Suchergebnisse

The emergent paradigm of "Women, Culture, & Development" (WCD) calls for a development centered on women, that gives culture & human agency much significance for political economy. The reimagining of development in a socialist, green, antiracist feminism is explored to argue that culture must be brought into discussions as a noneconomistic yet material way to produce knowledge & different strategies for social change. Their vision of politics invokes the red of socialism, the black of racial difference, & the purple of feminism to reimagine development. The two brief case studies of biopolitical "intellectual property" exemplified in the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) & the political space created by the women of Chiapas point to the ecological, material, & cultural struggles of Third World women for socially just forms of development. The expression of the red, green, black, & purple is a reminder of the socialist, green, antiracist, feminist visions of social justice in which all human beings have the potential to change-themselves & their social circumstances. Women do make history &, sometimes, in circumstances of our own choosing. References. J. Harwell

Argues that, with the collapse of Soviet communism, the theory of historical materialism has been vindicated rather than refuted. The basic thesis of historical materialism is that social being determines social consciousnes. Social being is defined broadly to include economic life, but also the means of power & of ideological influence. Ordinarily, control of these three aspects of social being -- economics, power, & ideology -- are divided between different classes of society. It is only in totalitarian societies that the state comes to control all of social being. It is suggested that, in the case of the former USSR, the consciousness of communist leaders was determined by their social being. As the economic inefficiency of their regime became evident, it produced disquiet about the political power of the party & eventually about its ideological control of the society. Communist leaders were unable to negotiate these difficulties, & eventually their regime was overthrown. Thus, economic changes produced political & ideological challenges &, ultimately, a change in social being. D. Ryfe

The scholarship on transnational social movements & advocacy networks has expanded our understanding of movement dynamics above & across borders, but much of it fails to conceptually connect such manifestations of "globalization from below" to the economic & political aspects of "globalization from above." The author argues that the emergence & spread of transnational feminist networks (TFNs) are best understood in terms of the neoliberal economic shift & its impact on female labor, the decline of the welfare & development state, & the rise of fundamentalism-all of which are key elements of globalization. The development of transnational women's groups is traced from the early decades of the 20th century, through the post-Keynesian & post-communist transitions, & the emergence of fundamentalist movements that led to the convergence of feminist perspectives across the globe. The activities & goals of TFNs are identified as assisting global networks to mobilize pressure outside states, participation in multilateral & intergovernmental political arenas, & agitating within states to enhance public awareness & participation. TFNs activities are concluded to disseminate new ideas about reinventing globalization, the role of the state & "gender justice" with full consideration of economic justice that addresses the gendered (& racial) makeup of working people. References. J. Harwell

Looks at links between conspiracy theories & aspects of the human sciences to argue that their narrative structures are basically the same. Human science & conspiracy theories both try to furnish explanatory myths for mass societies by exposing "hidden" schemes that caused certain events/circumstances to occur. The prevalence of current conspiracy theories surrounding events such as the death of Princess Diana, the TWA 800 crash, & Waco (TX) are compared with human science theories to show that they share the same narrative structure. For example, the classical sociological thinkers called on capitalism, patriarchy, imperialism, human nature, & mythological structures to explain what had previously not been understood, & these explanations usually exposed machinations at work "behind people's backs." The general atmosphere in the current "age of anxiety" is explored to suggest that the need to theorize situations is part of a culture that requires explanations for everything. The possibility of an alternative way of thinking that avoids searching for a single explanation in favor of disseminating as many wild explanations as possible is discussed. 34 References. J. Lindroth

"Since The Authoritarian Personality (Adorno, et al., 1950) appeared, many people questioned the similarity between supporters of parties and ideologies at the extreme left and right. In the West, authoritarianism correlated with conservatism and the political right. This chapter examines the relationships between authoritarianism and attitudes belonging to a broader framework of the socialist ideology. SOCID (socialist ideology) and Authoritarianism scales were administered to a sample of approximately 700 Yugoslavian college students. Both scales were factor analyzed and relationships between the extracted dimensions were analyzed. Results indicate that those aspects of the state-socialist ideology that involve more tough-minded, intolerant attitudes (e.g., militarism), were more related to authoritarianism than aspects involving more pro-social attitudes (e.g., egalitarianism)." (author's abstract).

"Since The Authoritarian Personality (Adorno, et al., 1950) appeared, many people questioned the similarity between supporters of parties and ideologies at the extreme left and right. In the West, authoritarianism correlated with conservatism and the political right. This chapter examines the relationships between authoritarianism and attitudes belonging to a broader framework of the socialist ideology. SOCID (socialist ideology) and Authoritarianism scales were administered to a sample of approximately 700 Yugoslavian college students. Both scales were factor analyzed and relationships between the extracted dimensions were analyzed. Results indicate that those aspects of the state-socialist ideology that involve more tough-minded, intolerant attitudes (e.g., militarism), were more related to authoritarianism than aspects involving more pro-social attitudes (e.g., egalitarianism)." (author's abstract)

Data from a 1991 survey of victims of rape on a college campus (N = 50) are presented in an examination of the social & community networks available to women of such attacks. It is found that certain types of rapes often go unreported, & that even those women who sought help quickly often were blamed for their own victimization by the authorities. It is suggested that this blame-the-victim mentality is the most pernicious aspect of social support networks for rape victims. A call is made to better coordinate off- & on-campus support services, establish better tracking mechanisms of rape incidents, & develop more sensitive methods of responding to rape victims. 17 References. D. M. Smith

"Against the background of a series of serious right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic incidents in Germany in 2000, we constructed a new heuristic model with three components to describe new aspects of anti-Semitism based on: 1) traditional anti-Semitic prejudices, 2) communicative latency of anti-Semitism, and 3) refusal or acceptance of responsibility for what happened in the past to the Jewish people. The model was tested in some field studies (N=2130 youngsters in Ger-many) using a standardized questionnaire. Path analyses show a 3-dimensional structure of anti-Semitism (manifest, latent, and 'no responsibility toward Jews') and the data fit the theoretical model. New aspects of anti-Semitic attitudes reflect the public avoidance of anti-Semitic statements and refusal to discuss Germany's fault, behavior, and responsibility for the Jewish people. These new aspects of anti-Semitic attitudes are also linked to a general hostility toward foreigners. It is possible to differentiate between groups of individuals with various anti-Semitic attitudes. The new aspects of anti-Semitic attitudes are concerned with present debates about German national pride among German subpopulations and about the end of 'getting over history' The 'new' anti-Semitism in Germany may be considered as a social construction of German subpopulations designed to repress their own conceptions of unpleasant 'German' problems." (author's abstract)

The volume's editors introduce the book's topic & provide an overview of past foci of research, as well as the book's contents & methodology. The task of the book is to explore dual-career couples in terms of class & gender inequality. Drawing on longitudinal & event-history analysis, the essays examine the history- & culture-specific aspects informing gender relations, labor participation, class status, & family life in the 12 countries studied. The three cross-national issues of greatest interest for the contributors are: (1) cross-national differences in the influence of gender on work transitions; (2) how "upward" or "downward" marriage choices inform later spousal working relationships; & (3) the role & evolution of class-specific spousal labor divisions in family life cycles. 80 References. K. Coddon

Argues that social movements vary in the amount or degree of culture within them according to six locations -- described as values, objects, stories, occasions, roles, & personae -- & six degrees, or dimensions of degrees -- sharing, distinctiveness, scope, elaboration, quantity, & expressiveness. A series of questions that can guide cultural analysis in the assessment of the amount or degree of culture according to this six by six matrix are discussed. The example of charting the cultural aspects of the US peace movement using this framework is presented. This movement, characterized as a conglomerate of several specific organizations, was culturally two-tiered: at the movement-wide level, participants shared little but some basic & abstract values, while at lower clusters, greater cultural development was exhibited. It is contended that this analytic framework allows specific hypotheses & questions to be formed & investigated. 1 Figure. D. M. Smith

Employs racial formation theory to examine contemporary US racial dynamics. According to this theory, the meaning of race is contested throughout social life as a constituent aspect of collective identities & social structures. This contest is played out through a multidimensional process of competing racial projects that intersect & clash. It is indicated by a brief review of post-WWII racial history that the US is currently in a transition from a pattern of racial domination to one of hegemony. In this context, decentered notions of race have spawned multiple racial projects -- including those of the far Right, the New Right, neoconservatism, pragmatic liberalism, & radical democracy -- all of which are vying to construct a new racial hegemony. Oppositions within this competition are not repressed or excluded, but are incorporated & inserted into a modern social order. In particular, the state, the media, large corporations, & other key societal institutions are described as instituting political initiatives through the incorporation of cultural narratives from competing racial projects. It is suggested that, to succeed in this environment, the radical democratic project ought to connect the question of discrimination as a racial process to its class consequences. 1 Table. D. M. Smith

Causes & implications of the contemporary welfare crisis are discussed, with a particular focus on the impact of global economies. The welfare state crisis has been primarily attributed to three sources: (1) incompatibility between welfare & market demands for work, saving, & investment, (2) the long-term effects of population aging on welfare; & (3) global economic competition which punishes welfare strategies lacking economic efficiency. Although these sources have contributed to the welfare crisis, it is argued that their impact is often exaggerated & thereby misleading. Rather, welfare crisis is the product of both market failure (inefficient labor markets that produce unemployment & burden the welfare system) & welfare state failure (lack of coherence between institutionalized welfare policies & current economic & social circumstances). It is suggested that the traditional welfare state is no longer adequate for the demands of new social realities such as global competition, women's entrance into the workforce, population aging, decreased fertility, etc. Although privatization has certain advantages, it is concluded that subjecting welfare concerns to market forces may undermine the noneconomic aspects of welfare such as social integration, eradication of class differences, national identity, & social mobility. 3 Tables, 42 References. T. Sevier

Compares attitudes toward Caribbean cannibalism & African American slave religions to explore how stereotypical images of culturally legitimate violence continue to influence attitudes toward Caribbean cultural concepts. An overview of the history of Caribbean cannibalism indicates that these acts were considered legitimate because they almost always fulfilled a social function for the community. Concepts of Caribbean cannibalism in colonial discourse led to the negative stereotyping of a culture in which cannibalistic acts were an important facet of religion & a core aspect of the symbolic universe. Colonial stereotypes affected European behavior/attitudes toward African slaves, who were considered dangerous/savage because of their religions, especially Jamaican Obeah & Haitian Vodou, which incorporated violent practices & violent images, respectively. It is argued that European notions of cannibalism not only became a key factor in the encounter between different cultural systems, & a symbol in perceptions of "Others," but generated an atmosphere of violence in colonial discourse that suggested all non-Christian ideas/practices were nonhuman & should be eliminated. 34 References. J. Lindroth

An examination of the judicial treatment of migrant criminality focuses on the complex interaction between immigrants & the receiving society. Formal & informal procedures related to migrant crime are described, along with the cognitive & moral dimensions that impact both court life & the social construction of migrant crime. Empirical findings regarding petty crimes & drug-dealing cases in Italy are presented to illustrate the structural weakness of the legal position of migrants, ways in which the judicial system uses its discretionary power to contribute to definitions of what is criminal, & how migrant criminality as a social fact helps to explain various social, legal, psychological, cultural, & political aspects of migrant criminality. Special attention is given to the role played by law enforcement & prosecution practices in defining the boundaries between informal & criminal, as well as how institutional & political decisions involved in the social construction of immigrants' criminality lead to perceptions of immigrant crime as a cause for social insecurity. 4 Tables, 40 References. J. Lindroth

The chapter proposes a constructivist approach to understanding not only rampant corruption in the Americas but also why Inter-American anticorruption programs have been ineffectual. The rule-oriented constructivism outlined here examines normative & behavioral aspects of corruption; it compares rule structures based on political culture scholarship; & it considers & compares corrupt actions via rational choice theory. The theoretical framework provided is comprehensive & integrative, accounting for a range of agency, structural, & material features. 4 Tables, 46 References. K. Coddon