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Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity
by Erving GoffmanFrom the author of The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Stigma is analyzes a person’s feelings about himself and his relationship to people whom society calls “normal.”Stigma is an illuminating excursion into the situation of persons who are unable to conform to standards that society calls normal. Disqualified from full social acceptance, they are stigmatized individuals. Physically deformed people, ex-mental patients, drug addicts, prostitutes, or those ostracized for other reasons must constantly strive to adjust to their precarious social identities. Their image of themselves must daily confront and be affronted by the image which others reflect back to them.Drawing extensively on autobiographies and case studies, sociologist Erving Goffman analyzes the stigmatized person’s feelings about himself and his relationship to “normals” He explores the variety of strategies stigmatized individuals employ to deal with the rejection of others, and the complex sorts of information about themselves they project. In Stigma the interplay of alternatives the stigmatized individual must face every day is brilliantly examined by one of America’s leading social analysts.
Stigma: Marking Skin in the Early Modern World (Perspectives on Sensory History)
by Katherine Dauge-Roth and Craig KoslofskyThe early modern period opened a new era in the history of dermal marking. Intensifying global travel and trade, especially the slave trade, bought diverse skin-marking practices into contact as never before. Stigma examines the distinctive skin cultures and marking methods of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas as they began to circulate and reshape one another in the early modern world. By highlighting the interwoven histories of tattooing, branding, stigmata, baptismal and beauty marks, wounds and scars, this volume shows that early modern markers of skin and readers of marked skin did not think about different kinds of cutaneous signs as separate from each other. On the contrary, Europeans described Indigenous tattooing in North America, Thailand, and the Philippines by referring their readers to the tattoos Christian pilgrims received in Jerusalem or Bethlehem. When explaining the devil’s mark on witches, theologians claimed it was an inversion of holy marks such as those of baptism or divine stigmata. Stigma investigates how early modern people used permanent marks on skin to affirm traditional roles and beliefs, and how they hybridized and transformed skin marking to meet new economic and political demands.In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume are Xiao Chen, Ana Fonseca Conboy, Peter Erickson, Claire Goldstein, Matthew S. Hopper, Katrina H. B. Keefer, Mordechay Lewy, Nicole Nyffenegger, Mairin Odle, and Allison Stedman.
Stigma and Culture: Last-Place Anxiety in Black America (Lewis Henry Morgan Lecture Ser.)
by J. Lorand MatoryIn Stigma and Culture, J. Lorand Matory provocatively shows how ethnic identification in the United States—and around the globe—is a competitive and hierarchical process in which populations, especially of historically stigmatized races, seek status and income by dishonoring other stigmatized populations. And there is no better place to see this than among the African American elite in academia, where he explores the emergent ethnic identities of African and Caribbean immigrants and transmigrants, Gullah/Geechees, Louisiana Creoles, and even Native Americans of partly African ancestry. Matory describes the competitive process that hierarchically structures their self-definition as ethnic groups and the similar process by which middle-class African Americans seek distinction from their impoverished compatriots. Drawing on research at universities such as Howard, Harvard, and Duke and among their alumni networks, he details how university life—while facilitating individual upward mobility, touting human equality, and regaling cultural diversity—also perpetuates the cultural standards that historically justified the dominance of some groups over others. Combining his ethnographic findings with classic theoretical insights from Frantz Fanon, Fredrik Barth, Erving Goffman, Pierre Bourdieu and others—alongside stories from his own life in academia—Matory sketches the university as an institution that, particularly through the anthropological vocabulary of culture, encourages the stigmatized to stratify their own.
Stigma and Group Inequality: Social Psychological Perspectives (Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology Series)
by Shana Levin Colette Van LaarThis book provides a snapshot of the latest theoretical and empirical work on social psychological approaches to stigma and group inequality. It focuses on the perspective of the stigmatized groups and discusses the effects of the stigma on the individual, the interacting partners, the groups to which they belong, and the relations between the groups.Broken into three major sections, Stigma and Group Inequality:*discusses the tradeoffs that stigmatized individuals must contend with as they weigh the benefits derived from a particular response to stigma against the costs associated with it;*explores the ways in which environments can threaten one's intellectual performance, sense of belonging, and self concept; and*argues that the experience of possessing a stigmatized identity is shaped by social interactions with others in the stigmatized group as well as members of other groups.Stigma and Group Inequality is a valuable resource for students and scholars in the fields of psychology, sociology, social work, anthropology, communication, public policy, and political science, particularly for courses on stigma, prejudice, and intergroup relations. The book is also accessible to teachers, administrators, community leaders, and concerned citizens who are trying to understand and improve the plight of stigmatized individuals in school, at work, at home, in the community, and in society at large.
Stigma and Prejudice
by Ranna Parekh Ed W. ChildsIn this innovative title, the authors describe unique patient populations affected by stigma and prejudice and the prevalence of these issues to all healthcare providers. Each chapter covers the forms of prejudice and stigma associated with minority statuses, including religious minorities, the homeless, as well as those stigmatized by medical serious medical conditions, such HIV/AIDS, obesity, and substance misuse disorders. The chapters focus on the importance of recognizing biological differences and similarities within such groups and describes the challenges and best practices for optimum healthcare outcomes. The text describes innovative ways to connect in a clinical setting with people of diverse backgrounds. The text also covers future directions and areas of research and innovative clinical work being done. Written by experts in the field, Stigma and Prejudice is an excellent resource for psychiatrist, psychologists, general physicians, social workers, and all other medical professionals working with stigmatized populations.
Stigma and Social Exclusion in Healthcare
by Tom Mason Caroline Carlisle Caroline Watkins Elizabeth WhiteheadWhilst those in healthcare might like to think that they work to reduce stigma and social exclusion of others, this book reveals many strategies by which healthcare professionals contribute to increasing these conditions. Written by practitioners, some of whom have themselves been stigmatised, the book exposes the hidden processes of prejudice and the dogma of ideology that permeate contemporary healthcare. Engaging with the realities of stigma through a grassroots approach, topics covered include:* hearing* sight* sexuality* HIV and AIDS* drug use* teenage pregnancy* breastfeeding* old age.Stigma and Social Exclusion in Healthcare provides practical solutions to problems, recommendations for training and a blueprint for the future. It will prove a valuable reference for all those wanting to deal with the issues of stigmatisation.
Stigma and the Shaping of the Pornography Industry (Routledge Advances in Sociology)
by Georgina VossThe idea of ‘pornography’ is often employed to invoke titillation, anger, and disgust. Stigma and the Shaping of the Pornography Industry explores the effects that this stigmatized identity has on the pornography industry itself. From the video era to the emergence of the internet, to trade shows, white-collar workers, technological innovation, and industry-wide characteristics, this book looks beyond content production to explore how stigma has shaped the structures, practices, norms, and boundaries of the wider sector. By drawing on concepts such as dirty work, core-stigmatized industries, and outlaw innovation, this book offers rich insights into the ways in which stigma is socially constructed and managed, and the deep structural effects that it has on the industry.
Stigma, Discrimination and Living with HIV/AIDS
by Pranee LiamputtongUp until now, many articles have been written to portray stigma and discrimination which occur with people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in many parts of the world. But this is the first book which attempts to put together results from empirical research relating to stigma, discrimination and living with HIV/AIDS. The focus of this book is on issues relevant to stigma and discrimination which have occurred to individuals and groups in different parts of the globe, as well as how these individuals and groups attempt to deal with HIV/AIDS. The book comprises chapters written by researchers who carry out their projects in different parts of the world and each chapter contains empirical information based on real life situations. This can be used as an evidence for health care providers to implement socially and culturally appropriate services to assist individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS in many societies. The book is of interest to health care providers who have their interests in working with individuals and groups who are living with HIV/AIDS from a cross-cultural perspective. It will be useful for students and lecturers in courses such as anthropology, sociology, social work, nursing, public health and medicine. In particular, it will assist health workers in community health centres and hospitals in understanding issues related to HIV/AIDS and hence provide culturally sensitive health care to people living with HIV/AIDS from different social and cultural backgrounds. The book is useful for anyone who is interested in HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination in diverse social and cultural settings.
The Stigma Effect: Unintended Consequences of Mental Health Campaigns
by Patrick CorriganDespite efforts to redress the prejudice and discrimination faced by people with mental illness, a pervasive stigma remains. Many well-meant programs have attempted to counter stigma with affirming attitudes of recovery and self-determination. Yet the results of these efforts have been mixed. In The Stigma Effect, psychologist Patrick W. Corrigan examines the unintended consequences of mental health campaigns and proposes new policies in their place.Corrigan analyzes the agendas of government agencies, mental health care providers, and social service agencies that work with people with mental illness, dissecting how their best intentions can misfire. For example, a campaign to change the language around mental illness by replacing supposedly stigmatizing words with empowering ones has made little difference in how people with mental health conditions are viewed. Educational programs that frame mental illness as a brain disorder have made the general public less likely to blame people for their illnesses, but also skeptical that such conditions can be cured. Ultimately, Corrigan argues that effective strategies require leadership by those with lived experience, as their recovery stories replace ideas of incompetence and dangerousness with ones of hope and empowerment. As an experienced clinical researcher, as an advocate, and as a person who has struggled with such prejudices, Corrigan challenges readers to carefully examine anti-stigma programs and reckon with their true effects.
The Stigma Matrix: Gender, Globalization, and the Agency of Pakistan's Frontline Women (Globalization in Everyday Life)
by Fauzia HusainAs developing states adopt neoliberal policies, more and more working-class women find themselves pulled into the public sphere. They are pressed into wage work by a privatizing and unstable job market. Likewise, they are pulled into public roles by gender mainstreaming policies that developing states must sign on to in order to receive transnational aid. Their inclusion into the political economy is very beneficial for society, but is it also beneficial for women? In The Stigma Matrix Fauzia Husain draws on the experiences of policewomen, lady health workers, and airline attendants, all frontline workers who help the Pakistani state, and its global allies, address, surveil, and discipline veiled women citizens. These women, she finds, confront a stigma matrix: a complex of local and global, historic, and contemporary factors that work together to complicate women's integration into public life. The experiences of the three groups Husain examines reveal that inclusion requires more than quotas or special seats. This book advances critical feminist and sociological frameworks on stigma and agency showing that both concepts are made up of multiple layers of meaning, and are entangled with elite projects of hegemony.
Stigma Revisited: Implications of the Mark (Alternative Perspectives in Criminology)
by Stacey Hannem & Chris BruckertStigma Revisited: Implications of the Mark is a collection of qualitative, empirical studies of populations who experience stigma. Discrimination, marginality and social injustice are recognized as indelibly tied to the phenomena of stigma. This volume builds on the work of Erving Goffman and integrates a larger, structural understanding of stigma based in Michel Foucault’s governmentality writings. Contemporary notions of risk, riskiness and danger are linked to the labelling of “deviant” populations in the name of social control and risk management; these labels result in the institutional and systemic perpetuation of stereotypes and stigmatic attitudes. The research presented in this book addresses the individual experience of symbolic stigma as well as the collective impact of structural stigma. With unique, personal vignettes that position each of the academic contributors in relation to their subjects, this collection of essays challenges social science researchers to understand their own role in reproducing and contesting hegemonic discourses that stigmatize and marginalize.
Stigmatisierende Kommunikation: Eine theoretische Konzeptualisierung gruppenbezogener abwertender Kommunikation
by Anna FreytagDie Arbeit von Anna Freytag setzt sich theoretisch mit dem Phänomen der gruppenbezogenen abwertenden Kommunikation auseinander. Die Kommunikationswissenschaft und andere Disziplinen haben sich in der Vergangenheit unter einer Vielzahl von Begriffen und aus unterschiedlichen theoretischen Perspektiven mit gruppenbezogener abwertender Kommunikation auseinandergesetzt. Die etablierten Begriffe bergen jedoch Herausforderungen und vernachlässigen zum Teil soziologische und sozialpsychologische Perspektiven, wie etwa das Konzept der Stigmatisierung. Vor diesem Hintergrund entwickelt die Autorin mit „Stigmatisierender Kommunikation“ ein eigenes kommunikationswissenschaftliches Konzept, das Erkenntnisse aus verschiedenen Disziplinen integriert. Darauf aufbauend entwirft sie ein Forschungsprogramm für die weitere wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit stigmatisierender Kommunikation. Es werden Forschungsfragen zu beteiligten Akteur*innen, Motiven und Determinanten, zur inhaltlichen Ausgestaltung und zu den vielfältigen Auswirkungen stigmatisierender Kommunikation abgeleitet. Dazu werden methodische Ansätze und Herausforderungen für eine erfolgreiche empirische Untersuchung stigmatisierender Kommunikation diskutiert.
The Stigmatized Vernacular: Where Reflexivity Meets Untellability (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology)
by Diane E. Goldstein and Amy ShumanReflections on the challenge of studying and discussing subjects society rejects, reviles, or considers unspeakable.As part of this multilayered conversation about stigma, this volume discusses the relationship between the stigmatized individual and our role as researchers. Here we address our own perspectives as researchers struggling with stigma issues and tellability, as well as scholarly reflexive concerns dealing with what can’t be said when working with stigmatized groups or topics.The disciplinary focus of folklore positions us well to concentrate on the vernacular experience of the stigmatized, but it also propels us toward analysis of the performance of stigma, the process of stigmatization, and the political representation of stigmatized populations. These perspectives come to the fore in this book, as does the multilayered nature of stigma—its ability to reproduce, overlap, and spread, not just in terms of replication but also in terms of the ethnographer’s ability to apprehend it and her ability to research and write about it.
Stilbildungen und Zugehörigkeit: Materialität und Medialität in Jugendszenen (Erlebniswelten)
by Tim Böder Paul Eisewicht Günter Mey Nicolle PfaffSzenezugehörigkeiten können als in stilspezifischen Praktiken sozial hervorgebrachte und sinnstiftende Gemeinsamkeiten des Handelns verstanden werden. Sie werden in den jeweiligen Stilbildungen über materielle Artefakte und deren Gebrauch, den Körper sowie mediale Ausdrucksformen angezeigt, inszeniert, stabilisiert und verbreitet. Wenngleich die Bedeutung von Artefakten, Körpern und Medien für Stilisierungsprozesse innerhalb der Jugendkultur- und Szeneforschung kontinuierlich hervorgehoben wird, so rückt die systematische Analyse der materiellen und medialen Dimensionen jugendkulturellen Handelns über die Deskription jeweiliger Stile hinaus nur selten in den Blickpunkt. Von dieser Beobachtung ausgehend soll mit diesem Band der Frage nachgegangen werden, mit welchen theoretischen und methodischen Perspektiven eine interdisziplinäre Jugendkultur- und Szeneforschung die materiellen und medialen Ausdrucksformen von Stilen adäquat verstehen kann. Der Band versammelt Beiträge, die sich der Bedeutung von Materialität und Medialität in Szenen aus historischer, sozial- und kulturwissenschaftlicher sowie psychologischer Perspektive widmen.Der InhaltJugendkulturtheoretische Perspektiven auf Medialität und Materialität • Stilbildungen über Medien • Stilbildungen über Artefakte • Stilbildungen über Körper Die HerausgeberTim Böder ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter der AG Jugend- und Schulforschung an der Universität Duisburg-Essen.Dr. Paul Eisewicht ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Soziologie an der Technischen Universität Dortmund.Prof. Dr. Günter Mey lehrt Entwicklungspsychologie und qualitative Forschung an der Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal.Prof. Dr. Nicolle Pfaff ist Hochschullehrerin an der Fakultät für Bildungswissenschaften an der Universität Duisburg-Essen.
Still a House Divided: Race and Politics in Obama's America (Princeton Studies in American Politics: Historical, International, and Comparative Perspectives #125)
by Desmond King Rogers M. SmithWhy race remains the central political issue in America todayWhy have American policies failed to reduce the racial inequalities still pervasive throughout the nation? Has President Barack Obama defined new political approaches to race that might spur unity and progress? Still a House Divided examines the enduring divisions of American racial politics and how these conflicts have been shaped by distinct political alliances and their competing race policies. Combining deep historical knowledge with a detailed exploration of such issues as housing, employment, criminal justice, multiracial census categories, immigration, voting in majority-minority districts, and school vouchers, Desmond King and Rogers Smith assess the significance of President Obama's election to the White House and the prospects for achieving constructive racial policies for America's future.Offering a fresh perspective on the networks of governing institutions, political groups, and political actors that influence the structure of American racial politics, King and Smith identify three distinct periods of opposing racial policy coalitions in American history. The authors investigate how today's alliances pit color-blind and race-conscious approaches against one another, contributing to political polarization and distorted policymaking. Contending that President Obama has so far inadequately confronted partisan divisions over race, the authors call for all sides to recognize the need for a balance of policy measures if America is to ever cease being a nation divided.Presenting a powerful account of American political alliances and their contending racial agendas, Still a House Divided sheds light on a policy path vital to the country's future.
Still a Man's World: Men Who Do Women's Work (Men and Masculinity #1)
by Christine L. WilliamsMen who do "women's work" have consistently been the butt of jokes, derided for their lack of drive and masculinity. In this eye-opening study, Christine Williams provides a wholly new look at men who work in predominantly female jobs. Having conducted extensive interviews in four cities, Williams uncovers how men in four occupations—nursing, elementary school teaching, librarianship, and social work—think about themselves and experience their work.Contrary to popular imagery, men in traditionally female occupations do not define themselves differently from men in more traditional occupations. Williams finds that most embrace conventional, masculine values. Her findings about how these men fare in their jobs are also counterintuitive. Rather than being surpassed by the larger number of women around them, these men experience the "glass escalator effect," rising in disproportionate numbers to administrative jobs at the top of their professions. Williams finds that a complex interplay between gendered expectations embedded in organizations, and the socially determined ideas workers bring to their jobs, contribute to mens' advantages in these occupations.Using a feminist psychoanalytic perspective, Williams calls for more men not only to cross over to women's occupations, but also to develop alternative masculinities that find common ground with traditionally female norms of cooperation and caring. Until the workplace is sexually integrated and masculine and feminine norms equally valued, it will unfortunately remain "still a man's world."
Still a Mother: Noncustodial Mothers, Gendered Institutions, and Social Change
by Jackie KrasasJackie Krasas traces the trajectories of mothers who have lost or ceded custody to an ex-partner. She argues that these noncustodial mothers' experiences should be understood within a greater web of gendered social institutions such as employment, education, health care, and legal systems that shapes the meanings of contemporary motherhood in the United States. If motherhood means "being there," then noncustodial mothers, through their absence, are seen as nonmothers. They are anti-mothers to be reviled. At the very least, these mothers serve as cautionary tales.Still a Mother questions the existence of an objective method for determining custody of children and challenges the "best-interests standard" through a feminist, reproductive justice lens. The stories of noncustodial mothers that Krasas relates shed light on marriage and divorce, caregiving, gender violence, and family court. Unfortunately, much of the contemporary discussion of child custody determination is dominated either by gender-neutral discussions, or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, by the idea that fathers are severely disadvantaged in custody disputes. As a result, the idea that mothers always receive custody has taken on the status of common sense. If this was true, as Krasas affirms, there would be no book to write.
Still Alive: A Holocaust Girlhood Remembered
by Ruth KlugerNow in paperback, this European bestseller won huge -acclaim from U. S. critics, Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post Book World declared this memoir of a Holocaust girlhood and a life reclaimed "one of the best books of 2001 . . . a book of surpassing, and at times brutal, honesty. . . . Among the many reasons that Still Alive is such an important book is its insistence that the full texture of women's existence in the Holocaust be acknowledged. " Ruth Kluger's story of her years in several concentration camps, and her struggle to establish a life after the war as a refugee survivor in New York, has emerged as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust. Still Alive is a memoir of the pursuit of selfhood against all odds, a fiercely bittersweet coming-of-age story in which the protagonist must learn never to rely on comforting assumptions, but always to seek her own truth. "A deeply moving and significant work . . . compared by European critics to the work of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel. "--Publishers Weekly "A stunning contemplation of human relationships, power and the creation of history. . . . A work of such nuance, intelligence and force that it leaps the bounds of genre. "--Kirkus Reviews Ruth Kluger is professor emerita of German at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of five books about German literature and the recipient of Austria's National Prize for Literary Criticism. Her widely translated memoir has won eight European Literary awards. Lore Segal's writings include the novels Other People's Houses and Her First American.
Still Alive
by Lore Segal Ruth KlugerNow in paperback, this European bestseller won huge -acclaim from U.S. critics, Jonathan Yardley of the Washington Post Book World declared this memoir of a Holocaust girlhood and a life reclaimed "one of the best books of 2001 . . . a book of surpassing, and at times brutal, honesty. . . . Among the many reasons that Still Alive is such an important book is its insistence that the full texture of women's existence in the Holocaust be acknowledged."Ruth Kluger's story of her years in several concentration camps, and her struggle to establish a life after the war as a refugee survivor in New York, has emerged as one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust. Still Alive is a memoir of the pursuit of selfhood against all odds, a fiercely bittersweet coming-of-age story in which the protagonist must learn never to rely on comforting assumptions, but always to seek her own truth."A deeply moving and significant work . . . compared by European critics to the work of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel."--Publishers Weekly"A stunning contemplation of human relationships, power and the creation of history. . . . A work of such nuance, intelligence and force that it leaps the bounds of genre."--Kirkus ReviewsRuth Kluger is professor emerita of German at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of five books about German literature and the recipient of Austria's National Prize for Literary Criticism. Her widely translated memoir has won eight European Literary awards. Lore Segal's writings include the novels Other People's Houses and Her First American.
Still Brave: The Evolution Of Black Women's Studies
by Frances Smith Beverly Guy-Sheftall Stanlie M. JamesCheryl Clarke, Angela Davis, bell hooks, June Jordan, Audre Lorde and Alice Walker - from the pioneers of black women's studies comes Still Brave, the definitive collection of race and gender writings today. Including Alice Walker's groundbreaking elucidation of the term 'womanist,' discussions of women's rights as human rights and a piece on the Obama factor, the collection speaks to the ways that feminism has evolved and how black women have confronted racism within it.
Still Breathing: 100 Black Voices on Racism--100 Ways to Change the Narrative
by Suzette Llewellyn Suzanne Packer&‘A timely book and a conversation starter on race in Britain.&’ Rachel Edwards, Author of Darling and Lucky&‘A timely book in a year that has made clear that Britain still has a very long way to go towards becoming the model of racial equality it aims to be.&’ Kenya Hunt &‘Powerful and sometimes painful testimonies but they also provide uplifting and enriching experiences.&’ Stephen Bourne&‘I'm so proud to hold this book in my hand. We are here in all our richness.&’ Adjoa Andoh, Actor, Director&‘This book is such a moving read for everyone of all ages and races.&’ Colin Jackson, CBE&‘A reinforcement of evocative truths that hurt and sting deeply but also empower tremendously.&’ Sharon Duncan-Brewster The whole world is watching.25 May, 2020. George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, is killed in Minneapolis while being arrested. His death, witnessed by horrified bystanders, is captured on camera – and within hours has spread far and wide across social media.We&’re all bystanders now.The protests that follow express shock, sorrow, and outrage. Because what&’s happened, has happened before – away from witnesses and cameras. The story didn&’t begin here, and this is not where it ends…STILL BREATHING assembles a cast of 100 black voices to talk about their experiences of racism in Britain. Actresses Suzette Llewellyn (Eastenders) and Suzanne Packer (Holby City) are joined by musicians, Members of Parliament, poets, artists, athletes, civil servants, doctors, lawyers, and more.Touching on Windrush and the workplace, race riots and reforms, these essays seek to educate, to bear witness – and to offer hope for a better future, in Britain and around the world.
Still Broken: A Recruit's Inside Account of Intelligence Failures, from Baghdad to the Pentagon
by A. J. Rossmiller"Graduating from college with a degree in Middle East studies, Rossmiller joined the Defense Department's Intelligence Agency in 2004 and soon volunteered to join a DIA unit in Iraq. He vividly recounts his six-month tour--the physical misery of the environment and the frustrations of feeling his work rarely made a difference. Good intelligence, he explains, begins with people on the spot (in this case usually Iraqis), who take risks but supply information that is often fragmented, out-of-date and even self-serving or false. Analysts, such as the author, tease out useful data and deliver it quickly to fighting men. Hobbled by clueless superiors and their turf wars, as well as ignorance of Iraqi culture, DIA units, including Rossmiller's, witnessed American forces repeatedly acting on poor or outdated intelligence. They killed and arrested plenty of genuine insurgents but also killed, arrested and infuriated many innocent Iraqis, which crippled their efforts. Back in Washington, Rossmiller discovered the agency under pressure to provide good news for the Bush administration. Superiors regularly rejected his analyses of Iraqi politics as "too pessimistic." If repeated rewrites lacked an upbeat conclusion, superiors inserted one. That his predictions turned out to be correct made no difference. This intense, partisan arm-twisting devastated morale, resulting in an exodus of agency experts, including the author. "Rossmiller gives a lively insider's view of the petty and not-so-petty politics that affect the intelligence our leaders receive in their efforts to pacify Iraq; it is not a pretty picture." -Publishers Weekly. After 9/11, billions of dollars were spent to overhaul America's dysfunctional intelligence services, which were mired in bureaucracy, turf wars, and dated technology. But in this astonishing new book, A. J. Rossmiller, a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst honored for his efforts here and in Iraq, reveals firsthand evidence that the intelligence system remains in disrepair. Still Broken is a blistering account of the ideology and incompetence that cripple our efforts to confront our enemies and fight our wars. Like many Americans, Rossmiller was moved to action by the attacks on 9/11. Freshly graduated from Middlebury College, he went to work for the U.S. government in 2004. But his enthusiasm slowly turned to disillusion as he began to fulfill his duties for DIA, the spy arm of the Department of Defense. There he found the Cold War and 9/11 generations at odds, the cause of fighting terrorism superseded by the need to contain a dismally managed war in Iraq, the Bush administration widely mocked and distrusted, and the intelligence process crippled from top to bottom. Rather than give up, Rossmiller instead went further, volunteering to go to Iraq to aid the troops on the ground, contribute to tactical intelligence, and, he hoped, help bring about an end to a fatally mismanaged war. For six months in that besieged country, he worked for the Direct Action Cell, the "track 'em and whack 'em" unit devoted to unmasking and targeting insurgents. He learned that, to put it mildly, the intelligence process bears no resemblance to the streamlined, well-resourced, and timely operation in a James Bond or Jason Bourne movie. He also experienced the disastrous counterterrorism and detainee strategies for which mass imprisonment--with little interest in guilt or innocence--is standard operating procedure. Back at the Pentagon as a strategic issues expert in the Office of Iraq Analysis, Rossmiller saw the administration's heavy hand in determining how information is processed. In a dysfunctional office filled with outsize personalities and the constant drone of Fox News, he filed reports on the ever-worsening situation in Iraq...
Still Connected: Family and Friends in America Since 1970
by Claude S. FischerNational news reports periodically proclaim that American life is lonelier than ever, and new books on the subject with titles like Bowling Alone generate considerable anxiety about the declining quality of Americans’ social ties. Still Connected challenges such concerns by asking a simple yet significant question: have Americans’ bonds with family and friends changed since the 1970s, and, if so, how? Noted sociologist Claude Fischer examines long-term trends in family ties and friendships and paints an insightful and ultimately reassuring portrait of Americans’ personal relationships. Still Connected analyzes forty years of survey research to address whether and how Americans’ personal ties have changed—their involvement with relatives, the number of friends they have and their contacts with those friends, the amount of practical and emotional support they are able to count on, and how emotionally tied they feel to these relationships. The book shows that Americans today have fewer relatives than they did forty years ago and that formal gatherings have declined over the decades—at least partially as a result of later marriages and more women in the work force. Yet neither the overall quantity of personal relationships nor, more importantly, the quality of those relationships has diminished. Americans’ contact with relatives and friends, as well as their feelings of emotional connectedness, has changed relatively little since the 1970s. Although Americans are marrying later and single people feel lonely, few Americans report being socially isolated and the percentage who do has not really increased. Fischer maintains that this constancy testifies to the value Americans place on family and friends and to their willingness to adapt to changing circumstances in ways that sustain their social connections. For example, children now often have schedules as busy as their parents. Yet today’s parents spend more quality time with their children than parents did forty years ago—although less in the form of organized home activities and more in the form of accompanying them to play dates or sports activities. And those family meals at home that seem to be disappearing? While survey research shows that families dine at home together less often, it also shows that they dine out together more often. Americans are fascinated by the quality of their relationships with family and friends and whether these bonds fray or remain stable over time. With so many voices heralding the demise of personal relationships, it’s no wonder that confusion on this topic abounds. An engrossing and accessible social history, Still Connected brings a much-needed note of clarity to the discussion. Americans’ personal ties, this book assures us, remain strong.
Still Connected: Family and Friends in America since 1970
by Fischer Claude S.National news reports periodically proclaim that American life is lonelier than ever, and new books on the subject with titles like Bowling Alone generate considerable anxiety about the declining quality of Americans' social ties. Still Connected challenges such concerns by asking a simple yet significant question: have Americans' bonds with family and friends changed since the 1970s, and, if so, how? Noted sociologist Claude Fischer examines long-term trends in family ties and friendships and paints an insightful and ultimately reassuring portrait of Americans' personal relationships. Still Connected analyzes forty years of survey research to address whether and how Americans' personal ties have changed--their involvement with relatives, the number of friends they have and their contacts with those friends, the amount of practical and emotional support they are able to count on, and how emotionally tied they feel to these relationships. The book shows that Americans today have fewer relatives than they did forty years ago and that formal gatherings have declined over the decades--at least partially as a result of later marriages and more women in the work force. Yet neither the overall quantity of personal relationships nor, more importantly, the quality of those relationships has diminished. Americans' contact with relatives and friends, as well as their feelings of emotional connectedness, has changed relatively little since the 1970s. Although Americans are marrying later and single people feel lonely, few Americans report being socially isolated and the percentage who do has not really increased. Fischer maintains that this constancy testifies to the value Americans place on family and friends and to their willingness to adapt to changing circumstances in ways that sustain their social connections. For example, children now often have schedules as busy as their parents. Yet today's parents spend more quality time with their children than parents did forty years ago--although less in the form of organized home activities and more in the form of accompanying them to play dates or sports activities. And those family meals at home that seem to be disappearing? While survey research shows that families dine at home together less often, it also shows that they dine out together more often. Americans are fascinated by the quality of their relationships with family and friends and whether these bonds fray or remain stable over time. With so many voices heralding the demise of personal relationships, it's no wonder that confusion on this topic abounds. An engrossing and accessible social history, Still Connected brings a much-needed note of clarity to the discussion. Americans' personal ties, this book assures us, remain strong.
Still Doing It
by Deirdre Fishel Diana Holtzberg"An informed, honest, joyous book. Younger women may well envy us." -Suzanne Braun Levine, author of Inventing the Rest of Our Lives and "Sex, love, and life can grow even richer as we grow older, and the stereotype-busting women in this book show us scores of ways. These women are not going downhill, they're on a roll. They are women of juice and wisdom-and living proof that the best is yet to come."- Gina Ogden, PhD, author of Women Who Love Sex, The Heart and Soul of Sex, and The Return of Desire When Deirdre Fishel and Diana Holtzberg began work on their documentary Still Doing It, they knew they were catching a wave. The women of the baby-boom generation who had been so outspoken about sexuality and freedom were about to turn sixty, yet no one was talking about the revolution in aging. Nor was anyone letting on about the big dark secret that women born before the boomers, even way before, were a hell of a lot more vital than the images we were getting, and many were still having sex-and loving it! In Still Doing It, Fishel, Holtzberg, and the incredible women in their documentary broke the silence. Now they are back, with a stimulating and eye-opening book that offers a deeper look at women who break every stereotype we have about sex and intimacy. These women are dynamic, confident, opinionated, and wise. They're also having the kind of intense sexual experiences and fantasies we never associate with grandmothers. You'll meet Betty, who met her live-in boyfriend in an online chat room when she was sixty-nine and he was twenty-two; Joani, age seventy, who shares her boyfriend with another woman; and Frances, who encountered the intellectual and sexual love of her life at eighty. Today's women are living longer, healthier lives, and their appetite for sex and adventure isn't fading. Aware of their mortality, they understand just how precious life really is, and are willing to take risks to go after what they want. Challenging stereotypes about older women, Still Doing It lets everyone know that sex and adventure do not need to end when you hit sixty (or seventy . . . or ninety!). In fact, the good stuff is often just beginning.