Suchergebnisse

The virulent strain of nativist, anti-establishment, anti-corporatist and anti-immigrant sentiment is rocking the foundations of traditional party systems in all industrialized democracies. Its causes are many, but in broad terms it is safe to say they surfaced right after the 2008-09 economic collapse, an era that was characterized by intense polarization and confrontational approaches against governments, corporations and financial institutions which crossed party lines and traditional political cleavages. The sweeping changes brought about by globalized capital and corporate interests, and the blurring of national borders that accompanied them, have alienated big swathes of the population and given rise to new forms of strident populism everywhere.In the United States the main manifestation of this phenomenon is taking the form of a populist revolt, a singular form of class warfare inside the Republican Party, between the established party hierarchy and the Tea Party movement.As the next legislative election approaches, the internecine feud within the Republican Party continues to create challenges for its top candidates who must veer more right-wing to secure the nomination and then turn back to the center of American politics to win the general election. Before 2012, the GOP tried to co-opt the extreme right and used their rhetoric, but after the 2012 election losses, the party took uncertain steps to distance itself from the movement. Today, the movement rather than the establishment seems to be dictating the party line, so there is paralysis in Washington once again. The leadership will still have to govern and legislate on some central issues-increase the debt limit, fund the government, and renew the authorization charter of the Export-Import Bank, among other things, and in so doing, further alienate Tea Party voters. The Republican-dominated House will no doubt stay away from the avoidable taboos, such as considering immigration reform (for which the Senate already passed its own bill one year ago!) and in consequence, one more time unintentionally secure the Latino vote for the Democratic Party. They will continue blocking the minimum wage raise and the Fair Paycheck Act, thereby losing the minorities and women's vote. In this context, the 2016 presidential horizon looks brilliantly promising for Democrats and their two presidential hopefuls, Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren.The defeat of Virginia Representative and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in the June 10th Republican primary for the seventh Congressional district is symptomatic of deep divisions not only within the Republican Partybut in the electorate at large. Eric Cantor, a Republican with impeccable conservative credentials who had been re-elected seven times and who was first in line for House Speaker,lost by ten solid points to a little known college professor who ran against him by portraying him as the pro-Wall Street, pro-K Street typical Washington insider, indifferent from Main Street needs and demands. This race is very significant for several reasons. For starters, the anti-Washington, anti "corporate welfare" and anti-Wall Street sentiment is widespread among independent voters and those GOP legislators that have been "pro-bailout, pro-Obama stimulus spending and pro-immigration," as articulated by Tea Party leaders, live in fear of being chastened by voters.That is why this week Republicans in Congress who were holding their breath, are exhaling with a sense of relief as Senator Thad Cochran wins the primary runoff against Tea Party challenger ChrisMcDaniels who ran on a promise to voters that he would add his voice to the fight against Obamacare and big government spending. It appears then that the anti-incumbent sentiment has not been strong enoughto become a sustained trend: so far, only two sitting representatives have not won re-nomination in the House and all 18 Senate races have been won by those holding the seats, including Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, who was a leader in favor of Immigration Reform in the Senate, but has been vocal in confronting Obama with his dismal record in foreign policy, from Benghazi to Syria to Ukraine, and now all the way back to Iraq. But even pollsters have been taken by surprise in most cases, whether as to the narrowness of results (such as the one is Mississippi, which required a runoff election) or to the unfathomable upsets (Cantor's represents a historical defeat: no Majority leader had been voted out in a primary election since the nineteenth century). There are many reasons why nobody saw this coming, first among them the constant problem of voter turnout, especially in primaries, followed by new strategies by candidates (David Bratt, the college professor that beat Cantor, did door -to -door canvassing, taking time to speak to prospective voters, and he beat a competitor who had outspent him 40 to 1) and by the strong commitment of a small group of activists that mobilized the grassroots against Cantor's pro-business stance. The outcome of these races is further complicated by the fact that many Democrats are taking part in open primaries, which makes them even more unpredictable. Democrats participated in both races, voting against the incumbent, Cantor, in Virginia (he was perceived as the main obstacle for bringing to the floor a vote on immigration bills that apparently would have had the votes to pass) and in favor of incumbent, veteranSenator Thad Cochran in Mississippi (he courted the African American vote, pointing out the amount of federal funds he had brought to the state in his 36 years as Senator, and they acquiesced, fearing Mc Daniels would be a worse choice for their interests in such a red state as Mississippi).These idiosyncratic variations and distortions should not distract us from the fact that the defeat of ultra-conservative House Majority leader from a white, affluent Richmond suburb is extremely significant and will have many ramifications in the near future. First and foremost, it has led to an immediate reshuffle of the party internal House leadership, as Cantorresigned his post as Majority leader. The first in line to fill his post, House whip Kevin McCarthy from California, used his insider skills to mobilize his contacts and call in his favors fast enough to pre-empt a challenge by a Tea Party congressman from Idaho, Raul Labrador, in a secret, internal party ballot. He has thus become Majority leader only eight years after he was first elected to Congress for California 23rd district. If re-elected in November, he will be first in line for House Speaker when Rep. Boehner gives up his post. This coveted position would have been Cantor's crowning achievement after a solid career of 14 years in Congress: he had hoped to become the first Jewish Speaker of the House.In spite of McCarthy's success in pre-empting challenges from outside the party leadership, the next one in line to move into McCarthy's whip position, deputy whip Peter Roskam from Illinois, lost the ballot to Tea Party challenger Steve Scalise from Louisiana, who mobilized the vote of Southern legislators and won, thereby establishing a presence for the movement inside the GOP hierarchy. Scalise, who was elected to Congress in 2008, has also risen rapidly through the ranks, as chairman of the ultra-conservative Republican Study Group and as a vocal advocate against big government.Party Whips in Congress are in charge of counting votes for and against legislation. They are enforcers, offering incentives and doling out punishments for votes among their caucus members. Their role becomes particularly important in close votes. The whip is also the main liaison between the party leadership and the rank and file.Primaries are proving to be much more dangerous for establishment Republicans than a prospective national election at the end of this year, in which they are poised to win both some Senate and House seats, mainly due to slow economic growth and low support for Obama, but more pointedly due to the opportunity created by the retirement of a significant number of long-serving senior legislators. Rather than the November election challenge against Democrats, primaries have become the main obstacle to surmount and the main focus of funding for incumbents and party establishment candidates. Memories of seats lost due to Tea party primary winners in the national 2010 and 2012 election still loom heavily in GOP minds. Karl Rove's words of advice to both the Tea Party activists and the GOP leadershipin February of 2010 still resonate in the halls of Congress:"If Tea party groups are to maximize their influence on policy, they must now begin the difficult task of disassociating themselves from cranks and conspiracy nuts. This includes 9/11 deniers, "birthers" who insist Barack Obama was not born in the U.S., and militia supporters espousing something vaguely close to armed rebellion.""The GOP is also better off if it foregoes any attempt to merge with the tea party movement. The GOP cannot possibly hope to control the dynamics of the highly decentralized galaxy of groups that make up the tea party movement. There will be troubling excesses and these will hurt Republicans if the party is formally associated with tea party groups" (Wall Street Journal, Feb. 18 2010).Because they are extremely vocal as well as media favorites (whether to disparage or to endorse them) and have made some undeniable inroads into the halls of power, the Tea Partiers have indeed made a splash in US politics, and they have re-shaped the agenda on issues of taxes and spending (with mixed success). But so far this term, 273 of 275 House incumbents and 18 out of 18 Senators have won re-nomination, even if in most House cases these contests were won by small margins. This is evidence that there is still somediscipline in party ranks, and newcomers are forced to follow the party leadership. For example in Kentucky, Sen. Rand Paul, largely recognized as the presidential candidate for Tea-Partiers and libertarians alike, did not campaign in favor of the Tea Party candidate who was running against Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, and gave the former only lukewarm support. Senator McConnell, a tough, seasoned veteran, was reported to have had a private, one-on-one, closed-doors conversation with Rand Paul before the primary campaign started…It then becomes clear that membership still has its privileges, and the Tea Partiers' disdain for insider politicking and the compromises required by politics in general won't take them very far. That is the stuff of politics, so now these political neophytes are getting into the fray, they will have to learn a few organizational lessons from the savvy insiders they are trying to replace. Nonetheless, one of the first comments made by Kevin McCarthy Fox News as he moved into Cantor's position was that "Yes, he would let the Export-Import Bank (reauthorization) to expire because it is something the private sector can do better". This represents a reversal from his 2012 position, and one that distances him from the business community and the party establishment, who want the Bank to remain. (Tea Partiers want to do away with the Ex-Im, the IRS and the Department of Education, among other institutions they find superfluous). In another interview, McCarthy asserted that the GOP had more to gain (politically) if it moved closer to libertarian ideas. So it has become apparent then, that the Tea Party as a movement and as a faction of the Republican Party is here to stay, at least for the near future. Its strength will depend on how they can accommodate their desires to the realities of governing the United States of America in the XXI century.María Fornella-Oehninger - Comparative Politics Professor, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

The Maasai/Kikuyu agro-pastoral borderlands of Maiella and Enoosupukia, located in the hinterlands of Lake Naivasha's agro-industrial hub, are particularly notorious in the history of ethnicised violence in the Kenya's Rift Valley. In October 1993, an organised assault perpetrated by hundreds of Maasai vigilantes, with the assistance of game wardens and administration police, killed more than 20 farmers of Kikuyu descent. Consequently, thousands of migrant farmers were violently evicted from Enoosupukia at the instigation of leading local politicians. Nowadays, however, intercommunity relations are surprisingly peaceful and the cooperative use of natural resources is the rule rather than the exception. There seems to be a form of reorganization. Violence seems to be contained and the local economy has since recovered. This does not mean that there is no conflict, but people seem to have the facility to solve them peacefully. How did formerly violent conflicts develop into peaceful relations? How did competition turn into cooperation, facilitating changing land use? This dissertation explores the value of cross-cutting ties and local institutions in peaceful relationships and the non-violent resolution of conflicts across previously violently contested community boundaries. It mainly relies on ethnographic data collected between 2014 and 2015. The discussion therefore builds on several theoretical approaches in anthropology and the social sciences – that is, violent conflicts, cross-cutting ties and conflicting loyalties, joking relationships, peace and nonviolence, and institutions, in order to understand shared spaces that are experiencing fairly rapid social and economic changes, and characterised by conflict and coexistence. In the researched communities, cross-cutting ties and the split allegiances associated with them result from intermarriages, land transactions, trade, and friendship. By institutions, I refer to local peace committees, an attempt to standardise an aspect of customary law, and Nyumba Kumi, a strategy of anchoring community policing at the household level. In 2010, the state "implanted" these grassroots-level institutions and conferred on them the rights to handle specific conflicts and to prevent crime. I argue that the studied groups utilise diverse networks of relationships as adaptive responses to landlessness, poverty, and socio-political dynamics at the local level. Material and non-material exchanges and transfers accompany these social and economic ties and networks. In addition to being instrumental in nurturing a cohesive social fabric, I argue that such alliances could be thought of as strategies of appropriation of resources in the frontiers – areas that are considered to have immense agricultural potential and to be conducive to economic enterprise. Consequently, these areas are continuously changed and shaped through immigration, population growth, and agricultural intensification. However, cross-cutting ties and intergroup alliances may not necessarily prevent the occurrence or escalation of conflicts. Nevertheless, disputes and conflicts, which form part of the social order in the studied area, create the opportunities for locally contextualised systems of peace and non-violence that inculcate the values of cooperation, coexistence, and restraint from violence. Although the neo-traditional institutions (local peace committees and Nyumba Kumi) face massive complexities and lack the capacity to handle serious conflicts, their application of informal constraints in dispute resolution provides room for some optimism. Notably, the formation of ties and alliances between the studied groups, and the use of local norms and values to resolve disputes, are not new phenomena – they are reminiscent of historical patterns. Their persistence, particularly in the context of Kenya, indicates a form of historical continuity, which remains rather "undisturbed" despite the prevalence of ethnicised political economies. Indeed, the formation of alliances, which are driven by mutual pursuit of commodities (livestock, rental land, and agricultural produce), markets, and diversification, tends to override other identities. While the major thrust of social science literature in East Africa has focused on the search for root causes of violence, very little has been said about the conditions and practices of cooperation and non-violent conflict resolution. In addition, situations where prior violence turned into peaceful interaction have attracted little attention, though the analysis of such transitional phases holds the promise of contributing to applicable knowledge on conflict resolution. This study is part of a larger multidisciplinary project, "Resilience in East African Landscapes" (REAL), which is a Marie Curie Actions Innovative Training Networks (ITN) project. The principal focus of this multidisciplinary project is to study past, present, and future thresholds and sustainable trajectories in human-landscape interactions in East Africa over the last millennia. While other individual projects focus on long-term ecosystem dynamics and societal interactions, my project examines human-landscape interactions in the present and the very recent past (i.e. the period in which events and processes were witnessed or can still be recalled by today's population). The transition from conflict to coexistence and from competition to cooperative use of previously violently contested land resources is understood here as enhancing adaptation in the face of social-political, economic, environmental, and climatic changes. This dissertation is therefore a contribution to new modes of resilience in human-landscape interactions after a collapse situation.

Books reviewed in this article:GREAT BRITAINJ. M. Holden. The History of Negotiable Instruments in English Law.W. G. Hoskins. The Midland Peasant: The Economic and Social History of a Leicestershire Village.H. R. Schubert. History of the British Iron and Steel Industry from c. 450 B.C. to A.D. 1775.N. J. M. Kerling. Commercial Relations of Holland and Zeeland with England from the late Thirteenth Century to the close of the Middle Ages.G. R. Elton. England Under the Tudors.Joan Thirsk. English Peasant Farming. The Agrarian History of Lincolnshire from Tudor to Recent Times.M. W. Beresford. History on the Ground.G. D. Ramsay. English Foreign Trade During the Centuries of Emergence.L. Stone. An Elizabethan: Sir Horatio Palavicino.M. E. Finch. The Wealth of Five Northamptonshire Families 1540–1640.StephenB. Baxter. The Development of the Treasury 1660–1702.K. G. Davies. The Royal African Company.Hudson's Bay Copy Booke of Letters Commissions Instructions Outward 1688–1696. Edited by E. E. Rich, assisted by Miss A. M. Johnson, with an introduction by K. G. Davies.Joseph Stassert. Malthus et la Population.L. Radzinowicz. A History of English Criminal Law and its Administration from 1750.Leslie Jones. Shipbuilding in Britain, Mainly Between the two World Wars.A History of the County of Oxford. Ed. Mary D. Lobel. Vol. V, Bullingdon Hundred.B. Wilkinson. Constitutional History of Medieval England 1216–1399, vol. III, The Development of the Constitution 1216–1399.J. Conway Davies (Ed.). Studies presented to Sir Hilary Jenkinson.Frank W. Jessup. A History of Kent.H. P. R. Finberg (Ed.). Gloucestershire Studies.E. W. W. Veale (Ed.). The Great Red Book of Bristol. Text (Part III).Calendar of Kent Feet of Fines to the end of Henry III's reign. Prepared by Irene J. Churchill, R. Griffin and F. W. Hardman, with an introduction by F. W. Tessup.H. J. Hewitt. The Black Prince's Expedition of 1355–1357.A. F. Cirket (Ed.). English Wills, 1408–1526; and Bette Stitt (Ed.). Diana Astry's Recipe Book, c. 1700.K. L. Wood‐Legh (Ed.). A Small Household of the XVth Century.W. G. Hoskins (Ed.). Exeter in the Seventeenth Century: Tax and Rate Assessments, 1602–1699.J. P. M. Fowle (Ed.). Wiltshire Quarter Sessions and Assizes, 1736.F. H. Maud. The Hockerill Highway: the story of the origin and growth of a stretch of the Norwich road.T. Balston. James Whatman, Father and Son.Kurt Samuelsson. Ekonomi och religion.Birgitta Odén. Rikets uppbörd och utgift. Statsfinanser och finansjorvaltning under senate 1500‐talet.Ingrid Hammarstrom. Finansförvaltning och varuhandel 1504–1540. Studier i de yngre Sturarnas och Gustav Vasas statshushdllning.Gunnar Fridlizius. Swedish Corn Export in the Free Trade Area. Patterns in the Oats Trade 1850–1880.H. van der Linden. De Cope, Bijdrage tot de Rechtsgesckiedenis van de openlegging der Hollands‐Utrecktse Laagvlakte.Christiane Pierard. Les douaires de Jeanne de Brabant en Hainaut.Lewis Hanke. The imperial city of Potosi. An unwritten chapter in the history of Spanish America.The short but excellent study by L. Hanke on Potosi, which has already become a classic in the Spanish edition (Sucre, 1954), has at last been published in English with all the desirable wealth of illustrations.Rudolf Rezsohazy. Histoire du Mouvement Mutualiste Chrétien en Belgique.J. A. P. G. Boot and A. Blonk. Van smiet‐ tot snelspoel. De opkomst van de Twents‐Gelderse textielindusirie in het begin van de negentiende eeuw.Gedenkboek 150 jaren Hollandsche Sociëteit van Levensverztkeringen, N.V., 1807–1957.E. A. B. J. Ten Brink. De Rotterdamsche Telegraafmaatschappij 1854–1884. Een episode uit de begintijd van de electrische telegrqfie in Nederland.Ger. H. Knap. Gekroonde Koopvaart. Reisresultaat van honderd jaar zeevaart door de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoombootmaatschappij, 1856–1956.Compagnie du Ckemin de Far du Bas–Congo au Katanga, 1906–1956.R. B. Harteveld and H. R. Wortman under the editorial supervision of Prof. H. J. Keuning. Gedenkboek De Vries Robbé, N.V., Gorimhem, 1881–1956.Jean Stengers. Combien le Congo a‐t‐il coûtéà la Belgique? (Académie royale des Sciences coloniales. Classe des Sciences morales et politiques. Mémoires in‐8o, nouvelle série, t.XI, fasc. 1. Brussels, 1957. Pp. 394. B.frs. 525.)J. A. Sporck. Ľactivité industrielle dans la région liegeoise. Étude de géographic économique.W. Kloosterboer. Bibliografie van Nederlandse publicaties over Portugal en zijn overzeese gebiedsdelen. Taal, Literatuur, Geschiedenis, Land en Volk.Donald Creighton. Harold Adam Innis. Portrait of a Scholar.E. C. Kirkiand. Dream and Thought in the Business Community 186–1900.Samuel P. Hays. The Response to Industrialism: 1885–1914.T. C. Cochran. The American Business System: A Historical Perspective 1900–1955.M. R. Benedict. Can We Solve the Farm Problem? An Analysis of Federal Aid to Agriculture with the Report and Recommendations of the Committee on Agricultural Policy.W. J. Easterbrook and H. J. G. Aitken. Canadian Economic History.John H. Dales. Hydroelectricity and Industrial Development–Quebec 1898–1940.E. P. Neufeld. Bank of Canada Operations, 1935–54.David C. Corbett. Canada's Immigration Policy, a critique.R. F. Willetts. Aristocratic Society in Ancient Crete.R. S. Lopez and I. W. Raymond (Eds.). Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World. Illustrative Documents Translated with Introductions and Notes.Michel Mollat and Olivier de Prat (Eds.). Le Ntwire et ľEconomie Maritime du XVe au XVlIIe siécles.J. M. Wallace‐Hadrill and J. McManners (Eds.). France, Government and Society.L. F. Haber. The Chemical Industry in the Nineteenth Century. A Study of the Economic Aspects of Applied Chemistry in Europe and North America.S. L. Sharma. Some Trends of Capitalist Concentration in India.B. H. Farmer. Pioneer Peasant Colonization in Ceylon.

Dans les années 1960, l'Afrique subsaharienne a connu une offensive diplomatique à grande échelle de la part d'Israël. Le Ghana de Kwame Nkrumah a été le premier pays à établir des relations diplomatiques et économiques. D'autres pays suivirent bientôt, si bien qu'au milieu des années 1960, une quarantaine de pays africains recevaient une aide agricole et militaire d'Israël et bénéficiaient de bourses pour leurs étudiants. L'implication d'Israël a été renforcée par les activités de la CIA en Afrique à l'époque, qui étaient conçues et financées par les États-Unis et d'autres puissances occidentales comme leur "troisième force" en Afrique. Depuis, la situation a évolué en raison de la solidarité croissante des Africains avec les Palestiniens et de leur rejet du système israélien de "l'apartheid", c'est-à-dire de la discrimination systématique à l'encontre des populations non-israéliennes. Israël a perdu le soutien de la plupart des pays d'ASS au début des années 1970 en raison de sa collaboration avec l'Afrique du Sud de l'apartheid. Comme l'a dit Nelson Mandela: "L'Afrique du Sud ne sera jamais libre tant que la Palestine ne sera pas libre". Lors de sa 12e session ordinaire à Kampala en 1975, l'OUA a pour la première fois identifié l'idéologie fondatrice d'Israël, le sionisme, comme une forme de racisme. Néanmoins, plusieurs pays africains ont continué à entretenir des contacts de faible niveau par l'intermédiaire de treize ambassades étrangères, par exemple en Éthiopie, en Tanzanie, en Ouganda et au Zaïre, tandis que les échanges éducatifs et commerciaux se sont poursuivis, bien qu'à des niveaux considérablement réduits et à l'abri des regards du public. Mais le fléau du terrorisme islamiste a nécessité une relance des relations. La coopération militaire et sécuritaire, y compris la cybersécurité, est particulièrement intense avec par exemple l'Éthiopie, le Zaïre, l'Ouganda, le Ghana, le Togo et l'Afrique du Sud. Elle a aussi souvent servi à soutenir des régimes africains despotiques. Aujourd'hui, l'Afrique subsaharienne constitue un marché lucratif pour l'industrie de défense israélienne. Le Cameroun, le Tchad, la Guinée-Équatoriale, le Lesotho, le Nigeria, le Rwanda, les Seychelles, l'Afrique du Sud et l'Ouganda ont reçu des armes d'Israël entre 2006 et 2010. En 2014, 40% des exportations d'armes d'Israël étaient destinées aux pays africains. Après la fin de la guerre froide et le début du processus de paix israélo-arabe, la plupart des États africains ont repris leurs relations avec Israël après que Netanyahu soit devenu Premier ministre en 2009 sous le slogan: "Israël revient à l'Afrique, l'Afrique revient à Israël". Israël entretient désormais des relations avec 40 États subsahariens, dont certains adoptent une position plus pro-israélienne qu'auparavant. La stabilisation de la Corne de l'Afrique était considérée comme cruciale car elle était directement liée aux pressions migratoires auxquelles Israël était confronté depuis le milieu de la dernière décennie. On estime que 40 000 réfugiés africains vivent sur le sol israélien, la plupart venant du Soudan et de l'Erythrée. La réputation internationale d'Israël a été affectée par sa politique décisive visant à limiter le nombre de migrants en construisant un mur à la frontière avec l'Egypte. Depuis 2013, le gouvernement a tenté d'expulser environ 4 000 migrants vers le Rwanda et l'Ouganda dans le cadre d'un programme de « départ volontaire » entre 2014 et 2017. Presque tout le monde a de nouveau fui le Rwanda et a entrepris le dangereux voyage vers l'Europe.

In the first census of 1790, the Census formally counted Free White Males, Free White Females, All Other Free Persons, and Slaves (as three-fifths of a person). The census racial categories have changed multiple times over the centuries, and still has yet to add many more to accommodate the growing culture in America. It wasn't until the year 2000 where individuals were able to mark off more than one box for their racial identity. Today, the census gives us statistics on neighborhoods, race crime rates, population count, college demographics, and more. However, if the majority of American individuals cannot place themselves in the correct categories, how accurate are the racial statistics in our country?

Length: 135 minutes Oral history interview of Stan Willis by Richard Hughey

The Chameleon Literary Journal has served as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine since 1961. Under the mentorship of its advisor Professor Sean Prentiss, third-year student Lydia Brown analyzed all past publishings in order to understand the extent to which Norwich University students represented LGBTQ+ members, people of color, and women throughout the years. This internship also allowed her to explore the overall history of The Chameleon Literary Journal, including its distinct differences from era to era. As the final product, such findings were accumulated over the course of a single semester and comprised into the following written report. ; Winner of the 2022 Friends of the Kreitzberg Library Award for Outstanding Research in the University Archives category. ; Brown 1 Looking Back on the Representation of LGBTQ+ Members, People of Color, & Women An Analysis of The Chameleon Literary Journal, 1961 — Present Lydia Brown Department of English & Communications, Norwich University EN 415: English Internship Professor Sean Prentiss Fall 2021 Brown 2 Abstract The Chameleon Literary Journal has served as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine since 1961. Under the mentorship of its advisor Professor Sean Prentiss, third-year student Lydia Brown analyzed all past publishings in order to understand the extent to which Norwich University students represented LGBTQ+ members, people of color, and women throughout the years. This internship also allowed her to explore the overall history of The Chameleon Literary Journal, including its distinct differences from era to era. As the final product, such findings were accumulated over the course of a single semester and comprised into the following written report. Brown 3 The Chameleon | 1961 - Present Brief Historical Background Founded in 1961, The Chameleon Literary Journal continues to serve as Norwich University's arts and creative writing magazine under a team of student editors. Norwich University undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to submit various pieces for review, such as visual arts, drama, poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction. Sean Prentiss, a published author and professor of creative writing, was selected to be the advisor of the journal when he arrived on campus in 2012. Since his arrival, he has assisted the journal in becoming multilingual by translating students' creative writing pieces into multiple languages. In addition, three-four creative writing awards are issued annually to writers who distinguish themselves amongst the rest of the student body. Brown 4 Introduction Significance of Representation Representation is a system for unambiguously organizing values, ideas, and conduct — all of which enable communication and social exchange amongst members of a particular group or community. From birth onward, an individual's self-c 1 oncept and values are affected by the surrounding environment. Adolescence is an especially critical period for identity development as the classroom serves as the primary site of socialization, although the American K-12 and college school systems have previously marginalized students who were perceived as different. Women are also encouraged from an early age to adhere to the traditional role of a homemaker, rather than pursue vocational training, higher education, and careers in STEM. As the reader will observe in the following excerpts from The Chameleon Literary Journal, Norwich University is no stranger to marginalization as women were not officially admitted for enrollment prior to the mid-1970s. Telltale signs found in the language used by Norwich student contributors indicate that slurs, stereotypes, and insults used against minorities and women were normalized for much of the Chameleon's history. It was not until the early 2000s that there appears to be a significant social shift within the student body due to the increasing presence of minorities and women on campus. Based on these findings, American society seemed to finally be becoming more inclusive, allowing minority Norwich students to express themselves freely, develop social stability, and gain a sense of acknowledgment through positive identity formation as well as representation. 1 "APA Dictionary of Psychology." American Psychological Association, https://dictionary.apa.org/social-representation. Brown 5 Baby Boomers | 1946 - 1964 Brief Historical Background Following World War II and the Great Depression, a significant spike in birth rates occurred throughout the United States. Approximately 76.4 million babies were born over the course of these nineteen years. Most historians claim that this phenomenon stems from the general population's desire to establish their own families — an undertaking that was previously postponed due to World War II. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act also gave soldiers an additional reason to have larger families as the G.I. Bill granted stipends for college tuition, job-finding assistance, and housing expenses. During this time period, economic growth began to increase and the majority of Americans had an optimistic outlook for the future. This encouraged families to relocate from the sparse countryside to the bustling atmospheres of nearby cities. Once these cities were overcrowded by newcomers, plans for large residential communities were undertaken by housing pioneer William Levitt who created the suburbs as a result.2 However, those with xenophobic tendencies followed quickly relocated to the suburbs as cities became miniature melting pots of integrated immigrants with various political, social, and economic backgrounds. This sparked disputes among the American people as legalized statutes remained persistent in enforcing segregation at both the state and local capacity.3 2 Nohria, Nitin, Anthony Mayo, and Mark Benson. "William Levitt, Levittown and the Creation of American Suburbia." Harvard Business School Case 406-062, December 2005. (Revised March 2010.) 3 The first three years of the Chameleon were released during the Baby Boomers generation but were mostly written by students who were born during the Silent Generation (1928-1945). Brown 6 Baby Boomers Overview of Significant Events • Brown v. Board of Education becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1954). • Civil Rights Movement begins (1954). • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to a white man on a public bus (1955). • Montgomery Bus Boycott tackles segregation on the public transit system (1955). • Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American, is lynched in Mississippi (1955). • 1956 Sugar Bowl becomes the first integrated college football game in the South (1956). • Civil Rights Act becomes the first federal civil rights legislation since 1875 (1957). • Little Rock Crisis prevents students from enrolling in a racially segregated school (1957). • Greensboro sit-ins initiate protests regarding the South's policy of segregation (1960). • Nashville sit-ins initiate protests regarding the South's policy of segregation (1960). • Gay Liberation Movement begins (1960). • Alliance for Progress initiates improved economic cooperation with Latin America (1961). • Katherine Johnson assists NASA's 1962 Friendship 7 Mission (1962). • Civil Rights Act establishes federal inspection of voter registration polls (1960). • Children's Crusade addresses segregation within the school system (1963). • Martin Luther King Jr. leads the March on Washington (1963). • Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique (1963). • President Johnson proposes the Great Society to combat poverty and racial injustice (1963). • Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race, religion, and sex (1964). Brown 7 Baby Boomers The Chameleon Highlights "A young woman driving a truck!? That was unusual, no doubt about it…Stupid woman, all guts, and no brains! … Maybe you can imagine what went on inside the young man when an officer stopped him and hurriedly said; Never mind, mister, there's nothin' you can do, she's dead, just some dirty n***** woman truck driver" (1963). 4 —- An excerpt from "The Wanderers" by R. Reid The use of profanities towards both people of color and women appears to be a commonality amongst Norwich student contributors from the Chameleon's founding in 1961 through much of the decade. In this short story, "The Wanderers," terms such as stupid and dirty are used to target a woman of color for being a trucker. The author continues to expand the character's description by using calling the woman the N-word. Deriving from the Spanish word negro, the N-word is now considered taboo as its connotation has been predominantly used by white people to demean those of color. Black social identity has been especially damaged by the usage of this word as it severs their overall sense of national belonging. 5 4 Complete usage of the word is censored in respect of the black community. 5 Pryor, Elizabeth Stordeur. "The Etymology of N*****: Resistance, Politics, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North." Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War, 2016, https:// doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469628578.003.0002. Brown 8 "…I saw everything. The city has been purified, swept clean, and now fosters only the black scars and in glorious moments of the past…You liar! You had to see the city die! You had to see it spill its false entrails out in the rotten streets to be devoured by the cleansing fires. This place is no longer dirty…" (1961). —- An excerpt from "The Dream Monger" by Anonymous In this short story, "The Dream Monger," the phrase cleansing fires reveals itself to be the cause of death and destruction. Like the Holocaust, mass genocides often surround ideologies associated with ethnic cleansing. This allows for a geographical area to become ethnically homogeneous under an establishment of power. In 20th-century America, for example, Anglo- American colonialism constituted the genocide of countless Natives in America and around the world. Such events will never be widely coined as genocide, however, due to the number of those who survived exploitation, disease, malnutrition, and neglect. 6 The term black scars also leads to further speculation that this short story may involve post-slavery events of America's racial segregation system. One of which included the Tulsa race massacre, decimating the Black business ecosystem and killing 6,000 community members. 7 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women, although there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members.8 6 Anderson, Gary C. Ethnic Cleansing & the Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America. University Of Oklahoma Press, 2015. 7 Kapadia, Reshma. "The Tulsa Massacre Left a Lasting Impact on Wealth." Trade Journal, vol. 101, no. 22, 31 May 2021. 8 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 9 Generation X | 1965 - 1980 Brief Historical Background Those who grew up during this time were accustomed to having a sense of independence from an early age. This was caused by the increased divorce rates throughout the United States, the unique dynamics of single-parent households, and dual-income parents who were not able to spend as much time at home. Most parents found a life-long career in computers, business management, construction, or transportation. Although routinely working long hours, they still managed to find a healthy balance between exhibiting their creative freedoms within the workplace and maintaining personal relationships with their children. Also referred to as latchkey kids, Gen Xers often spent their downtime conversing with friends via email, channel surfing on the television, or playing video games. They also seemed to have a deep interest in musical genres associated with social-tribal identities, including punk rock and heavy metal. This meant that music became an important self-identifying factor, even influencing the type of attire an individual wore on a daily basis. In the 1960s and 1970s, a countercultural movement known as the hippie era catalyzed other self-identifying factors — especially for those who identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community. American writer Allen Ginsberg formed the core of the movement as he openly opposed all military efforts, sexual repression, and capitalism.9 Ginsburg also identified as gay, serving as positive a role model for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies alike. 10 9 Silos, Jill Katherine. "Everybody Get Together: The Sixties Counterculture & Public Space, 1964-1967." University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository, 2003. 10 Eleven years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation X but were mostly written by students who were born during the Baby Boomers generation (1946-1964). Brown 10 Generation X Overview of Significant Events • Selma to Montgomery marches promote voting rights for African Americans (1965). • Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African American Supreme Court Justice (1965). • Immigration & Nationality Act outlaws de facto discrimination against immigrants (1965). • Voting Act outlaws racial discrimination in voting (1965). • Malcolm X is assassinated (1965). • Watts Riots occur in light of Marquette Frye's arrest (1965). • Nation Organization for Women is established (1966). • American Indian Movement is founded (1967). • Detroit Riot sheds blood between black residents and the Detroit Police Department (1967). • Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated (1968). • Fair Housing Act outlaws discrimination regarding housing (1968). • Shirley Chisholm becomes the first black woman elected to Congress (1968). • East Los Angeles Walkouts are organized by Mexican American students (1968). • Stonewall Riots call for LGBTQ+ members to respond to police raids (1969). • Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1971). • AIM protests against injustice under law enforcement towards Native Americans (1972). • Roe v. Wade becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (1973). • Billie Jean King wins the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match (1973). • Beverly Johnson becomes the first black model on the cover of Vogue (1974). Brown 11 Generation X Relevance to The Chameleon "The pedestrian Walks, talks, and discriminates On such vital and valid criteria as Color, breeding and religion. Sees sex, and is offended. Grows indignant. Has a firm conviction that freedom of speech sometimes goes too far When it lets Martin Luther King "cause trouble" and "incite" riots" (1965). —- An excerpt from "The Pedestrian" by Jacob Sartz Unlike most pieces of writing from the 1960s publishings, this free verse poem seems to call out the discriminatory tendencies of others. The author especially targets any person whose ideologies are rooted in racism, sexism, and other gateways leading to unequal treatment. By labeling them as the pedestrian, such subtlety creates an effect where anyone can be the principal character and thus the reader may begin to question their own actions. As the author begins to shift towards a more political ambiance, African American activist Martin Luther King Jr. is mentioned. From the pedestrian's perspective, however, King is known to overstep the principle of free speech with the exception of cases where it benefits the white majority. Brown 12 "He had gone through a variety of different girls in the next six years, and he had accumulated an assortment of different names in his address book, including a few of the local sweethearts that he'd called up in dire sexual emergencies… When he had heard that his little "streetlight girl" had been married, he put a check next to her name in the book as he had done for several other old flames that had been put out of commission for one reason or another. He thought of her a little while after that, but closed the book as he had always done" (1970). —- An excerpt from "The Street Light" by Paul LeSage Unlike our example directly above, there are several alarming factors sprinkled throughout this short story, revealing how a man uses the sexual objectification of women to his advantage. The man's use of an address book further proves this implication as the women he has been sexually involved with are jotted down in writing. Visually speaking, the reader may think of a grocery list or an inventory of stock goods when it comes to the address book's description. The man proceeds to check off the women who no longer sexually benefit him all while refusing to use their real names, ultimately dehumanizing them in the process. This allows the reader to further explore the harmful effects of sexual objectification, pushing them to decipher the differences between sex and sexualizing.11 11 Many other excerpts were found focusing on a more negative portrayal of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 13 Generation Y | 1981 - 1996 Brief Historical Background Many of those who were either born into this generation or lived through it prioritized their careers and personal interests above marriage. This means that they were having fewer children than their predecessors. Like Gen Xers, Millenials were known to be tech-savvy with a specific preference to communicate through email or text. MTV brought them further reason to enjoy screen time when the cable channel was launched in 1981. Originally created to showcase music videos, MTV quickly moved to television personalities. Michael Jackson, for example, served as the precedent for television personalities and leading artists, topping the charts throughout the duration of the 1980s. He eventually became one of the most well-loved television personalities who dedicated much of his offscreen time to charitable efforts. Prince, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, and many others followed closely behind. Based on the increased media representation of minority artists, it's safe to say that this particular time frame allowed for people of color to debut their own music videos for the first time. This urged the public to gravitate towards soul music and R&B, marking the start of this generation's willingness to embrace black creators. Alongside music, technological advances in STEM were budding with breakthroughs. Women paved the way towards many of these breakthroughs under large startups and federal organizations, inspiring younger girls to do the same through higher education. 12 12 Eighteen years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation Y but mostly written by students who were born during Generation X (1965-1976). Brown 14 Generation Y Overview of Significant Events • Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Week is implemented in May (1979). • Boston African American National Historic Site is established (1980). • AIDS Epidemic begins, causing numerous deaths in the LGBTQ+ community (1981). • Sandra Day O'Connor is nominated as the first female Supreme Court Justice (1981). • Federation of Survival Schools leads legal education seminars for Native students (1984). • Ellison Onizuka, the first Asian-American in space, dies in the Challenger disaster (1986). • Minneapolis AIM Patrol refocuses on protecting native women in Minneapolis (1987). • Sally K. Ride becomes the first American woman in space (1983). • Susan Kare made typeface contributions to the first Apple Macintosh (1983). • Michael Jordan is named the NBA's "Rookie of the Year " (1985). • Nadia Perlman invents the spanning-tree protocol (1985). • Carole Ann-Marie Gist becomes the first African American to win Miss USA (1990). • Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS (1991). • Rodney King is brutally beaten by LAPD officers (1991). • AIM revives the Sun Dance ceremony in Pipestone, Minnesota (1991). • Los Angeles Riots result in numerous deaths and $1 billion in damage (1992). • Mae Jemison becomes the first African American woman in space (1992). • National Coalition in Sports & Media Forms is established by native leaders (1992). • "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" bars the LGBTQ+ community from military service (1993). Brown 15 Generation Y Relevance to The Chameleon "I slowly adapt myself to another man's world, But I soon realize that my character is a reflection Of a foreign spectrum I see myself through another man's eyes, My words come from another man's mouth, And my ideals are relocated from another man's mind" (1980). —- An excerpt from "A Nostalgic Experience" by Noble Francis Allen America's social construction has continued to uphold whiteness throughout the duration of its history, while people of color must condition themselves to that of the norm. In this case, the author speaks in the first person, signifying their position as the principal character who is faced with having to mirror the way others perceive the world. This implies that the narrator may have had a weakened sense of self-identity at the time this poem was written. Self-identity is an especially important feature as it consists of the traits, characteristics, social relations, and roles that define who one is. An individual's racial and ethnic 13 background is also included within the same realm due to the distinguishment of their given group's cultural values, kinship, and beliefs.14 13 Oyserman, Daphna, and George Smith. "Self, Self-Concept, and Identity." Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Kristen Elmore, 2nd ed., The Guilford Press, New York, NY, 2012, pp. 69–104. 14 Woo, Bongki, et al. "The Role of Racial/Ethnic Identity in the Association Between Racial Discrimination & Psychiatric Disorders: A Buffer or Exacerbator?" SSM - Population Health, vol. 7, 7 Apr. 2019, p. 100378., https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100378. Brown 16 "Across his back is a deerskin quiver, and in the quiver, there are seven feathered arrows. Gripped in his sweaty palm is an oak bow. A golden-handled sword, whose blade is as long as a man's leg, hangs from his waist. Its once binding shine has been replaced by a thick coat of blood. His skin is the color of golden honey, and his hair is the reflection of yellow sunshine… A woman emerges from the foliage of the wildwood. Warm sunshine gleams off of browned skin. Raven-black hair drops over a slender neck, and ends upon soft shoulders. Unsuspecting almond-eyes gaze wildly at the sky. She is nude. Her breasts are round, full, and tipped with chocolate nipples. A thin waist gives way to broad hips, and eventually slender legs" (1980). —- An excerpt from "A Blind Odin" by Mitchell T. Kubiak This short story, "A Blind Odin," depicts a deep contrast between the description of a man and the description of a woman. The man embodies characteristics associated with a skilled hunter, such as strength and courage. The woman, however, is only described based on her physical features, all of which seem to align with the male gaze. For those who are not familiar with feminist theory, the male gaze is perceived from a masculine heterosexual perspective with aspects of voyeurism, objectification, fetishism, and scopophilia attached.15 Further descriptions of the woman's bodily proportions also suggest clues about the author, although it is crucial for the reader to understand that Norwich University had very few female candidates at the time this short story was written. 16 15 Snow, Edward. "Theorizing the Male Gaze: Some Problems." Representations, vol. 25, 1989, pp. 30–41., https:// doi.org/10.2307/2928465. 16 Many other excerpts were found focusing on both positive and negative portrayals of the BIPOC community and women during this time. However, there was no mention of LGBTQ+ members. Brown 17 Generation Z | 1997 - 2009 Brief Historical Background Gen Zers are the first to experience technological advances from birth onward. Once the majority reached adolescence, it became evident that there was a growing demand for portable devices. Although the first smartphone was released by IBM during the early 1990s, its overall bulkiness and poor battery life were not ideal for communication lines. Apple has since become the most popular phone brand in the United States. It also helped that the company released the iPod, a portable music device with, at the time, the ability to store over 200 songs. The same year also marked the events of several terrorist attacks on September 11th. Two jet airliners shattered the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in a series of terrorist attacks, killing nearly 3,000 people and injuring twice as many. Those responsible were later identified as members of al-Quaeda, a militant Islamist organization led by Saudi Arabian terrorist Osama bin Laden. Life became all the more difficult for Muslim Americans as they continuously experienced the dangers of Islamophobia on a daily basis. Such dangers surrounded an ongoing spike in hate crimes, ranging from cold-blooded murder to vandalism of places of worship. Even when there was a slight decline in hate crimes years later, Muslim Americans continued to struggle with employment discrimination. Many of those who practiced Islam were either laid off or turned away during the hiring process for reasons directly relating to their religion. By the end of Generation Z, religion no longer served as a determining factor during the hiring process and diversity became a primary focus in the workplace. 17 17 Thirteen years of Chameleon issues were released during Generation Z but were mostly written by students who were born during Generation Y (1977-1995). Brown 18 Generation Z Overview of Significant Events • Gary Locke becomes the first Asian American governor of a mainland state (1996). • Kalpana Chawla boards Columbia as the first woman in space of Indian origin (1997). • Serena Williams wins the U.S. Open Women's Singles Tennis Championship (1999). • Maurice Ashley becomes the world's first black Grandmaster in chess (2000). • Permanent Partners Immigration Act is introduced to Congress (2000). • Equality Mississippi is founded as an LGBT civil rights organization (2000). • Millennium March on Washington raises awareness of LGBT issues (2000). • Elaine Chao is selected as the first Asian American to be Secretary of Labor (2001). • Patriot Act allows the indefinite detention of immigrants and warrantless searches (2001). • Cincinnati-based riots spark unrest following Timothy Thomas' death (2001). • Balbir Singh Sodhi's death is deemed the first fatal act of violence as a result of 9/11 (2001). • Dennis Archer becomes the first African American to be President of the ABA (2002). • Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health becomes a landmark Supreme Court case (2003). • Grutter v. Bollinger becomes a landmark Supreme Court Case (2003). • Same-sex marriage is first legalized in the state of Massachusetts (2004). • Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon are wed, becoming the first legal same-sex marriage (2004). • Condoleezza Rice is named the first black woman to be Secretary of State (2005). • Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (2007). • Barack Obama is elected as the first African American to hold office (2009). Brown 19 Generation Z Relevance to The Chameleon "You called me a fa***t and said no one would love me But I am here to say what goes around comes around And now it's your turn to get knocked down" (2004). —- An excerpt from "The Bastard Son" by James A. Hoffman Now used as a slur in reference to homosexual men and boys, the term fa***t has its own unique origin. The term's former use in the Norwegian dialect was originally emplaced to describe a bundle of firewood. Because these bundles were large in size, the term eventually moved towards describing heavyset women who were often seen as slovenly and thus placing them near the bottom of all social classes. When British English ha 18 d made a far greater influence on the Scandinavian languages, the term was combined with bugger, also known as a person who engages in anal or oral sex. Premodern Europe was known to persecute heretics during this time, including homosexuals, as they did not conform to the belief systems of the Church. 19 This short story, "The Bastard Son," is one of the first positive representations of LGBTQ+ members found in the Chameleon as the narrator gains the courage to speak against negative attitudes and feelings surrounding the LGBTQ+ community. 18 Johansson, Warren. "The Etymology of the Word 'Fa***t'." William Percy. 19 Karras, Ruth Mazo. "The Regulation of 'Sodomy' in the Latin East & West." Speculum, vol. 95, no. 4, 2020, pp. 969–986., https://doi.org/10.1086/710639. Brown 20 Generation Z Relevance to The Chameleon "Mother, you are the greatest woman I know. I have based my life upon yours, all the great things you have done and all the obstacles that you were able to overcome; the thing that I admire most about you is the fact that you were a single mother of four and didn't need a man's help, but I always knew that was a great challenge for me, in this world that is much too different from the one that you grew up. To me, that was the greatest obstacle that you conquered" (2004). —- An excerpt from "Mother's Love" by A.M.T Lebron In this dedication, "Mother's Love," the author retrieves past memories in writing to celebrate their mother. It is not often that Norwich student contributors write about the entailments of motherhood. Although it remains unclear whether the author's mother was divorced, widowed, or remained unmarried, the family has a relentless source of love for one another and proceeds to use their shared affection to overcome challenges. Such challenges include economic hardships and increased states of stress as a single mother often relies on one source of income. There is also reason to believe that those raised in similar households develop a sense of independence resembling that of their mother. Some may even develop additional 20 internal resources that will allow them to construct their own identity far from the gender roles typically seen within the American household. 21 20 Kinser, Amber E. Motherhood & Feminism. Seal Press, 2010. 21 Many other excerpts were found focusing on both positive and negative portrayals of minority communities and women. Brown 21 Generation Alpha | 2010 - Present Brief Historical Background Many of those who are either born into this generation or currently living through it witness technological advances at an accelerating rate to the extent of replacing the previously known means of childhood entertainment with mobile devices and streaming services. The dawning of this generation also brought Instagram, the most frequently preferred social media platform to date. The thought of having children was generally delayed across the United States following the economic crisis of 2008, while young adults reportedly dealt with increasing stress from education debt. Following the economic crisis of 2008, it is not uncommon for young adults to deal with increasing stress from education debt. Many Gen Zers who previously planned on extending their families during this time were also affected as financial worries prevented them from having children. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused further economic turmoil when small businesses had to close down to prevent the spread of the virus. Those who were employed under larger corporations, however, moved their offices to home. Between dual-career families and remote work, the boundaries separating professional and personal life became blurred. 22 Such challenges have proved that the young faces of Generation Alpha are capable of resilience, utilizing their own diverse backgrounds to tackle the more difficult questions. This includes advocating for fairness in all aspects of society and questioning the validity of gender. 22 Jha, Amrit Kumar. "Understanding Generation Alpha ." OSF Preprints, 20 June 2020. Brown 22 Generation Alpha Overview of Significant Events • Apple's iPad is released, also known as the first touchscreen tablet PC (2010). • President Barack Obama begins his second term (2013). • Defense Against Marriage Act is struck down by the Supreme Court (2013). • Black Lives Matter emerges as a political movement (2013). • Michael Brown is fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer (2014). • Nine African Americans churchgoers are killed during a Bible study in Charleston (2015). • Same-sex marriage is legalized in all 50 states (2015). • Pulse Nightclub shooting causes the deaths of 49 LGBTQ+ members (2016). • Unite the Right, a white supremacist rally, leads to three deaths in Charlottesville (2017). • Me Too movement is relaunched following the Harvey Weinstein accusations (2017). • Director Jon M. Chu breaks box office records with his film Crazy Rich Asians (2018). • California Synagogue shooting causes the injuries of three and the death of one (2019). • President Trump's wall receives $2.5 billion in funds under the Supreme Court (2019). • Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter, dies in a helicopter crash (2020). • Geroge Floyd is murdered by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest (2020). • Kamala Harris becomes the 49th vice president (2021). • Spa shooting in Atlanta leaves eight dead, with six being of Asian descent (2021). Brown 23 Generation Alpha Relevance to The Chameleon "It had only been four days since I was bought from the Greens. The Green House was known for cutting off the body parts of slaves and letting them bleed out slowly or waiting for them to die of infection. They used to take other slaves to the field and pick different parts to cut off. If they cut off too much and you couldn't work anymore, they'd leave the bodies in the field as an example of what happens when you make mistakes. " (2019). —- An excerpt from "Mixed Voices" by Alain Cropper-Makidi The author moves to educate the reader on a particular building utilized during America's slavery period. Also known as the Green House, the building lay separate from the main house and lodged slaves who were being punished for fieldwork mistakes. Whipping, burning, branding, raping, and imprisoning were some of the most common punishments for slaves. However, the Green House resorted to dismembering the slaves' limbs and allowing them to bleed out. This short story, "Mixed Voices," also addresses that some slaves received educational instruction from the main house's mistress. This was most likely executed in secret as slaves were generally prohibited from reading and writing out of fear that they would forge travel passes and escape. 23 23 "Literacy as Freedom - American Experience." SAAM, Smithsonian American Art Museum, https:// americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Literacy-as-Freedom.pdf. Brown 24 "One day You tell me that let's be Together I shake my head Say I'm tired of your lies Rather to get myself alone" (2020). 有⼀天 你对我说我们在⼀起吧 我摇摇头 说我厌倦了你的虚伪 宁愿孤独 —- An excerpt from "Untitled" by Zenghui Zhang Like several others, this poem was both written and translated by a student under Professor Lenny Hu. Since his arrival at Norwich, Professor Hu has assigned his Chinese students the task of writing and translating poetry. This allows them to expand their Chinese literacy and gain a sense of passion for the language itself. As the Norwich language department continues to grow, translations will continue to be included in future Chameleon issues for the benefit of promoting diverse students and staff who already understand or aim to learn beyond that of the English language. Brown 25 Conclusion Sustains & Improves After reviewing all past issues of the Chameleon, it is clear that Norwich's literary journal previously published pieces of writing representing LGBTQ+ members, the BIPOC community, and women in a negative light. This was especially true from 1961 through the late 1990s. Gradually, the Chameleon has begun to positively represent our communities. During our current time period, for example, positive representations have become the primary focus under Professor Sean Prentiss and his team of student editors who have made a conscious effort in improving the Chameleon as a whole. Student writers who distinguish themselves amongst the rest of the student body are oftentimes selected for awards. One of which is the "Be You, Be True Prize" for the best writing by or about the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, many Norwich University professors currently include culturally sustaining pedagogies within their curricula. Such pedagogies include seeking nontraditional texts, merging language varieties, and encouraging students to explore cultural spaces. To maintain as well as improve such efforts, Norwich University affiliates must remain aware that America's long history of combating minorities often resulted in bloodshed. Although not to the extent of our previous generations, similar events still continue to occur today. Therefore, as one of the most renowned military colleges in the United States, it is our responsibility to protect minority students and ensure that they perceive themselves as valuable members of the community. Without them, the future stands for nothing. Brown 26 References Anderson, Gary C. Ethnic Cleansing & the Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America. University Of Oklahoma Press, 2015. "APA Dictionary of Psychology." American Psychological Association, https:// dictionary.apa.org/social-representation. Jha, Amrit Kumar. "Understanding Generation Alpha ." OSF Preprints, 20 June 2020. Johanssen, Warren. "The Etymology of the Word F*****." William Percy, pp. 356–359. Kapadia, Reshma. "The Tulsa Massacre Left a Lasting Impact on Wealth." Trade Journal, vol. 101, no. 22, 31 May 2021. Karras, Ruth Mazo. "The Regulation of 'Sodomy' in the Latin East & West." Speculum, vol. 95, no. 4, 2020, pp. 969–986., https://doi.org/10.1086/710639. Kinser, Amber E. Motherhood & Feminism. Seal Press, 2010. "Literacy as Freedom - American Experience." SAAM, Smithsonian American Art Museum, https://americanexperience.si.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Literacy-as-Freedom.pdf. Nohria, Nitin, Anthony Mayo, and Mark Benson. "William Levitt, Levittown and the Creation of American Suburbia." Harvard Business School Case 406-062, December 2005. (Revised March 2010.) Oyserman, Daphna, and George Smith. "Self, Self-Concept, and Identity." Handbook of Self and Identity, edited by Kristen Elmore, 2nd ed., The Guilford Press, New York, NY, 2012, pp. 69–104. Brown 27 Pryor, Elizabeth Stordeur. "The Etymology of N*****: Resistance, Politics, and the Politics of Freedom in the Antebellum North." Colored Travelers: Mobility and the Fight for Citizenship before the Civil War, 2016, https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/ 9781469628578.003.0002. Silos, Jill Katherine. "Everybody Get Together: The Sixties Counterculture & Public Space, 1964-1967." University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository, 2003. Snow, Edward. "Theorizing the Male Gaze: Some Problems." Representations, vol. 25, 1989, pp. 30–41., https://doi.org/10.2307/2928465. Tenaglia, Sean. '"Seeing Yourself in the Story:' The Influence of Multicultural Education on Adolescent Identity Formation." The Virginia English Journal, vol. 68, 2018. Woo, Bongki, et al. "The Role of Racial/Ethnic Identity in the Association Between Racial Discrimination & Psychiatric Disorders: A Buffer or Exacerbator?" SSM - Population Health, vol. 7, 7 Apr. 2019, p. 100378., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100378.

Voices of Virginia pulls together stories from oral history collections from across decades and archives to create an all-audio source companion for Virginias high school and college students. The "album" is only two hours long, but contains dozens of short oral histories from eyewitnesses to key moments in American history, from the end of the Civil War to the 1980s. The excerpts are downloadable, accessible by smartphone, and accompanied by a transcript. Audio clips are also available on Soundcloud . Youll also find a brief introduction to each narrator, historical context adapted from experts at Encyclopedia Virginia , American Yawp , and Public Domain sources, and helpful classroom tools like discussion questions, activities, and lesson plans that fit into both the Virginia high school and college U.S. History curriculum. By following the larger national story with narratives from across the Commonwealth, Voices of Virginia grounds students in how history guides and is guided by everyday people and their experiences. Voices of Virginia is a winner of the 2020 Mason Multi-Media Award from the Oral History Association. Over twenty archives across Virginia and beyond have generously donated segments, and granted permission for their oral histories to be reproduced and publicly shared under a CC BY NC SA 4.0 license, which ensures that the content remains free to use and re-purpose for all listeners. These archives include: African American Historical Society of Portsmouth Amherst Glebe Arts Response Archives of Appalachia (Eastern Tennessee State University) Cape Charles Rosenwald Initiative Center for Documentary Studies and the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library (Duke University) Charles City County Richard M. Bowman Center for Local History Chuck Mauro, private collection (Herndon, VA) Clarence Dunnaville (American Civil War Museum) Desegregation of Virginia Education Project (Old Dominion University) Digital Library of Appalachia (Appalachian College Association) Eastern Shore of Virginia Barrier Islands Center Friends of the Rappahannock George Mason University Grayson County Historical Society Greene County Historical Society Mountain Home Center (Bland County Public Schools) Old Dominion University Libraries Special Collections and University Archives Oral History Archives at Columbia (Columbia University) Roanoke Public Library (Southwest Virginia LGBTQ+ History Project) Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (University of Florida) Southern Foodways Alliance (University of Mississippi) This material is aligned to the History and Social Science Standards for Virginia Public Schools - March 2015 . The collection was curated by Jessica Taylor, Ph.D. with Emily Stewart. Feedback regarding this collection is welcome at https://bit.ly/VoicesOfVirginia This work was made possible in part by a grant from University Libraries at Virginia Techs Open Education Initiative . About the editors: Jessica Taylor is the Director of Public History and an Assistant Professor of Early American and Oral History in the History Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (Virginia Tech) where she has been a faculty member since 2018. Jessica completed her Ph.D. in History at the University of Florida and her undergraduate and master's studies at the College of William and Mary. Her research and work focuses on the history of social change in Virginia and the American South, from the colonial period to the present day. Dr. Taylor collaborates with preservation and historical groups across the South to collect and share oral histories, teaches Public History and Native History classes, and is the author of multiple journal articles about historical memory in the South. Her manuscript, Certaine Boundes: Borders and Movement in the Native Chesapeake , explores the lives of Indians and non-elites in seventeenth-century Virginia. Beyond writing, she works to provide opportunities for and be a better teacher to every kind of student. She is always looking for hands-on experiences and conversations about activism, history, archaeology, preservation, museums, and liberal arts education. Emily Stewart is a student in Virginia Tech's History MA program. She will earn her Master's degree in May, 2020. Emily completed her undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech where she majored in History. Her current research focuses on Virginia educational history in the twentieth century. Her master's thesis focuses on the relationship between standardization and segregation of Virginia public education in the early twentieth century. Throughout her studies at Virginia Tech, Emily has always been interested in oral histories. The Voices of Virginia project presented her with an ideal opportunity to further cultivate her interest in the field of oral and public history. ; Virginia Tech Open Education Initiative Faculty Grant https://guides.lib.vt.edu/oer/grants

Author's introductionWhile teaching about racism can be challenging in a number of respects, the concept of 'racism' is not a particularly difficult concept to teach or to learn. Controversies occur primarily over how or when the concept should be applied, rather than over its basic meaning. The situation can be quite different for extensions of the concept of racism, including 'institutional racism' and a variety of other new racisms. It can often be difficult to convey to students, or even to understand oneself, exactly what authors are referring to by such terms. Addressing how or why the terms are confusing and controversial can potentially add to the confusion and controversy. While I have suggested in the past that a clear understanding of institutional racism will involve understanding the confusions or controversies surrounding the term, this type of pedagogy is not always effective or appreciated. Instructors should carefully consider whether to address institutional racism in undergraduate courses, and if so, how to make the course material as accessible as possible, including time for fielding questions. My own coverage of institutional racism with undergraduates has been motivated in part because textbooks raise the issue in such a manner as appeals to some students, but without effectively defining and explaining the meaning and significance of the term.In my experience, it is very helpful to illustrate the institutional nature of institutional racism with a variety of examples of social institutions which are implicated in reproducing racial inequality (e.g., institutions associated with criminal justice, with education, and with real estate). It is also very helpful to emphasize that institutional racism is claimed most often when no direct racism is apparent. Although slavery was a racist institution, references to institutional racism frequently mean to draw attention to more indirect forms of racism, in contemporary society. Although institutional leaders or staff may be racist, many authors distinguish between the problem of individual racism in institutional contexts ('bad apples') and the problem of institutional racism, which is more subtle and more pervasive. So the concept 'institutional racism' is frequently meant to refer to something more specific than racist institutions, and also something more specific than racism within institutions, getting at the role of many social institutions in the reproduction of racial inequality by means that can appear quite professional and race‐neutral and impersonal.It is important to emphasize to students that they look in any particular source for what the author has to say about the meaning and significance of the term 'institutional racism', or related terms for new racisms. Unfortunately, many authors can employ such terms without clearly addressing their meaning or significance. For students who are up to the challenge, it can be quite effective to start by distinguishing the conventional individualist understanding of racism as a type of belief or motive, from institutional disparate impact by race, the latter defined simply in terms of an institution's unequal racial outcomes (unequal graduation rates, unequal arrest rates, etc.). While institutional disparate impact can be caused by racism, in the conventional sense of racist beliefs or motives, there are other potential explanations for institutional disparate impact on racial minorities, whether in terms of social attributes which can be highly correlated with race, such as family wealth, or in terms of differential rates of behavior across racial categories, as is the case with robbery in the contemporary USA (as acknowledged by a variety of critical race scholars, in light of pronounced statistical differences). Once one has communicated that institutional disparate impact by race may be, but is not necessarily, caused by racist beliefs or motives among institutional leadership or staff, the concept of institutional racism can be introduced. Essentially, the concept of institutional racism is defined in such a manner, for example, by reference to racial inequalities in institutional outcomes, as to blur the distinctions between racism and disparate impact. In this way, institutional disparate impact is reconceived as a new type of racism, putting aside questions about what is going on in the institutions to produce disparate impact, and frequently dismissing appearances of professional personnel and color‐blind policies as misleading or irrelevant. For courses in the social sciences and in law, especially, it can be very effective to suggest that many important questions about the nature of the people and the processes which produce disparate impacts are displaced by the way institutional racism is defined or inferred. By contrast, social science should be interested in studying what is going on in these institutions to produce or reproduce racial inequalities for citizens or clients, and legal scholarship should be asking about legal standards of proof, which often address questions of intent which are not addressed by claims of institutional racism.Focus questionsWhat does 'institutional racism' mean?How is 'institutional racism' different from more conventional and older understandings of racism?Is the term 'institutional racism' useful for the purposes of social criticism?Is the term 'institutional racism' useful for the purposes of social science?Author recommendsCarmichael, Stokely and Charles Hamilton. 1967. Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America. New York, NY: Random House.This is the original inspiration of the institutional racism literature and influential more generally on the literature addressing 'new racisms', especially the first chapter, which remains an engaging and relevant discussion despite being dated in some respects.Cashmore, Ellis. 1996. Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations 4th ed. New York, NY: Routledge.This provides succinct entries on a variety of relevant terms, including a very respectable entry on 'institutional racism'. It is potentially useful for students and/or as reference material for course/lecture preparation.Feagin, Joe, and Clairece Feagin. 1986. Discrimination American Style: Institutional Racism and Sexism 2nd ed. Malabar, FL: Krieger.This work addresses both institutional racism and sexism, and with substantial discussion of multiple institutional contexts. The second chapter, on institutionalized discrimination, provides one of the most sophisticated social–scientific statements on institutional racism.Leach, Colin. 2005. 'Against the Notion of a "New Racism" '. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology 15: 432–445.This article smartly challenges the conventional wisdom that there is a marked historical discontinuity between 'old racism' and 'new racism', and also goes beyond the conventional focus on one national context, suggesting the need for a more historically informed and comparative understanding of racism.Marger, Martin. 2007. Social Inequality: Patterns and Processes 4th ed. McGraw Hill.This textbook provides coverage of social inequality generally, including relations between different social dimensions of inequality. There are two chapters covering racial/ethnic differentiation and racial/ethnic stratification. Importantly, this text covers issues which go well beyond race but are essential for understanding racial inequality, such as stratification and social mobility, and ideology and the legitimation of inequality. Marger's coverage is noteworthy for being both accessible in style and reliable in substance. McGraw Hill can customize textbooks as well through Primis Online (e.g., by publishing versions with only the chapters you will assign, or mixing selected content from different textbooks; e.g., from Marger's text and Newman's text discussed below), often with significant savings, making it more practical to assign readings from multiple sources.Miles, Robert. 1989. Racism. New York, NY: Routledge.This succinct book includes one of the most notable critical discussions of the concept 'institutional racism', as well as providing an important critical perspective linking racism to class relations and capitalism.Newman, David. 2007. Identities and Inequalities: Exploring the Intersections of Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. New York: McGraw‐Hill.This is a noteworthy textbook in social inequalities, with a discussion of institutional discrimination (pp. 181–184) which is substantive but accessible for undergraduates.Smith, Robert. 1995. Racism in the Post‐Civil Rights Era: Now You See It, Now You Don't. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.Smith provides one of the more sustained and thoughtful discussions of institutional racism in the last generation of scholarship, including crucial attention to matters of class as well as race, and examples across many institutional contexts in the USA.Tonry, Michael. Malign Neglect: Race, Crime, and Punishment in America. 1995. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.This book may be of interest as illustrating a critical analysis of institutional disparate impact upon racial minorities, in a manner that attends to important questions of policy analysis frequently overlooked in the 'new racism' literature. Tonry suggests, for example, that the disparate impact of US criminal justice policies upon African Americans is often due more to malign neglect than purposeful discrimination. In this manner, Tonry attends to the same type of problem identified in the new racism literature, namely institutional disparate impact upon racial minorities, but with more attention to what drives institutional policies and practices, and how exactly the relevant institutions and policymakers might be culpable even if racial disparate impact is unintentional. Such an analysis arguably makes for more illuminating, compelling and constructive critical analysis.Video resourcesThe Public Broadcasting Service sells a three‐part documentary from California Newsreel titled 'Race: The Power of an Illusion.' The first 'volume' deals especially with the science of racial categories, the second with American history and society through the 19th century, and the third with 20th century American history and society. Each is just under 1 hour in length. The series is complemented by a very useful companion website (see below) which includes transcripts of the videos, among many other resources. The third 'volume', while not addressing the concept of institutional racism specifically, provides a very accessible and effective lesson about the relevance of race for understanding social inequality in recent US history and society. For purposes of addressing institutional racism, specifically, course instructors may want to build on the third video's coverage of the correlation between racial and class inequalities, including the inter‐generational reproduction of inequalities. This would be an opportunity to discuss the many social disadvantages related to class position and family wealth, and whether disadvantages of an economic nature, which apply to many poor whites and don't apply to many middle class blacks, are examples of 'institutional racism'. Specific institutions and institutional policies are also illustrated, especially immigration and citizenship laws which affected, e.g., South Asian and Japanese immigrants to the USA, and financial and real estate practices of red‐lining and blockbusting, and to a lesser extent 'urban renewal', which have affected African Americans. With respect to real estate, the third video facilitates a discussion comparing different types of racial disadvantage associated with quite different institutional contexts, including blatant racial exclusion in a large suburban housing development, and a variety of practices (red‐lining, blockbusting, white flight) which can have financial rationales or motives while nevertheless reproducing racial inequalities and segregation.Online materialsMost on‐line materials on institutional racism are useful only as examples of common usage, and are susceptible to the same criticisms noted in the article, 'The Neglected Social Psychology of Institutional Racism'.One useful resource which addresses a variety of issues relevant to racism, although not the issue of institutional racism specifically, is the companion web‐site to the three‐part documentary by California Newsreel, 'Race: The Power of an Illusion', made available by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS; http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00‐Home.htm).This site links to a wealth of background readings, which are divided into three categories: science, history, and society, roughly corresponding to the three 'volumes' of the video series, respectively. Generally, readings from the science section can be used to discredit the belief that racial classifications are biological in nature, readings from the history section can be used to instruct students on how to understand racial classifications as historical and social constructions of a political, legal, and ideological nature, and readings in the society section can be used to illustrate the role of a variety of American institutions in causing and perpetuating racial inequality, above and beyond issues of individual racism.Note
* Correspondence address: Kent State University. Email: tjberard@alumni.reed.edu

As President Obama's popularity numbers continue to drop, Republicans are still struggling to find the right candidate that can deliver the final blow to the incumbent and sweep the GOP back into the White House. Rick Perry was to be this man just three weeks ago, but after less than stellar performances in the last debates, and once his record had been scrutinized by his challengers and the press, he has fallen out of grace. The Texan governor was perceived as the man that could attract Tea Partiers and base primary voters, while at the same time satisfy deep-pocketed Republican donors with his solid conservative views on the economy and the role of government. However, the GOP establishment and its largest donors are uncomfortable with some of his public statements (for example, referring to Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, voicing his creationist and anti-science views, and his reactionary pro-gun position) which would make him less electable in the national race. Many of these rich donors and Wall Street executives are economic conservatives but quite liberal on social issues. Paradoxically, Mitt Romney, who is still first in all the polls, has the right mix for Wall Street, but his religious affiliation (Mormon), his lack of charisma and his "plastic" "salesman-like" persona raise questions about whether he can connect with the base and win the primary election.In this theater of the absurd that have been the candidate debates, Perry did well at first, but then stumbled last week in Florida, when confronted with his own record as governor of Texas. He has been severely criticized by Michelle Bachman for issuing an executive order to vaccinate middle school girls against HPPV in Texas, and in his second debate he was mobbed by his fellow candidates for allowing the children of undocumented immigrants to attend state universities paying the lower "in-state" tuition rate, just like any other Texan legal resident. Even though 70% of the national electorate supports Immigration Reform and the Dream Act (which includes a provision exactly like the one Perry took), and even though the Latino vote will be fundamental in the next election, he was pilloried over it. This is the kind of wedge issue that candidates on the Right can use successfully during the primary but will work against them in the national election.Perry's confidence seemed shaken for the rest of the debate: he dodged several questions, mumbled responses and looked down at his notes several times. In contrast, Romney, smooth, fresh- faced and articulate, seemed to be having a great time delivering sharp retorts that threw the Texan off balance. From Perry's demeanor one could tell he was unpleasantly surprised by the aggressive questioning of his policies and the mocking tone of his opponent. Clearly, he is a man of authority who is not used to having his decisions and beliefs openly criticized by others. He defended himself as best as he could, but the damage had been done. Consequently, Rick Perry, the GOP's "knight in shining armor" who was urged to run by the GOP establishment and was supposed to deliver the ultimate blow to Obama, lost his appeal overnight and is now struggling to keep his campaign alive. Aware of this great opportunity to win the White House, the GOP establishment continues second-guessing its own field, looking for perfect contender that can lead them into a new era. Romney, still the de facto front-runner, has become a much better candidate in the last four years, but his inner restraint, his lack of emotion, his failure to connect makes Republicans uneasy. He is a technocrat, the type of candidate the voters can't "fall in love with", and while he can take on Obama as an equal, it is not clear whether he can beat him. So the GOP moved ahead in its inexorable quest for the unbeatable candidate, all but destroying former favorites on its way. The new favorite last week was for a while Chris Christie, the first-term governor of New Jersey and a former state prosecutor. In deep contrast with Mitt Romney the "salesman", Chris Christie, the "Jersey big guy" had a certain quality of authenticity that heightened GOP expectations and made them dream of winning again. Some hefty figures in the party establishment (former statesman Henry Kissinger and conservative intellectual William Kristol among them) were putting enormous pressure on Christie to run. He quickly has become a favorite among conservatives because of his stunning achievements: a Republican governor in a "blue" state who managed to pass budget reform, take on the teachers' unions and reform the state pension system during his first two years in office. He is a big man who speaks bluntly, a terrific governor, a leader at a time when leadership is hard to find. But after ten days of high drama and speculation, Christie announced in a one-hour press conference last Friday that he was not running.There were three main reasons for his refusal to become a candidate for the highest office in the nation: First and foremost, his decision would have come too late. At the time, there were only ninety days until the first caucus in Iowa; Florida has set an earlier-than-expected date for its primary and with that, it has pushed back all other dates in the calendar so that voting may start even earlier than expected. The order of primaries is traditionally set and the privileged states (Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina) would be loath to change it. Governor Christie's campaign would have had to scramble to get his name on the ballot of all 50 states (each state has different procedures, from the very simple to the very complex). Most agreed that he would have been a very strong candidate, but such a late entry may have harmed future prospects for him. Second, Christie is still an unknown to most of the electorate, and probably would not have had the support of rural and Southern voters. Would the wealthy New Yorkers and party pundits who were promising him huge donations ultimately have delivered and stayed with Christie for the long-term if he lost some of the early caucuses and primaries? And finally, there was the question of whether he would ignite the primary base once some of his views became known. His record is clear on management of state finances and on standing up to public unions. But there has been scarcely any scrutiny about his views on immigration. Speaking to a Latino group in 2008, he said for example that undocumented immigrants should not be classified as "illegal" since: being in this country without proper documentation was not a crime." He is a moderate on abortion, he has banned drilling for oil off the coast of New Jersey, and his energy plan resembles Obama. These are all core concerns of the base which has been driven by mainly primordial instincts in the last four years. Would Christie's blunt leadership style and reform zeal, his sincerity about the depth of the challenges and the difficulties of the solutions have carried the day? Now, it seem we will never know, but it is the phenomenon itself that is worth pondering: the establishment is unhappy at the prospects of Perry in the national election, and worried about Romney's chances in the primary. In their quasi-irrational frenzy to find the perfect candidate they may be undermining their own chance to win.Republicans seem to be looking for the anti-Obama, and Chris Christie fitted the bill: he is a heavy, no nonsense guy (a lot has been said about his overweight condition, with one NBC journalist going as far as asking the question: "Should there be a weight limit for presidential candidates?") who speaks in a very direct way, does not shirk away from difficult decisions, is ready to take on opponents and do whatever is required to get the country's economy back on track. There is nothing Hamlet-like about him, except perhaps in his hesitancy about running for president. He is also a very bright policy wonk who completely "gets" New Jersey problems and knows what needs to be done to "fix" them. On the other hand, although flattered by all the attention and support for his candidacy, his decision was due to a sincere self-appraisal: he is not ready to be President of the United States in 2012, and prefers to wait until 2016 if his aura has not worn out by then.In the meantime, Obama is trying to persuade Congress to pass his jobs bill and to show that in spite of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles he has faced at every turn of the road, he has the strength to solve at least one problem, unemployment, and the courage to tax those that make over a million a year. His jobs bill includes many Republican ideas. It proposes a combination of shot-term tax cuts, investment incentives and job creation through infrastructure projects, with long-term strategy of tax reform including ending tax loopholes for corporations which would reduce the deficit by raising the government's revenue levels. He still strikes an optimistic note, but he has already recognized that, if the economy doesn't pick up by early next year, he will be running as the underdog. In other words, he has admitted that the solution is really out of his control and in the hands of what John M. Keynes called "animal spirits". Only by restoring confidence will investors start spending the 2 trillion dollars they are allegedly stashing away in wait of better times. But Obama has now a new challenge: the Occupy Wall Street protest movement that is expanding its base and spreading to other cities. It is the unemployed youth counterpart of the populist Tea Party on the right. Both are angry at Washington, but the reactionary Tea Party blames the government for everything gone wrong, while the radical OWS blames big banks and corporations, or said otherwise, it blames the 1% that have gotten richer even during the Recession, while the 99% got poorer. With its protest movement, the Young Left has declared its independence from the establishment Democratic Party. It is Obama's base delivering Obama himself an ultimatum to either take the side of the 99% or lose their support forever. Since Obama's dreams of bipartisanship are close to over, one hopes his campaign advisors will interpret the OWS movement as an opportunity to harness their energy towards support for real reform. But it is unclear whether OWS, a diverse, amorphous, leaderless movement, will allow itself to be organized by Washington insiders with clear policy goals.The GOP frustration must be disheartening. Its establishment saw the enormous potential of Governor Christie to win the center-right of the political spectrum and with it, the national election. His remarkable success at striking bipartisan deal to reform New Jersey's finances proves his bona fide credentials as a problem solver and a leader. His irreverent, unscripted yet incisive responses to the press and the public, his indubitable charisma and his authenticity all worked in his favor. However, his refusal to run is now a fact, and as the deadline looms nearer, the GOP will have to reconsider whether to anoint as its candidate Mitt Romney, the Mormon, affable yet one-dimensional former governor of Massachusetts, the most progressive state in the nation, or Rick Perry, the less articulate yet pragmatic and successful governor of Texas, the biggest and most conservative state. Of course, unexpected outcomes are always a possibility, as shown by Herman Cain's case. The African American candidate and former Godfather's Pizza executive who has never held public office, won the "straw" primary poll in Florida last week and saw his popularity soar in national polls after a very well-received debate performance in which he repeated over and over again his simplistic 9-9-9 tax reform program, his plan to privatize pension funds, and his anti-Washington mantra. "Salesmanship", then, is not a bad asset in politics, after all, unless you are also a Mormon millionaire.Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Geography Director, ODU Model United Nations Program Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia

ELECCIONES EN ZIMBABWEComo lo comentamos la semana pasada, el pasado domingo se realizaron elecciones en Zimbabwe. De esta forma, Robert Mugabe, extiende otros cinco años los 28 que lleva en el poder, a pesar de la condena internacional.Según la Comisión Electoral, Mugabe ganó con el 85,51% de los votos, en comparación del 43,2% que obtuvo en la primera vuelta de marzo, en la que resultó vencedor el líder opositor Morgan Tsvangirai, con 47,9%, después de cinco semanas de espera para conocer los resultados. La oficina electoral ha informado de que la asistencia de este domingo fue de 42,37%.La comunidad internacional calificó la elección de "farsa democrática" y varios países, incluidos los miembros del Grupo de los Ocho, que agrupa a los países más industrializados del mundo, adelantaron que no reconocerán al nuevo gobierno. Varios medios informan al respecto:"New York Times": "Zimbabwe Faces Wider Sanctions Under Bush Plan":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/africa/29diplo.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin"El País" de Madrid: "Mugabe proclama su "arrolladora victoria" en las elecciones de Zimbabwe: Será investido presidente esta tarde pese al rechazo internacional.- El arzobispo surafricano Tutu pide una intervención en el país africano": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Mugabe/proclama/arrolladora/victoria/elecciones/Zimbabue/elpepuint/20080629elpepuint_4/Tes"El País" de Madrid analiza: "Zimbabue o la inflación al 14.000.000%; el presidente Mugabe lleva a su país a un desastre económico sin precedentes en tiempos de paz":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/Zimbabue/inflacion/14000000/elpepueconeg/20080629elpnegeco_2/Tes"La Nación": "Zimbabwe: la Unión Africana criticó el ballotage, Los observadores dicen que la reelección de Mugabe no fue democrática; la oposición reclamó un enviado permanente":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026050"La Nación": "Asumió Mugabe por sexta vez en Zimbabwe: Unánime condena internacional":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1025957"Time": "Mugabe Looks for Support at Summit":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819019,00.html"The Economist": "How to get him out":http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11622442"Time": "Mugabe Sworn in After Runoff":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819017,00.html"Time": "Mugabe Meets African Leaders":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1730047,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar"Time": "Will Neighbors Save Zimbabwe?":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1734073,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar"The Economist": "An election with only one candidate: Robert Mugabe forced his rival out of the race. But opposition to him, especially across Africa, is mounting. He may be less secure than he looks":http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11636482"The Economist": "The United Nations and Zimbabwe: Crimes against humanity":http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11636475"El Tiempo" de Colombia: "Robert Mugabe fue investido como presidente de Zimbabue para un sexto mandato":http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/otrasregiones/home/robert-mugabe-fue-investido-como-presidente-de-zimbabue-para-un-sexto-mandato_4353296-1"MSNBC": "African leaders not criticizing Mugabe publicly: "Behind the scenes, some are pushing Zimbabwe president to share power":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25452067/"MSNBC": "Mugabe sworn in after discredited election: Zimbabwe president keeps power for sixth term":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25439940/"MSNBC": "Zimbabwe's Mugabe believes he's been chosen: He reportedly thinks only divine power, not critics, can unseat him":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25432146/"El Mercurio" de Chile: "EE.UU. urge sanción contra Zimbabwe":http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/internacional/noticias/026C714F-BD4A-4069-8E8A-7424F0A475E7.htm?id={026C714F-BD4A-4069-8E8A-7424F0A475E7}"CNN": "Mugabe claims victory in Zimbabwe elections":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/29/zimbabwe.sunday/index.html"CNN": "Bush wants more penalties for Zimbabwe after 'sham' vote":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/28/zimbabwe.vote/index.htmlAMERICA LATINA"El Mercurio" de Chile informa: "Eximió al ex Presidente de los cargos por violaciones a los DD.HH.: Montesinos no respondió en una tensa sesión del juicio contra Fujimori": http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/internacional/noticias/8EBF462F-5418-404F-A629-A078F1CFEE97.htm?id={8EBF462F-5418-404F-A629-A078F1CFEE97}"CNN" publica: "Morales praises coca growers for kicking out U.S. agency":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/27/bolivia.coca.ap/index.html"La Nación" informa: "Quinto revés electoral, La oposición le arrebató a Morales otra región: Asume el control de Chuquisaca":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1025960"El Tiempo"de Colombia publica: "El departamento boliviano de Chuquisaca se suma a oposición autonomista contra el presidente Morales":http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/home/el-departamento-boliviano-de-chuquisaca-se-suma-a-oposicion-autonomista-contra-el-presidente-morales_4354172-1"El Mercurio" de Chile informa: "Savina Cuéllar, la nueva voz indígena que desafía al gobierno de Morales":http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/_portada/noticias/AC932C5F-572D-4BAC-88F7-DA85F2C069E1.htm?id={AC932C5F-572D-4BAC-88F7-DA85F2C069E1}"La Nación" informa: "En plena crisis con el agro, Cristina Kirchner viaja a la cumbre del Mercosur en Tucumán: Se reunirá con siete presidentes del bloque; tendrá bilaterales con Chávez, Morales y Duarte Frutos, con quienes hablará de energía; se esperan protestas de ruralistas":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026049"El País" de Madrid informa: "Latinoamérica prepara una condena a la nueva política migratoria de la UE":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Latinoamerica/prepara/condena/nueva/politica/migratoria/UE/elpepuint/20080701elpepuint_9/Tes"La Nación" publica: "El Mercosur cierra filas y prepara una dura declaración contra la UE":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026232"El Mercurio" informa sobre situación política en Argentina: "Confianza al Ejecutivo cae por quinto mes consecutivo": http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/internacional/noticias/FE4120CA-FA59-4634-92A6-E7C13D054801.htm?id={FE4120CA-FA59-4634-92A6-E7C13D054801"La Nación" informa: "Chávez apoyó a Cristina en la pelea con el campo: Comparó los cacerolazos con el intento de golpe en Venezuela":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026203"El País" de Madrid publica: "La energía acerca aún más a Lula y Chávez: El presidente brasileño visita Caracas durante horas para analizar la relación bilateral": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/energia/acerca/Lula/Chavez/elpepuint/20080629elpepuint_1/Tes"El Mercurio" de Chile informa: "Delegados europeos se habrían reunido con jefe de las FARC": http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/internacional/noticias/618ADBEB-A833-409B-BD44-ECD7632898F5.htm?id={618ADBEB-A833-409B-BD44-ECD7632898F5}´"MSNBC" informa: "CUBA DEVELOPS 'BREAKTHROUGH' CANCER DRUG": http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/27/1172063.aspx"The Economist" analiza: "Cuba: Anyone for cocktails?:Outsiders bet that bigger changes are on their way": http://www.economist.com/world/la/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11632877"MSNBC" publica: "Two tropical storms in Pacific weaken: Boris nearly became hurricane; Cristina now just a tropical depression":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25448260/ESTADOS UNIDOS / CANADA"El País" de Madrid publica: "Obama y McCain se lanzan a la caza del voto hispano: la comunidad latina se perfila como un grupo decisivo en las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Obama/McCain/lanzan/caza/voto/hispano/elpepuint/20080628elpepuint_15/Tes"Time" informa: "McCain's Delicate Immigration Dance":http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1818697,00.html"La Nación" informa: "La carrera hacia la Casa Blanca: la estrategia del candidato oficialista ":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1025933"Time" presenta un completo sitio con links sobre la política de los Estados Unidos:http://thepage.time.com/"Time" publica: "America's Shrinking Groceries":http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1818761,00.htmlEUROPA"CNN" informa: "Spanish PM: No more talks with ETA":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/29/spain.eta/index.html"MSNBC" publica: "Italian official proposes fingerprinting Gypsies: The idea is widely criticized as being racist and discriminatory":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25432128/"El Mercurio" de Chile informa: "Antes de asumir la presidencia de la Unión Europea: Sarkozy propone una UE que "proteja" a los ciudadanos": http://diario.elmercurio.com/2008/07/01/internacional/_portada/noticias/E5154345-522B-4D4A-9A73-BD261D302696.htm?id={E5154345-522B-4D4A-9A73-BD261D302696}"MSNBC" informa: "France's Nicolas and Carla on Europe's throne: On Tuesday, France takes over the presidency of the European Union":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25441107/"El Tiempo"de Colombia informa: "Francia asumió presidencia semestral de la Unión Europea":http://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/europa/home/francia-asumio-presidencia-semestral-de-la-union-europea_4354228-1"Le Monde" publica: "La présidence française de l'Union s'ouvre dans un climat tendu par le non irlandais":http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2008/06/30/la-presidence-francaise-de-l-union-s-ouvre-dans-un-climat-tendu-par-le-non-irlandais_1064293_3214.html#ens_id=1057332"El País" de Madrid informa: "Ségolène Royal se lanza a por el control del Partido Socialista francés: La ex candidata al Elíseo se presenta al puesto de primer secretario": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Segolene/Royal/lanza/control/Partido/Socialista/frances/elpepuint/20080629elpepiint_5/TesAsia – Pacífico /Medio OrieNTE"Time" publica: "Sex and the Malaysian Politician":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819031,00.html"MSNBC" informa: "Tibetan envoys, China officials to resume talks: Dalai Lama representatives go to Beijing less than four months after riots":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25451342/"Time" publica: "Tibet, China Resume Talks":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1819016,00.html"The Economist" analiza: "North Korea: Finding the truth in the debris":http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11645268"MSNBC" informa: "U.S. food aid arrives in North Korea, U.N. says: Shipment comes just days after Pyongyang's nuclear declaration":http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25452139/"La Nación" informa: "La ONU refuerza su apoyo a Norcorea: Aumentará cuatro veces los fondos de ayuda alimentaria":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026047"Time" publica: "US Food Aid Lands In North Korea":http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1818999,00.html"The Economist" analiza: "Australia's foreign policy: Not yet mates with its neighbours":http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11645261"China Daily" publica: "Ban Ki-moon encourages China to play global role":http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-07/01/content_6807559.htm"China Daily" informa: "Inflation set to ease in a few months":http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-07/01/content_6807511.htm"New York Times" publica: "Tras los avances de Pyongyang: Occupation Plan for Iraq Faulted in Army History": http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/washington/29army.html?ref=world"El País" de Madrid informa: "El Ejército paquistaní lanza una ofensiva contra los talibanes: Los combates, que han causado 60 muertos, se suceden en la zona tribal de Khyber":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Ejercito/paquistani/lanza/ofensiva/talibanes/elpepuint/20080628elpepuint_9/Tes"New York Times" informa: " Pakistan Shells Islamic Militants Near Peshawar":http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/asia/29pstan.html?ref=world"El País" de Madrid informa: "Israel aprueba un canje de prisioneros con Hezbolá: Con esta decisión se busca la repatriación de los soldados Eldad Regev y Ehud Goldwasser, retenidos por las milicias de la organización desde hace unos dos años":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Israel/aprueba/canje/prisioneros/Hezbola/elpepuint/20080629elpepuint_5/Tes"La Nación" publica: "Las negociaciones en Medio Oriente: Israel aprobó un polémico canje de prisioneros con Hezbollah, Cambiará a un sanguinario terrorista por dos soldados presuntamente muertos":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1025958"The Economist" analiza: "The Palestinians: Ever divided. The oldest Palestinian party tries to heal its divisions, but new ones fast emerge": http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11636459 AFRICA"El País" de Madrid publica: "Al menos 17 muertos en enfrentamientos entre el Ejército de Níger y rebeldes tuareg: El combate fue cofirmado por ambas partes aunque discrepan en el número de fallecidos. Los tuareg informaron de la muerte de 26 militares y siete miembros de su grupo2: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/muertos/enfrentamientos/Ejercito/Niger/rebeldes/tuareg/elpepuint/20080628elpepuint_5/Tes"CNN" informa: "Kidnapped aid workers freed in Somalia":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/06/28/somalia.kidnap/index.htmlECONOMIA"CNN" publica: "Can Bill Gates head into the shadows?":http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/06/27/gates.retires/index.html"La Nación" informa: "El petróleo vuelve a romper récords: Las negociaciones electrónicas del petróleo estadounidense y el Brent en Londres marcaron nuevos máximos; impacto de la debilidad del dólar y la inflación":http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1026055"The Economist" en su informe semanal "Business this week":http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11646259&CFID=11618985&CFTOKEN=25735338"El País" de Madrid informa: "El FMI advierte que "algunos países están en su punto crítico: Un informe estima que si los precios de los alimentos siguen subiendo y los del petróleo se mantienen, algunos gobiernos no podrán alimentar a sus pueblos":http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/FMI/advierte/algunos/paises/estan/punto/critico/elpepueco/20080701elpepueco_10/TesOTRAS NOTICIAS"El País" de Madrid publica: "La gran noche del luchador por la libertad: El 90º aniversario de Mandela se convierte en un homenaje político": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/gran/noche/luchador/libertad/elpepuint/20080629elpepiint_1/Tes"El País" de Madrid informa: "La UE y EE UU se acercan a un pacto sobre datos privados: Ambas partes negocian un acuerdo contra el terrorismo y la delincuencia organizada": http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/UE/EE/UU/acercan/pacto/datos/privados/elpepuint/20080629elpepiint_7/Tes

Authors' introductionWe present an overview of research about racial residential segregation. The first part of the article reviews major debates and findings drawn primarily from the sociological literature. The second part of the article identifies new areas of research that in some cases cross into other disciplines such as geography and urban studies. We show the enduring persistence of racial residential segregation as well as its causes and consequences. We also highlight the ways in which residential segregation can be better understood by including discussions about the varied social and spatial expressions of, and responses to, segregation. The social scientific examination of the patterns and everyday experiences of racial residential segregation remains prolific.Authors recommendKrysan, Maria 2002. 'Community Undesirability in Black and White: Examining Racial Residential Preferences through Community Perceptions.'Social Problems 49: 521–43.The author presents an empirical critique of research which examines the role that residential preferences play in perpetuating racially segregated residential settlement patterns. The data are drawn from the Multi‐City Study of Urban Inequality. The author analyzes black and white participants' responses to open‐ended questions about community undesirability in 23 communities spread across four US metropolitan areas. Rather than examine residential preferences in relation to hypothetical communities of varying relative racial compositions, the author uses respondents' subjective perceptions of actual communities, and the reasons they give for their perceptions, as measures of residential preference. The major finding of the article is that preferences are mediated by class‐ and race‐based considerations, such as perceived community crime rates or a community's reputation as a hotbed of racial animosity and hostility.Logan, John R., Brian J. Stults, and Reynolds Farley 2004. 'Segregation of Minorities in the Metropolis: Two Decades of Change.'Demography 41: 1–22.The authors report on national‐ and metropolitan‐level residential segregation trends for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian groups using a cross‐sectional analysis of 2000 Census data. They also present findings from a longitudinal analysis of changing residential segregation trends for the period 1980 to 2000. During this time black–white segregation levels, measured by the Index of Dissimilarity, steadily declined nationally and in most major metropolitan areas. However, Hispanic–white and Asian–white segregation levels increased slightly at both the national and metropolitan levels since 1980. The authors estimate regression models to test prevailing hypotheses that seek to account for these changes. Notably, they conclude that black–white segregation remains high especially in older manufacturing centers in the Northeast and Midwest. Levels of Hispanic–white and Asian–white segregation meanwhile are increasing in regions where these minority groups are most heavily concentrated and where they continue to grow due to high levels of foreign‐born in‐migration.Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton 1993. American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.This book is a seminal contribution to the scholarly debate about the causes and consequences of black urban poverty in the US. The authors argue that racial residential segregation is the key social process which explains the conditions under which a black urban underclass forms and is maintained. Segregation creates a 'structural niche' of concentrated black socioeconomic deprivation wherein, for instance, conditions of welfare dependency become normative and oppositional cultures emerge in reaction to the contradictory values of dominant groups. Massey and Denton claim that segregation is perpetuated by, but also compounds, the effects of institutional racism and white prejudice. To support their claim the authors point to historical trends in levels of racial residential segregation they attribute to public policy as well as private decision‐making. The book makes a methodological statement as well in relation to the conceptualization and measurement of residential segregation.Williams, Richard, Reynold Nesiba, and Eileen Diaz McConnell 2005. 'The Changing Face of Inequality in Home Mortgage Lending.'Social Problems 52: 181–208.The authors develop a theoretical framework to account for an emerging 'new inequality' in home mortgage lending and home‐ownership that has contributed to contemporary patterns of residential segregation. The 'old inequality', which was characterized by individual‐ and neighborhood‐level race‐ and class‐based discrimination, gave way in the early 1990s to a new form of inequality based on access to high‐cost loans and exposure to predatory lending practices. The authors rely on descriptive metropolitan‐level data on home mortgage lending to document rising rates of home‐ownership and loan origination among African American and low‐income borrowers, and within minority neighborhoods, since the early 1990s. Their interpretation of these data, however, leads them to conclude that despite these gains, the residential segregation generated by the old inequality creates the conditions for the emergence of the new inequality and similar patterns of residential segregation.Wyly, Elvin K., and Daniel J. Hammel 2004. 'Gentrification, Segregation, and Discrimination in the American Urban System.'Environment and Planning A 36: 1215–41.This article is a nice companion to the article by Williams et al. (2005) (see above). The authors examine racial and economic inequalities, such as residential segregation and racial discrimination, related to mortgage reinvestment and gentrification in major US central cities since the early 1990s. Using regression models to analyze home mortgage lending data and credit market characteristics across 30 US cities, the authors find that both early‐ ('peripheral') and late‐stage ('core') gentrification reproduce familiar patterns of race‐ and class‐based segregation, and are associated with more intensified forms of racial discrimination by property developers, realtors, and lenders.Online materials

Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) –Home Mortgage Disclosure Act http://www.ffiec.gov/hmda/ This website provides access to publicly reported loan data under the provisions of the federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The site allows users to view descriptive information on consumer lending institutions as well as borrower and loan characteristics that can be geocoded by census tract. The site is fairly user‐friendly yet provides access to powerful aggregate loan data. Researchers have used these publicly available data to compile profiles of consumer finance and investment trends across metropolitan areas or to begin to document patterns of disinvestment, redlining, and subprime lending.
Racial Residential Segregation Measurement Project (Reynolds Farley, University of Michigan) http://enceladus.isr.umich.edu/race/racestart.aspQuoted from the website:This website provides you with indexes of racial residential segregation for all states, for all counties, for all metropolitan areas and for all cities of 100,000 or more using information from the Census of 2000. Indexes of dissimilarity, exposure indexes and interracial contact measures are available for five single races and for the three most frequently reported combinations of two races. Segregation measures are provided using three different levels of local area geography: census tracts, block groups, and blocks. The links on this page provide you with access to the calculation of measures, descriptions of their meaning, information about the census data and the measures as well as to a bibliography of major studies of the extent, causes, and consequences of racial residential segregation in the United States.
Windows on Urban Poverty (Paul Jargowsky) http://www.urbanpoverty.net/ This website provides interactive features that examine the 'spatial context' of urban poverty; that is, the ways in which poor and segregated neighborhoods shape the life chances of impoverished individuals and families. The site has links to reports and policy briefs as well as a mapping tool which allows users to view the spatial expression of concentrated poverty neighborhoods and related demographic information.
Lewis Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research (University at Albany, State University of New York) http://www.albany.edu/mumford/ The site allows users to access a wide range of social and economic indicators that document conditions of racial residential segregation across the US. The Mumford Center is a leader in reporting on national‐ and metropolitan‐level demographic trends compiled from publicly available US Census data.
The U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/ This is the official US government website where users can access US Census data. The site includes a range of interactive mapping tools that can be used to generate profiles of key demographic, social, and economic indicators at varying geographic scales, such as the neighborhood and metropolitan levels. The site also links users to relevant census‐based government reports, news releases, and even multimedia content (e.g., video, radio, photography).

Sample syllabusCourse outline and reading assignments Section 1: Segregation Trends and Patterns Residential Segregation in Black and White 'Census 2000 Basics' (http://www.census.gov/mso/www/c2000basics/00Basics.pdf)For an updated and extended discussion of measurement issues see: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/housing_patterns/housing_patterns.htmlMassey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. 1993. American Apartheid: Chapter 1: 'The Missing Link'; Chapter 2: 'The Construction of the Ghetto'; Chapter 3: 'The Persistence of the Ghetto'Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. 1988. 'The Dimensions of Residential Segregation.'Social Forces 67: 281–315.Adelman, Robert M., and James Clarke Gocker. 2007. 'Racial Residential Segregation in Urban America.'Sociology Compass 1: 404–23. Moving Beyond the Black/White Dichotomy Logan, John R., Brian J. Stults, and Reynolds Farley. 2004. 'Segregation of Minorities in the Metropolis: Two Decades of Change.'Demography 41: 1–22.Fischer, Claude S., Gretchen Stockmayer, Jon Stiles, and Michael Hout. 2004. 'Distinguishing the Geographic Levels and Social Dimensions of U.S. Metropolitan Segregation, 1960–2000.'Demography 41: 37–59.White, Michael J., Eric Fong, and Qian Cai. 2003. 'The Segregation of Asian‐origin Groups in the United States and Canada.'Social Science Research 32: 148–67.Crowder, Kyle D. 1999. 'Residential Segregation of West Indians in the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area: The Roles of Race and Ethnicity.'International Migration Review 33: 79–113. Section 2: Causes of Residential Segregation Institutions and Actors Charles, Camille Zubrinsky. 2003. 'The Dynamics of Racial Residential Segregation.'Annual Review of Sociology 29: 167–207.Briggs, Xavier de Souza. 2005. Chapter 1 ('Introduction') and Chapter 2 ('More Pluribus, Less Unum? The Changing Geography of Race and Opportunity').Tegeler, Phillip. 2005. Chapter 9 (Briggs): 'The Persistence of Segregation in Government Housing Programs'.Jackson, Kenneth.1985. Crabgrass Frontier. Chapter 11: 'Federal Subsidy and the Suburban Dream: How Washington Changed the American Housing Market'. Group Differences in Socioeconomic Status and Neighborhood Preferences Logan, John R., Richard D. Alba, Thomas McNulty, and Brian Fischer. 1996. 'Making a Place in the Metropolis: Locational Attainment in Cities and Suburbs.'Demography 33: 443–53.Alba, Richard D., John R. Logan, Brian J. Stults, Gilbert Marzan, and Wenquan Zhang. 1999. 'Immigrant Groups in the Suburbs: A Reexamination of Suburbanization and Spatial Assimilation.'American Sociological Review 64: 446–60.Harris, David R. 2001. 'Why are Whites and Blacks Averse to Black Neighbors?'Social Science Research 30: 100–16.Krysan, Maria, and Reynolds Farley. 2002. 'The Residential Preferences of Blacks: Do they Explain Persistent Segregation?'Social Forces 80: 937–80.Emerson, Michael O., George Yancey, and Karen J. Chai. 2001. 'Does Race Matter in Residential Segregation? Exploring the Preferences of White Americans.'American Sociological Review 66: 922–35. Mortgage Lending Discrimination Yinger, John. 1995. Closed Doors, Opportunities Lost: The Continuing Costs of Housing Discrimination. Chapter 2 ('The Housing Discrimination Study'); Chapter 3 ('Discrimination in Housing'); Chapter 7 ('The Impact of Housing Discrimination on Housing Quality, Racial Segregation, and Neighborhood Change').Ross, Stephen L., and Margery Austin Turner. 2005. 'Housing Discrimination in Metropolitan America: Explaining Changes between 1989 and 2000.'Social Problems 52: 152–80.Williams, Richard, Reynold Nesiba, and Eileen Diaz McConnell. 2005. 'The Changing Face of Inequality in Home Mortgage Lending.'Social Problems 52: 181–208.Freidman, Samantha, and Gregory D. Squires. 2005. 'Does the Community Reinvestment Act Help Minorities Access Traditionally Inaccessible Neighborhoods?'Social Problems 52: 209–31. The Search for Housing Turner, Margery, and Stephen Ross. 2005. Chapter 4 (Briggs): 'How Racial Discrimination Affects the Search for Housing.'Farley, Reynolds. 1996. 'Racial Differences in the Search for Housing: Do Whites and Blacks Use the Same Techniques to Find Housing?'Housing Policy Debate 7: 367–85.Massey, Douglas S., and Garvey Lundy. 2001. 'Use of Black English and Racial Discrimination in Urban Housing Markets: New Methods and Findings.'Urban Affairs Review 36: 452–69.Feagin, Joe. 1994. Living with Racism: The Black Middle‐Class Experience. Chapter 6: 'Seeking a Good Home and Neighborhood.' Section 3: Consequences of Residential Segregation Poverty Concentration and Hypersegregation Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. 1993. Chapter 5: 'The Creation of Underclass Communities'; Chapter 6: 'The Perpetuation of the Underclass'.Jargowsky, Paul A. 1997. Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City. Chapter 5: 'Theory and Evidence on Inner‐City Poverty.'Wilkes, Rima, and John Iceland. 2004. 'Hypersegregation in the Twenty‐First Century: An Update and Analysis.'Demography 41: 23–36.Roy, Kevin. 2004. 'Three‐Block Fathers: Spatial Perceptions and Kin‐Work in Low‐Income African American Neighborhoods.'Social Problems 51: 528–48. Neighborhood Effects Sampson, Robert J., Jeffrey D. Morenoff, and Thomas Gannon‐Rowley. 2002. 'Assessing "Neighborhood Effects": Social Processes and New Directions in Research.'Annual Review of Sociology 28: 443–78.LaVeist, Thomas A. 1993. 'Segregation, Poverty, and Empowerment: Health Consequences for African Americans.'The Milbank Quarterly 71: 41–64.Rosenbaum, Emily, and Laura E. Harris. 2001. 'Low‐Income Families in Their New Neighborhoods: The Short‐Term Effects of Moving from Chicago's Public Housing.'Journal of Family Issues 22: 183–210.Wagmiller, Robert L. 2007. 'Race and the Spatial Segregation of Jobless Men in Urban America.'Demography 44: 539–62. Crime and Neighborhoods Anderson, Elijah. 1999. Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City. Preface, Introduction ('Down Germantown Avenue') and Chapter 1 ('Decent and Street Families').Pattillo‐McCoy, Mary. 1999. Black Picket Fences: Privilege and Peril among the Black Middle Class. Chapter 4: 'Neighborhood Networks and Crime'.Massey, Douglas S. 2001. 'Segregation and Violent Crime in Urban America.' Pp. 317–44 in Problem of the Century: Racial Stratification in the United States edited by Elijah Anderson and Douglas S. Massey.Logan, John R., and Brian J. Stults. 1999. 'Racial Differences in Exposure to Crime: The City and Suburbs of Cleveland in 1990.'Criminology 37: 251–76. Section 4: Mobility, Class, and Public Policy Residential Mobility Lee, Barrett A., R.S. Oropesa, and James W. Kanan. 1994. 'Neighborhood Context and Residential Mobility.'Demography 31: 249–70.South, Scott J., and Kyle D. Crowder. 1998. 'Leaving the 'Hood: Residential Mobility between Black, White, and Integrated Neighborhoods.'American Sociological Review 63: 17–26.Crowder, Kyle D., Scott J. South, and Erick Chavez. 2006. 'Wealth, Race, and Inter‐Neighborhood Migration.'American Sociological Review 71: 72–94.Pattillo‐McCoy, Mary. 2000. 'The Limits of Out‐Migration for the Black Middle Class.'Journal of Urban Affairs 22: 225–41. Intersection of Race and Class: The Black Middle Class Pattillo, Mary. 2005. 'Black Middle‐Class Neighborhoods.'Annual Review of Sociology 31: 305–29.Cashin, Sheryll D. 2001. 'Middle‐Class Black Suburbs and the State of Integration: A Post‐Integrationist Vision for Metropolitan America.'Cornell Law Review 86: 729–76.Adelman, Robert M. 2004. 'Neighborhood Opportunities, Race, and Class: The Black Middle Class and Residential Segregation.'City and Community 3: 43–63.Lacy, Karyn. 2004. 'Black Spaces, Black Places: Strategic Assimilation and Identity Construction in Middle‐Class Suburbia.'Ethnic and Racial Studies 27: 908–30. Public Policy and Politics Rubinowitz, Leonard S., and James E. Rosenbaum. 2000. Crossing the Class and Color Lines: From Public Housing to White Suburbia.Briggs, Xavier de Souza. 2005. Chapter 14: 'Politics and Policy: Changing the Geography of Opportunity'.Massey, Douglas S., and Nancy A. Denton. 1993. Chapter 8: 'The Future of the Ghetto'.Project ideas US Census Data Assignment (Adapted from an assignment developed by Nancy Denton, University at Albany, State University of New York)Your task for this assignment is to compare one US metropolitan area to another one. Your focus of the comparison should be on key sociodemographic variables including, but not limited to, the overall population size of the areas, the racial and ethnic composition of the areas, the socioeconomic standing of the areas, the housing quality, what types of occupational opportunities exist, the level of immigration in the areas, the level of residential segregation between groups in the areas, among others.You can choose any two metropolitan areas but they must be defined as such by the Census Bureau (i.e., make sure you obtain information at the metropolitan level). There should be some component of change; that is, identify how these variables have changed over time (an ideal strategy would be to focus on 1980 to 2000 changes, but there could be other strategies). In the end, you want a five‐page report comparing the two places. Which one would be better to live in? Why? From whose perspective?Potential data sources include:

The US Census: go to http://www.census.gov and click on 'American Factfinder' or another census tool
The Lewis Mumford Center: go to http://www.albany.edu/mumford and click on 'Census 2000' and use one of the tools to obtain data

Urban Ethnography Assignment (Adapted from an assignment developed by Charles Gallagher, Georgia State University)Write a short ethnography about an urban, public space. Your task is to choose a public space (broadly defined) and examine who uses the space, how the space is used, and the interactions that occur between people in that space. Pay close attention to issues like (but others too) the racial and ethnic background of the people using the space, the socioeconomic reasons which explain the location of the site (e.g., exchange versus use values; urban development), and the extent to which the space is actually 'public' (i.e., are there restrictions to the space like bars separating benches in half?).You can observe any public space. For example, the extent to which a park is actually public is continually and consistently contested and negotiated. What about transportation nodes? Malls? Restaurants? Comparative Urban Assignment Your task for this assignment is to review three scholarly articles about a city outside of the US. Your focus can be on any aspect of the city but you should include some general information about the area including, but not limited to, the geographic and demographic size of the area, the socioeconomic standing of the area, the residential segregation of groups in the area, among other issues.You can choose any city or metropolitan area as long as it is outside of the US. In the end, you want a five‐page report reviewing the three articles with a brief introduction about the city (this information could be gleaned from one of the articles).The main international urban journal, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, will be very useful for this assignment, but you can obtain articles from any peer‐reviewed journal. Make sure to use only scholarly journals rather than popular magazines, newspaper articles, or the internet. Rely on the social science literature.

INTRODUCTIONIn terms of mobility rights' violation, the attention of international organizations and the academic researches often turns to immigration. This is because the severe humanitarian crisis installed by the complex dynamics of migration experienced by European countries – as host countries - and countries like Syria – from where migrants flee.Despite this significant problem, another type of displacement must become part of the agenda for discussion and the scope of protection and performance of States and international human rights organizations. The social and economic vulnerability of millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) around the world that live like hostages in their own country, forced to leave their homes and even their cities by the actions of armed groups, reveals itself as subject little known considering that studies in national and foreign doctrine are rare about it.In this research, the vague international protection becomes relevant factor due to the IDPs' categorization as "refugee like situation" and the inertia of the States in the enforcement of minimum social rights to these people, particularly regarding the protection of social right to housing. Unable to confront and put an end to the armed conflict, the States fail for being omitted in human rights' violation and for the absence of public policies to IDPs, subjecting them to severe social and economic vulnerability.The problem's extension can be explained by the displacements of people observed in Colombia, especially from the 70s, with the emergence of Colombian militias that hide on the countryside. Since then, Colombia has been leading the ranking of IDPs for more than six decades with about six million desplazados until being overtaken by Syria in 2011.The extreme vulnerability of Colombians desplazados subjects them to extreme poverty and impedes the benefit of the adequate right to housing, guaranteed at the constitutional level. In terms of fundamental rights, it can be said that there is a total violation scenario of any moral value of human beings and because of it, this study aims to contribute to the reflection and to the socio-political practice for the non-violation of IDPs fundamental rights, addressing the specific and multifaceted problem of the Colombian context, especially in the realization of the social right to housing.METHODOLOGYThe research follows the deductive method and corresponds to the bibliographic type, in which books, scientific articles and international documents, such as the United Nations reports and international treaties will be reviewed. The theme approach requires an understanding of the basic aspects of fundamental and social rights, focusing on the right to housing, the social, political and historical context of the armed conflict and its own internal displacement, the role of international humanitarian law, besides documents related to the theme and the most important principle that rules fundamental rights and guarantees: the human dignity.DISCUSSIONAccording to recent data from the Norwegian Refugee Council (2015, p. 7), by the end of 2014 the number of IDPs increased to about thirty-eight million in more than forty countries of the African, American, European and Asian continent. The report demonstrates that Syria, Colombia, Iraq, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have the higher rates of displacement, from seven to two million people, in descending order.Oliveira (2004, p. 75) points out that there are various definitions of IDPs however these are not fully accepted by the (few) researchers due to the breadth of the term, which allows the inclusion of other groups than those displaced, and also because there is no difference between the treatment of displacement caused by violence or by natural causes. The most widely used definition, therefore, is provided by the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998) and proposed by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Internally Displaced Persons: [.] IDPs are persons or groups of persons forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of, or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, human rights violations or human or natural disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border of a state.In this sense, Oliveira (2004, p. 75) teaches that the main feature of IDPs consists in the fact that they remain within the borders of their country of origin, although they leave their homes. So, because of it, these individuals do not qualify neither as refugees nor as migrants, therefore it is required a specific legal category in international law.Unlike Syria, that faces a declared and major civil war, Espinosa (2009, p. 1) affirms that Colombia is the scene of migratory crisis of IDPs since the 70s, especially due to the violent actions of guerrilla movements, like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Colombia, which led the ranking of internal displacement for more than six decades, accounted about six million of IDPs by the end of 2014, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (2015, p. 14).Even being an extremely delicate issue, Viana (2009, p. 145) explains that the Colombian government only initiated measures to tackle it in the late 1990s with Law No. 387/1997, transferring to the State the responsibility on policy formulation and adoption of actions to support the population of desplazados. The first article of the law calls as desplazado every person forced - through violence - to leave his residence or usual economic activity and migrate within the national territory as consequence of internal armed conflict, geostrategic territories dispute, areas to practice extensive farming and commercial agriculture, among other reasons.In terms of national law, which appears to be a serious problem of Latin American constitutionalism, the constitutions establish extensive list of fundamental rights that States fail to ensure. That is because social rights depend on state actions to be implemented and their effectiveness is directly related not only in the social area, but also in the legal, economic, and political fields. At that point, it is worth mentioning the lesson from Alexy (2015, p. 446), in his renowned work Theory of Fundamental Rights, for whom "[.] fundamental rights are positions that are so important that the decision on guarantee them or not guarantee them not It can simply be left to the simple parliamentary majority".The right to housing is established in the Colombian Constitution of 1991, specifically in Article 51, which guarantees all nationals the right to a "dignified housing", promoted by the State through public policies aimed at ensuring the right[1].As Sarlet (2015, p. 343) asserts that the right to housing can not be confused with the right to property or the right to property and are inextricably linked to the human dignity and the minimum subsistence of the human person. In the specific case of displaced people, there is interference in the right's dual dimension, negative and positive, considering that the state fails in both the protection and the promotion of housing.Canuto (2010, p. 166-167) points out that social rights consist in means by which the human dignity is reached and, therefore, the State must constantly look for ways to make them more accessible to the entire population, especially for those who need more help. However, it is not enough to have those rights guaranteed in a minor way, but in the best possible quality that the State is able to provide.Theodoulou (1995, p. 3) explains that public policy is a complex concept that can refer to an action or omission of government designed to serve a politically defined purpose usually involving social problems. According to the same author, to outline public policy is necessary to understand the interaction of many formal and informal actors involved in the political context.In this sense, Canuto (2010, p. 187) adds that the evaluation and analysis of the progress of public policies is a way to avoid that social programs be forgotten and that public resources have proper destination. For this author, public policies consist in instruments of social justice that enable the population, especially an excluded and often overlooked part, to have the benefit of their fundamental rights.According to Oliveira (2004, p. 75), the armed conflict that has been ruined Colombia for years is considered one of the major causes of forced displacement in the country, causing disastrous consequences especially for the rural population, that suffers physical and psychological violence. In order to avoid more damages, many families choose to leave their homes, towns and cities searching for a place to live with a minimum of peace, but the reality faced by them consists in deep abandonment and misery due to the absence of an efficient care system by the Colombian government.Ultimately, Celis (2009) argues that state and society in cooperation have an ethical duty to seek social solutions to the problem of desplazados, which corresponds to one of the most vulnerable sectors of the Colombian population. This will only be possible when public policies applied to these people's needs, as appropriate instrument to achieve the positive rights by the state, especially the right to housing. CONCLUSIONSAll around the world, millions of people face war and its consequences in their lives. In Colombia, a lasting internal battle rebounds in the protection of human rights, especially in the right to housing, considering that lots of people leave their homes trying to save their lives in pursuit of dignified conditions of living.However, a relevant percentage does not reach the dream of peace and initiates a new way of life without minimal conditions of survive within the borders of their own country. They are known as internally displaced persons (IDPs) or specifically in Colombia, as "desplazados", since Colombia led the ranking of internal displacement for decades and its judiciary system has contributed to protect these people.This problem deserves more attention from international authorities as well as the States that have populations of IDPs, taking into account that the situation itself represents a several human rights violation. In Colombia, it was identified a few initiatives to solve the problem, but apparently it demands more adequate public policies to protect the IDPs' right to housing and human dignity.In conclusion, this essay proposes the discussion towards the dimension of the internal displacement problem in Colombia and the consequent human rights violation from it. Besides, this research identifies the State's necessity to formulate consistent public policies to promote the effectiveness of human dignity, social right, especially the right to housing.

"This book documents the decline of white-working class lives over the last half-century and examines the social and economic forces that have slowly made these lives more difficult. Case and Deaton argue that market and political power in the United States have moved away from labor towards capital-as unions have weakened and politics have become more favorable to business, corporations have become more powerful. Consolidation in some American industries, healthcare especially, has brought an increase in monopoly power in some product markets so that it is possible for firms to raise prices above what they would be in a freely competitive market. This, the authors argue, is a major cause of wage stagnation among working-class Americans and has played a substantial role in the increase in deaths of despair. Case and Deaton offer a way forward, including ideas that, even in our current political situation, may be feasible and improve lives." --

This article describes the Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate (SSPC) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the first undergraduate certificate at the University, which was established in 2007. The SSPC caters to the professional needs of both traditional, degree-seeking students and non-traditional local professionals. The SSPC coexists with the long-established major and minor programs in Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. The goal of the SSPC is to fulfill the needs of its dynamic, millennial students and of the increasingly diversified community. ; To cite the digital version, add its Reference URL (found by following the link in the header above the digital file). ; SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 62 The Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate (SSPC) Program: Meeting the Professional Needs of Students and Community Lourdes Sánchez-López University of Alabama at Birmingham Abstract: This article describes the Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate (SSPC) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), the first undergraduate certificate at the University, which was established in 2007. The SSPC caters to the professional needs of both traditional, degree-seeking students and non-traditional local professionals. The SSPC coexists with the long-established major and minor programs in Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. The goal of the SSPC is to fulfill the needs of its dynamic, millennial students and of the increasingly diversified community. Keywords: Business Spanish, certificate programs, languages for specific purposes (LSP), medical Spanish, Spanish for occupational purposes, Spanish for specific purposes (SSP), translation and interpretation, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Introduction Society is changing rapidly and drastically. In a world that is no longer round but flat (Friedman, 2005), students prepare for a globalized job market that is open to anyone in the world. This means that the jobs that once were available to only a few, now are available to millions. And, often times, the decisive factor for an employer is the multilinguistic and multicultural qualifications of applicants. Recent studies and their data suggest a pressing need to revise foreign language curricula in the United States to better meet the needs of students and society ("Foreign Languages and Higher Education," 2007; "Report to the Teagle Foundation," 2009). Many university programs in the US are responding to these needs by adapting existing language programs or developing new ones (Doyle, 2010; Jorge, 2010; Sánchez-López, 2010). Two decades ago Grosse and Voght (1990) reported the results of the first extensive survey conducted in 1988 in the US regarding the status of languages for specific purposes (LSP) nationally. Linking their study to a report from the President's Commission on Foreign Languages and International Studies (1980), Grosse and Voght reported that LSP courses had gained a place in the higher education curriculum since the 1980s in the US. Their study suggested a decline of foreign language skills in the US and a need of language courses specific for the professions, and their survey results indicated that over 60% of language departments offered some type of LSP courses. However, these data also suggested that LSP still had a minor role in the foreign language curriculum overall. In a recent survey study by Long and Uscinski (2012) and following the model of Grosse and Voght, the authors report that the current "presence of LSP courses in colleges and universities across the United States has remained about the same over the past 30 years." (p. 175). There is no significant difference in the number of institutions that offer LSP courses. However, Long and Uscinkscy's timely study sheds new light on the type of LSP programs (e.g., majors, minors, certificates or graduate programs) that are offered SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 63 nationally. The results of their study suggest that 27% of the respondents offer some type of LSP program, most of them at 4-year universities. The authors conclude that LSP has steadily and quietly settled in as another curricular option, beside literature, cultural studies, and linguistics, in institutions where students demand it, thus providing the students who are motivated to enter these fields with valuable applied skills in both language and cultural understanding. We predict a continued steady presence of LSP in university curricula for years to come. (Long & Uscinski, p. 188) Two decades ago Grosse and Voght (1990) optimistically predicted growth of LSP in the US that, according to Long and Uscinkscy (2012), has not materialized yet. However, according to both of these studies, the status of LSP in the US is strong and has become slowly more visible with time, with dozens of new LSP programs that cater to new societal needs (for a list of some of these programs see Sánchez-López, 2010). One of these new programs is the Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate (SSPC) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), which was established in 2007 and was the first undergraduate certificate at the University. The SSPC caters to the professional needs of both traditional, degree-seeking students and non-traditional local professionals. The SSPC coexists with the long-established major and minor programs in Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (DFLL), and it attempts to fulfill the needs of its dynamic, millennial students and of the increasingly complex community. Background The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a medium-sized (about 18,000 undergraduate and graduate students) public university in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham is a metropolitan city with a rapidly growing Hispanic population over the last three decades. Just recently, the state's Hispanic population grew from 1.7% in 2000 to almost 4% in 2010, a nearly 145% increase (US Census Bureau, 2010). Because of this, hospitals, clinics, police and fire departments, government offices and local businesses have seen the increasing need to be able to communicate with Hispanic patients, customers and clients in Spanish. However, this rapid and steady growth has recently and abruptly come to a halt due to a newly passed state immigration law. In June 2011, the state of Alabama Government passed the Beason-Hammon Alabama Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, commonly known as H.B. 56 (State of Alabama, 2011). This is one of the strictest immigration laws in the country, which has led to a general state of fear among undocumented individuals. It has already impacted demographics of the state with a significant decrease on the growth of Hispanics in the state, including children (Center for American Progress, 2011; Novak, 2012; Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011). UAB was established in 1945 originally as the Medical Center of Alabama. The academic side of campus was later established in 1969, branching off from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. For decades both the medical and the academic sides functioned as two almost independent units, with very little interaction between them. Today, although most faculty, students and staff still refer to the west or the east side of campus SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 64 (or the medical and the academic side of campus), institutional efforts attempt to portray both sides of the University as one unit, with a synergetic relationship, interdependent, with everyone on board moving in the same direction. Health-care and diversity are two of the best-known and most marketed landmarks of the University. The UAB vision is: "A world-renowned research university and medical center—a first choice for education and healthcare" (UAB Vision, 2012). In addition, The Princeton Review has ranked UAB as the 5th most diverse campus nationally in 2011 (The Princeton Review, 2013). Many undergraduate students choose UAB because they would like to pursue a career in a health-related field. Pre-medicine is a popular track among UAB undergraduate students with an annual average of 44% of entering students who declare a pre-medicine track (UAB Office of Planning and Analysis, 2012). The UAB Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures (DFLL) was established in the late 1960s as most languages departments were at the time, with a focus on language, literature and culture. UAB had a language requirement for the core curriculum up to the late 1990s, when it was eliminated. Since then, there is no language requirement at UAB. In the early 2000s, the DFLL combined their two majors in Spanish and French into a major in Foreign Languages (with Spanish and French tracks), largely due to a state requirement for viability. In addition, the DFLL also offers minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. A large percentage of students in the major are double majors in Spanish or French and another disciple (biology, chemistry, criminal justice, international studies, pre-medicine, pre-nursing coupled with Spanish are some of the most common double majors). With an eye toward the long-term needs of the department in 2001 the UAB, DFLL hired me as the first applied linguist for a dual purpose. I was charged with developing linguistics courses at all levels and with developing and teaching certain Spanish for Specific Purposes (SSP) courses, such as medical, business, professional Spanish and translation and interpretation. All of these courses (linguistics and SSP) were never intended to replace the existing literature and culture courses, but rather, to expand the repertoire of offerings to cater to a larger pool of students and professional interests. The SSP courses were well received and offered on demand with regularity. After a few years, additional instructors were asked to teach these courses as well, becoming specialists in the different areas, such as business, health and translation and interpretation. However, the vast majority of students enrolled in the SSP courses were regular UAB students (either majors or minors, or students who took one or two of these courses as electives). The Department received frequent inquiries from individuals in the community and local businesses wishing to learn occupational Spanish, but, unfortunately, the University admission system did not make it easy for them to enroll as non-degree seeking students. Faculty also received almost daily requests from the medical side of campus, from other hospitals and clinics, from government agencies, from court services, and from different local businesses asking for translation and interpretation assistance. Faculty and/or students would help depending on the situation. As these challenges increased over the years, the DFLL decided to explore other options to better meet the needs of the community and the local professionals; and at the same time to reward the regular students who were successfully completing many or all of the SSP courses, but were not receiving any particular degree or recognition in SSP. At such point, offering a certificate program SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 65 in SSP was an interesting and promising idea, which materialized in the fall semester 2007. A Journey to the Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate: Program Design: Approval and Description Due to the success and high demand of the SSP courses offered in the UAB DFLL and to the increasing requests for assistance with translation and interpretation to cater to the Hispanic community, in 2005 I was asked by my chairperson, Sheri Spaine Long, who sought to respond to societal trends, to investigate models of certificate programs worldwide and to explore if a certificate program in SSP would meet the specific needs of the DFLL, the UAB undergraduate population and those of the community. Over the course of several months, I investigated models of certificate programs and other types of languages for specific purposes programs nationally and internationally. Based on a careful assessment of the information gathered, the chairperson and I decided that a certificate program was an optimal option for UAB and for the Birmingham community. Then, the second and most detailed stage of the process started: the design of the program and the development of a program proposal. I was asked to design a program that utilized the resources of the DFLL and the courses that were already offered, at least at the outset. I met with a variety of institutional constituents (Office of Admissions, Office of Undergraduate Affairs, and Office of Undergraduate Policies and Procedures) at different stages during the design of the program proposal. These constituents gave me valuable advice on how to craft the program and what the prerequisites should be. Over the course of the following year, the SSPC proposal was approved at each stage by the DFLL, the School of Arts and Humanities Curriculum and Educational Policies Committee, the University Office of Undergraduate Policies and Procedures, and, finally, by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System in May 2007. The SSPC was the first undergraduate certificate at UAB, and it was first implemented in the Fall 2007. It was lauded as a model program to meet societal needs and consolidate and expand language enrollment. The SSPC program was designed for traditional as well as non-traditional students. The main objective of this program was, and still is, not only to fulfill UAB students' academic needs for their future, but also to create connections with local professionals. Because of the steady growth of the Hispanic population in the nation, with almost 17% percent of the population (US Census Bureau, 2012), each day more and more pro-fessionals, such as teachers, medical care professionals, business people, law enforcement officers and others, have the need to communicate with the Hispanic community. The courses are content, vocabulary and culture-based. Students learn the vocabulary, language and cultural background that they use in their professional field through extensive practice in the classroom and also out of class through service-learning opportunities. Publication and promotion of a new program is paramount for its success. An easy to navigate and informative website is critical for the SSPC (http://www.uab.edu/languages/ssp). The website houses the necessary documents that offer information to prospective students and local professionals, and a detailed description of the application process can also be found there. Once the website and all SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 66 documentation (e.g., program application form, student manual, checklist, and flier) were created, the program was ready for promotion and student recruitment. Promotion and recruitment efforts included regular information sessions (2–3 per semester) open to all students and the general public; briefings at academic advisors general meetings; presentations at specific business, health and international studies classes; and announcements in local newspapers, magazines and UAB's website and newspapers. The SSPC program requires completion of a minimum of six classes (18 credits) in SSP, of which at least 12 credits must be at the advanced level. Students may choose classes within the professional track of their interest (e.g., health care, business or translation and interpretation), but they are required to take a phonetics and phonology course and a foreign language service-learning course for the completion of the SSPC requirements. The foreign language service-learning course must be taken towards the end of the program to ensure that students have the desired occupational language skills to function well working with a community partner.1 Students must receive an A or B grade in all courses and maintain a minimum of 2.8 GPA in Spanish to maintain a "good standing" status. They can retake courses for a higher grade if necessary. The final program requirement is to pass an oral interview at the level of intermediate-mid or above, according to the ACTFL speaking guidelines.2 There is a program application process that is open all year. Regular UAB students must submit an electronic application. Local professionals must first be admitted as non-degree seeking students at UAB before they can apply for the SSPC.3 The SSPC program director reviews applications and sends acceptance or rejection letters. Then, she communicates with the UAB Director of Academic Records who updates the students' records and transcripts. SSPC candidates are asked to meet with the SSPC advisor at least once a year for an advising session, although many students choose to meet more frequently. Outcomes, Program Assessment and Outgrowth The SSPC has become a popular program in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. In its five years of existence, the program has enrolled 86 students, of which 27 have already successfully graduated from the program. The program offers three tracks: health care, business, translation and interpretation. Each track offers two courses, one at the intermediate and one at the advanced levels. Not surprisingly, due to the specific context at UAB and in the Birmingham area, the most popular and highest enrolled courses have usually been the Spanish for health professional classes, which are offered every semester (three times a year). The rest of the classes are offered once or twice a year, depending on demand and instructor availability. Because some of these courses are not offered every semester, it is very important that SSPC candidates meet regularly with the SSPC advisor to ensure that they graduate in a timely manner. One of the main and most visible successes of the SSPC are the collaborations that have been established with other units on campus, such as the Schools of Business, Dentistry, Health Professions, Nursing and Medicine. The advanced Spanish for Health Professionals course is offered cross-listed with the School of Nursing courses, creating a unique and enriching learning environment for all students, who share the same classroom. The SSPC faculty design and teach courses for students in the Schools of SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 67 Dentistry and Medicine with regularity. Recently, a former Spanish major from the DFLL and a current medicine student, partnered with the DFLL and the SSPC to organize a short Spanish course for medical students. The course was designed and taught by an SSPC faculty and offered during the winter break between sessions in the School of Medicine (Davidson & Long, 2012). Furthermore, weekly Spanish conversation tables are offered by SSPC faculty, which are open to any student on campus with an interest in health related professions. In addition, the Graduate Student Associations of the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry have separately organized weekly Spanish conversation tables led by SSPC faculty and students. All of these efforts clearly indicate the high level of interest to learn Spanish from the part of the students in health-related professions, who are doing whatever they can to include some level of medical Spanish study in their busy academic schedules. Another success of the SSPC is the quality of student research, which is linked to the professional interest of the student within a local context. Two illustrative examples, from the inception of the program to the most recent are "Legalese and Spanish: The Hispanic Immigrant Experience with the Legal System in Birmingham, Alabama" (Hall, 2007) and "H.B. 56 and Its Impact in the State of Alabama" (Novak, 2012). In the former, SSPC and Spanish Honor's student Brittlyn Hall conducted a survey study among law firms in Birmingham to investigate the level of legal support offered to the Hispanic population and the specific Spanish needs of these firms. In the most recent, SSPC graduate and current MBA student in the School of Business investigated the economic impact of the new State immigration law known as H.B. 56 mentioned earlier (Novak, 2012). Both studies linked the students' professional interest to their community. The studies taught them not only valuable information about their professions and future careers, but also gave them firsthand experience about how their professions interact with their community and the synergistic relationships that are born from such interactions. An integral part of the long-term success of a new program is periodic program evaluations to assist in implementing necessary modifications. At the end of the program students are asked to complete an SSPC Exit Survey, in which they provide useful feedback about the program. This is mainly a demographic and a student satisfaction survey (see survey in the Appendix) used to get to know our students, their needs and their expectations better and to make adjustments as necessary. One important modification that has already been implemented in light of the students' feedback is an additional course on translation and interpretation at the intermediate level (the original certificate only offered advanced translation and interpretation). This new course was necessary as a stepping-stone to the advanced course, which was regarded as too challenging by many students. Another important addition to the program occurred in 2010. The SSPC and the Department of Art and Art History partnered to have a student competition to design a logo for the SSPC. As a class requirement, all students in an advanced graphic design class were asked to design a logo. This was a unique and incredible experience for students, since not only was this their first real assignment, but they also were competing for the first time for a real client. There were 27 entries. Graphic design students met with the SSPC Director and explained their logo, motivations and meanings. After that, the SSPC Director asked all faculty in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures to vote on their first three choices. The logo with the most votes was selected as the SSPC official logo (see logo at http://www.uab.edu/languages/ssp).4 SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 68 In an effort to strengthen the business Spanish track of the SSPC, in 2010, the interim chairperson of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures John K. Moore and the SSPC Director met with administrators in the School of Business to discuss ways in which to collaborate. After several meetings, it was clear that there was a need and an interest for Spanish (and Chinese) in the business world. However, the business curriculum at UAB is rather inflexible due to their accreditation limitations. Because business students at UAB are unable to incorporate the SSPC program into their regular curriculum, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offered to design a new and shorter 12-credit program catered to business majors: a new minor in Spanish for Business. The new minor employs courses already existing in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures: Spanish for the Professions, Business Spanish and any other two intermediate or advance Spanish courses. The proposal was approved by the University in April 2011 and was first implemented in the fall of 2012 (for an overview of the program, visit: http://www.uab.edu/languages/images/pdfs/news/Minor_Spanish_for_Business.pdf). As this new program is in its first year, it is still premature to make an accurate evaluation. However, due to the overall success of the SSPC and to the growing globalized economies and markets, we predict a successful prospect for this new program. We look forward to report related findings in the near future. Conclusions and Future Directions As the results of surveys by Grosse and Voght (1990) and recently by Long and Uscinski (2012) have demonstrated, LSP courses and programs in the United States are no longer peripheral within the educational curriculum in higher education. They have become highly demanded by a dynamic student population that is in charge of their own learning and wish to be well prepared for an extremely competitive future in a globalized world. This article has described the recently established Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham within a local context. This program caters to traditional and non-traditional students who share educational goals and classroom experiences. Because it is a highly practical and applicable program in real life, and because it is available to all students and local professionals, the SSPC has become one of the fastest growing programs at UAB with almost 30 graduates in its short existence. Most importantly, the program has created strong and synergistic connections and collaborations with local companies (e.g., hospitals, clinics, charity organizations, banks, libraries, law firms, government offices, schools and early learning centers) through the foreign language service-learning course required for the SSPC. In addition, the SSPC has established collaborations with other units on campus, such as the Schools of Business, Dentistry, Health-Professions, Nursing and Medicine. Furthermore, SSPC students produce high quality research linking their professional interest to their communities and exploring its synergetic relationships. SSPC graduates move on to a variety of professional fields in health, business and translation and interpretation services, or to graduate programs in related fields in which their knowledge of occupational Spanish is (or will be) useful and beneficial to them, their companies and their community. SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 69 One significant outgrowth of the SSPC is the new minor for Business Spanish established in fall 2012 utilizing SSPC resources. This new program seals collaborative efforts between the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the School of Business and aims to cater primarily to Business students, but is also open to any student with an interest in pursuing an international career. As mentioned earlier, an integral part of a successful program is periodic program assessment. The SSPC Exit Survey taken by graduating students gives the SSPC director and faculty regular opportunities to reflect upon the progress of the program, and thus, to make revisions where necessary. In addition to this informal form of student satisfaction evaluation, it is important to conduct some type of performance assessment to investigate the impact that the SSPC classes have on students' Spanish performance. This performance program assessment has been projected to take place within the next academic year and we look forward to new findings. Acknowledgments I would like to sincerely thank former UAB DFLL chairperson Sheri Spaine Long for her full and constant support in the creation, development and implementation of the SSPC and for her always brilliant ideas, as well as for her input on earlier drafts of this paper; to former UAB DFLL Interim chairperson John K. Moore for his full support in the continuation of the SSPC and his critical role in the conceptualization and establishment of the new minor for Business Spanish; to SSPC faculty María Jesús Centeno, Krista Chambless, Brock Cochran, Belita Faki and Malinda O'Leary for their extraordinary work teaching the SSPC courses—the program would not be the same without these remarkable instructors; to all SSPC students who are our source of inspiration every day; and finally, I am grateful to the reviewers of earlier drafts of this paper for their accurate feedback. Notes 1For a detailed description and a sample syllabus of the Foreign Language Service-Learning course required for the SSPC, see Sánchez-López (2013; forthcoming). 2American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages proficiency guidelines can be found at http://www.actfl.org/files/public/Guidelinesspeak.pdf. 3Non-degree seeking students must have a minimum of 12 credit hours of successful college level work (grade C or above in all courses), with the following distribution (minimum): at least 6 credit hours in Area 1 (English Composition), at least 3 credit hours in Area 2 (Arts and Humanities), and at least 3 credit hours in Area 4 (Social Sciences). 4The artist of the SSPC logo is UAB's graphic design student Alan Heiman. The faculty member of the graphic design class that participated in this project is Professor Douglas B. Barrett. References American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages Proficiency Guidelines (1999). Retrieved from http://www.actfl.org/files/public/Guidelinesspeak.pdf SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 70 Center for American Progress (2011). Retrieved from http://www.americanprogress.org/ Davidson, L., & Long, S. S. (2012). Medical Spanish for US medical students: A pilot case study. Dimension, 1–13. Retrieved from http://scolt.webnode.com/ Doyle, M. S. (2010). A responsive, integrative Spanish curriculum at UNC Charlotte. Hispania, 93(1), 80–84. Foreign languages and higher education: New structures for a changed world. (2007) MLA ad hoc committee on foreign languages. Profession published by the Modern Language Association, 2007 (May). Retrieved from http://www.mla.org/flreport Friedman, T. (2005). The world is flat: A brief history of the 21st century. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux. Grosse, C., & Voght, G. (1990). Foreign language for business and the professions at US colleges and universities. The Modern Language Journal, 74, 36–47. Hall, B. (2007). Legalese and Spanish: The Hispanic immigrant experience with the legal system in Birmingham, Alabama. Unpublished paper. Jorge, E. (2010). Where's the community? Hispania, 93(1), 135–138. Long, M., & Uscinski, I. (2012). Evolution of languages for specific purposes programs in the United States: 1990–2011 [Special Issue]. The Modern Language Journal, 96, 173–189. Novak, J. (2012). H.B. 56 and its impact in the state of Alabama. Unpublished paper. President's Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies (1980). Strength through wisdom: A critique of US capability. The Modern Language Journal, 64, 9–57. Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature. (2009). MLA ad hoc committee on foreign languages. Profession published by the Modern Language Association, 2009 (February). Retrieved from http://www.mla.org/pdf/2008_mla_whitepaper.pdf Sánchez-López, L. (2010). El español para fines específicos: La proliferación de programas creados para satisfacer las necesidades del siglo XXI. Hispania, 93(1), 85–89. Sánchez-López, L. (Forthcoming 2013). Service learning course design for Languages for Specific Purposes programs [Special Issue]. Hispania, 96(2). Southern Poverty Law Center (2011). Retrieved from http://www.splcenter.org/ State of Alabama (2011). Retrieved from http://www.ago.state.al.us/Page-Immigration The Princeton Review (2013). Retrieved from http://www.princetonreview.com/TheUniversityofAlabamaatBirmingham UAB Minor in Business Spanish. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/languages/images/pdfs/news/Minor_Spanish_for_Business.pdf UAB Office of Planning and Analysis. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/opa/ UAB Spanish for Specific Purposes program. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/languages/ssp United States Census Bureau. (2010). Retrieved from http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/ United Stated Census Bureau. (2012). Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html UAB Vision. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/home/about University of Alabama at Birmingham (2013). Retrieved from http://www.uab.edu/ SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 71 APPENDIX The University of Alabama at Birmingham College of Arts and Sciences Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Spanish for Specific Purposes Certificate (SSPC) Exit Survey Note: This survey is anonymous. Please, be as honest as possible when completing it. Thank you for providing us with valuable information to get to know our students and to improve our SSPC program. I. Personal Information (circle one) 1. Gender: Male Female 2. Age: 18–20 20–23 24–26 27–30 More than 31 3. Regular UAB Student Non-regular UAB student (local professional) 4. Work: Full-time job Part-time job Unemployed 5. Work place: ______________________________; Position: __________________ 5. Race: African American Caucasian Hispanic Indian Asian Other 6. Major/s: ____________________________ Minor/s: ________________ 7. Previous Higher Education Degrees: _____________________________________ 8. Your first language/s is/are:____________________________________________ SSPC related 1. How long did it take you to complete the SSPC program? ____________________ 2. In which of the three tracks did you specialize (health, business, translation & interpretation)?: ________________________________________________________ 3. Please explain why you pursued the SSPC: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Did the SSPC fulfill your expectations? Yes No Please explain why? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SPANISH FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES CERTIFICATE (SSPC) PROGRAM Scholarship and Teaching on Languages for Specific Purposes (2013) 72 5. Did the SSPC classes fulfill your expectations in general? Yes No Please explain why? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. What did you like the most about the program? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. What did you like the least about the program? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Please give us your suggestions on how to improve the SSPC program: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. How will the SSPC impact your current or future career? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Would you recommend the SSPC to your friends or colleagues? Yes No 11. Finally, do you give your permission to use the information that you provided above anonymously for statistical and research purposes? Yes No Note: If you have further comments, please use the back of this form. GRACIAS.