"More than a decade after the Dayton Peace Accords, the question remains whether peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will sustain. Assuming that the economic prosperity plays a crucial role for a successful peacebuilding process, this working paper addresses the potential and the risks of economic development, focusing on three particular aspects: corruption, informal labor and the brain drain phenomenon. Rob Scheid shows that corruption is an endemic problem concerning governance, civil society, and the economy in BiH. He outlines examples of the various forms corruption takes and discusses steps taken to combat this issue, arguing that corruption's detraction from economic development prolongs the peacebuilding process. Julika Bake deals with the phenomenon of illicit labor, which is seen as one of the major obstacles to economic prosperity in BiH. She argues that besides macroeconomic recovery and labor policy, the links between local political elites and informal employers have to be taken into account to successfully create formal employment. Simon Runkel addresses the difficult labor situation of young people and the resulting emigration, particularly of the well educated. In his opinion, reforms in the fields of education as well as private investment are necessary to facilitate the return of emigrants and to benefit from the positive long-term effect of the so-called brain drain phenomenon. All three sections of this working paper hold that the peacebuilding process would benefit to a great extent from the strengthening of formal economic relations, the weakening of links between the economic and political spheres, especially on a local level, as well as from the creation of job opportunities. Although economic prosperity and sustainable development often seem beneficial they do not appear to be a primary concern in peacebuilding. This paper shows that economic aspects are crucial to the question of whether peace will stay and last in Bosnia and Herzegovina." (author's abstract)
Author's introductionAlthough there has been a considerable body of research on families and family life in general, relatively little attention has been paid to family leisure, family time, and the role that leisure activities play within the family context. Evidence of increased time stress within families suggests that family time may be highly constrained. However, this situation may also have led to family time becoming increasingly desired and valued. Family leisure is deemed to be beneficial for families in a number of ways, because it provides a context for enhancing family relationships and strengthening family ties. Family leisure can also be seen to reflect and contribute to new and emerging ideologies about motherhood and fatherhood, with both positive and negative implications for parents and for families.Author recommends Daly, Kerry J. Families and Time: Keeping Pace in a Hurried Culture (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1996).This classic work shows the importance of understanding the concept of time and how families use time and allocate time to a wide range of activities. The author discusses how the experience of time within families has changed throughout history and how perspectives of time are profoundly influenced by socio‐cultural factors. Parents today, it is argued, are caught between an increasingly 'hurried culture' and their own desire to protect family time. Control over time allocation is seen as a crucial, but challenging, aspect of family life. Samuel, Nicole (ed.). Women, Leisure and the Family: A Multinational Perspective (Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 1996).This book was one of the first to address the complex issue of family leisure. Moreover, its international perspective brings together research on this topic from different parts of the world, providing comparisons between countries in a variety of socio‐economic situations. The focus of the text is on women, highlighting the significant role that mothers play in facilitating family activities and the importance of family leisure to women. The constraints on women's personal leisure due to traditional ideologies and gender relations are also discussed, as well as the potential for leisure as a source of empowerment and autonomy. Kay, Tess (ed.). Special Issue of the Leisure Studies Journal: Fathering through Leisure (Milton Park, UK: Routledge, 2006).This volume is a collection of academic papers on leisure and fatherhood. Because much of the early research on family leisure focussed on women and mothers, this special journal issue represents a more inclusive gender analysis of this form of leisure. The collection of papers addresses a range of issues associated with fatherhood and leisure, including leisure as a context for fathering, changing ideologies of fatherhood, and how family leisure is practiced and experienced in different family situations. Hays, Sharon. The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1996).This is a widely acclaimed book that addresses the tensions and strains of contemporary motherhood. The author draws on a variety of sources, including historical data about mothering, analysis of the advice provided in recent childrearing manuals and in‐depth interviews with mothers of young children. She argues that the contemporary model of appropriate mothering reflects an ideology of 'intensive motherhood' in which mothers are expected to be both tireless and unselfish in their constant dedication to caring for their children. This situation creates considerable difficulties and ambivalences for women – particularly employed mothers – as they seek to live up to the unrealistic expectations of modern‐day motherhood. Marsiglio, William, Greer Fox, and Kevin Roy (eds). Situated Fathering: A Focus on Physical and Social Spaces (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005).This edited book reflects recent scholarship on fathering and fatherhood. Bringing together theory and data from different disciplinary perspectives, the volume provides insight into the diversity of meanings and experiences of fatherhood in contemporary society, as well as discussion of the father–child relationship and men's behaviour as fathers. Different fathering contexts are explored, including step‐fatherhood, non‐residential fathers, incarcerated fathers, and farm fathers. The volume extends earlier scholarship about men's involvement with their children, men's identities as fathers, and how fathering practices relate to cultural prescriptions of masculinity. Gatrell, Caroline. Hard Labour: The Sociology of Parenthood (Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press, 2005).This Open University Press book provides an excellent overview of the literature on motherhood, fatherhood, and family practices. It also reports on a study of the lives of mothers and fathers, all of whom were combining parenthood with careers. Particular attention is paid to mothers' and fathers' commitments to child care and child rearing as well as their commitments to the workplace. The book focuses on the willingness of parents to share the tasks associated with care‐giving and household labour. Although willingness to share is evident, the author argues that a change in societal attitudes towards equitable parenting is needed, as well as a collective sense of responsibility and support for parents and families. Bianchi, Suzanne, Lynne M. Casper, and Rosalind Berkowitz King (eds). Work, Family, Health, and Well‐Being (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005).This edited book includes a range of disciplinary perspectives on the study of work and family. It includes information on how families allocate time, the difficulties of managing family life and family time in the 24/7 economy, and 'workforce–workplace mismatch'. The particular challenges that face low‐income families and those who have to negotiate non‐standard work hours are addressed. The focus of the book is on health, including the well‐being of children, parents, and the family as a whole. The need for improved work and family‐related policies that would enhance family life and family well‐being is discussed.Online materials http://www.ifamily.ca/about/about.html The Vanier Institute of the Family is a national Canadian charitable organization dedicated to promoting the well‐being of all types and forms of families. Through access to a range of publications, reports, and links to statistical data, the website provides information and discussion on important issues and trends critical to the health and well‐being of families. The Institute is also involved in research, advocacy and educational work related to social and institutional policies that affect family life in a variety of ways. http://www.yorku.ca/arm/ The Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) promotes feminist scholarship on mothering and motherhood. It is also the home of Dementer Press and the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering. The website provides information about journal articles and book publications, as well as upcoming conferences and other events. In addition to research promotion, ARM is also an outreach organization. It supports a mothers' group (Mother Outlaws) based in Toronto, a newsletter and various knowledge mobilization projects. Links to all these activities can be found on the website. http://www.fira.ca/ The Fatherhood Involvement Research Alliance comprises individuals, organizations and institutions dedicated to the development of and sharing of knowledge about fatherhood and fathering. It aims to build community–university alliances through providing linkages of communication between practitioners, academics, policy makers and the general public related to concerns and issues associated with father involvement. The website provides information on new research, as well as upcoming conferences, workshops, colloquiums, and other activities. http://www.childstats.gov/ This is the website of the US Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The Forum collects data on a range of issues related to children and families and regularly provides updated statistics and reports on topics such as health care, safety, education and the social environment. The Forum's annual report, America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well‐Being can be found at the website. http://www.academyofleisuresciences.org/index.html This is the website of the Academy of Leisure Sciences, an honorary organization made up of academics who have been elected to the Academy in recognition of their contributions to knowledge about leisure and recreation. The website lists the areas of expertise and research interests of the members of the Academy as well as information about books and journal article publications. http://www.leisure‐studies‐association.info/ The UK‐based Leisure Studies Association (LSA) was formed in 1975 to promote interest and foster research in leisure studies and to advance education in this field. The Association facilitates the exchange of ideas on contemporary leisure issues and provides a communication forum for practitioners and students and researchers from a variety of disciplines. The website provides information about LSA conferences and publications, including the Leisure Studies journal.Sample syllabusFamilies and family life Section 1: A brief introduction to the study of families
Families in historical perspective Socio‐cultural perspectives on families Diversity in family forms, settings, and meanings
Section 2: Using theory to understand family life
The Parsonian family The family as a social system Class and gender dimensions of families Constructed families
Section 3: Motherhood and fatherhood
The cultural underpinnings of parenthood Changing ideologies and discourses of motherhood and fatherhood The expectations and contexts of contemporary parenthood
Section 4: The intersection of work and family
Work–family conflict The impact of parenthood on paid and unpaid work Gender equity and the division of household labour Work structures, labour policies and family policies
Section 5: Family time
Assessing family time use Time‐crunched families The purposive nature of family time and family leisure Divergent experiences and outcomes of family time Motherhood, fatherhood, and leisure
ReadingsBianchi, Suzanne M., and Sara B. Raley 2005. 'Time allocation in families.' Pp. 21–42 in Work, Family, Health, and Well‐Being, edited by Suzanne M. Bianchi, Lynne M. Casper and Rosalind Berkowitz King. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Craig, Lynn 2006. 'Children and the Revolution: A Time–Diary Analysis of the Impact of Motherhood on Daily Workload.'Journal of Sociology 42: 125–143.Kay, Tess 1998. 'Having it All or Doing it All? The Construction of Women's Lifestyles in Time‐Crunched Households.'Loisir et Société21: 435–454.Daly, Kerry J. 1996. 'Time Together: The Social Construction of Family Time.' Pp. 66–84 in Families and Time: Keeping Pace in a Hurried Culture, by Kerry J. Daly. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Harrington, Maureen 2006. 'Family Leisure.' Pp. 417–432 in A Handbook of Leisure Studies, edited by Chris Rojek, Susan M. Shaw and A. J. (Tony) Veal. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.Zabriskie, Ramon B. and Brian P. McCormick 2001. 'The Influences of Family Leisure Patterns on Perceptions of Family Functioning.'Family Relations 50: 281–289.Shaw, Susan M. 2008. 'Family Leisure and Changing Ideologies of Parenthood.'Sociology Compass: http://www.blackwell‐synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751‐9020.2007.00076.xCoakley, Jay 2006. 'The Good Father: Parental Expectations and Youth Sports.'Leisure Studies 25: 153–163. Section 6: Families, health, and well‐being
Time use, time stress, and health Taking control of family time Toward the development of health‐focussed family policies
Focus questions
What is meant by the terms 'family time' and 'family leisure'? How are these terms used in popular discourse (i.e., in the media or in everyday conversations)? How are these terms used in the research literature? What are the challenges that researchers face in assessing and/or measuring time use, family time and family leisure? What factors need to be taken into account? (e.g., the nature or meaning of an activity? the location? the social context?) What is the evidence for increasing time stress in contemporary families? What are the causes and consequences of time‐stressed families? What do researchers mean by the term 'ideology'? In what ways does this concept help us to understand the experiences and practices of parenthood? What are the contemporary ideologies of motherhood and fatherhood? How significant is family leisure for families today? What are the potential benefits of family leisure? What are the potential negative aspects? What are the relationships between family leisure, family time and ideologies of motherhood and fatherhood? In what ways do family leisure practices reinforce and/or resist these ideologies?
Performative Sozialwissenschaft gewährt Forschenden eine lange erwünschte Plattform, um über traditionelle Wege der Datenerhebung, Analyse und Präsentation ihrer Ergebnisse hinauszugelangen hin zu einer Art der Beschäftigung mit und Beantwortung von Forschungsfragen, die den besonderen Charakter des Ausgangsmaterials nicht aus den Augen verliert. Damit die sozialwissenschaftliche Stimme Gehör findet, müssen neue Wege erprobt werden, um soziale Wirklichkeit darzustellen; Weg, die alte und rigide Vorstellungen von qualitativer Sozialforschung "entkrampfen" zugunsten moderner und flexibler Ansätze, die auch für die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit taugen. Indem wir die theoretischen und paradigmatischen Grenzen unserer Arbeit neu definieren, können wir andere einladen, die Welt aus zusätzlichen Blickwinkeln zu betrachten. In diesem Beitrag werden die Potenziale eines performativen Ansatzes genutzt, um die Lebenserfahrungen einer Überlebenden des Holocaust vorzustellen, zu denen auch die Internierung im Konzentrationslager Auschwitz-Birkenau gehörte. Aus der visuellen und textlichen Reise eines "Forschungsgesprächs" mit der Überlebenden, in die auch Fotografien und Gedichte eingegangen waren, ist eine "Foto-Text-Montage" entstanden, die eine auch empathische Beschäftigung mit deren Zeugnis und Vermächtnis ermöglichen soll. Ich bemühe mich dabei um ein neues Nebeneinanderstellen von Bildern und Worten mit dem Ziel eines besseren Nachvollzugs der Beziehung zwischen ihr und mir, des Forschungsprozesses und seiner Ergebnisse. Es werden Aspekte von Forschung als Prozess des chronologischen, zeitlichen und räumlichen Vertrautwerdens mit den Daten ebenso behandelt wie die Bedeutung der Präsentation (Formate, Layout). Und es wird auf diese Weise sichtbar, was in traditionellen Ansätzen zumeist unsichtbar bleibt – die eigene "Reise" als Forscherin und die Einsichten, die in ihrem Verlauf gewonnen wurden.
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.
As late back as 1993, Ahmed noted that many Muslims voiced concern of the negative representation of Islam and Muslims by the Western media. However, following on from such incidents as the Rushdie affair, the first Gulf War and 9/11, interest in media representations of Islam have grown. An ever‐increasing body of research has argued that the images, representations and discourses relating to Islam and Muslims in mainstream Western media tend to be negative and hostile (Poole and Richardson 2006). Various studies have examined the specific relationship between media and Islam (Ahmed 1993; Runnymede Trust 1997); the representations of Muslim minorities in the West (Allen 2005; Poole 2002) and others on Muslims and Islam in the global media (Poole and Richardson 2006; Zelizer and Allan 2002). Ideologically, these constructions can be traced back the expansion of Western imperialism where a dichotomy of 'West' versus 'East' was constructed (Said 1978).The following suggested reading list provides a starting point for researchers that are interested in exploring issues of representation and minority groups. This is not an exhaustive list but provides some of the fundamental texts that help us to understand the relationship between one minority group in the West (i.e. Muslims) and their representations in the media.The reading list is constructed in the following way. First, it presents key cultural theory (i.e. Orientalism) and relates this to issues of 'race'. Second, it examines the link between media research on minority groups and representations of Muslims/Islam. Finally, it provides some background knowledge on Muslims/Islam within the West.Suggested textsCultural theorySaid, Edward 1978. Orientalism. London, UK: Penguin (republished, 2003 and 2005).Edward Said's Orientalism (1978) is a theory that has transformed the ways in which power relations between West and East can be understood. This explores the ideas that have become embedded in Western culture through history that justify imperialism/colonialism on the basis that the West is viewed as superior to the East. Within the book, Said offers three major claims. First, he describes Orientalism as an objective, disinterested and esoteric set of ideas, the overall function of which is to serve political ends. These, for example, provided an ideological justification for Orientalist scholars to allow Europeans to take over Oriental lands. Second, Said looks at how these tools are important in helping Europe to define its image and to establish and maintain opposites and others. On this basis, Europe was given its own cultural and intellectual superiority over Islamic cultures, and this led the West to see the Islamic culture as static both in place and time. Third, Said points out that Orientalism has produced a false description of Islamic cultures, including a belief that that it is possible to unconditionally define the essential qualities of a whole Islamic culture and the people within it. The qualities of this culture are usually defined in negative terms.The following link provides a summary by Said on the new edition of Orientalism: http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,12084,1010417,00.html (last accessed 24 June 2008)Ferguson, Robert 1998. Representing 'Race': Ideology, Identity, and the Media. London, UK: Arnold.The operations of ideology in the media are also discussed in Representing 'Race'. Ferguson argues that the study of 'race' and the media cannot be seriously undertaken without engaging with theories of ideology and without an awareness of contemporary theoretical work, such as approaches to Orientalism, hegemony and critical discourse analysis. Ferguson also highlights the danger of accepting at face value socially constructed and ideologically charged notions such as 'race'. The book also provides a useful summary and critique of Orientalism and applies various concepts to case studies within the media.For a good analysis of how hegemony, representation and notions of 'race' are intertwined that draws upon Ferguson's work, see the following: Can Gramsci's theory of hegemony help us to understand the representation of ethnic minorities in western television and cinema? By Reena Mistry at http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr‐rol6.htm (last accessed 24 June 2008).Media and 'race'Cottle, Simon 2000. Ethnic Minorities and the Media: Changing Cultural Boundaries. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.This key text brings together international researchers who have investigated some of the latest issues, debates and examples informing the field of ethnic minorities and the media. It provides a useful opening chapter that reviews the developments within this field. It also explores changes in media representations as well as different approaches that examine discourse, production and identity and debates within broader media theory such those about the media' role as the public sphere.Van Dijk, Teun 1991. Racism and the Press. London, UK: Sage.Van Dijk notes that most white people have very little contact with ethnic minorities and that their attitudes towards ethnic groups are therefore influenced on this basis by the media. He states that the media play a central role in the reproduction of racism in Western countries. Using discourse analysis, his book investigates the nature of the existence of racism through an analysis of statements on racial/ethnic relations found within the Dutch and British press. Van Dijk links the idea of 'primary definers' to the notion that the media constitute an 'elite' in society. Whilst accepting that the media represent conflicts over these ideas that include the voices of other social actors, he argues that in terms of race and ethnicity, an ethnic consensus is prevalent here. Van Dijk notes that the media constitute a cultural elite, and as the experts in matters of 'formulation' (and re‐formulation), the media produce the dominant discourse environment of a racist society.A collection Van Dijk's work on racism, discourse analysis and media can be found on the following web site: http://www.discourses.org Representations of Islam/muslims in the mediaPoole, Elizabeth 2002. Reporting Islam: Media Representations of British Muslims. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.Poole examines the claim that Muslims are negatively represented in the British press. She argues that media images of Muslims are informed by official definitions of Islam that serve elite interests and that these change over time to suit political purposes. Orientalist discourses, it is argued here for example, maintain the view of Islam as a coherent, trans‐national monolithic force that has been engaged in a confrontational relationship with the West throughout history. The book makes clear and concise connections between theory and representation and provides excellent examples to illustrate this.Poole, Elizabeth and John Richardson (Eds) 2006. Muslims and the News Media. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.This book examines the role and representations of Muslims in the news media in context of the current discussions of the 'War on Terror'. It includes chapters by both academic authorities and media practitioners and demonstrates how theory can be exemplified in practice. Furthermore, it is set in both a British and international context and recognizes similarities and differences present within coverage from around the globe. From a media perspective, the book clearly explores the connections between national/global context, content, production and different audiences (Muslim and non‐Muslim) and looks also at how Muslim media is organized and structured.Muslim minorities in the WestModood, Tariq 2006. Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.In Multicultural Politics, Tariq Modood explores how much of the 'blame' for the failure of multiculturalism has been attached to Islamic culture's incompatibility with the 'democratic' principles of the West. Arguing that the old 'racial' division of black–white has been complicated by factors such as cultural racism and the rise of Islamophobia, the book moves to chart these developments within the British context whilst also paying attention to global political developments. The book has an impressive range of topics covered such as 'race', racism, Islamophobia, the multicultural debate and even summarizes broader relevant cultural theory.Films, videos and on‐line sourcesVisual sources are an excellent teaching method that can be employed to explain theories of 'race' and media representation. Rather than concentrate on 'actual' films, videos online material that may considered Islamophobic the following provides academic and more critical sources that may be useful for teaching issues of Islam, Muslims, minority representation and even 'race'.Edward Said: On Orientalism (1998)In this documentary, Said talks about the context within which his book was conceived, its main themes and how its original thesis and ideas still relate to a contemporary understanding of 'the Orient' that is represented in the mass media and wider public politics.A brief version of the documentary can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwCOSkXR_Cw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjlRR‐qRkcc (last accessed 26 June 2008)Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2008)Race, the Floating Signifier: Featuring Stuart Hall (2006)Stuart Hall discusses the concept of 'race' and how race is represented and naturalized in the media. This interview gives relevant examples to help to understand the concept of mediated representations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cxBOdBoxpg&feature=related (last accessed June 26 2008)A documentary supported by the Media Education Forum based on academic research on how Muslims/Islam/Arabs are represented (and treated as a homogenous group) by Hollywood. It builds upon media representations of various minority groups and then looks specifically at similarities and differences in Arab portrayalsThe trailer and a brief version of the documentary can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_N4BcaIPY http://www.democracynow.org/2007/10/19/reel_bad_arabs_how_hollywood_vilifies (both last accessed 26 June 2008)Online sourcesRace, racism and ethnic minority affairs http://www.cre.gov.uk/ The home page for the Commission for Racial Equality provides up to date information on news and current affairs. It also provides links to a variety of other relevant sources form the media to black history groups. http://www.irr.org.uk The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) was established as an independent educational charity in 1958 to carry out research, publish and collect resources on race relations throughout the world. This website contains links to academic research, policy research and also media stories that are relevant to anyone interested in the area of 'race' and ethnicity. It also published the highly respected journal 'Race and Class'. http://www.islamophobia‐watch.com/islamophobia‐watch/ The above link also provides useful information on examples of racist and Islamaphobic sources that maybe useful for teaching or illuminating theories. I have purposefully not included the original links to many of these because they are, in my opinion, racist. http://www.guardian.co.uk/race The Guardian has a link to a database of back issues of relevant race articles. These include information on media representations and provide links to a variety of other sources as well as events/topics such as 9/11 and Asylum Issues. http://www.johnpilger.com/ This site contains articles on a variety of opinions from the respected author John Pilger. Much of this is relevant to issues of 'race' and ethnicity. http://www.insted.co.uk/islam.html The above links to a full text of the commission's 2004 report, plus also some extracts from it, including Islamophobia and Race Relations and Debate and Disagreement. http://www.fairuk.org/ Useful range of recent newspaper articles and several valuable fact sheets.Sample SyllabusModule justificationIt is clear that as issues of race, ethnicity and religion are as crucial to the 21st century as at any time in human history. We need to build clear understanding of these topics as well as an awareness of how they have evolved into present debates. Many of these debates and issues have invoked the use of racial, ethnic or national terminology but the discussion is not always fashioned around theories of 'old' racism but around concepts of 'new' racism.Whilst traditional notions of racism may have been challenged, these have been replaced in the West by fears of minority cultures, especially fear of Muslims. Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, the subsequent War on Terrorism has in some quarters been debated in terms of a clash of civilisations invoking representations of the 'Others' and based on historical conceptions of the 'Orient'.Furthermore, the European community as a whole is now debating issues of asylum seekers and refugees in what could be argued to be ethnic and racial terms. Thus, there is a need for a module that examines issues of race and ethnicity by linking media representations with theoretical and historical considerations.Section 1 Theories of 'race', racism and the 'other'This reading looks at how the concept of 'race' has been ideologically constructed. This will be done by examining race theory and applying this to historical and contemporary examples.Donald, James 1992. Cultural Identity. London, UK: Sage/Open University.Dyer, Richard 1997. White. London, UK: Routledge.Fryer, Peter 1984. Staying Power: History of Black People in Britain. London, UK: Pluto Press.Gilroy, Paul 1993. Small Acts: thoughts on the politics of black cultures. London, UK: Serpent's Tail.Gilroy, Paul 1987. There Ain't No Black In The Union Jack. London, UK: Hutchinson.Hiro, Dilip 1991. Black British, White British, 2nd edn. London, UK: Grafton Books.Mason, David 1995 Race and Ethnicty in Modern Britain. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Modood, Tariq 1997 Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage. London, UK: PSI.Solomos, John 1993. Race and Racism in Contemporary Britain. Basingstoke, UK: MacMillan.Solomos John and Les Back 1996. Racism and Society. Basingstoke, UK: MacMillan. Possible Seminar discussion Is racism about class or colour? Would you consider yourself racist? Section 2 'Race' history and imperialismThis reading examines how representations of race and culture are mediated through ideological power and explain this through historical and contemporary examples.Bhabba, Hommi 1990. Nation and Narration. London, UK: Routledge.Fanon, Frantz 1986. Black Skin: White Masks. London, UK: Pluto.Gandhi, Leela 1998. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press.Said, Edward 1978. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London, UK: Penguin Books.Said, Edward 1997. Covering Islam. London, UK: Vintage.Section 3 Islam, Islamophobia and cultural racismThese readings look at how constructions of religion in popular media are increasingly racialised and consider at the case study of Western media representations of Islam and Muslim communities.Ahmed, Akbar 1992. Postmodernism and Islam. London, UK: Routledge.Anthias, Floya and Yuval‐Davis, Nira 1992. Racialized Boundaries. London, UK: Routledge.Ballard, Roger (Ed.) 1994. Desh Pradesh, The South Asian Presence in Britain. London, UK: Hurst and Co.Conway, Gerald 1997. Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All. London, UK: Runnymede Trust.Modood, Tariq 2006. Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain. London, UK: I.B. Tauris.Said, Edward 1978. Orientalism: Western Conceptions of the Orient. London, UK: Penguin Books.Said, Edward 1997. Covering Islam. London, UK: Vintage.Note * Correspondence address: Department of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Sunderland, St Peters Campus, SR6 ODD. Email: amir.saeed@sunderland.ac.uk
The field of 'trans' studies, which incorporates transsexual, transgender, and cross‐dressing among its experiences and theorizing, has undergone tremendous changes within the century or so in which it has been developing. Initially, the scope of transsexual studies spans for almost a century, across social institutions and within a rigid model of proving a person's 'true transsexuality'. On the other hand, the reach and depth of transgender studies, emergent only less than 20 years ago, moves across disciplines, incorporates first and third person accounts, and it is less invested in reifying 'true' transgender identity and expression (although there are emergent movements attempting to solidify transgender as a multiple gender response to the gender binary, often by elite or privileged citizens). In summary, the field of transgender and transsexual studies is in constant development and change, and there are significantly some tensions that could offer much newer theorizing (e.g. between the categories of transsexuality and transgender as an umbrella term).Sociology's continued influence within the transsexual and transgender studies/fields require our attention to interdisciplinarity, while at the same time a serious grounding on the sociological literatures concerning the topic. Sex, gender, and sexuality are analytical concepts of much importance in order to study 'trans' populations and issues, as are questions of social location based on ethno‐racial, class, and other positionalities. These recommended readings, films and exercises form a foundation to implement critical views on the topic of 'trans' studies, and its intersections with other topics such as gender identity, homosexuality, gender presentation, and some historical accounts of the formation and solidification of the transgender category.Author recommendsStryker, Susan, and Stephen Whittle (eds) 2006. The Transgender Studies Reader. New York, NY: Routledge.A compilation of a number of old articles, and recent contributions by emergent scholars from many areas (including sexology, psychiatry, queer theory, feminist scholars, and transgender men and women), this reader is a critical reference to those interested in trans studies. Susan Stryker, herself one of the originators of transgender studies, poses a critical look at the resistance to acknowledge transgender (and transsexual) embodiment and identity. Stephen Whittle, a European scholar, also bridges the field in his beginning remarks. The chapters are a varied contribution to the scholarship of transgender studies, broadly defined. Its first part is a compilation of previously published work on transsexuality, but the majority of the text uncovers a series of issues newly developed (such as intersectionality, embodiment, and identities and communities).Valentine, David 2007. Imagining Transgender: An ethnography of a Category. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.This book is empirically based on fieldwork among three groups of transgender populations in New York City. Ranging from the staff and volunteers of the Gender Identity Project at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center, sex workers in the area of the 'meat packing district' (a district in the lower part of Manhattan) and at 'House Balls' (events of dance and competitions among queer youth of color), Valentine draws from all of these experiences to formulate the solidification of the 'transgender' category. A compilation of previously published articles and new material, this book is award winning within its field – anthropology. One of its main contributions is the use of 'transgender' as a term that evokes current debates and political struggles to solidify distinctions between gender and sexuality, and in many instances, the transgender category as relational to homosexuality.Bryant, Karl 2006. 'Making Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood: Historical Lessons for Contemporary Debates.'Sexuality Research and Social Policy 3 (3): 23–39.This article is a social history of the diagnostic category of 'gender identity disorder' and, in particular, how it was applied to children (mostly boys) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders from the American Psychiatric Association. The discourses surrounding the psychiatric diagnosis are traced from the beginning of related studies and the inception of the term (from the 1960s on) and into the present. Bryant gives a significant review of past debates in order to inform the contemporary ones taking place through his analysis of archival data, interviews with key mental health and psychiatry providers, and published reports on the development of this diagnosis. Among the aspects he looks at are the controversies as to whether atypical gender behaved boys will grow up to be homosexual, transsexual, or transvestite, and how current advocates for or against this diagnosis may be reproducing similar assumptions, or producing normative results, in their critiques of this diagnosis.Halberstam, Judith 2005. In a Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives. New York, NY: New York University Press.This book is a significant development from a humanities‐based cultural studies angle that takes a close look at artistic and media portrayals of transgender experience. Halberstam argues for a complex relationship (much closer than otherwise portrayed) between transgender and transsexual identities by looking at various individuals and their experiences – most notably Brandon Teena, who was killed in Nebraska by acquaintances, when it was 'discovered' that Brandon was a female‐bodied person who 'passed' as male. Halberstam's introduction to the book is a great challenge to the privileging of analysis of space in contemporary social theorizing (drawing on criticisms of works such as David Harvey's) and centering a newer analysis of queer uses of time as a challenge to normative assumptions about family and the nation. In a Queer Time and Place seriously engages the relationship between embodiment and representation, and the urban and rural contrasts in trans theorizing.Meyerowitz, Joanne 2002. How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Cambridge, MA, and London, UK: Harvard University Press. How Sex Changed is an elaborate historical examination of the ways sex, gender, and sexuality are tied together in early sexual science studies through the authority of medical and scientific 'experts'. Meyerowitz offers a broad historical and geographic discussion on transsexuality, ranging from the 19th century to the 1980s United States, and at times draws excellent comparisons between the US and European nations in their (often imprecise) dealings with transsexuality. A significant feature of Meyerowitz's work is the tracing of medical and scientific authority over access to technologies that would allow transsexuals to 'change sex'; transsexual narratives countered this authority with their accounts of self. The book illustrates the complex negotiation between what doctors considered to be the reasons and symptoms of transsexuality and the kinds of stories put forth by transsexuals seeking their help.Rubin, Henry 2003. Self‐Made Men: Identity and Embodiment among Transsexual Men. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. Self Made Men is a sociological study of the experiences of 22 transsexual men from various US cities. Rubin answers questions about the body and identity for his research subjects by weaving two discussions: of genealogy and phenomenology; the former a more discursive argument, the latter, a more grounded one. In this way, Rubin attempts to engage in structure versus agency theorizing in the narratives shared by the female‐to‐male transsexuals he interviewed. Rubin's book has a significant overlap to Meyerowitz, where he discusses the 1970s division between female‐bodied transsexual and lesbian identifications – worth taking a close look at as well. But Rubin's contributions also attest to the embodied experiences of the transmen he interviewed, by weaving experiences of betrayal and misrecognition, identities in progress, and some of the historical determinants for the development of a male transgender identity.Irvine, Janice 1990. Disorders of Desire: Sex and Gender in Modern American Sexology. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.This book gives a comprehensive look at the sexological field in the 20th century. As a sociologist, Irvine produces a compelling set of critiques of the ways in which a normative set of perspectives – about what takes place in one's sexual lives, about seeking help for sexual health, and about homosexuality and gender variant men and women – is dissected by the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and medicine. The text gives a comprehensive sense of the professionalization of sexology as a field – discussing Alfred Kinsey's work, the visibility and political mobilization of feminists and gay/lesbian groups, and later sexological scholarship on the physiological reactions to sex, erotic sensations, and pleasure. An award‐winning book, this is a great text to combine with readings on the social construction of sex, gender, and sexuality in contemporary USA.Kessler, Suzanne, and Wendy McKenna 2000. 'Who Put the "Trans" in Transgender? Gender Theory and Everyday life.'International Journal of Transgenderism, 4 (3): July–September. http://www.symposion.com/ijt/gilbert/kessler.htm.This very brief online essay offers a set of reflections on the uses and claims of 'trans' as a prefix that means different things to various populations (including academics and transgender people). The authors link their current reflections to their early work (Gender: An Ethnomethodological Approach) in order to politicize the various possible social change results that can come out of radical uses of trans. Their discussion is a refreshing approach that combines sociological and feminist analyses of gender identity in transgender people. Moving through the meanings of trans, and the history of the study of transsexuality and transgender identity nowadays, they evoke a social constructionist perspective to how gender develops, but as well, to how the biological is also a social construction.Mason‐Schrock, Douglas 1996. 'Transsexuals' Narrative Construction of the True Self.'Social Psychology Quarterly, 59 (3): 176–92.This article shows the development of interactive strategies to solidify an identity construction among several identities and experiences expressed in a support group for transsexual, cross‐dresser, transvestites and other gender variant men and women. Through naming, 'modeling', guiding each other through their past histories, and ignoring certain 'facts' about each other's past, the participants in these support groups foregrounded a transsexual narrative, to the detriment of other expressions. The work Mason‐Schrock developed here is an exploration of identity negotiation at its core, and one that merits attention by scholars on gender and sexuality, as well as transgender studies. Centro: Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies. Special Issue: 'Puerto Rican Queer Sexualities', Volume XIX, Number 1 (Spring 2007) (Guest Edited by Luis Aponte‐Parés, Jossianna Arroyo, Elizabeth Crespo‐Kebler, Lawrence La Fountain‐Stokes, and Frances Negrón Muntaner).This special issue of the Centro Journal has an introduction that frames the place of Puerto Rican sexualities in social scientific knowledge. I recommend this issue in particular due to several articles that illustrate the lives of an important Puerto Rican transgender woman (Sylvia Rivera, key figure in the Stonewall riots), as well as José Arria, another key Latino individual whose visibility in the gay/trans communities has often been overlooked. The special issue also reproduced the talk that Sylvia Rivera gave at the Latino Gay Men of New York (the largest Latino gay male group in New York City) in 2000, a few years before her death, as well as an interview with Antonio Pantojas – a long‐time female impersonator in Puerto Rico. For the reader interested in literature, the special issue also includes some discussion and analysis of Caribbean fiction that gave visibility to transgender people.Films and documentaries Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria (Victor Silverman, Susan Stryker, writers, directors, producers, 2005). Info at: http://www.screamingqueensmovie.com/.This documentary illustrates a challenge to the notion that a queer revolution started in 1969 in New York City, but instead, was initiated in the Tederloin, a marginalized San Francisco neighborhood. The historical accounts of transwomen that experienced life in the neighborhood where the Compton's cafeteria was located at the time of the riot are presented through interviews and archival documentation. You Don't Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men (Bestor Cram, Candace Schermerhorn, producers, 1997. Info at: http://www.berkeleymedia.com/catalog/berkeleymedia/films/womens_studies_gender_studies/gay_lesbian_transgender_issues/you_dont_know_dickAlthough old, this documentary shows the stories of several female‐to‐male transsexual men whose lives, their sexual experiences, and their gender negotiations are made evident. A very heartfelt documentary to show students the range of histories of transsexuality in an often ignored group – transgender men.Online materials
Sexuality Research and Social Policy e‐journal. Many articles published in this electronic journal showing the range of trans experiences (see in particular special issues December 2007 and March 2008, co‐edited by Dean Spade and Paisley Currah). Trans‐academics.org. An excellent website with many resources for scholars.
Suggested syllabiInstead of providing a single (and perhaps, narrower) view of 'trans' studies and issues through a sample syllabus, I urge the reader to go to Trans‐academics.org. There are several syllabi addressing the various perspectives in teaching trans issues (and from various disciplines). The page can be accessed here: http://trans‐academics.org/trans_studies_syllabiProject ideas and suggested exercises1. This exercise explores various issues foundational to discussions of trans experiences by looking at self‐representations, or other representations, as well as potential sociological analyses.Take a look at recent films, documentaries, research articles and books, and first person testimonials from transgender people. Divide the classroom into groups of 4–5, and assign each of them a different cultural text/document to look at. After exploring general reactions in each of the groups, assign each of the groups a collective response to some or all of the following questions:
What are the representations of transsexuality or transgender identity or experience in your assigned text? What is the relationship between sex and gender as evidenced in the films/videos/documentaries/articles/research reviewed? What, if any, are the discussions of gender and sexuality in the text? How are first person narratives authorized? What are the underpinnings – the history, the encounters with regulating social institutions, and the community formation as expressed in these texts? How does your group see sociology and sociological analyses in these texts? (This is important to assess whether the source you are reflecting upon is sociological or not.)
2. This assignment may lead students to think critically about the separation of gender and sexuality as analytical constructs. The document utilized also makes students reflect on migratory experiences and whether (and to what extent) they influence one's own knowledge and perceptions about transgender and transsexual experiences.Look at the Sexilio document (a comic‐book style autobiography) in the AIDS Project Los Angeles website (apla.org). Sexilio (Sexile) is a life history of a male‐to‐female transsexual who was born and raised in Cuba, and migrated with the Marielitos, the massive 1980 migration from Cuba to Miami, Florida. It is but one example of a first person illustration of transgender issues that complicates the relationship between gender identity and sexual orientation, adding migration experiences as yet another layer of analysis. Specific links: http://apla.org/publications/sexile/Sexile_web.pdf (English) http://apla.org/espanol/sexilio/Sexilio_web.pdf (Español)3. This assignment is intended to make students aware of the differences between first person representations, and media representations, of trans experiences.Have students research blogs, newspaper articles, films/documentaries, made‐for‐TV movies, other media coverage, and interviews (when available) of trans people that have been recently on the public eye, such as Calpernia Adams, Gwen Araujo, Tyra Hunter, Fred Martinez, and Brandon Teena. Then, have students explore:
What are trans people saying about themselves? (In the cases in which they have said anything about themselves – there are cases where they became well known after death.) What are the various media outlets saying about trans people? Trans experience? (And here, pay special attention to the various media outlets and the regional, cultural, and religious differences, as well as other potential differences, in their reporting.) Are the messages about transsexual and transgender expression/identity clearly separated in these illustrations? Which (re)presentations link homosexuality to transsexuality? Which separate it? Under what arguments are these fusions and distinctions being made?
4. This is an exercise for smaller classrooms, where there can be significantly more discussion about one's own personal experience.Have students evaluate their own gender presentation and the ways in which others attribute their gender identity. For such a discussion, refer to the reflections on Lucal (1999). Then have the students discuss the different meanings of trans as discussed by Kessler and McKenna (2000), or the gender insignia as discussed by West and Zimmerman (1987).Kessler, Suzanne, and Wendy McKenna 2000. 'Who Put the "Trans" in transgender? Gender Theory and Everyday Life.'International Journal of Transgenderism 4 (3): July–September. http://www.symposion.com/ijt/gilbert/kessler.htm.Lucal, Betsy 1999. 'What It Means to Be Gendered Me: Life on the Boundaries of a Dichotomous Gender System.'Gender & Society 13 (6): 781–97.West, Candace; Don H. Zimmerman 1987. 'Doing Gender.'Gender & Society, 1 (2): 125–51.5. This assignment aims to break away from the transgender versus transsexual discussion, by incorporating cross‐dressing and drag performances.Discuss the meanings of 'trans' beyond the transgender and transsexual as explored in the article. Focus on cross‐dressing and drag queen/king discussions, by taking a comparative approach to cross‐dressing among some of the following scholars:Schacht, Steven P. (ed.) 2004. The Drag Queen Anthology: The Absolutely Fabulous but Customary World of Female Impersonators. New York, NY: Haworth Press.Schacht, Steven P. 2002. 'Four renditions of doing female drag: feminine appearing conceptual variations of a masculine theme.' Pp. 157–80 in Gendered Sexualities (Advances in Gender Research, Volume 6), edited by Patricia Gagne and Richard Tewksbury. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Press.Shapiro, Eve. 2007. 'Research Report: Drag Kinging and the Transformation of Gender Identities.'Gender & Society 21 (2): 250–71.Taylor, Verta, and Leila J. Rupp. 2006. 'Learning from Drag Queens.'Contexts, 5 (3): 12–17.Taylor, Verta, and Leila J. Rupp. 2003. Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Discuss: What are some of the assumptions about gender that those 'doing drag' engage in? Likewise, what are some of the ways in which the researchers apply those assumptions themselves? Is there a difference between cross‐dressing and drag? Have the students exhaust the potential differences, and name what they perceive to be the similarities between the two.If possible, further the conversation by incorporating drag and cross dressing as part of the transgender umbrella term. What are some of the historical implications of drag and cross‐dressing? Where do they see cross‐dressing in relation to sex, gender, and sexuality? And doing drag? Do they see a distinction between doing drag for female‐bodied and male‐bodied individuals? If yes, how so? If no, why not?6. This assignment is intended for a theory or sociology of gender class where theoretical discussions are expected – ideally, an upper‐level sociology course.Discuss the ways in which ethnomethodology, phenomenology, symbolic interactionism, cultural studies, queer theory, and discourse analysis all frame transgender and transsexual experience. Use any of the sociology references in the 'Transgender and Transsexual Studies' article.
Author's introductionThe article provides an overview of research about social movements targeting and activism within organizations, such as corporations, educational institutions, the military, and religious orders. I begin by discussing older research in the field, then turn to four key questions that social movements scholars tend to ask and present a summary of the answers that scholars focusing on social movements in organizations have provided: what factors prompt the development of social movements in organizations; who becomes involved in insider activism, and why are they willing to face the risks inherent in participation; what strategies and tactics are used by social movements in organizations, and what are the relative costs and benefits of different strategic and tactical choices; and when do social movements have impacts on organizations, and what kinds of impacts do they have? This field remains underdeveloped, and the article concludes with an overview of potential directions for future research in an area of growing concern as the world population exists more and more under and within the influence of organizations.Author recommendsEisenstein, Hester 1996. Inside Agitators: Australian Femocrats and the State. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Hester Eisenstein's detailed study of the movement of Australian feminists into the state government bureaucracy is one of the first studies in the current wave of research into insider activism. While her case involves governmental agencies rather than non‐state organizations, the research provides a useful overview of how outsider activists become insiders and how their strategic choices are affected by their location with respect to the organization. The research finds that the creation of women's divisions within the state bureaucracy gave women both a seat at the government table and a foothold for the development of an insider consciousness and ultimately insider activism.Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod 1998. Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Faithful and Fearless considers campaigns by feminist activists to improve the situation for women in the United States military and the Catholic Church. Katzenstein highlights the personal costs of insider activism, the strategic choices activists make, the particular strengths and vulnerabilities of insider activists, and the way that accountability shapes insider activism. Particularly important is her discussion of the ways that the military and the Church, while both institutions that have stressed obedience and compliance, foster distinctive forms of activism and protest. While women in the military use legal action and lobbying to support their cause, women in the Church tend to turn to what Katzenstein calls 'discursive activism' (writing, workshops, conferences, and discussions reflecting on the meaning of faith and justice in the Church), and these different strategies have important consequences for the different ways that the impacts of these activists have developed.Klein, Naomi 2000. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. New York, NY: Picador.While Naomi Klein is a journalist rather than a social scientist, No Logo provides a useful overview of the anti‐globalization and anti‐corporate movements written as they were beginning to make a global impression. Eminently readable, this text is a way to highlight the difference between movements targeting organizations from within and without. Klein's main focus is on branding, and she traces the development of branding, the reduction of choice by multinational corporations, and the global movement of manufacturing jobs and concomitant labor issues. In the final section of the book, the part of most use to scholars and students of activism, Klein discusses anti‐globalization movements and other forms of activism targeting corporations from the outside.Meyerson, Debra E. 2001. Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.'Tempered radicals' are individuals who have successful careers within and identify with the organizations they are part of, but who simultaneously occupy marginal spaces in relation to these organizations due to some aspect of their personal identities, politics, practices, or ideals. Meyerson's book, written from a management studies perspective, shows how tempered radicals can create change in the corporate environments in which they work and provides an overview of the non‐disruptive forms of resistance such activists use. She presents many case studies of individuals who have created change in their corporate environments through the use of such non‐disruptive strategies, and structures her book as a guide to engaging in corporate change.Raeburn, Nicole C. 2004. Changing Corporate America from the Inside Out: Lesbian and Gay Workplace Rights. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Raeburn's work provides an excellent way to bridge the discussion of activism within organizations with the discussion of other forms of organizational change. Her research begins with the observation that while the US government has made little progress in extending civil rights to gay and lesbian people, over half of all Fortune 500 corporations offered family leave and domestic partner health coverage by the beginning of the 2000s (up from just three in 1990). She argues that employee activists organized to convince their corporate employers to offer domestic partnership benefits, non‐discrimination policies, and other LGBT workplace rights, and she builds on this analysis to show how changes that originate in a small number of organizations can spread across the organizational field.Rojas, Fabio 2007. From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Like Raeburn, Rojas's work shows the connection between insider activism and other processes of organizational change, such as foundation‐driven financial support and broad social change. His exploration of the emergence of black studies as an academic discipline in American higher education incorporates significant discussion of strategic choice and its effects on movement impacts. Rojas argues that black studies departments were able to emerge when they resonated with the culture of their college or university, particularly when they developed organizational structures that fit with institutional norms while still staying true to the movement itself. A particular strength of this book is its focus on the institutionalization of social movements and the ways in which institutionalization may actually be co‐evolution and compromise rather than cooptation.Scott, James C. 1990. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Domination and the Arts of Resistance does not focus on insider activism, but in this book, James Scott meticulously documents how resistance can occur beneath the surface and out of sight. It expands the reader's understanding of how insider activists can begin to resist the policies and practices at work in their organizations before they are willing to face repression and other personal costs. Drawing on examples from literature and history around the world, Scott shows how the public expressions of domination and submission differ markedly from the mocking and other forms of resistance that occur backstage – what he calls a 'hidden transcript'.Online materials Social Movements and Culture: A Resource Site http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/smc/ Developed by the Department of American Studies at Washington State University, this site contains extensive bibliographies of texts, syllabi, and websites concerning social movements and activism. While the site does not primarily focus on social movements in organizations, it is a useful place to begin investigating social movement campaigns and contains links to the websites of many organizational activists. Confronting Companies Using Shareholder Power http://www.foe.org/international/shareholder/ This primer outlines the history of shareholder activism and provides a detailed overview of how to mount a shareholder campaign. Most useful for teaching purposes, it provides links to primary source documents from a variety of shareholder campaigns in the late 1990s which could serve as the basis for a variety of course projects. Campus Activism http://www.campusactivism.org/ This site provides a directory listing hundreds of activist groups on college campuses across the United States, as well as organizing resources, lists of events and campaigns, and a discussion forum. It would be a great starting place for organizing local participant‐observation projects. Net2 http://www.netsquared.org/ Net2 is a database of projects that utilize social web tools on behalf of both activist and not‐for‐profit groups. The projects highlighted here can provide ideas of Web 2.0 projects for classroom development as well as show the ways that covert or non‐disruptive activism is utilized by those seeking social change.Sample syllabus Week 1. Introduction to Organizations Scott, W. Richard. 2000. 'Institutional Theory and Organizations.' Pp. 21–46 in Institutions and Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Week 2. Introduction to Social Movements Della Porta, Donatella and Mario Diani. 2006. Social Movements: An Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell.Snow, David A., Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi. 2004. 'Mapping the Terrain.' Pp. 3–16 in David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi, ed. The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Week 3. Schools of Social Movement Theory McCarthy, John D. and Mayer N. Zald. 2002. 'The Enduring Vitality of the Resource Mobilization Theory of Social Movements.' Pp. 533–565 in Jonathan Turner, ed. Handbook of Sociological Theory. New York, NY: Plenum.Melucci, Alberto. 1994. 'A Strange Kind of Newness: What's "New" in New Social Movements?' Pp. 101–130 in Enrique Laraña, Hank Johnston and Joseph R. Gusfield, eds. New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Kriesi, Hanspeter. 2004. 'Political Context and Opportunity.' Pp. 67–90 in David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi, ed. The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Week 4. Labor and the Labor Movement Fantasia, Rick and Kim Voss. 2004. Hard Work: Remaking the American Labor Movement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Week 5. Social Movements Targeting Organizations from the Outside Klein, Naomi 2000. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. New York, NY: Picador. Week 6. When and Why do Movements Emerge within Organizations? Santoro, Wayne A. and Gail M. McGuire. 1997. 'Social Movement Insiders: The Impact of Institutional Activists on Affirmative Action and Comparable Worth Policies.'Social Problems 44: 503–519.Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. 1998. 'Protest Moves Inside Institutions.' Pp. 3–22 in Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Van Dyke, Nella. 1998. 'Hotbeds of Activism: Locations of Student Protest.'Social Problems 45: 205–220. Week 7. Insider Activists Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. 1998. 'Legalizing Protest.' Pp. 23–42 in Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Meyerson, Debra E. and Maureen A. Scully. 1995. 'Tempered Radicalism and the Politics of Ambivalence and Change.'Organization Science 6: 585–600.Meyerson, Debra E. 2001. 'Tempered Radicals.' Pp. 1–34 in Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Week 8. Strategies and Tactics in Organizational Activism Rojas, Fabio. 2006. 'Social Movement Tactics, Organizational Change, and the Spread of African‐American Studies.'Social Forces 84: 2147–2166.Meyerson, Debra E. 2001. 'How Tempered Radicals Make a Difference.' Pp. 35–138 in Tempered Radicals: How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Week 9. Discursive Activism Katzenstein, Mary Fainsod. 1998. 'Discursive Activism.' Pp. 107–131 in Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Scott, James C. 1990. 'Behind the Official Story.' Pp. 1–16 in Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Benford, Robert D. and David A. Snow. 2000. 'Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview and Assessment.'Annual Review of Sociology 26: 611–639. Week 10. Understanding Movement Impacts Amenta, Edwin and Michael P. Young. 1999. 'Making an Impact: Conceptual and Methodological Implications of the Collective Goods Criterion.' Pp. 22–41 in Marco Guigini, Doug McAdam, and Charles Tilly, ed. How Movements Matter: Theoretical and Comparative Studies on the Consequences of Social Movements, edited by Marco Guigini, Doug McAdam and Charles Tilly. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Guigni, Marco. 1998. 'Was It Worth the Effort? The Outcomes and Consequences of Social Movements.'Annual Review of Sociology 24: 371–393.Earl, Jennifer. 2003. 'Tanks, Tear Gas, and Taxes: Toward a Theory of Movement Repression.'Sociological Theory 21: 45–68. Week 11. Impacts on Organizations Raeburn, Nicole C. 2004. Changing Corporate America from the Inside Out: Lesbian and Gay Workplace Rights. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.The remaining weeks are left open for studies of specific cases, student presentations, or coverage of research techniques in social movements. For a 10‐week trimester course, I would suggest combining weeks 2 and 3 and combining weeks 10 and 11. For those who wish to cover research techniques in social movements, the following selections are useful:Mahoney, James. 2003. 'Strategies for Causal Assessment in Comparative‐Historical Analysis,' pp. 337–371 in James Mahoney and Dietich Rueschemeyer, eds. Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences.Klandermans, Bert and Suzanne Staggenborg, eds. 2002. Methods of Social Movement Research. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Hill, Michael. 1993. Archival Strategies and Techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Focus questions
What factors prompt the development of social movements in organizations? Who becomes involved in insider activism, and why are they willing to face the risks inherent in participation? What strategies and tactics are used by social movements in organizations, and what are the relative costs and benefits of different strategic and tactical choices? When do social movements have impacts on organizations, and what kinds of impacts do they have? How are social movements within organizations different from and similar to other types of social movements and from other types of organizational change?
Seminar/project idea Activism in the College/University Context: An Archival Research Project In this project, individual students or small groups of students investigate periods of activism in their own college or university. The project will introduce students to both the promise and the challenge of doing research on movements in the past, and it will help them to see the complexity of processes of change in an organization they are intimately familiar with. While the moments of activism in each college and university are different, some good places to start might be changes in general education requirements or the development of new majors or programs; the end of parietal rules governing cross‐sex visitation in dorms; changes in religious observance, including chapel regulations or religious affiliations; times of social turbulence outside of the college or university, such as the Civil Rights movement, anti‐war movements, or divestment campaigns related to apartheid in South Africa; efforts related to the admission of students of different sex or race from the original student body; and labor movement activity. Instructors may wish to consult with archivists and/or faculty members with a long history at the institution to draw up a list of possible topics in advance, or they may encourage students to locate their own topics. Students will then need to spend time in the archives to develop an understanding of the context of the activist campaign they are studying. Most campaigns will have received coverage in student newspapers and will be documented in the archives to some extent, but some projects may require interviews with activists or observers present at the time. Students will then prepare papers and/or presentations that rely on the theoretical ideas covered in the course to explain the emergence, strategic choices, and impacts of these change campaigns. Corporate Case Study Assignment In this assignment, students conduct a case study of an individual incidence of shareholder activism. Drawing on publicly available documents, such as those that can be located at foe.org, SEC filings, and court cases, students develop an analysis of what lead to movement emergence, how shareholders developed their strategies (including framing), and what factors influenced the eventual impact of the activism. Depending on the case, instructors may also encourage students to locate and interview key activists in the campaign. For graduate courses, final projects on different corporations might be created by individual students or small groups; for undergraduate courses, instructors might choose a single case and have all the students contribute to a joint analysis. This project would be particularly well suited to courses in business or management that take organizational change and insider activism as topics of inquiry.Note * Correspondence address: Rhode Island College, Department of Sociology, 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Providence, RI 02908. E‐mail: marthur@ric.edu.
