Digital Commons Network^™

Letters To The Editor (Resurrecting This Historical Section): Redefining Anthropology?, David Lempert

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Editor’s Note

The lifeblood of science and social science is competition among ideas in healthy debate testing scholarly standards and findings. In recent years, as standards have begun to disappear in social science and as journals begin to advocate for doctrine in place of social science and discipline, the opportunity to challenge colleagues (and editors) to adhere to disciplinary standards has also disappeared. Many journals have simply eliminated Letters to the Editor sections and discussions. Others have moved discussions to on-line pages where discussions often deteriorate into short emotional reactions or factional in-fighting in place of constructive scholarly debate to …

Returning Discipline To The Discipline: A Model Procedure For Reviews In Anthropology, Social Sciences, And Other Related Disciplines, David Lempert

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This piece uses participant observation of and research into disciplinary procedures to reveal that review policies in anthropology, other ‘social sciences’, and related disciplines have become arbitrary and politicised with little to protect professional standards of a discipline and to avoid conflicts of interest that prejudice scholarship. To address the problem, this piece takes the initial step towards establishing procedural standards. The piece offers a model procedure to incorporate in journal article and book publisher review policies, applying legal approaches to anti-corruption and procedural fairness along with key human resources principles to measure skills and competence. It also applies best …

The Nonsense And Non-Science Of Political Science: A Politically Incorrect View Of ‘Poly-T(R)Ic(K)S’, Polly Sly

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The purpose of this short essay is to highlight the failures in contemporary Political Science by sketching a small model of what the discipline would look like if it were in fact a “discipline” driven by scientific questions and methods responsive to public benefit rather than to indoctrination and control. Rather than simply accept, on faith, the “expert” assurances of quality, or the subject labels or claims of “inclusiveness” and “representation”, this essay offers some questions and alternatives that the educated public can use to hold the discipline to its mission and to assure that it is not simply serving …

An International Legal Scholar’S View On “Is Economics In Violation Of International Law? Remaking Economics As A Social Science”, Ugo Mattei

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

No abstract provided.

An Ecological Economist’S View On “Is Economics In Violation Of International Law? Remaking Economics As A Social Science”, Peter Söderbaum

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Introduction

Is mainstream economics with its many theories and recommendations compatible with international law, such as the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP, 2007) or the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992 (UN Rio Declaration, 1992)? Are globally renowned universities teaching economics in ways that violate international law? Can economics as a discipline be questioned in this way and held legally accountable? If so, who are the responsible persons or organizations to be prosecuted? Asking questions of this kind seems to be extremely relevant and timely. ...

Is Economics In Violation Of International Law? Remaking Economics As A Social Science: Parts I-Iv, David Lempert

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This piece is in four parts following this abstract, the Table of Contents and a Short Introduction.
Part I: Is Economics in Violation of International Law? Part I applies a set of systematic international legal principles found in international law to the doctrines of “neo-classical” mainstream economics to test whether the discipline is consistent with those legal principles or would be held to be in violation if brought to trial in an international court of law. The conclusion of this legal analysis is that the discipline is in violation.
Part II: Is there a Current Social Science of Economics in …

Distorting Psychology And Science At The Expense Of Joy: Human Rights Violations Against Human Beings With Autism Via Applied Behavioral Analysis, Kathleen P. Levinstein

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Although it is both one of the more “scientific” of the social sciences and also one of the most applied, Psychology has a long history of inventing both “diseases” and “treatments” for them while turning a blind eye to applications that fail to incorporate scientific knowledge and rights-based protections. Despite continued exposure of such practices, they continue to arise, with academics making their careers and practitioners making profits while patients and society suffer some of the consequences. This piece focuses on one of the latest of these modern science fiction horrors in a subfield that has been at continual fault: …

The Quiet “Purge” Of Jews And Jewish Thinking In American Social Science, Brooks Duncan

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This article uses the method of ethnic stratification analysis and participant observation to raise questions about what appears to be one of the hidden ethnic transformations that has occurred in the disciplines of anthropology and sociology in the past two decades; the replacement of Jews. Jews, who were among the founders of and became “over-represented” in these disciplines, have now been replaced with other minorities through a process of selection based on “representation”. Along with the use of these disciplines for overall university quota filling, in order to promote statistics for hiring of underrepresented groups, has come the loss of …

Professor Rip Van Winklestein Applies For A Teaching Job ... And Finds His Disciplines (And Much Of Social Science) Have Disappeared, Brooks Duncan

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

What if you woke up one day and found that your entire discipline, to which you had sacrificed years of your life, had suddenly disappeared … not because it had become obsolete but because it had been replaced by advocacy and indoctrination, and that nobody seemed to notice or care, as if it had happened by design? It happened to me….

Foreword: The Death Of Social Sciences In An Era Of Multicultural Corporatism (‘Neo-Liberalism’): With Efforts At Resuscitation, David Lempert

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This foreword is in four separate parts:
Part I: Inspiration for the Special Issue: A Personal Story: This section describes the inspiration for this issue, in a tale of the author’s experience with social science over the past 40 years. It offers some general observations and theories about what has happened to the social sciences from a personal perspective over time. (pages 2 to 19)
Part II: The Concept for this Special Issue of Catalyst and the Reality of Critiquing and Restoring Social Science: This section is what one generally finds in an introduction to a special issue, describing the …

Volume 8, Issue 1, Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

No abstract provided.

Volume 7, Issue 1, Catherine Scott

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field is greatly promoted as a career path for students in recent years, and the demand for individuals specializing in STEM disciplines is expected to rise. Often, when considering STEM, one thinks of careers related to medicine, laboratory settings, or the pure sciences. However, in examining only these aspects of STEM, we may errantly overlook the impacts that P-20 education may have in using STEM as a means for improving student lives. One unique aspect of STEM is its role in helping to improve our well being as individuals and society as a …

Toward A Theory Of Teacher Education For Justice-Oriented Stem, Beth Leah Sondel 7722095, Joanna Koch, Sarah Carrier, Temple A. Walkowiak

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Among the multiple perspectives as to the focus of education policy, there has been much recent attention paid to both STEM and social justice education. While these approaches are often seen in opposition with each other, in this paper we explore the possibility of combining these two aims as we begin to develop a theory of teacher education for justice-oriented STEM education.

Social Justice Driven Stem Learning (Stemj): A Curricular Framework For Teaching Stem In A Social Justice Driven, Urban, College Access Program., Paul E. Madden, Catherine Wong, Anne C. Vera Cruz, Chad Olle, Mike Barnett

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This article presents the curricular framework for a social justice driven STEM curriculum (i.e., S_TEMJ) within an out-of-school time program for Boston Public high school students (i.e., College Bound) at Boston College. Starting with a discussion of the authors’ ideological positionality within critical social justice discourses, the authors share how Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) General Ecological Model provides a conceptual framework for operationalizing social justice inquiry with and through STEM. Positioning this curriculum within the College Bound program’s overall design gives readers a sense of how the program’s College and Career, Identity and Society, and S_TEMJ curriculums work …

Providing Equal Opportunity To Learn Science For English Language Learners: The Role Of Simulated Language Learner Experiences In Teacher Preparation, Angela W. Webb, Estanislado S. Barrera Iv

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing student population in our nation’s public school systems; yet, preservice and inservice teachers are commonly underprepared to teach science effectively to this group of students. Though obviously inequitable, providing ELLs with poor or subpar science instruction denies them their civil right to equal opportunity to learn science. In this paper, we discuss simulation as a promising way to prepare preservice elementary teachers to plan and deliver quality science instruction and robust opportunities to learn to ELLs.

"Returning To The Root" Of The Problem: Improving The Social Condition Of African Americans Through Science And Mathematics Education, Vanessa R. Pitts Bannister, Julius Davis, Jomo Mutegi, Latasha Thompson, Deborah Lewis

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The underachievement and underrepresentation of African Americans in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) disciplines have been well documented. Efforts to improve the STEM education of African Americans continue to focus on relationships between teaching and learning and factors such as culture, race, power, class, learning preferences, cultural styles and language. Although this body of literature is deemed valuable, it fails to help STEM teacher educators and teachers critically assess other important factors such as pedagogy and curriculum. In this article, the authors argue that both pedagogy and curriculum should be centered on the social condition of African Americans – …

Editor's Introduction, Catherine Scott

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This issue of Catalyst aims to present a collection of works that examines the role of STEM education in aiding in these opportunities not only for the PK-12 classroom, but also in the college classroom and through pre-service educator training.

Prefigurative Politics Vs. Party-Building In The Post-Soviet Context: Ideology And Resource Mobilization In Left-Radical Groups In Ukraine, Volodymyr Ishchenko

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

I wrote this paper 10 years ago based on my MA thesis. Many things have changed since that time. The left groups mentioned in the article do not exist anymore. Some of their activists are still active politically but many are not part of radical left politics any more. In addition, now I am more skeptical of the postmodern theories of ideology I tried to use in the paper. If I were writing a similar analysis now, I would try to develop a more materialist and a more complex approach to ideologies and their effects on practical politics. However, the …

‘Capitalism A Nuh’ Wi Frien’. The Formatting Of Farming Into An Asset, From Financial Speculation To International Aid, Luigi Russi, Tomaso Ferrando

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This paper deciphers the formatting of farming into an asset by tracking the modalities by which financial calculation is enabled across different sites of agency.

The first focus of our analysis are commodity futures markets, which have witnessed a double spike in prices in 2008 and in 2012. In the paper, we look at these hikes as the outcome of endogenous dynamics, caused by the changing makeup of market participants after 2000, which turned futures markets into resources for hedging commodity index-linked derivative products.

We subsequently analyse the increasing reliance on financial actors placed by public development agencies that channel …

Praxis With Self-Advocates: Exploring Participatory Video As Radical Incrementalism, Kathleen C. Sitter, Amy C. Burke

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

In this article, the authors report selected findings from a larger study where self-advocates from the disability rights movement created a series of short videos as part of a participatory research project. Self-advocates subsequently integrated these videos into a greater community organizing initiative. While the research process of this study has been published elsewhere, this piece will explore the idea of bridging participatory video, a collaborative research methodology, with community-based advocacy initiatives. The authors contend that this presents an opportunity for radical incrementalism in which to create a praxis driven predominantly by the voices on the margins versus the academic …

The Liberal As An Enemy Of Queer Justice, Craig Schamel

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Abstract

Liberalism as a historical mode of the political is the context in which the movement and ensuing struggle for queer justice emerged in most Western countries. The terminology, practices, tendencies, beliefs, ethics, laws, and patterns of political and social life which have been determined by this mode of the political, it is argued, are inimical to queer justice and render its achievement impossible. Liberalism as a mode of the political is approached from below, from knowledge gained in practical experience in queer groups which considered themselves revolutionary at least to some degree, and from the effects on such groups …

Queering The Reform/Revolution Dyad: A Spatiotemporal Dialectic, Raihan Sharif

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

All ages deal with the debate between reform and revolution in the contexts of their

distinctive challenges, problems, and prospects. While reflecting on today’s sociopolitical

realities in the U.S., this paper identifies a theoretical stagnancy in academia

that deters any radical praxis for revolution. Addressing some key theoretical stances

within the reform/revolution dyad, the paper argues that any criticism of “revolution in

a linear future” is no easy approval for “reform in a static present” either. Also,

replacing the “apocalyptic future” with the “here and now” of the progressive present

is perhaps inadequate without critically reflecting on the “quality” of …

Terror In The French Republic: Competing Performances Of Social Justice, Adam Yaghi

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Major news anchors reported the action second by second. They replayed video footage of two hooded gunmen executing a French police officer followed by reports of other connected attacks and images of deployed French counter-terrorism units. The unfolding drama quickly created an atmosphere of panic, even in places far away from where the incident of Charlie Hebdo took place. The sequence of events also gave birth to a global support movement. Among the vast crowds coming out in French cities, international state high officials marched alongside President François Hollande ostensibly to defend freedom of speech, express their unity in the …

Editor's Introduction, Craig R. Schamel

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

When the theme for this issue of Catalyst was conceived, it was imagined that contributions might present both defenses and critiques of liberal justice, that is, one might say, that these contributions would either promote reformist or revolutionary modes of justice. Instead, all of the submissions took a fairly decisive position of critique of liberal modes of justice, though they are not necessarily in agreement about what constitutes a revolutionary mode of social justice, and they do not always adopt the term 'revolution' itself as a description of the critique they present and the direction in which they point.

Modes Of Social Justice Volume 6, Issue 1 - Full Issue For Download, Craig R. Schamel

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

When the theme for this issue of Catalyst was conceived, it was imagined that contributions might present both defenses and critiques of liberal justice, that is, one might say, that these contributions would either promote reformist or revolutionary modes of justice. Instead, all of the submissions took a fairly decisive position of critique of liberal modes of justice, though they are not necessarily in agreement about what constitutes a revolutionary mode of social justice, and they do not always adopt the term 'revolution' itself as a description of the critique they present and the direction in which they point. Not …

Social Justice In Education: Just Another Buzz Word Or A True Daily Struggle?, Todd Sloan Cherner, Nanci Howard, John Delport

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Editor's Welcome

A Neoliberal Critique: Conceptualizing The Purpose Of School, Jennifer Desaxe

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

Throughout this manuscript, I discuss the current trend of neoliberalism, privatization, and deregulation within our educational communities and public schools. Throughout this analysis, I examine the ways in which many neoliberal policies aim to takeover public education through such consequences as false meritocracy, high stakes testing, and drastic funding inequities. I argue that we must seek to understand and challenge such policies in order to speak out against ideologies and “reform” movements that frame the purpose of schooling in ways that go against conceptualizing and actualizing it in a democratic and just manner.

What I Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda Learned In Science Class”: Black American Boys’ Narratives Of Past Science Teachers And Visions For A Culturally Responsive Science Teacher, Althea Hoard

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

This study follows three Black American, high school boys who participated in a “Men in STEM” book club in an urban school in New York City. Through narrative analysis, the boys describe their vision for a culturally responsive science teacher and connections are made between the boys’ experiences with science teachers and interest in STEM careers. 20 10^th grade Black American boys joined the “Men in STEM” book club and three participants are highlighted due to their differing interests in pursuing a STEM major in college. By triangulation of semi-structured interviews, two open-ended questionnaires, and researcher field notes, four …

Reflections On My White Privilege And Understanding It: Thoughts From A Teacher Educator, Todd Sloan Cherner

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The topic of White Privilege continually appears in a variety of contexts. As one of those contexts is teacher education, the author reflects on how he came to understand his White Privilege in this article. To frame his reflection, the author first unpacks the term “White Privilege” by drawing from other scholarly works and then explains how he came to understand its meaning. The author put forward his reflections as a way of sharing his experiences, in hopes they may help other White educators become aware of their own White Privilege and begin living socially conscious lives.

Moving Toward A More Socially Just Classroom Through Teacher Preparation For Inclusion, Grace Blum, Megan Wilson, Yelena Patish

Catalyst: A Social Justice Forum

The current literature in teacher education for social justice fails to adequately address issues of disability within the equity discourse. In this paper, the authors advocate for a model of social justice teacher education that includes disability as part of the definition of marginalized groups by proposing the use of Response to Intervention (RTI) as a method for promoting inclusion into the social justice-oriented teacher preparation context.