Suchergebnisse

In 1994, fundamentalist Muslim Islamists in the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago organized a campaign to institutionalize the wearing of the traditional Muslim headscarf – the hijab – in nonIslamic schools. A lawsuit was brought on behalf of an 11 year old Muslim schoolgirl who had been told that she would not be allowed to wear the hijab while attending the Catholic run but state supported Holy Name Convent school. The ' hijab case', as it came to be known, was framed as a religious matter, but it was essentially a political contest that was played out in court in an unprecedented case in which law was mobilized as a mechanism for cultural change. Drawing on extensive research and participant interviews, this article examines the strengths and limitations revealed in this attempt to use the law as a means of promoting religious pluralism in a complex, multicultural, secular society.

The large majority of faculty members teaching in community colleges are employed on a part-time basis, yet little is known about their working conditions and professional engagement. This article uses data from a recent national survey of faculty members teaching sociology in community colleges to provide this information, with particular attention to the different situations of those teaching full-time, part-time by choice, and part-time involuntarily. Contrary to previous analyses that assume homogeneous motivation and working conditions for part-time faculty members, our analysis finds differences between two categories in both structural aspects of their employment and perceptions of cultural devaluation expressed interpersonally. Both aspects serve as constraints on developing faculty-student relationships, a proven factor in student learning and success. We conclude that administrators and full-time colleagues must provide stronger support for the individuals introducing students to the discipline of sociology in the community college.