Social Justice Commons^™

Teaching Social Identity, Samuel M. Nelson

Middle Grades Review

Early adolescence is a time for students to move beyond interests-based definitions of themselves - things like, "I am a soccer player." Middle school students must begin to recognize and understand how a mosaic of social identifiers constitutes an individual’s social identity. Identifiers are characteristics like race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender identity, gender performance, physical & sensory ability, religion, and many more. This essay explains why making social identity a central curricular pillar is crucial, how to do so in an engaging, meaningful way, and what it can look like once students have the understanding of social identity to use as …

The Role Of The Palestinian Community Reconciliation Committee As A Model For Transitional Justice In Achieving National Reconciliation, Issam Husni Alatrash

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

The aim of this study was identifying the role of the Palestinian Community Reconciliation Committee as a model for transitional justice in achieving the national reconciliation. This study focused on achieving this goal through three axes: the obstacles encountering the Community Reconciliation Committee, the mechanisms of the Community Reconciliation Committee and support and enhancements of the Community Reconciliation Committee. The researcher used the analytical descriptive approach describing the phenomenon of the study in addition to conducting a field study to identify the role of the Community Reconciliation Committee in achieving the national reconciliation by designing a questionnaire and taking the …

Reconstruction And Rebuilding Stability Of Post Conflict Societies: Economic And Security Interests Or Sustainable Development?, Jihad Al-Ayasa

Journal of the Arab American University مجلة الجامعة العربية الامريكية للبحوث

This critical review shed light on the problem of applying the model of reconstruction and stability building of Germany and Japan after World War II on geopolitically and culturally different cases, such as Iraq and Afghanistan as post war contexts; and probably the same model will be applied to different post war contexts, such as Syria, Yemen, Libya and others. The study discussed the reasons why the model of reconstructing Iraq and Afghanistan failed compared to the successful model that was applied in Germany and Japan. Grounding on previous literature and theoretical frameworks, the study developed a new model that …

Justice Through Practice: Inquiry On The Development Of Preservice Teachers’ Teaching For Social Justice, Bethany Silva, Elyse L. Hambacher, Ruth Wharton-Mcdonald

Journal of Practitioner Research

This article reports on a collaboration among three teacher educators to facilitate pre-service teacher (PST)s’ equity literacy through a social-justice themed afterschool program for elementary-aged children that was embedded in PSTs’ coursework. The teacher educators engaged in practitioner inquiry (e.g., Anderson, Herr, & Nihlen, 2007; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009), posing the question, “What happens when preservice teachers use justice-oriented children’s literature to facilitate discussions about inequity with young children?” We used inductive analysis (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014) to observe themes across 17 PSTs’ written and videotaped reflections, collected over two semesters. Reflections pointed to a fear of the unknown …

Shapeshifting Power: Indigenous Teachings Of Trickster Consciousness And Relational Accountability For Building Communities Of Care, Ionah M. Elaine Scully

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

Difficult dialogues are necessary work in order for communities to form coalitions, yet often these dialogues pose challenges for engaging in long-term work for social justice and systemic change. Power dynamics, microaggressions, and discomfort unlearning power and privilege can make long-term collaboration difficult. It is for this reason I discuss thinking of coalitions as communities of care and offer practical strategies for collaborating differently for sustainable action. Using Indigenous epistemology and methodology, Indigenous feminist and Indigequeer scholarship, as well as Indigenous land-based pedagogy and storytelling, I offer interventions using trickster teachings or trickster consciousness which I describe as comprised of …

Improving Networking Supports For Women In The Workplace, Karen E. Pennesi, Javier Alvarez Vandeputte, Zsofia Agoston, Rawand Amsdr

Anthropology Publications

This report describes findings from research on networking activities and strategies among women in executive and leadership positions in Canadian organizations. The project was carried out by graduate student researchers in collaboration with the Women's Executive Network. Networking is defined as the creation and maintenance of a community of diverse interests, through in-person and online engagements, that can be mobilized for the benefit of oneself or other members of one’s network. We found that the shift to primarily online networking activities due to COVID-19 removed some existing barriers related to age, gender and location, while introducing others related to family …

Responses To Environmental Change, Lisa Reyes Mason, Susan P. Kemp, Lawrence A. Palinkas, Amy Krings

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Communities worldwide are facing environmental crises such as air pollution, water shortages, climate change, and other forms of environmental change and degradation. While technical solutions for environmental change are essential, so too are solutions that consider social acceptability, value cultural relevance, and prioritize equity and social justice. Social work has a critical and urgent role in creating and implementing macrolevel social responses to environmental change. The key concepts of environmental change, environmental and ecological justice, social vulnerability, and social responses are discussed. A description of the roles and skills unique to macro social workers for this effort is given, followed …

Collective Healing To Address Legacies Of Transatlantic Slavery: Opportunities And Challenges, Scherto R. Gill, Garrett Thomson

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

In this article, we show how pathways to justice and reconciliation pertaining to the transatlantic slavery should begin with collective healing processes. To illustrate this conclusion, we first employ a four-fold conceptual framework for understanding collective healing that consists in: (1) acknowledging historical dehumanizing acts; (2) addressing the harmful effects of dehumanisation; (3) embracing relational rapprochement; and (4) co-imagining and co-creating conditions for systemic justice. Based on this framework, we then examine existing collective healing practices in different contexts that are aimed at addressing legacies of transatlantic slavery. In doing so, we further identify challenges and pose critical questions concerning …

Beck, Koa. White Feminism: From The Suffragettes To The Influencers And Who They Leave Behind, Taylor Humin

Feminist Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

A Note From The Co-Editors, Fayth Schutter

Ideas: Exhibit Catalog for the Honors College Visiting Scholars Series

An introduction to the first issue of the third volume of Ideas Magazine, concerning the work and research of Dr. Shoshana Magnet.

How Can Local Transitional Justice Mechanisms Work Towards Measures Of Non-Recurrence?, Isaac Bayor

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines questions of local agency and inclusion. It develops a conceptual understanding of whether, and if so how, local customary justice mechanisms could serve as guarantees of non-recurrence. It looks at how grassroots practices of “justice” could be utilized at the community level to deter the commission of future abuses and prevent the repetition of violent conflict, especially where the state has been completely absent. It specifically explores Acholi indigenous and customary practices of peacemaking and justice in Northern Uganda to understand how local practices could secure a lasting peace and cement communities’ commitment to peaceful coexistence.

While …

Ley Olimpia: Examining Policymaking Around Digital Violence, Andrea Alejandra Capella-Castro

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The topic of this thesis is policymaking and regulations around digital gender violence. This work intends to examine what methods effectively regulate and eradicate Online-Gender Based Violence (OGBV), a new type of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Effective policymaking for the digital space has a significant impact on our society and especially on women as they remain the most objectified, attacked, and harassed on social media platforms. Therefore, social media needs an effective policy to address digital gender violence. Furthermore, the topic is relevant because policymaking around digital gender violence will advance the feminist movement’s fight and protect women and social media …

Venezolanos En New York, Mariel V. Lozada

Capstones

The process of developing a website with information about the bureaucratic process for the immigrants in the city, especially focusing on the Venezuelans and a five steps guide with the most basic information a newly arrived immigrant may need. The idea behind is to deliver useful content that would live in their inbox so they can revisit it easily anytime they want, even without having an internet connection, and, if the reader wants to deepen their knowledge, can visit the website for more in-depth coverage of these topics.

Femicides: The Other Growing Epidemic We Don’T Want To See, Natalia Gutierrez

Capstones

This report analyzes how gender-based killings is a growing topic within the feminist community of New York and Mexico City and how the use of the right terminology is essential to understand the scope of the problem. I worked for 18 months with the feminist community in both cities and the term ‘femicide’ came over and over in the interviews Femicide, how it is referred in the rest of the world, is the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female, and it is a growing epidemic in the U.S. and in Mexico. I interviewed more than 40 …

Young People More Optimistic About Climate Crisis, Syed U. Haq

Capstones

This is story on how the youth today is feeling more ambitious about rectifying the mistakes the previous generation has made regarding climate. It takes the reader through a poll done by Generation Lab, about the optimism in the younger generation to tackle the climate crisis and what factors are in play in making them feel that way. It also provides three brief audio pieces from student activists, Anna Kathawala, from the local Fridays for Future, Mars Vazquez-Plyshevsky, who comes from a family of climate deniers, and Aderinsola Babawale, a local activist with Brownsville Green Justice. And of course, their …

Climate Care: Pathways For Coastal Community Resilience, Jessica Reilly-Moman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change increasingly impacts coasts worldwide. The ability of coastal ecosystems and the human communities who are part of them to absorb disturbance and maintain function or transform, or resilience, is of critical importance to managing these impacts. However, to date, climate resilience largely has focused on biophysical impacts and technocratic solutions, while issues of social and environmental justice and human well-being become more acute and entrenched. Consequently, I ask: How can coastal communities cope with climate change? To answer this question, I leverage traditional, emergent, and novel social research methods in Mexico, Central America, and Maine. Using ethnography, interviews, …

Multicultural Music Education: Preparedness, Perceptions, And Practice Among Virginia Elementary Music Educators, Benjamin J. Luna

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Benjamin Joel Luna, M. M.

James Madison University, 2021

Supervisor: Lisa M. Maynard

The purpose of this study was to examine the Multicultural Music Education (MME) practices of established (i.e. more than three years of music teaching experience) Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia by examining their responses to a series of survey questions specific to the topic. Participants (N=18) were all current Elementary Music Teachers in the state of Virginia with more than three years of experience.

Participants were asked to use Likert-scale ratings for the majority of the questions but were also given the …

Intention To Breastfeed: Breastfeeding Attitudes, Norms, Self-Efficacy, Social Support Network And Community Resources Of African American, Low-Income, Emerging Adult Women, Pregnant For The First Time, Sara E. Brown

Theses & Dissertations

African American (AA) women continue to have the lowest rates of breastfeeding. This continues to create a health disparity even though breastfeeding is extensively recognized in the scientific and health care communities as the optimal feeding choice for infants. This study examined the relationship between the external variables (social support network and community resources) and the explanatory variables (attitudes, norms, and perceived self-efficacy) and intention to breastfeed, for the AA, first time, low-income, emerging adult pregnant woman. The Integrated Behavior Model (IBM) was used as the theoretical framework to guide this study in better understanding the variables influencing breastfeeding intention. …

Fasting From Jeans, For A Cause, Joya Breems

Student Work

"A dress is a conversation starter, and conversations are the foundation of social change."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the message behind Dressember from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/fasting-from-jeans-for-a-cause/

Fast Fashion From A Buddhist Perspective, Elizabeth Mclaughlin

HON499 projects

The connection between Buddhism and fast fashion is not immediately apparent, nor is it a particularly well-researched area. However, the topic of consumption underlies both topics, relating to each in markedly different ways. Buddhist precepts outline practices of mindful and sustainable consumption within limited means; fast fashion fosters consumption on a massive, global scale. The work of Ernst Friedrich Schumacher, a man with a career in economics that was aided by great concern for the survival and success of humankind, offers clarity to the conversation about Buddhism and fast fashion. He pioneered the field of Buddhist economics, which seeks to …

New York Is Promising Social Equity In Its Legal Cannabis Market, But Questions Still Loom, Brian D. Evans Jr

Capstones

This capstone will explore how New York can navigate a new landscape that accepts recreational marijuana while also dealing with an illegal pot market that can better serve the state with less arrests and a more seamless rollout. The capstone will also discuss how people of color – already targeted and arrested at a disproportionate rate for misdemeanor non-violent drug related crimes – will navigate this landscape. With less access to capital to start businesses of their own or buy/rent property, will New York perhaps introduce or entertain a program to subsidize such an effort? California has said that the …

Umaine Office For Diversity And Inclusion_A Time For You! Email, University Of Maine Office For Diversity And Inclusion

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Email from the UMaine Office for Diversity and Inclusion with various details of the Office's work and wrapping up the Fall 2021 Semester.

Serving Our Students: Evidence-Based Sex Education Policies And Practices Needed In Ohio, Lily Mckenzie Rosenberg

Honors Projects

Ohio has very minimal state-wide sex education laws, requiring only venereal disease education that has many similarities with abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education has been shown to be ineffective in delaying first sex and lowering teen STDs, pregnancy, and birth rates. When students receive ineffective (or no) sex education it can impact them in many ways, leaving them unprepared for sexual lives as adults. To analyze the state of sex education in Ohio, this paper will look at sex education throughout Ohio both in law and in practice. I will then explore the impact of these minimal sex education laws on …

Demanding More: 4-H’S Diversity And Inclusion Efforts Are Simply Not Enough, Nicole Webster

The Journal of Extension

Several youth organizations, such as 4-H, are reaffirming their commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace due to social and political events in 2020. Despite the national reckoning around civil rights, the author argues that racial and ethnic minorities are still not fully integrated into the 4-H culture. Addressing inclusion presents challenges; however, these can be better addressed when individuals realize the difficult conversations and actions needed to evoke change. The article concludes with a set of action items for the 4-H system, which focuses on investments, accountability, recognition, and transparency.

An Exploration Of Black Church Leaders' Intentions To Develop Critical Consciousness Among African-American Students, Taheesha Quarells

Dissertations

African-American students experience human capital opportunity and achievement gaps. Researchers have called for culturally relevant strategies to help close the gaps. The historic Black Church, a part of many African-American students’ culture and community, is a historic and current source of social capital for positive human capital development outcomes. Critical consciousness develops positive human capital outcomes, such as academic achievement, in African-American and other minority students. Much of the literature on critical consciousness is quantitative in nature and therefore does not include the intentions or the willingness of organizations to develop critical consciousness. Therefore, there is a need to understand …

The Time To Talk Is Now: Race-Based Dialogue Among White Student Affairs Professionals, Imari Hazelwood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Enrollment of students of color (SOC) in higher education has called on student affairs professionals to design and implement programs and policies focused on diversity and inclusion (Mueller & Pope, 2000, 2003; Ellertson, Moore, & Marsh, 2007; Pope, Mueller, & Reynolds, 2009). White student affairs professionals need to develop cultural competencies about race to aid the development of students of color at Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) (Mueller & Pope, 2001). Book clubs are one way to gather and converse about race and identity (Polleck & Epstein, 2015). The White Racial Identity Development theory (WRID) is a way to bring awareness …

Reproductive Freedom For All: A Policy Brief, Noa J. Cook

The Downtown Review

Reproductive freedom in the United States has been a source of controversy throughout history and current legislation places these rights under attack. Divided into three parts, this policy brief seeks to address the lack of accessible reproductive healthcare for women, with special attention to economic, racial, and ethnic disparities. Part 1 includes a historical overview of abortion access and significant legislation in the U.S., describes the present status of the problem, and the populations affected. In Part 2, the pros and cons of current policies such as the federal contraceptive guarantee of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Hyde Amendment, and …

“I Am More Than My Country Of Origin”: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography With Racialized Newcomer Women In Canada, Danielle J. Smith, Amy Green, Sarah Nutter, Anusha Kassan, Monica Sesma-Vazquez, Nancy Arthur Prof, Shelly Russell-Mayhew

The Qualitative Report

Many women immigrate with the hope that they will gain new opportunities for themselves and their families, however, they often face significant challenges due to the intersectional stigmas related to their gender, immigration status, and other aspects of their social location. In this study, we sought to understand the holistic experience of racialized newcomer women to better support their integration process. Using Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography (ABEE), we employed the use of cultural probes and qualitative interviews to gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of ten newcomer women. An ethnographic analysis of this data yielded four overarching structures which include …

Introduction To Re-Imagining “We The People" Part Two: Transcripts From The Aaj Education’S Civil Rights And Police Misconduct Litigation Seminar, Sarah Guidry

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

With this issue of The Bridge, we continue the discussions raised in our Spring 2021 issue: Police Misconduct & Qualified Immunity: Reimagining "We the People”, Vol.6, Issue 1. That issue shared the transcription of the virtual national conference by the same name, and featured an esteemed group of experts who discussed the state of racial unrest in this country, historically and currently. To promote further dialogue and support those who work to establish stronger protections against the use and misuse of police violence, we herein highlight several key sessions featured at the recent American Association for Justice Civil Rights and …

Progression Of Indigenous Environmental Conflicts In The Up In Correlation To The National Development Of Indigenous Legal And Social Power, Katarina Rothhorn

Conspectus Borealis

This essay looks at how the reactions to environmental conflicts and activism pertaining to the Indigenous people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan have changed over the years as Indigenous people have fought for recognition and legal status in the United States.