Law Commons^™

Reborn: A Note From The Editors, David L. Brunsma, Keri E. Iyall Smith, Mark Frezzo

Societies Without Borders

In the Fall of 2009 Brill, confronted with budget challenges, chose to terminate its publication of Societies Without Borders: Human Rights and the Social Sciences. There were two ways to respond to this change: shop the journal to other publishers or look into a closer relationship with Sociologists Without Borders/ Sociólogos Sin Fronteras (SSF). The answer was clear almost immediately—we should look for a way for SSF to publish Societies Without Borders. This would free us from the tides of capitalism and allow SSF to push the boundaries of what it means to publish in academic journals.

The …

We Are The Ones We’Ve Been Waiting For: Human Rights And Us/U.S., David L. Brunsma

Societies Without Borders

Since 2002, SSF, internationally, has been at the forefront of an epistemological revolution within sociology. Specifically, SSF-US has had the difficult task of bringing the United States into a critical dialogue with other voices and perspectives – voices which are much more deeply rooted in human rights than most United Statesian sociologists. In this article, I outline eight ways to underscore the Hopi saying that, "we are the ones we've been waiting for": 1) remapping our cognitions away from individualism and capitalism; 2) socializing for humanity, not citizenry; 3) recognizing our common needs and common vulnerabilities; 4) creating new identities …

Violence And Collective Conflict Experiences, Carlos Gadea

Societies Without Borders

Emergent collective mobilizations, urban riots, and spontaneous concentrations seem to show that social conflicts and the violence that often accompanies them have different dimensions in the contemporary world. The present work analyzes the nexus between violence and collective conflict experiences. Taking into account discussions of violence, conflict, collective action and the “definition of a situation,” I assess the degree to which violence is an important ingredient in the construction of the social meaning of contemporary collective actions.

The Care, Custody, And Control Of Incarcerated Women In Ecuador, Jill Harrison, Maureen Norton-Hawk

Societies Without Borders

This paper presents findings on the custody, care and control of incarcerated women in Ecuador. Although the interrelationship of abuse, poverty, drugs and incarceration is often perceived as a U.S. phenomenon, this paper presents data on a group of structurally and institutionally vulnerable women who are serving mandatory sentences of 6 to 8 years for drug possession and trafficking. Our mixed methodology of survey data, personal interviews, and secondary source materials uncovers some disturbing human rights violations and documents the challenges these incarcerated women face as mothers and inmates.

Notes From The Field: The Sociology Of Conspiracy: A Cultural Commentary On Structural Adjustment, Muhammed Asadi

Societies Without Borders

„Conspiracy theory‟ as a convenient rhetorical rebuttal has been culturally constructed as quick refutation of otherwise distasteful, never mind factual ideas by the elite. All social interventions that seek structural adjustment, adjustments that have not yet been institutionalized and made „automatic‟, involve some form of conspiracy, a coor- dinated intervention for structure maintenance. In this essay I examine the anti- affirmative action „movement‟ in the U.S. that levels the charge of reverse discrimina- tion, to conclude that every extra institutional adjustment involves conspiracy and leads to unintended consequences which require further conspiratorial action by the elite. It is within such …

Book Review Of The Endgame Of Globalization, Tugrul Keskin

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Expressions Of Human Rights: You Live: A Poem Of Love, Rodney Coates

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Notes From The Field: The Criminalization Of Undocumented Migrants: Legalities And Realities, Tanya Golash-Boza

Societies Without Borders

Undocumented migrants are not criminals. Detention is not prison. Deportation is not punishment. These are truths in the legal system of the United States. However, undocumented migrants are treated like criminals; detainees feel as if they are in prison; and deportees experience their exclusion as punishment. This article examines the contradictions between legal arguments which indicate that immigration proceedings are not criminal proceedings and the experiences of deportees who often feel as if they were treated like criminals and that banishment from the country in which they have lived most of their lives is a cruel punishment.

Book Review Of Capitalist Networks And Social Power In Australia And New Zealand, Basak Ozaral

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

The Contested Terrains Of Public Sociology: Theoretical And Practical Lessons From The Movement To Defend Public Housing In Pre- And Post-Katrina New Orleans, John Arena

Societies Without Borders

In this article I argue professional and policy sociology are antagonistic, rather than compatible with the theory and practice of a critical, organic, public sociology in de- fense of human rights and social justice. Drawing upon my graduate school experi- ence and relationship with New Orleans public housing movement, I show how prac- ticing public sociology in various terrains required unmasking and opposing the apo- litical pretenses of professional sociology and the agenda-setting of neoliberal govern- ment and corporate patrons of policy sociology. The current global economic crisis and assault on university budgets is strengthening the policy and professional sociolo- …

Book Review Of Democracy Works: Joining Theory And Action To Foster Global Change, Meredith Katz

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Designing Rights-Based School Feeding Programs, George Kent

Societies Without Borders

Rights-based school feeding programs could serve as a basis for experiential learning about rights, and through that means, improve both nutritional and educational out- comes. Rights-based school feeding programs would give students the means to act to ensure that specific standards are met. Rights are supposed to be enforceable claims to specific goods or services. There must be some sort of institutional authority to which rights-holders whose claims are not satisfied can appeal to have the situation correct- ed. Enforceability means that the duty bearers, those who are to fulfil rights/ entitlements, must be obligated to do so, and they …

Teaching And Speaking To Social Change: A Digital Storytelling Approach Addressing Access To Higher Education, Aline C. Gubrium, Timothy Scott

Societies Without Borders

In this article, we briefly review neoliberal economic rationales used to inform educa- tional reforms, juxtaposed with the function of public education as a public good. We then introduce a new participatory visual method grounded in a human rights educa- tion approach, digital storytelling. Digital storytelling can serve triple purposes: as a data collection technique used by social researchers to critically assess participants’ experiences as they are affected by education reforms, as a collaborative method for political organizing, and as a tactic for building awareness to address these reforms. We review a digital storytelling workshop as it was carried out …

Book Review Of Advocating Dignity: Human Rights Mobilizations In Global Politics, Delia Popescu

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Achieving Human Rights, Fatemeh Shayan

Societies Without Borders

No abstract provided.

Notes From The Field: Development And Daughters: Changing Familial Roles In Rural Bangladesh, Roslyn S. Fraser

Societies Without Borders

The now-globalized economy has had far-reaching effects on family structure and gender roles around the world. One striking aspect of globalization is the rapid expan- sion of a global labor market resulting in large waves of labor migration. The effects of labor out-migration of men from rural Bangladesh have not yet been well docu- mented, but preliminary data show that these effects may be surprising and profound. The absence of men in many rural Bangladeshi families necessitates a change in how women‟s roles are perceived and experienced. As men leave for work, women may be buffering the effects of economic …

International Human Rights Law In Japan: The View At Thirty, Timothy Webster

Faculty Publications

Japanese courts have become increasingly open to the use of international human rights law in the past two decades. This paper examines several of the key decisions that reflect the judiciary's embrace of international law, particularly in the areas of criminal procedure and minority rights. I argue that the judiciary has eclipsed the other branches of government as the primary disseminator of human rights norms in Japan.