Politics and Social Change Commons^™

University Of Rhode Island Presentations At Interdisciplinary Conference On Human Trafficking, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

No abstract provided.

“It’S Not A Fucking Book, It’S A Weapon!”: Authority, Power, And Mediation In The Book Of Eli, Seth M. Walker

Journal of Religion & Film

The mediation of religious narratives through sacred texts is intimately bound to the power relations involved in their transmission and maintenance. Those who possess such mediated messages and control their access and interpretation have historically held privileged positions of authority, especially when those positions are not easily contested. The 2010 film The Book of Eli uniquely engages these elements by placing the alleged last copy of the King James Version of the Christian Bible at the forefront of a clash between different individuals in a post-nuclear wasteland. This paper, drawing on Max Weber’s notion of “charisma,” and scholars addressing religion, …

The Humanities, Brain Science And The Unforgiving Minute, Raymond L. Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Many independent authors from a wide variety of disciplines have come to a similar, if somewhat startling, conclusion; that we are currently at another “tipping point” in human history. Our arrival at this particular juncture in time seems to be the consequence of a potent mix of past trends and contemporary forces. Collectively, these energies act to feed exponentially growing technical and social change. In addition, there appears to be some agreement by thoughtful observers that the turmoil of our present epoch can be personified by four factors: volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity More specifically, the technical and societal changes …

Why The Kaine Vs. Pence Vice Presidential Debate Matters, Kyle C. Kopko, Christopher J. Devine

Political Science Faculty Publications

Tim Kaine and Mike Pence both have been described as boring.

Many Americans still don’t know who they are, and they share their parties’ tickets with two of the most controversial and unpopular presidential candidates in modern political history. So, it’s a safe bet that their first and only debate on Tuesday night will not draw the record-setting ratings of last week’s first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump – or even come close.

With the possible exception of 2008, when Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were vice presidential candidates, running mates simply are not the focal point …

The Nonexceptionalism Thesis: How Post-9/11 Criminal Justice Measures Fit In Broader Criminal Justice, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Contrary to the assumption that ‘‘9/11 changed everything,’’ post-2001 criminal justice practices in the area of terrorism show a surprising consistency with pre-2001 criminal justice practices. This article relies on an analysis of over 300 terrorism prosecutions between 2001 and 2010, as well as twenty full trial transcripts, content-coding, and traditional legal analysis, to show the continuity of criminal justice over this time in regard to some of the most controversial supposed developments. This continuity belies the common assumption that current extreme policies and limitations on the due process are a panicked response to the terror attacks of 2001. On …

Why Has “Development” Become A Political Issue In Indian Politics?, Aseema Sinha

CMC Faculty Publications and Research

Most observers of India have an implicit model of how Indians vote. They assume that voters in India act on their primary identities, such as caste or community, and that parties seek votes based on group identities—called vote banks—that can be collated into majorities and coalitions. K.C. Suri articulates the logic of this dominant model:

People of this country vote more on the basis of emotional issues or primordial loyalties, such as caste, religion, language or region and less on the basis of policies. The victory or defeat of a party depends on how a party or leaders marshal support …

Productive Justice And Compulsory Service, Alexander Sager

Philosophy Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper is part of the Special Issue: Book symposium on Debating Brain Drain: May Government Restrict Emigration? More papers from this issue can be found at http://www.ethicsandglobalpolitics.net

Human Rights Education: A Tool For The Cultivation Of National Human Rights Culture In Morocco, Page Benoit

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Human rights have been taught in Morocco for twenty years. Since the process of Moroccan transitional justice, the aim of this human rights education has been to promote a national human rights culture. This research is a cross-comparison between how human rights education; for the purpose of creating a human rights aware society, is presented and enacted by the the Moroccan government and how it is presented and enacted by non-governmental bodies in a post transitional justice moment of history. The study was conducted through a qualitative data method. It includes interviews with the Inter-Ministerial Delegation of Human Rights and …

Talking Walls: Freeing Art In Bali, Indonesia, Lila Chu

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In some ways Bali’s street art manifests everywhere, in the form of abundant banten, decorations for Galungan and Kuningan, shrines, temples, ornaments, and the black and white checkered cloth draped over scared statues, rocks, and banyan trees. This aesthetic pleasure moves beyond the sacred, and into the street—peering out among Bali’s intricate ornaments and decorations. Declarations of Bali Tolak Reklamasi, and images of a Balinese woman sporting a gas mask circulate Bali’s cityscapes, along with other marks, writings, and murals finding homes on grey walls.

Una Mueca Irónica: !El Travestismo Como Recurso Artístico De Las Yeguas Del Apocalipsis / An Ironic Grin: ! Cross-Dressing As An Artistic Resource Of The Apocalypseof The Yeguas, Sophia Cantizano

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Yeguas del Apocalipsis (Mares of the Apocalypse), were an art collective consisting of two men, Pedro Lemebel and Francisco Casas, who revolutionized the way transvestism was used in performance art. Active between 1988 and 1997, the Yeguas lit the way out of the dictatorship and into the post-regime transition period. For this reason, the context in which Lemebel and Casas made their art was more conducive to their own open criticism and explicit commentary of the political and social landscape, than that of the performance artists who functioned during the authoritarian dictatorship itself. This gave the Yeguas’ performances a …

Tomando En Cuenta: Perspectivas Sobre Las Tomas Del Movimiento Estudiantil Chileno / Taking Into Consideration: Perspectives On The Tomas Of The Chilean Student Movement, María Navarro-Gutiérrez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Hoy día, actores en el movimiento estudiantil de Chile utilizan varias formas de protesta para comunicar sus deseos e ideas. Entre ellos, la toma de la escuela chilena, durante la cual los estudiantes “ocupan” a su escuela por un periodo de tiempo, se ha convertido en una de las formas de protesta más comunes y emblemáticas del movimiento. Muchas tomas ofrecen un espacio seguro, fuera de las calles, donde los estudiantes pueden instigar un dialogo entre ellos y la administración sobre sus preocupaciones. Sin embargo, aunque las tomas seguidas producen resultados positivos para ambos lados, acusaciones de la pérdida de …

Human Creativity As A Vehicle For Societal Change: Can Social Action Through Art And Music Drive Positive Societal Change In Jordan?, Marina Qutab

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study addresses a gap in the research on society and culture as it examines the relationship between social action through human creativity and positive societal change in Jordan. This relationship was studied through the following methods: six formal interviews with three Musicians, one Artist, one Organizational Behavior and Work Psychologist, and one Cognition and Didactics Researcher; one informal interview with a Jordanian taxi driver; and 30 oral surveys provided to students at The University of Jordan. The researcher’s main goal was to investigate how human creativity expressed through music and the arts can address current pressing environmental and …

“Mi Resistencia Me Nutre” Las Vivencias De Mujeres Matagalpinas De Acoso Callejero Y Sus Estrategias De Resistencia / "My Resistance Nourishes Me" The Experiences Of Female Street Killers Of Matagalpinas And Their Strategies Of Resistance, Olivia Linn

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Según un estudio del Observatorio Contra Acoso Callejero de Matagalpa en 2015, acoso callejero es una experiencia casi universal para las mujeres en Nicaragua—el 96% de las entrevistadas reportaron que lo habían experimentado regularmente. Inmediatamente cuando llegué a Managua, descubrí que no era una excepción, pero la cifra no hizo justicia a lo que experimentaba como violencia descorazonadora. Lo que más me desalentó fue la minimización y normalización con que se encontraron mis expresiones sobre mi frustración. De mi lucha por encontrar estrategias adecuadas de resistencia para proteger mi salud mental y emocional, decidí estudiar las experiencias de acoso callejero …

Continuing Efforts To Alleviate "Orange Pain" An Internship With The Da Nang Association Of Victims Of Agent Orange/Dioxin, Loan Heilner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This year marked the 55th anniversary of Vietnam’s Agent Orange Disaster. Decades after the end of the war, Vietnamese people are still largely being affected by the remnants of the United States’ Agent Orange herbicide sprays. Dioxin chemical has now been confirmed detrimental to human and environmental well-being, but unfortunately it still remains in high concentrations in certain areas of Vietnam. Dioxin chemical is passed on through genetics to new generations, but one of the leading causes of dioxin-related health defects today are due to environmental residue. In Da Nang, Agent Orange was stored and loaded at the local airbase …

Street Art In Kathmandu As A Tool For Activism And Social Change, Madison Minchin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In recent years street art has become a popular platform for activism and social commentary in Kathmandu. Both local Nepalis and visiting foreign artists have transformed the streets of the city into their new canvas for art and changemaking. The effectiveness of this unique intersection of art and activism has narrowly been examined through an academic lens. This research intends to understand the specific intentions of street artists and their art in Kathmandu. The effectiveness of this street art as a platform for social change is measured in this research through qualitative interviews and observational techniques. Analysis of the dynamics …

Los Nuevos Actores Políticos De La Izquierda Chilena Y El Cambio Al Sistema Político, Henry Manning

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chile's political system is in a state of flux. Between 2011 and 2013, student protests and other movements spread across the nation, enflaming latent resentment of the political institutions and demanding that the government respond to society's problems. But despite this nearly unanimous public mandate, the political coalitions that control Chile have done little to temper the harsh neoliberal system, opting instead to go on serving the business and elite interests that profit from the country's extreme inequality. In this context of dramatic disaffection with the powers that be, a group of new political actors have emerged from the student …

“Si No Participas, Alguien Ajeno Va A Decidir Por Vos:” Practicas De Autonomia En El Bachillerato Popular De Frente Popular Darío Santillán En Constitución, Buenos Aires / "If You Do Not Participate, Someone Else Will Decide For You:" Practices Of Autonomy In The Popular Baccalaureate Of Frente Popular Darío Santillán In Constitución, Buenos Aires, Sarah Kravinsky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Los reformas neoliberales en Argentina durante las últimas décadas han causado una crisis en el sistema educativo público, los efectos de la cual todavía se sienten más profundamente en el sector de para adultos y jóvenes (EDAJ). Durante este mismo período, nuevos movimientos sociales, como el movimiento piquetero de trabajadores desocupadas, habían surgido para resistir las políticas de neoliberalismo y crear fuentes de educación, salud, y trabajo cuando el educación estado no está hacerlo. La presente investigación toma como su tema las prácticas cotidianas y dilemas de la educación popular como una de estas iniciativas, un bachillerato popular (BP) del …

Pelear Por La Dignidad: La Lucha De Las Mujeres Trabajadoras Sexuales Voluntarias Por Derechos Laborales En Un Clima Estigmatizado Políticamente / To Fight For Dignity: The Fight Of Female Voluntary Sex Workers For Labor Rights In A Politically Stigmatized Climate, Rosalind Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Argentina is a country with a rich history of social movements and popular mobilization. Currently, the issue of women’s equality is highly prevalent in the national and political dialogue. An area that is frequently referenced as a divide in the feminist movement is sex work. Argentina has adopted a series of laws and regulations that have created an ‘abolitionist’ political atmosphere, outlawing the sexual exploitation of individuals and persecuting ‘pimps’, per se. The politics surrounding sex work, on paper, are meant to eliminate human trafficking rings and lower the amount of victims exploited through trafficking. However, the application of the …

Developing Nations And Disadvantaged Populations: How The 2009 H1n1 Influenza Pandemic Exacerbated Disparities And Inequities, Rebecca Lebeaux

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, although not as deadly or long lasting as initially projected, demonstrated that the world was and is ill prepared to handle a mass pandemic. As the first pandemic of the twenty-first century, the pandemic revealed global health insecurities and asymmetrical disease burdens for disadvantaged individuals and countries. This paper will analyze why both developing countries and disadvantaged individuals suffered disproportionately from the pandemic. Using the framework of structural violence, this paper will investigate how socioeconomic and political disparities encountered before and during the pandemic caused differential health, societal, political, and economic outcomes. These preexisting disparities …

Populist Radical Right Parties And The Securitization Of Migration In France, Ashley Middleton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper addresses the interrelationship between the securitization of migration and the influence of the French populist radical right party, Front National (FN), in promoting anti-migrant claims. By analysing how political actors have played a role in applying security terms to migration in Europe, the paper addresses the different types of socio-political factors that have influenced the anti-migrant sentiment in France. The paper also aims to summarize the role of the media in securitizing migration. Furthermore, the analysis continues with an exploration of French security policy with regard to migration to better understand how FN has benefitted from a …