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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Report: The 2018 Vincentian Innovation Summit, Anna Morozova, Kevin Rioux
Report: The 2018 Vincentian Innovation Summit, Anna Morozova, Kevin Rioux
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
No abstract provided.
Commentary: Venezuelan Democracy: Bolivar’S Shattered Dream, Juan E. Chebly
Commentary: Venezuelan Democracy: Bolivar’S Shattered Dream, Juan E. Chebly
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Venezuela is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, dating back to 1958, and has been under attack ever since.Venezuelan armies never conquered, they liberated nations. Led by Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, Venezuelans stood by their neighbors in their quest for freedom and many gave their lives to liberate six nations from oppression (Arana, 2013). Venezuela has served as a beacon of freedom in a land plagued by authoritarian rule over the centuries.
The Forgotten Few: Foreign Professional Workers & U.S. Foreign Policy, Adrian Pandev
The Forgotten Few: Foreign Professional Workers & U.S. Foreign Policy, Adrian Pandev
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
U.S. foreign policy took a dramatic shift since the Trump Administration took office in 2017. The country has pulled out of the Paris Agreement, has imposed more sanctions on Russia, and has vowed to renegotiate international trade deals to “Make America Great Again.” U.S. foreign policy has an enormous impact on the lives of foreign professionals, from the ability to obtain work visas to being able to simply travel to the U.S. to pursue employment opportunities.
Corruption, Political Instability And Transnational Crime In The Country Of Guinea-Bissau, Brian K. Harte
Corruption, Political Instability And Transnational Crime In The Country Of Guinea-Bissau, Brian K. Harte
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Internationally, Guinea-Bissau is regarded as a ‘cocaine gateway’ and transition point for narcotics trafficking from South America to West Africa, and into Europe (United Nations, 2011). Furthermore, “many esteemed experts have asserted that West Africa, and Guinea-Bissau in particular, is crumbling under the pressures posed by this drug trade which threatens to turn the region into an epicenter of lawlessness and instability” (Bybee, 2011, p. 3). We will provide an overview of transnational crime, corruption and political instability that contribute to social unrest within the country of Guinea-Bissau.
Colombian Conflict: A Sociological View Of A Gendered Society, Jorge Restrepo
Colombian Conflict: A Sociological View Of A Gendered Society, Jorge Restrepo
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Jorge Restrepo, having lived and experienced Colombian conflict, explores how the construction of the war narrative was driven by berracos (an expression used in Colombia to identify uber-males masculinized by war). In Colombia, women, afro-Colombians, native-Colombians, LGBT, anyone over sixty (as they are not perceived useful to society), children (childsoldiers), who have no representation before the government, the voiceless minorities, were cruelly marginalized. The Colombian conflict imposed a power dynamic between men, women, and other minorities, established by the government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army) as part of their internal war.
Sisters Of The Caliphate: Media And The Women Of Isis, Kathleen German, Rosemary Pennington
Sisters Of The Caliphate: Media And The Women Of Isis, Kathleen German, Rosemary Pennington
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Women have long been viewed as the “weaker sex”–more peace-loving and passive than men. However, clashes in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland have shown that women are both willing and able to participate in violent conflict (Alison, 2004; Cheldelin & Eliatamby, 2011). We will specifically examine the recruitment to and roles of women in the Islamic State through an examination of the scholarship on female fighters, in order to contextualize the women of ISIS. We conclude with a suggestion that scholars and others interested in the experience of women in conflict move away from overly simplistic framings which suggest women …
Forgetting Fallujah: Covert Silence, Digital Public Memory And The Civilian Consequences Of Operation Phantom Fury In Iraq, Jason L. Jarvis
Forgetting Fallujah: Covert Silence, Digital Public Memory And The Civilian Consequences Of Operation Phantom Fury In Iraq, Jason L. Jarvis
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
“Forgetting Fallujah” challenges the institutional memory of Fallujah advanced in “US Marines.” For most people, the understanding of war is based entirely on media images (Schwalbe, 2006; Sontag, 2003). This essay, like the work of Jackie Orr (2016) is a salvo in an ideological struggle to re-signify the meaning of Fallujah. The invasion of Fallujah was more severe for civilians than the torture of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, yet Fallujah caused almost no public outcry because it lacked visual evidence and went uncovered by mainstream American media (Entman, 2006). Covert silence in “US Marines” demonstrates that digital memory is easily …
Disinformation As Warfare In The Digital Age: Dimensions, Dilemmas, And Solutions, Minna Aslama Horowitz
Disinformation As Warfare In The Digital Age: Dimensions, Dilemmas, And Solutions, Minna Aslama Horowitz
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Disinformation as warfare in the digital age may not be so different than any other type of warfare; wars are fought for power, and some benefit economically while the vulnerable suffer the most. The vast majority of conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies; increasingly, they are fought not with conventional weapons but with words. A specific sort of weaponry—“fake news” and viral disinformation—has been at the center of policy discussions, public debates, and academic analyses in recent years. Everyone who is active on digital platforms can be responsible in the simplest of ways: not lashing …
Introduction: Wars, Conflicts, And The Marginalization Of Dissent, Tuija Parikka, Basilio G. Monteiro, Sejal Singh
Introduction: Wars, Conflicts, And The Marginalization Of Dissent, Tuija Parikka, Basilio G. Monteiro, Sejal Singh
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Conflicts, wars, and crisis, unfortunately, abound, transform, and become metastasized in unexpected ways. The vast majority of armed conflicts today are not fought by nation states and their armies but rather informal entities, such as gangs and warlords using small arms, improvised weapons, and media technologies. Few, usually poor resource regions, get global attention, thus deprived of political will and economic resources needed to resolve the conflicts. As women and other minorities are becoming primary targets and suffering unprecedented casualties, they are profoundly affected by practices and cultures of warring, yet often remain voiceless in the global arena.This special issue …
No Place To Be! Common Goods And Homelessness, Patrick Riordan
No Place To Be! Common Goods And Homelessness, Patrick Riordan
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
The phenomena of homelessness will be shown to challenge the naïve assumption that our political existence is grounded in a sense of goods we hold in common. And at the same time, a clearer understanding of what is involved in having goods in common will highlight a further dimension of the scandal of homelessness in our societies who are systematically excluded from the enjoyment of negative liberty, an important good in common institutionally secured in liberal democratic states. They are denied their negative liberty, because they are denied the physical space in which they might perform activities essential for personal …
Welcoming The Stranger, St. Vincent De Paul And The Homeless, Robert P. Maloney
Welcoming The Stranger, St. Vincent De Paul And The Homeless, Robert P. Maloney
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
The theme is examined in three steps: Vincent and the homeless, The Vincentian Family Global Initiative against Homelessness, Blending systemic change and a “culture of encounter” in serving the homeless. Will our worldwide Vincentian Family, working together, have a significant impact on the lives of the homeless, bringing them a sense of security, peace, and a viable future, in the 150 countries where we live and serve? That is the goal of the megaproject we are launching to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of St. Vincent’s charism.
Land-Lodging-Labor: The Aesthetic, Ethic, And Political Causes Of Homelessness In Latin America, Emilce Cuda
Land-Lodging-Labor: The Aesthetic, Ethic, And Political Causes Of Homelessness In Latin America, Emilce Cuda
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
It is impossible to talk about the homeless, understood as a lack of decent housing, without at the same time talking about the lack of work and the concentration of land ownership in one sector of society. “Homeless” in Latin America, and for the Argentine Pope, is the lack of land-lodging-labor. The problem of the three “T’s” in the Spanish Tierra, Techo, Trabajo is the question I will develop from aesthetic-ethical-theological foundations, according to the theological method of the Latin American teaching: See-Judge Act.
Regaining Dignity And Social Inclusion: Street Homelessness In Manila And Strategies From Below, Cynthia Calubaquib, Nicole Tilman
Regaining Dignity And Social Inclusion: Street Homelessness In Manila And Strategies From Below, Cynthia Calubaquib, Nicole Tilman
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Describing the situation of the street homeless in Metro Manila, the underlying causes of their condition and the – unfortunately still inadequate- responses of the government. Second, we review our, and hopefully also the Philippine Church’s, motivation and inspiration to engage in this kind of service. In this paper we have first reflected upon the situation of the street families, as well as our motivations to work toward ending street homelessness. Based on these we have suggested two strategies.
Homelessness And Hospitality On The Ground, A Methodological Proposal For Catholic Social Teaching, Daniel Pilario
Homelessness And Hospitality On The Ground, A Methodological Proposal For Catholic Social Teaching, Daniel Pilario
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
What resources, perspectives and experiences can we draw from formal Catholic Social Teaching and broader Catholic social thought to help us understand and interpret street homelessness in a global context? This article is intended to be an invitation to share narratives of hospitality on the ground vis-à-vis the problem of homelessness in the global world. Unlike top-down approaches, there are no clear principles to be applied; only concrete stories with all their frictions, ambiguities and difficulties hoping that God’s inspiration can reveal itself on the rough grounds where people walk in fidelity to the Gospel.
"Go Out To The Highways And Hedges" (Cf. Lk 14:23): Peripheral Ecclesiology, The Art Of Accompaniment, And Street Homelessness, Michael M. Canaris
"Go Out To The Highways And Hedges" (Cf. Lk 14:23): Peripheral Ecclesiology, The Art Of Accompaniment, And Street Homelessness, Michael M. Canaris
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
The ecclesiological priority of cultivating the art of “walking with” the vulnerable and marginalized as informed by these ecclesiological conversations, especially regarding those “with neither den nor nest” (Mt 8:20), the homeless who can sometimes seem alone in the streets, but are always journeying with the human family (and thus the Church, of which many of our unhoused brothers and sisters are a part) through history. As Vincent puts it, the communal dimension of living the Gospel together “is the wine that cheers and strengthens travelers along this narrow path of Jesus Christ.”
Catholic Social Teaching And Homelessness: The World Tribe Of The Dispossessed, Ethna Regan
Catholic Social Teaching And Homelessness: The World Tribe Of The Dispossessed, Ethna Regan
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Homelessness is a complex, global and growing phenomenon, and street homelessness is its most visible aspect. These children, men and women who live on the streets are, in the words of the Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison, “the world tribe of the dispossessed/outside the halls of plenty/ looking in”. This article explores both the specific treatment of homelessness in Catholic social teaching and the ethical principles in Catholic social teaching that can be brought to bear on analysis, advocacy, and action in the area of homelessness.
"Free From Is Not Free For": The Experience Of Depaul Slovensko's Work With Homeless People In A Post-Communist Country, Juraj Barat
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
Depaul Slovensko (Slovakia), a non-profit organization, was established as a response to the unreasonable dying of homeless people on the streets of Bratislava in the winter 2005/2006 and the absence of accommodation for them. The lack of experience, absence of professional social work and the prejudices of a postcommunist, ‘Christian’ society were the context for beginning a new form of work, without precedent in this environment. We learn to be authentic and faithful in the unity of our thoughts, words and deeds. All of this creates tension and we strive to keep these dynamics in balance. We grow, mature and …
Moving From Charity To Justice In Our Work To End Homelessness, Rosanne Haggerty
Moving From Charity To Justice In Our Work To End Homelessness, Rosanne Haggerty
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
With a growing list of cities, regions-even countries-now reducing and ending forms of homelessness1 the key questions in our field have changed. If the familiar questions have been about resources and policy, the new ones are about purpose, and transformation. Is our purpose to run good programs or to end homelessness? If it’s to end homelessness, are we willing to hold our organizations and communities to that standard? Homelessness, in its raw visibility, confronts our shared beliefs about right and wrong, fairness, care, protection of the vulnerable, the importance of strong community bonds and the dignity of each person.
What The People We Call "Homeless" Have Taught Me, Bruno M. Duffé
What The People We Call "Homeless" Have Taught Me, Bruno M. Duffé
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
I think I can say, as far as I can go back to my living memory and as a pastor, that the first thing I learned from “homeless” people we meet in our streets - and that we can sometimes find at the door of our institutions - is the determining importance of the gaze. And I would like to suggest, as a first contribution to our reflection, this intuition that has become for me a conviction and a major theological and ethical assertion: all human encounter begins with a look. Every truly human story finds its origin in the …
Introduction To The Issue, Meghan Clark, Anna F. Rowlands
Introduction To The Issue, Meghan Clark, Anna F. Rowlands
Journal of Vincentian Social Action
This issue of JoVSA is a continuation of the conversations begun in Rome.1 In this issue are theological and practical reflections from Argentina, the Philippines, France/Rome, Ireland, England, and the United States. Throughout the articles, readers will find robust theological reflection, engagement with persons experiencing homelessness, and critical insights on policies by both government and church agencies. These essays invite all of us to consider more deeply the Catholic social teaching tradition and lived realities of people experiencing homelessness.