Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Health Effects Of Indigenous Language Use And Revitalization: A Realist Review, D. H. Whalen, Melissa E. Lewis, Stefanie Gillson, Brittany Mcbeath, Bri Alexander, Kate Nyhan

Publications and Research

Background: Indigenous populations across the world are more likely to suffer from poor health outcomes when compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Although these disparities have many sources, one protective factor that has become increasingly apparent is the continued use and/or revitalization of traditional Indigenous lifeways: Indigenous language in particular. This realist review is aimed at bringing together the literature that addresses effects of language use and revitalization on mental and physical health.

Methods: Purposive bibliographic searches on Scopus were conducted to identify relevant publications, further augmented by forward citation chaining. Included publications (qualitative and quantitative) described health …

From Abortion Rights To Reproductive Justice: A Call To Action, Erica Goldblatt Hyatt, Judith L.M. Mccoyd, Mery Diaz

Publications and Research

As aggressive cultural and legislative attacks on abortion rights and access continue, we call upon social workers to pursue the liberatory aims of the reproductive justice (RJ) movement. We argue that the RJ framework, rooted in feminist theory, aligns with social work’s social justice ethos and goals, appropriately guiding advocacy and intervention. After outlining the central aims and tenets of the RJ movement, we consider policies that impair RJ and those that could promote RJ, focusing on enhancing body sovereignty, childbearing, and parenting. We conclude with concrete recommendations for how social workers can pursue RJ professionally and personally.

The Imaginal Lexicon Of Aging Studies, William Ebenstein

Publications and Research

Aging Studies focuses on the cultural, humanistic and experiential aspects of aging insofar as these are already embedded in literature, art, language and everyday life. The lexicon of this multi-disciplinary field has evolved in response to shifts in cultural attitudes, social roles, and conceptual frameworks. At the same time, many age-related words have links to poetic imagery and ancient myths, and to evocative etymologies that conjure an historical context. The article looks at the ongoing and surprisingly difficult effort to find the right word to call an older person. It reviews the language and literary genres associated with longevity. And, …

Righting Health Policy: Bioethics, Political Philosophy, And The Normative Justification Of Health Law And Policy, D. Robert Macdougall

Publications and Research

In Righting Health Policy, D. Robert MacDougall argues that bioethics needs but does not have adequate tools for justifying law and policy. Bioethics’ tools are mostly theories about what we owe each other. But justifying laws and policies requires more; at a minimum, it requires tools for explaining the legitimacy of actions intended to control or influence others. It consequently requires political, rather than moral, philosophy. After showing how bioethicists have consistently failed to use tools suitable for achieving their political aims, MacDougall develops an interpretation of Kant’s political philosophy. On this account the legitimacy of health laws does …