Social Activism

Marxism and Contemporary "Peasant" Activism

by Chris Wright

Is Baptism a Male Birthing Ritual? By Michele Stopera Freyhauf

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the... more Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the question “Why do I need a man to purify my baby with the waters of baptism?  Is there something wrong or impure about the blood and water from a mother’s womb – my womb?”  Before you jump and shout the words Sacrament or removal of original sin, this question bears merit in exploring, especially in today’s world where women are taking a serious beating religiously, politically, and socially.  In today’s world, violations and rants are causing women to stand up and say STOP!  This is MY Body.  This outcry was provoked by chants of ethical slurs against women– Slut! Prostitute! Whore!  The cry got even louder when the issue of religion and government was raised in the fight of healthcare coverage of contraception. The cry got even louder with the enactment of the laws in Virginia and Texas (and many other states to follow suit) that forces women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds in early stage abortions.  The mandatory insertion of a wand into a woman’s vagina (mandated by the government, mind you), is a violation and has women crying RAPE!

My First Experience at a Women-Only Conference by Grace Yia-Hei Kao

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

“This ain’t your daddy’s conference!”

I knew that I was going to be attending a totally different type of... more “This ain’t your daddy’s conference!”

I knew that I was going to be attending a totally different type of conference than I had ever been to before when I received the following instructions on additional items to pack: (1) my own mug with which to drink coffee or tea (“we will go green in this conference as much as possible”), (2) 3 oz. of water “from a source of nature near your home” to be offered during “opening worship,” and (3) a small, modest, pre-owned, homemade, or inexpensive “earth-honoring gift for exchange.”

Review - John Holloway, Crack Capitalism (London, 2010)

by Uday Chandra

Review - David N. Gellner (ed.), Varieties of Activist Experience: Civil Society in South Asia (New Delhi, 2010) and Ethnic Activism and Civil Society in South Asia (New Delhi, 2009)

by Uday Chandra

Forthcoming in Social Movement Studies 12 (1), 2013

Preying on Victims: Radical Christianity and Exploitation of Tragedy in the Name of God By Michele Stopera Freyhauf

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

It is our moral responsibility, whether we identify as Christians or not, to pray for not prey on the victims of... more It is our moral responsibility, whether we identify as Christians or not, to pray for not prey on the victims of tragedies.

Over the last month, dare I say years, society has witnessed or been subjected to an all out war from radical Christians across America deploying the wrath of God and reveling in the tragedy of others to perpetuate their apocalyptic message of rhetoric and terror.  As I hear the news over the last few months, an old Billy Joel song starts to play in my head “We didn’t start the fire.”  Whether we started the fire or not, we should not feed the flames of hatred but figure out a way to extinguish it.

Here is a brief synopsis of current events that reflect this hatred and radicalism perpetuated in the name of God – examples of Christianity terrorizing or preying on victims through their actions.

The Westboro Southern Baptist Church: Preying on Victims at Funerals and Thanking God for their Tragic Deaths

Get Your Laws off my Body! by Elise Edwards

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project.

After considering Virginia’s Transvaginal Utrasound Bill in light of the womanist critique, I wonder if... more After considering Virginia’s Transvaginal Utrasound Bill in light of the womanist critique, I wonder if religiously-motivated lawmakers considered that they alone do not have access to God’s intentions, but that the divine spirit is operative in a pregnant woman as well, would they be so willing to negate her moral agency?

On Tuesday, the senate in Virginia approved a law that would require women to get an external ultrasound before an abortion.  This is a scaled-back version of an original bill that mandated transvaginal ultrasounds prior to abortions. According to this Washington Post article, opponents like Sen. Janet D. Howell describe the measure as “state rape,” since it is the state, not the woman and her doctor who decides that she must undergo this procedure  requiring the insertion of a probe into the vagina.  Although proponents of the bill say that it is designed to give women more information about a fetus’ gestational age and development, most would agree that it is ultimately intended to discourage the women from having an abortion.

Feminist Theologies: Past, Present, and Future

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project

On February 7, 2012, a panel discussion focused on the past, present, and future of feminist theologies took place at... more On February 7, 2012, a panel discussion focused on the past, present, and future of feminist theologies took place at Claremont Graduate University to celebrate the release of TheOxford Handbook on Feminist Theology.  The panel was organized by John Erickson, moderated by Grace Kao, and featured Karen Torjesen, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Gina Messina-Dysert, Zayne Kassam, and Sheila Briggs as presenters.  What resulted was a terrific discussion about women, religion, and feminist theologies.  Many were in attendance and participated in the panel; for those who were unable to attend, here is a video of the presentations from that evening.  We look forward to you sharing your thoughts and comments about the past, present, and future of feminist theologies.

Bareed Mista3jil: Negotiating Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in Lebanon by Amy Levin

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on Feminism and Religion project

It’s not often (enough) that I (have the time to) come across non-academic books that articulate and reflect some of... more It’s not often (enough) that I (have the time to) come across non-academic books that articulate and reflect some of the most complex intersections between religion, gender, and sexuality. Those that do are commonly produced in the Western hemisphere, often representing the voices of Euro-American cultures and religious traditions. That is why I want to give voice to Bareed Mista3jil, a book, or collection of “41 true (and personal) stories from lesbians, bisexuals, queer and questioning women, and transgender persons from all over Lebanon.” Bareed Mista3jil was published in 2009 by the organization Meem, a community of lesbian, bisexual, queer women and transgender persons (including male-to-female and female-to-male) in addition to women questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity in Lebanon. The purpose of the book is to give voice to those in Lebanon with non-conforming sexualities and identities in order to give hope to this under-represented, often silenced population. Here is a description from Meem on the origin of the book:

Port Huron at Fifty: The New Left and Labor: An Interview with Kim Moody

by Christopher Phelps

Published in Labor: Studies in Working-Class History of the Americas, Volume 9, Issue 2 (summer 2012): 25-46.

This interview with Kim Moody, who was present at the Port Huron convention of 1962 as a twenty-two-year-old Johns... more This interview with Kim Moody, who was present at the Port Huron convention of 1962 as a twenty-two-year-old Johns Hopkins University student, illuminates the early history of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), especially the neglected labor-related portions of The Port Huron Statement, one of the most influential manifestos of the sixties radicalization. In a wide-ranging discussion on labor and the New Left, Moody explains the different views of labor represented at Port Huron, appraises individual thinkers such as Tom Hayden and C. Wright Mills, and explores topics such as the meaning of participatory democracy, the politics of labor in the 1960s, class relations in the civil rights movement, the SDS economic and research action projects, and the general relationship between organized labor and the New Left.

Do We Need More “Ministerial Exceptions”? by Kile B. Jones

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published by the Feminism and Religion project

In a recent unanimous and precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling, a “ministerial exception” was given to Hosanna-Tabor... more In a recent unanimous and precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling, a “ministerial exception” was given to Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School regarding employment discrimination.  Cheryl Perich, a “called teacher” at Hosanna-Tabor, was fired after issues surrounding her narcolepsy developed.  As is well known in the United States, innumerable federal, state, and local laws exist to protect employees from discrimination based on race, sex, age, disability, and so forth.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964) prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin.  In the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, signed in 1990), employers are also held liable for discrimination based on an employees’ disability.  The “ministerial exception” excludes religious institutions and ministers from the ADA.  It is important to note that the ADA protects employees hired by private companies as well as public ones.

In the slip opinion, the Supreme Court argues that, “The Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses of the First Amendment bar suits brought on behalf of ministers against their churches, claiming termination in violation of employment discrimination laws.”

Linking personal and social histories with collective identity narratives

by Nicola Curtin

Curtin, N., & Stewart, A. J. (2011). Linking personal and social histories with collective identity narratives.  In S.Wiley, G. Philogène, & T. A. Revenson (Eds.), Social categories in everyday experience (pp. 83-102). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

Wrestling with group identity: Disability activism and direct funding

by Christine Kelly

2010. Published in Disability Studies Quarterly, 30(3/4).

With disability representing a diverse array of experiences and identities, it seems unlikely that advocacy groups... more With disability representing a diverse array of experiences and identities, it seems unlikely that advocacy groups would be able to agree on concrete policy issues. And yet, there does appear to be consensus in the global North on a number of topics. This paper explores one such example, advocacy around direct funding models of personal assistance in order to ask the question: What are the implications for the collective identity of a social movement when groups coalesce around very particular issues? I uncover the implicit identity underlying direct funding advocacy, and how mobilizing around this identity has lead to substantial success in terms of instituting direct funding programs. However, the identity does not 'disappear' when the programs are actualized, leading to the exclusion and marginalization of many individuals from both specific programs and social movements. This collective identity has significant consequences for disability movements in the global North, how disability is defined and at times it results in conservative political demands. This paper suggests that a 'collective of individuals' approach to conceptualizing and enacting social movements represented by Titchkosky (2003) and Do-It-Yourself feminism may hold potential for future disability activism.

The Youth Activist Forum: Forging a rare, disability-positive space that empowers youth

by Christine Kelly

Co-authored with Erica Carson. Forthcoming in the Journal of Youth Studies.

As with many movements operating in neoliberal regimes, Canadian disability movements struggle to maintain momentum... more As with many movements operating in neoliberal regimes, Canadian disability movements struggle to maintain momentum and engage youth leadership. Drawing on feminist disability studies, this article presents the findings of a participatory research project on the Youth Activist Forum, an event which brought together 38 youth with and without disabilities to meet new and established leaders with disabilities. We argue the process of planning, hosting, and attending the Youth Activist Forum forges a complex rare space that facilitates empowerment for youth. We frame the space as ‘rare’ because: the activities and leaders are overlooked by the scholars documenting Canadian disability movements; it is a new experience for many youth participants, planners and speakers that builds community; it reveals a lack of shared frameworks through uncomfortable moments; and in some ways, it diverges from priorities on the Ontario funding and non-profit landscape. We argue that while rare and difficult to create, this space is necessary as it facilitates empowerment, recognizes existing youth leadership and helps us imagine the future of disability movements. We conclude by discussing the value of our findings for youth studies researchers, particularly those drawing on disability studies literature and seeking to engage youth on disability issues.

Playing public health: Building the HIVe

by Thomas Apperley

Co-authored with Chris Walsh

In thinking through the impact of digital media on how frontline workers, activists, practitioners and researchers... more In thinking through the impact of digital media on how frontline workers, activists, practitioners and researchers understand and fight HIV and AIDS, it is important to acknowledge that digital media does not only provide new channels and strategies for communicating information around HIV prevention and education. It also establishes innovative domains for conceiving of, and building, ‘resilient communities’ like The HIVe. Such digital interventions are cultural assets that confront biomedical and
behavioural approaches to HIV prevention and education. Immersive and social technologies, network ubiquity and low cost mobile phones provide new tools for aggregating, representing, collecting and disseminating community-based and led data that ‘plays’ public health differently. This play involves fore-fronting the success of social science HIV prevention and education against the essentialist logic of dominant biomedical approaches. ‘Playing public health’ provides an entirely new and comprehensive picture of the agency of the HIV virus that goes beyond the pathology of the individual. This paper proposes the goal of putting HIV prevention back into the ‘game’ of public health and playing it to win
by building The HIVe.

Repensar Bonpastor: una intervención multidisciplinaria independiente en un barrio afectado por la transformación urbanística

by Stefano Portelli

Published in Periferia, revista de recerca i formació en antropologia, n.12, june 2010

“Repensar Bonpastor – a Competition of ideas for a participative and zero-eviction urban renewal of a popular... more “Repensar Bonpastor – a Competition of ideas for a participative and zero-eviction urban renewal of a popular neighbourhood in Barcelona”, promoted by the International Alliance of Inhabitants and organized by an independent group of technicians from Barcelona, received 45 proposals from all over the world. The
article explains how the local struggles of the neighbours of the “casas baratas de Bon Pastor” succeeded in gathering applied anthropology, international solidarity, oral history, social architecture, political activism, into a shared attempt to find a new way of “making the city”: where inhabitants are the leading actors of the transformations, and technicians (especially anthropologists) guarantee respect towards the meanings and value that the city represents to its inhabitants.

Keywords: urban renewal, public anthropology, social architecture, community
activism.

Ativismo ou participação? Por uma agenda de estudos comparativos sobre as formas de inclusão das vozes subalternas

by Francisco Mata Machado Tavares (Franck)

Borderzones of Enforcement: Criminalization, Workplace Raids, and Migrant Counterconducts

by Jonathan Xavier Inda

Activism in the times of Impasse

by Larisa Kurtovic

Kurtovic, Larisa. 2012. Activism in the Times of Impasse. APLA Section News. Anthropology News 53: 5. p 28.

Des black blocks aux alter-activistes: pôles et formes d'engagement des jeunes altermondialistes»

by Geoffrey Pleyers

Pleyers G., “Des black blocks aux alteractivistes : Pôles et formes d’engagement des jeunes altermondialistes”, Lien Social et Politiques, 2004, n°51, pp. 123-134.

Voir aussi le chapitre 3 de
"Alter-Globalization. Becoming actors in the global age", Cambridge, Polity, dec. 2010.
http://uclouvain.academia.edu/GeoffreyPleyers/Books/347185/Alter-globalization._Becoming_Actors_in_the_global_age

Massivement impliqués dans les mobilisations altermondialistes, les jeunes n’ont pas pour autant renoncé à leur... more Massivement impliqués dans les mobilisations altermondialistes, les jeunes n’ont pas pour autant renoncé à leur profond désenchantement à l’égard des structures et acteurs traditionnels de la vie sociale et politique, ni à leur individuation. C’est au contraire sur ces bases et en s’appuyant sur leur adaptation à la société informationnelle qu’ils créent progressivement de nouvelles cultures de l’engagement et des visions différentes du politique.
A partir d’une recherche réalisée en Europe et en Amérique Latine, cet article tentera dans un premier temps de dégager différents pôles parmi ces jeunes altermondialistes. Il se penchera ensuite sur les formes d’engagement privilégiées avant d’analyser leurs conceptions du politique.