pride. Author and explorer John Hemming vividly traces the unique adventures of these extraordinary brothers, who used their fame to change attitudes to native peoples and to help protect the world's surviving tropical rainforests, under threat again today.

Children of Coercive Control (Interpersonal Violence)

by Evan Stark

Children of Coercive Control extends Evan Stark's path-breaking analysis of interpersonal violence to children, showing that coercive control is the most important cause and context of child abuse and child homicide outside a war zone, as well as of the sexual abuse, denigration, exploitation, isolation and subordination of children. The book provides a working model of the coercive control of children and illustrates its dynamics and consequences with dramatic cases drawn from the headlines and Dr. Stark's forensic practice. The cases include those in which the coercive control of children runs in tandem with the coercive control of women, where children are "weaponized" in the coercive control of their mother and cases where abused mothers harm their children to survive or protect them from worse. By highlighting a criminal cause of child maltreatment and a plausible justice response, Evan Stark challenges the common assumptions that child abuse and neglect fall on a continuum of problems rooted in maternal deficits, immaturity, poverty, and environmental stressors as well as the combination of Child Welfare and Child Protection Services that currently provide the ameliorative response.

Regret

by Paddy McQueen

Philosopher Paddy McQueen provides a detailed examination of the nature of regret and its role in decision-making. Contrary to influential philosophical accounts of regret, he argues that we should only regret choices we make that were not justified at the time, based on the information that was available to us. Consequently, he suggests that many of us should have fewer regrets than we do, and we should worry less than we do about whether we might come to regret a decision. In making this case, he engages with important areas of philosophical debate, such as reasons, time and justification, the temporal self, values and valuing, responsibility, the causal framing of events, and self-forgiveness. The result is a complex, novel account of when we should regret the things that we do. In addition, McQueen explores how experiences of regret are shaped by social discourses, especially those about gender and parenthood. He examines how regret has become politicized in debates about abortion and trans identities and reveals ways in which regret is used to regulate people's reproductive choices. Through this cultural politics of regret, he challenges assumptions about gender identities and the expectations of regret that are attached to certain people's decisions. In so doing, he shows how confronting these assumptions and expectations can help to promote people's autonomy and well-being. Weaving these threads together, McQueen highlights the personal and political significance of regret.

To the Ends of the Earth: How Ancient Explorers, Scientists, and Traders Connected the World

by Raimund J. Schulz

A sweeping history of ancient exploration, the first full-scale account in over a century Odysseus. Jason and the Argonauts. Heracles. Greek mythology is full of tales of heroes setting out for the unknown. Such tales reflected and instilled a sense of confidence in the Greeks as they explored the limits of their world. Their voyages of discovery (and conquest), most dramatically under Alexander the Great, are but the most famous examples of ancient exploration. These expeditions were built on earlier voyages, notably those by Bronze Age Egyptians and Mesopotamians, and led to further global travel, trade, and warfare among the Romans, Persians, Scythians, Indians, and Chinese. To the Ends of the Earth is the first modern history of ancient exploration in over a century. Ranging from the Mediterranean Bronze Age to the third century CE, it reveals long-distance, explorative campaigning to be more than a mere ephemeral phenomenon of ancient history. Rather, exploration was, and still is, an integral and driving force of economic, political, and cultural development. Through the prisms of trade, travel, and politics, Raimund J. Schulz provides a sweeping, 1000-year history of all of Eurasia. He traces the pathways and periods of ancient discovery--from the North Atlantic to China, from the Russian steppes to the Sahara--understanding these journeys not as isolated actions, but within their political, military, economic, and cultural contexts. This book explains why adventurers, traders, colonisers, generals, and envoys set out over and over to explore new horizons, the intentions that guided them, and the long-term consequences of their discoveries. By the third century CE remote civilizations were connected as never before and the foundational dynamics of these voyages later contributed to European overseas exploration in the Early Modern Age. To the Ends of the Earth not only offers a fresh look at the ancient world, but also significantly contributes to an understanding of premodern world history by releasing Greco-Roman antiquity from its relative isolation and placing it in a global context.

Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons


Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons is a collection of writings that explores how expressive methods are used in social work education, practice, research, and community action. Edited by Shelley Cohen Konrad and Michal Sela-Amit, the book aims to answer the question: What do the arts offer social work education, research, and practice? This query is woven throughout the four sections of the book: first, on the various ways the arts are used in social work education; second, an examination of art-based social work research; third, a compilation of narratives by social workers who are artists in their own right; and finally, the future of the social work profession and its relationship to the arts. Written by authors from diverse backgrounds, each with a unique perspective on the benefits of the arts in their respective areas of expertise, Social Work and the Arts is a must-read for anyone interested in the arts and social work and for those who are just beginning to explore its relevance in the field.

Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons

by Shelley Cohen Konrad and Michal Sela-Amit

Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons is a collection of writings that explores how expressive methods are used in social work education, practice, research, and community action. Edited by Shelley Cohen Konrad and Michal Sela-Amit, the book aims to answer the question: What do the arts offer social work education, research, and practice? This query is woven throughout the four sections of the book: first, on the various ways the arts are used in social work education; second, an examination of art-based social work research; third, a compilation of narratives by social workers who are artists in their own right; and finally, the future of the social work profession and its relationship to the arts. Written by authors from diverse backgrounds, each with a unique perspective on the benefits of the arts in their respective areas of expertise, Social Work and the Arts is a must-read for anyone interested in the arts and social work and for those who are just beginning to explore its relevance in the field.

The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society (Oxford Handbooks)

by John Leverso

The Oxford Handbook of Gangs and Society is the premier reference book on gangs for practitioners, policymakers, students, and scholars. This carefully curated volume contains 43 chapters written by the leading experts in the field, who advance a central theme of "looking back, moving forward" by providing state-of-the-art reviews of the literature they created, shaped, and (re)defined. This international, interdisciplinary collective of authors provides readers with a rare tour of the field in its entirety, expertly navigating thorny debates and the at-times contentious history of gang research, while simultaneously synthesizing flourishing areas of study that advance the field into the 21st century. The volume is divided into six cohesive sections that reflect the diverse field of gang studies and capture the large-scale cultural, economic, political, and social changes occurring within the world of gangs in the last century; anticipating immense changes on the horizon. From definitions to history to theory to epistemology to technology to policy and practice, this unprecedented volume captures the most timely and important topics in the field. From curious outsiders to longstanding insiders, this volume will appeal to anyone with an interest in gangs. The editors assembled a cast of the best scholars shaping how the field thinks about gangs. The content is fresh, timely, and informative, appealing to everyone from the armchair theorist to the federal policymaker. It is truly a one-stop shop for anyone seeking the most up-to-date information on gangs, written by experts who approach the topic from very different disciplinary orientations, methodological approaches, and theoretical perspectives. When readers finish this book, they will be more confident in what we know and do not know about gangs in our society.

Heineken in Africa: A Multinational Unleashed

by Olivier van Beemen

For Heineken, "rising Africa" is already a reality: the profits it extracts there are almost 50 per cent above the global average, and beer costs more in some African countries than it does in Europe. Heineken claims its presence boosts economic development on the continent. But is this true? Investigative journalist Olivier van Beemen has spent years seeking the answer, and his conclusion is damning: Heineken has hardly benefited Africa at all. On the contrary, there are some shocking skeletons in its African closet: tax avoidance, sexual abuse, links to genocide and other human rights violations, high-level corruption, crushing competition from indigenous brewers, and collaboration with dictators and pitiless anti-government rebels. Heineken in Africa caused a political and media furor on publication in The Netherlands, and was debated in their Parliament. It is an unmissable expos? of the havoc wreaked by a global giant seeking profit in the developing world.

Humanitarian Wars?: Lies and Brainwashing

by Rony Brauman

In the eyes of Rony Brauman of M?decins sans Fronti?res, wars are always triggered in the name of morality. Today's "humanitarian" interventions are little more than new moral crusades-and their justifications are based on lies. There are plenty of examples of hawkish propaganda in recent years: Saddam Hussein's mythical weapons of mass destruction; a dubious genocide in Kosovo; doctored figures of famine in Somalia; and a fake massacre of protesters in Libya. Without being militantly non-interventionist, Brauman is extremely suspicious of the thirst for war displayed by many of today's world leaders, the consequences of which are devastating. He is critical of international peacekeeping bodies and tribunals: the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court represent, for him, the interests of the powerful before all else. Basing his argument on the criteria for a "just war," Brauman criticizes the Western obsession with imposing democratic values by force. In this sober and convincing book, he thoroughly dismantles the notion of the justness of "humanitarian wars."

Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims

by Hussein Kesvani

What does it mean to be Muslim in Britain today? If the media is anything to go by, it has something to do with mosques, community leaders, whether you wear a veil, and what your views on religious extremists are. But as all our lives become increasingly entwined with our online presence, British Muslims are taking to social media to carve their own narratives and tell their own stories, challenging stereotypes along the way. Follow Me, Akhi explores how young Muslims in Britain are using the internet to determine their own religious identity, both within their communities and as part of the country they live in. Entering a world of Muslim dating apps, social media influencers, online preachers, and LGBTQ and ex-Muslim groups, journalist Hussein Kesvani explores how British Islam has evolved into a multi-dimensional cultural identity that goes well beyond the confines of the mosque. He shows how a new generation of Muslims who have grown up in the internet age use blogs, vlogging, and tweets to define their religion on their terms -- something that could change the course of 'British Islam' forever.

Dangerous Jokes: How Racism and Sexism Weaponize Humor

by Claire Horisk

People often get away with belittling others if they frame their speech as jokes-speech that would be condemned if stated seriously. "It's just a joke," they say. But what is different or special about joking? And if jokes about lawyers and politicians are morally acceptable, then what is wrong with joking about race or gender? Furthermore, if we may joke about a politician's shirts, may we joke about his weight? People who are targeted by demeaning jokes feel their impact but may not be able to pinpoint where the harm lies. Dangerous Jokes develops a novel, well-researched, and compelling argument that lays bare the power of demeaning jokes in ordinary conversations. Claire Horisk draws on her expertise in philosophy of language and on evidence from sociology, law and cognitive science to explain how the element of humor-so often used as a defence-makes jokes more potent than regular speech in communicating prejudice and reinforcing social hierarchies. She addresses the morality of telling, being amused by, and laughing at, derogatory jokes, and she gives a new account of listening that addresses the morality of listening to demeaning speech. She leaves us with no illusions about whether "it's just a joke" is an excuse for demeaning humor.

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