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Fieldwork Experiences in Criminology and Security Studies: Methods, Ethics, and Emotions
by Antonio M. Díaz-Fernández Cristina Del-Real Lorena MolnarThis book compiles the fieldwork experiences of 55 researchers, addressing the challenges, ethical considerations, and methodologies employed to study 30 diverse populations and phenomena within Criminology and Security Studies. This volume contributes to filling a gap in academic literature by highlighting the often unspoken realities and intricacies of fieldwork. The book is systematically structured into five thematic sections: The Powerful, The Invisible, The Vulnerable, The Violent, and The Cyber. These categories encompass various aspects and dimensions of fieldwork, including managing emotional distress, negotiating access through gatekeepers, ensuring the protection of informants, and exercising discretion in navigating sensitive issues. As a scholarly resource, this book is invaluable for academics, practitioners, and students involved in criminology, security studies, anthropology, sociology, and political science. By offering in-depth reflections and insights, this volume enhances the reader’s understanding of the nuances of fieldwork, and informs the development of robust and ethical research practices.Chapters 2, 9 and 11 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
Fieldwork In Familiar Places: Morality, Culture, And Philosophy
by Michele M. Moody-AdamsThe persistence of deep moral disagreements--across cultures as well as within them--has created widespread skepticism about the objectivity of morality. Moral relativism, moral pessimism, and the denigration of ethics in comparison with science are the results. Fieldwork in Familiar Places challenges the misconceptions about morality, culture, and objectivity that support these skepticisms, to show that we can take moral disagreement seriously and yet retain our aspirations for moral objectivity. Michele Moody-Adams critically scrutinizes the anthropological evidence commonly used to support moral relativism. Drawing on extensive knowledge of the relevant anthropological literature, she dismantles the mystical conceptions of "culture" that underwrite relativism. She demonstrates that cultures are not hermetically sealed from each other, but are rather the product of eclectic mixtures and borrowings rich with contradictions and possibilities for change. The internal complexity of cultures is not only crucial for cultural survival, but will always thwart relativist efforts to confine moral judgments to a single culture. Fieldwork in Familiar Places will forever change the way we think about relativism: anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and philosophers alike will be forced to reconsider many of their theoretical presuppositions. Moody-Adams also challenges the notion that ethics is methodologically deficient because it does not meet standards set by natural science. She contends that ethics is an interpretive enterprise, not a failed naturalistic one: genuine ethical inquiry, including philosophical ethics, is a species of interpretive ethnography. We have reason for moral optimism, Moody-Adams argues. Even the most serious moral disagreements take place against a background of moral agreement, and thus genuine ethical inquiry will be fieldwork in familiar places. Philosophers can contribute to this enterprise, she believes, if they return to a Socratic conception of themselves as members of a rich and complex community of moral inquirers.
Fierce Civility: Transforming our Global Culture from Polarization to Lasting Peace
by Joe WestonHas the world gone mad? Will war and conflict ever end? Civil unrest seems rampant as we’ve become polarized to the point of extremism. Most of us know things have to change so we can find our way back to one another. But how? Fierce Civility: Transforming our Global Culture from Polarization to Lasting Peace answers these questions and more by providing a step-by-step journey into a dynamic new human story with hope at its foundation. It lays out the Fierce Civility Pathway of Hope, a sweeping, bold yet highly relational and pragmatic plan to break the gridlock of polarization and get us talking again. The author invites readers to explore: - How do we confront a bully without becoming one? - How do we advocate for social and cultural transformation without adding to the tension or causing harm? - How do we take care of ourselves and increase our personal agency, fulfillment and resilience at a time when it seems more challenging to do so? Through strategies, skills and practices honed and road-tested during the author’s decades of work, Fierce Civility’s powerful approach is for anyone who is trying to find their grounding in these uncertain times, or is seeking a practical, heart-inspired methodology for making world peace, at long last, our reality. “Weston’s ‘skills of the heart’ can turn our ideas into action at a time when our future depends on our willingness to come together.” Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, Founding Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse
Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America
by Rebecca L. DavisFrom an esteemed scholar, a richly textured, authoritative history of sex and sexuality in America—the first major account in three decades. Our era is one of sexual upheaval. Roe v. Wade was overturned in the summer of 2022, school systems across the country are banning books with LGBTQ+ themes, and the notion of a “tradwife” is gaining adherents on the right while polyamory wins converts on the left. It may seem as though debates over sex are more intense than ever, but as acclaimed historian Rebecca L. Davis demonstrates in Fierce Desires, we should not be too surprised, because Americans have been arguing over which kinds of sex are “acceptable”—and which are not—since before the founding itself. From the public floggings of fornicators in early New England to passionate same-sex love affairs in the 1800s and the crackdown on abortion providers in the 1870s, and from the movements for sexual liberation to the recent restrictions on access to gender affirming care, Davis presents a sweeping, engrossing, illuminating four-hundred-year account of this nation’s sexual past. Drawing on a wealth of sources, including legal records, erotica, and eighteenth-century romance novels, she recasts important episodes—Anthony Comstock’s crusade against smut among them—and, at the same time, unearths stories of little-remembered pioneers and iconoclasts, such as an indentured servant in colonial Virginia named Thomas/Thomasine Hall, Gay Liberation Front cofounder Kiyoshi Kuromiya, and postwar female pleasure activist Betty Dodson. At the heart of the book is Davis’s argument that the concept of sexual identity is relatively novel, first appearing in the nineteenth century. Over the centuries, Americans have shifted from understanding sexual behaviors as reflections of personal preferences or values, such as those rooted in faith or culture, to defining sexuality as an essential part of what makes a person who they are. And at every step, legislators, police, activists, and bureaucrats attempted to regulate new sexual behaviors, transforming government in the process. The most comprehensive account of America’s sexual past since John D’Emilio and Estelle Freedman’s 1988 classic, Intimate Matters, Davis’s magisterial work seeks to help us understand the turmoil of the present. It demonstrates how fiercely we have always valued our desires, and how far we are willing to go to defend them.
Fierce, Fabulous, and Fluid: How Trans High School Students Work at Gender Nonconformity (Critical Perspectives on Youth #14)
by LJ SlovinHighlights the work trans youth do to create inclusive spaces in schoolsFierce, Fabulous, and Fluid presents a poignant critique of educational policies aimed at supporting trans and gender-nonconforming youth in schools. Over the years, caring adults have recognized these students as vulnerable and have tried to create inclusive environments to address their unique challenges. However, the book argues that these approaches have inadvertently perpetuated a narrow definition of trans identity, leaving many trans, non-binary, and gender-nonconforming youth feeling excluded and unseen.Based on a year-long ethnographic study conducted in a high school, LJ Slovin closely observes the experiences of gender-nonconforming youth who were often overlooked in the discussions about trans issues. Despite the lack of recognition, these hard-working young individuals persevered, navigating their identities and striving to thrive within the education system.Through their daily efforts, these young people tried to expand notions of gender in their school environment, building more inclusive spaces that embraced all trans identities. By sharing their stories, Slovin emphasizes the need for educators to shift away from a focus on risk and concern, to instead foster a celebration of trans and gender-nonconforming youth. The book urges educators to cultivate a genuine desire to understand and support trans youth, paving the way for a brighter and queerer future within educational settings.
Fierce Resilience: Combatting Workplace Stress One Conversation at a Time
by Edward BeltranDiscover the science-based secrets to reducing workplace stress, building unwavering resilience, and achieving success through the power of conversation.Technology, isolation, and increasing demands for productivity are making the workplace a hotbed for stress-it's no surprise employees are abandoning traumatic workplaces in unprecedented numbers.Ed Beltran,the CEO of a powerhouse leadership communication company, believes the antidote to stressed-out workplaces starts with conversation.Beltran has developed a science-based model to reduce stress and help people build what he calls fierce resilience. By leveraging the power of conversations, individuals discover: their unique stressors master skills to neutralize stressors build unwavering resilience that elevates their emotional well-being.This is no ordinary self-help book. The transformative process of fierce resilience goes well beyond developing mere coping skills. It helps people take control of their emotional health, become more resilient, and build organizations with resilience as a core part of their DNA.
The Fifth Dimension: An After-School Program Built on Diversity
by Distributive Literacy Consortium Michael ColeThe significant increase in the number of working mothers over the last twenty years has led to widespread worries about the plight of “latchkey kids,” who return from school each day to empty homes. Concerned that unsupervised children might be at greater risk of delinquency, schools and communities across the nation began providing after-school activities. But many of these programs were hastily devised with little understanding of what constitutes a quality program that meets children’s developmental needs. The Fifth Dimension explores and evaluates one of the country’s most successful and innovative after-school programs, providing insightful and practical lessons about what works and doesn’t work after-school. The Fifth Dimension program was established in the 1980s as a partnership between community centers and local colleges to establish an educational after-school program. With an emphasis on diversity and computer technology, the program incorporates the latest theories about child development and gives college students the opportunity to apply their textbook understanding of child development to real learning environments. The Fifth Dimension explores the design, implementation, and evaluation of this thriving program. The authors attribute the success of the Fifth Dimension to several factors. First, the program offers a balance of intellectually enriching exercises with development enhancing games. Second, by engaging undergraduates as active participants in both learning and social activities, the program gives local community organizations a large infusion of high-quality help for their educational efforts. Third, by rewarding children for their achievements and good behavior with greater flexibility in choosing their own schedules, the Fifth Dimension acts as a powerful, enduring motivator. The Fifth Dimension program serves as a model for what an enriching after-school program can be. The product of years of innovation and careful assessment, The Fifth Dimension is a valuable resource for all who are interested in developing successful community-based learning programs.
The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies for Building a Learning Organization
by Bryan Smith Art Kleiner Peter M. Senge Charlotte Roberts Richard RossThis book is for people who want to learn, especially while treading the fertile ground of organizational life. The idea of a learning organization has become increasingly prominent over the last few years. This book's predecessor, The Fifth Discipline, helped give voice to that wave on interest by presenting the conceptual underpinnings of the work of building learning organizations. Since its publication in 1990, Peter Senge et al. have talked to thousands of people who have committed themselves to the idea of building a learning organization. However, many of them are still not certain how to put the concepts into practice, asking questions like 'What do we do Monday morning? How do we navigate past the many barriers and roadblocks to collective learning? How do we discover exactly what kind of learning organization we wish to create? How do we get started?' No one person has THE answers to these questions, but there are answers. It is time for a 'fieldbook' - a collection of notes, reflections and exercised 'from the field'. This volume contains 172 pieces of writing by 67 authors, describing tools and methods, stories and reflections, guiding ideas and exercises and resources which people are using effectively.
Fifty Key Scholars in Black Social Thought (Routledge Key Guides)
by Jipguep-Akhtar, Marie-Claude Nazneen M. KhanFifty Key Scholars in Black Social Thought is a collaborative volume that uplifts and explores the intellectual activism and scholarly contributions of Black social thinkers. It implores readers to integrate the research of Black scholars into their teaching and research, and fundamentally, to rethink the dominant epistemological claims and philosophical underpinnings of the Western social sciences. The volume features 50 chapters, written by 55 scholars who explore the diverse contributions of notable Black thinkers, both historical and contemporary.Four thematic areas organize this work—Black epistemology, Black geopolitics, Black oppression and resistance, and Black families and communities. Through a close analysis of the fifty thinkers presented here, the chapters explore these themes while dismantling the whitewashed disciplinary histories, methodologies, and content that obscure and/or subjugate the significance of Black social thought. In addition to offering insightful and timely analysis, each chapter offers suggested readings for readers who would like to dive deeper into the work of Black social thinkers.This volume offers an accessible starting point for exploring the work of Black scholars past and present and their contributions to sociology and the social sciences more broadly. It is useful to students, academics, practitioners, and the lay public who are curious about Black social thought.
Fifty Key Sociologists: The Contemporary Theorists (Routledge Key Guides)
by John ScottFifty Key Sociologists: The Contemporary Theorists covers the life, work, ideas and impact of some of the most important thinkers in this discipline. Concentrating on figures writing predominantly in the second half of the twentieth century, such as Zygmunt Bauman, Pierre Bourdieu, Judith Butler, Michel Foucault and Claude Lévi-Strauss, each entry includes: full cross-referencing a further reading section biographical data key works and ideas critical assessment. Clearly presented in an easy-to-navigate A–Z format, this accessible reference guide is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, cultural studies and general studies, as well as other readers interested in this fascinating field.
Fifty Key Sociologists: The Formative Theorists (Routledge Key Guides)
by John ScottCovering the life, work, ideas and impact of some of the most significant thinkers in sociology, Fifty Key Sociologists: The Formative Theorists concentrates on figures in the field writing principally in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Including entries on Jane Addams, Theodor Adorno, George Lukács, Max Weber and Pitrim Sorokin, this practical text: is presented in an accessible A–Z format for maximum ease-of-use provides full cross-referencing and a further reading section for each entry, in order to allow the reader to broaden their understanding of the area includes biographical data for each of the figures covered. Presenting the key works and ideas of each sociologist featured, as well as providing some critical assessment of their work, this is an ideal reference guide for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sociology, cultural studies and general studies, as well as other readers interested in this important field.
Fifty Key Thinkers on Globalization (Routledge Key Guides)
by Alina Sajed William ColemanFifty Key Thinkers on Globalization is an outstanding guide to often-encountered thinkers whose ideas have shaped, defined and influenced this new and rapidly growing field. The authors clearly and lucidly survey the life, work and impact of fifty of the most important theorists of globalization including: Manuel Castells Joseph Stiglitz David Held Jan Aart Scholte Each thinker’s contribution to the field is evaluated and assessed, and each entry includes a helpful guide to further reading. Fully cross-referenced throughout, this remarkable reference guide is essential reading for students of politics and international relations, economics, sociology, history, anthropology and literary studies.
Fifty Miles from Tomorrow: A Memoir of Alaska and the Real People
by William L. Iggiagruk HensleyIn "Fifty Miles from Tomorrow," Hensley offers us the rare chance to immerse ourselves in a firsthand account of growing up Native Alaskan. There have been books written about Alaska, but they've been written by Outsiders, settlers. Hensley's memoir of life on the tundra offers an entirely new perspective, and his stories are captivating, as is his account of his devotion to the Alaska Native land claims movement. As a young man, Hensley was sent by missionaries to the Lower Forty-eight so he could pursue an education. While studying there, he discovered that the land Native Alaskans had occupied and, to all intents and purposes, owned for millennia was being snatched away from them. Hensley decided to fight back. In 1971, after years of Hensley's tireless lobbying, the United States government set aside 44 million acres and nearly $1 billion for use by Alaska's native peoples. Unlike their relatives to the south, the Alaskan peoples would be able to take charge of their economic and political destiny. The landmark decision did not come overnight and was certainly not the making of any one person. But it was Hensley who gave voice to the cause and made it real.
Fifty-One Key Feminist Thinkers (Routledge Key Guides)
by Lori J. MarsoThe feminist thinkers in this collection are the designated "fifty-one key feminist thinkers," historical and contemporary, and also the authors of the entries. Collected here are fifty-one key thinkers and fifty-one authors, recognizing that women are fifty-one percent of the population. There are actually one hundred and two thinkers collected in these pages, as each author is a feminist thinker, too: scholars, writers, poets, and activists, well-established and emerging, old and young and in-between. These feminists speak the languages of art, politics, literature, education, classics, gender studies, film, queer theory, global affairs, political theory, science fiction, African American studies, sociology, American studies, geography, history, philosophy, poetry, and psychoanalysis. Speaking in all these diverse tongues, conversations made possible by feminist thinking are introduced and engaged. Key figures include: Simone de Beauvoir Doris Lessing Toni Morrison Cindy Sherman Octavia Butler Marina Warner Elizabeth Cady Stanton Chantal Akerman Betty Friedan Audre Lorde Margaret Fuller Sappho Adrienne Rich Each entry is supported by a list of the thinker’s major works, along with further reading suggestions. An ideal resource for students and academics alike, this text will appeal to all those interested in the fields of gender studies, women’s studies and women’s history and politics.
Fifty Years of Bangladesh, 1971-2021: Crises of Culture, Development, Governance, and Identity
by Taj HashmiThis book, the first historical sociology of its kind concerning Bangladesh, examines the country's what-went-wrong-syndrome during the first fifty years of its existence, 1971-2021. The work is an exception to the traditional studies on modern and contemporary Bangladesh. The study is also a post-history of united Pakistan. Busting several myths, it sheds light on many known and unknown facts about the history, politics, society, and culture of the country. Besides being a twice-born country – liberated twice, from the British in 1947 and from West Pakistanis in 1971 – it is also an artificial entity suffering from acute crises of culture, development, governance, and identity. Hashmi attributes the culture and identity crises to the demographic byproducts of bad governance. In addition to being overpopulated, Bangladesh is also resource-poor and has one of the most unskilled populations, largely lumpen elements and peasants. According to Marx, these people represent “the unchanging remnants of the past”. The second round of independence empowered these lumpen classes, who suffer from an identity crisis and never learn the art of governance. The proliferation of pseudo-history about liberation has further divided the polity between the two warring tribes who only glorify their respective idols, Mujib and Zia. Pre-political and pre-capitalist peasants’ / lumpen elements’ lack of mutual trust and respect have further plagued Bangladesh, turning it into one of the least governable, corrupt, and inefficient countries. It is essential to replace the pre-capitalist order of the country run by multiple lumpen classes with capitalist and inclusive institutions.
Fifty Years of Family Planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Dogged Pursuit of Progress (Routledge Studies on Gender and Sexuality in Africa)
by Jane T. BertrandThis book chronicles five decades of struggle to introduce family planning into one of the largest, most complex countries in sub-Saharan Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Interweaving details of major political, social, and economic events into the history of family planning in DRC (formerly Zaïre), the book analyses the achievements and setbacks of five decades of programmatic work. President Mobutu’s 1972 discourse on Naissances Désirables (desirable births) opened the door to organized family planning programs, which gained considerable momentum in the 1980s despite societal norms favoring large families. Two pillages and armed conflict paralyzed development work during the decade of the 1990s, and family planning was one of multiple public health programs that struggled to regain lost ground in the 2000s. With new donor funding and implementing agencies, the 2010s witnessed rapid programmatic expansion and improved strategies. By 2018, family planning was operating as a well-oiled machine. But progress is fragile. The book ends by tracing the deleterious effects of the colonial period to contemporary programming and individual contraceptive use. It asks hard questions about donor financing. And it details the six conditions needed to accelerate family planning progress in the DRC, in pursuit of providing millions of Congolese women and men with the means of controlling their own fertility.The book will be of interest to development and public health researchers and practitioners, as well as to historians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Fifty Years of the Texas Observer
by Char MillerThe Texas Observer began publishing in Austin in 1954, and in the past five decades it has been an important voice in Texas culture and politics. Following in the muckraking tradition of George Seldes and I. F. Stone, the Observer has championed honest government, civil rights, labor, and the environment, providing a platform for many of the state's most outspoken writers - Roy Bedicheck, Willie Morris, Molly Ivins, Amado Muro, Maury Maverick, Jim Hightower, and Dagoberto Gilb, to name a few. To mark the Observer's fiftieth anniversary in 2004, Char Miller has gathered a cross-section of the best work to appear in its pages. While the Observer has ventured beyond Texas in its editorial coverage, Miller has chosen pieces that specifically speak to the state's politics, people, environment, culture, and locales. Together these pieces form a progressive chronicle of a half century of life in Texas.
The Fight Against Big Tobacco: The Movement, the State and the Public's Health (Social Problems And Social Issues Ser.)
by Mark WolfsonTobacco control leaders were extremely proud of the movement's achievements in the state of Minnesota. In sharing their perspectives and experiences with Mark Wolfson, they found a way of making sure that the story would get told. His training in social movements had given him an appreciation of the importance of understanding the social infrastructure on which movements are built, and Minnesota had built heavily on the infrastructure of health care and public health. What became apparent is that the struggle against the tobacco industry in Minnesota involved a close, collaborative relationship between government (or "state") actors and the leaders of the tobacco control movement.Wolfson develops both of these themes: building on the infrastructure of health, and state-movement interpenetration, to understand the emergence, growth, and outcomes of the tobacco control movement in Minnesota. He focuses on the advantages and constraints associated with these two related themes. He goes beyond the case study method to assess the generalizability of the pattern, and whether the same sort of movement can be used by other states in North America, and even in other countries and their social movements.How has the tobacco control movement become such a significant and successful force in shaping public policy, social norms, and the habits of millions of Americans? In this first such detailed study by a sociologist, Wolfson documents how the movement has grown over nearly three decades by building an infrastructure of health organizations and health professionals, and by fostering relationships with government. Rich in survey data, extensive interviews, and archival sources, this text is essential reading for courses in social problems, social movements, and public health. The general reader will also find it engaging, given the issues of tobacco use as an addiction and a social problem.
The Fight against Systemic Corruption: Lessons from Brazil (2013–2022) (Organization, Management and Crime - Organisation, Management und Kriminalität)
by Markus Pohlmann Elizangela Valarini Maria Eugenia Trombini Vanessa Elias de OliveiraThis open access book examines the interplay between public and private sectors in Latin America's biggest market. It is the result of the binational research project “Organizational Crime and Systemic Corruption in Brazil” funded by the DFG and FAPESP (2018-2023). Its contributions analyze anticorruption, political finance, and how for-profit organizations manage illegality.
Fight, Flight, or Chill
by Brian WilsonFight, Flight or Chill explores the extent to which raver youths' experiences are constrained or determined by individualistic, high-tech, mass-mediated Western culture in which alienated and unfulfilled youth are apparently more at-risk for escapist and thrill-seeking behaviours. Wilson considers how raver youth creatively and proactively subvert these constraints in novel and empowering ways - from political activism to symbolic and stylistic expressions of resistance to community-building efforts. He also discusses the globalization and political economy of rave and youth culture and examines the ideologies that underlie simple solutions to the complex concerns over young people today.
Fight, Flight, or Chill: Subcultures, Youth, and Rave into the Twenty-First Century
by Brian WilsonFight, Flight or Chill explores the extent to which raver youths' experiences are constrained or determined by individualistic, high-tech, mass-mediated Western culture in which alienated and unfulfilled youth are apparently more at-risk for escapist and thrill-seeking behaviours. Wilson considers how raver youth creatively and proactively subvert these constraints in novel and empowering ways - from political activism to symbolic and stylistic expressions of resistance to community-building efforts. He also discusses the globalization and political economy of rave and youth culture and examines the ideologies that underlie simple solutions to the complex concerns over young people today.
The Fight for Black Empowerment in the USA: America’s Last Hope (Routledge Research in Race and Ethnicity #1)
by Kareem R. MuhammadThis book advances the view that concentrated black power is the backbone of the Democratic Party and, as such, black empowerment represents the last hope for the US both domestically and internationally. Through analyses of secondary data, historical archives, and a variety of political and economic statistical indicators, it examines the relationship between black empowerment and America's global stature across its history, exploring the socio-historical context in which obstacles to black empowerment have occurred and the strategies that have been adopted across time for its realization. An examination of what Black political, legal, economic and cultural power looks like, The Fight for Black Empowerment in the USA makes an urgent call for the up-lift and empowerment of the black population, without which the nation faces irreversible political and economic dysfunction domestically, and a loss of its status as a global superpower. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in racial and ethnic inequalities and contemporary American society.
The Fight for Ethical Fashion: The Origins and Interactions of the Clean Clothes Campaign (The Mobilization Series on Social Movements, Protest, and Culture)
by Philip BalsigerFrom consumer boycotts and buycotts to social movement campaigns, examples of individual and collective actors forging political struggles on markets are manifold. The clothing market has been a privileged site for such contention, with global clothing brands and retailers being targets of consumer mobilization for the past 20 years. Labels and product lines now attest for the ethical quality of clothes, which has, in turn, given rise to ethical fashion. The Fight for Ethical Fashion unveils the actors and processes that have driven this market transformation through a detailed study of the Europe-wide coordinated campaign on workers’ rights in the global textile industry - the Clean Clothes Campaign. Drawing on insights from qualitative fieldwork using a wide range of empirical sources, Philip Balsiger traces the emergence of this campaign back to the rise of ’consumer campaigns’ and shows how tactics were adapted to market contexts in order to have retailers adopt and monitor codes of conduct. By comparing the interactions between campaigners and their corporate targets in Switzerland and France (two countries with a very different history of consumer mobilization for political issues), this ground-breaking book also reveals how one campaign can provoke contrasting reactions and forms of market change.
The Fight Over Food: Producers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge the Global Food System (Rural Studies)
by Wynne Wright Gerad Middendorf“One problem with the food system is that price is the bottom line rather than having the bottom line be land stewardship, an appreciation for the environmental and social value of small-scale family farms, or for organically grown produce.” —Interview with farmer in Skagit County, WashingtonFor much of the later twentieth century, food has been abundant and convenient for most residents of advanced industrial societies. The luxury of taking the safety and dependability of food for granted pushed it to the back burner in the consciousness of many. Increasingly, however, this once taken-for-granted food system is coming under question on issues such as the humane treatment of animals, genetically engineered foods, and social and environmental justice. Many consumers are no longer content with buying into the mainstream, commodity-driven food market on which they once depended. Resistance has emerged in diverse forms, from protests at the opening of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide to ever-greater interest in alternatives, such as CSAs (community-supported agriculture), fair trade, and organic foods. The food system is increasingly becoming an arena of struggle that reflects larger changes in societal values and norms, as expectations are moving beyond the desire for affordable, convenient foods to a need for healthy and environmentally sound alternatives. In this book, leading scholars and scholar-activists provide case studies that illuminate the complexities and contradictions that surround the emergence of a “new day” in agriculture.The essays found in The Fight Over Food analyze and evaluate both the theoretical and historical contexts of the agrifood system and the ways in which trends of individual action and collective activity have led to an “accumulation of resistance” that greatly affects the mainstream market of food production. The overarching theme that integrates the case studies is the idea of human agency and the ways in which people purposefully and creatively generate new forms of action or resistance to facilitate social changes within the structure of predominant cultural norms. Together these studies examine whether these combined efforts will have the strength to create significant and enduring transformations in the food system.
The Fight Over Food: Producers, Consumers, and Activists Challenge the Global Food System (Rural Studies)
by Wynne Wright Gerad Middendorf“One problem with the food system is that price is the bottom line rather than having the bottom line be land stewardship, an appreciation for the environmental and social value of small-scale family farms, or for organically grown produce.” —Interview with farmer in Skagit County, WashingtonFor much of the later twentieth century, food has been abundant and convenient for most residents of advanced industrial societies. The luxury of taking the safety and dependability of food for granted pushed it to the back burner in the consciousness of many. Increasingly, however, this once taken-for-granted food system is coming under question on issues such as the humane treatment of animals, genetically engineered foods, and social and environmental justice. Many consumers are no longer content with buying into the mainstream, commodity-driven food market on which they once depended. Resistance has emerged in diverse forms, from protests at the opening of McDonald’s restaurants worldwide to ever-greater interest in alternatives, such as CSAs (community-supported agriculture), fair trade, and organic foods. The food system is increasingly becoming an arena of struggle that reflects larger changes in societal values and norms, as expectations are moving beyond the desire for affordable, convenient foods to a need for healthy and environmentally sound alternatives. In this book, leading scholars and scholar-activists provide case studies that illuminate the complexities and contradictions that surround the emergence of a “new day” in agriculture.The essays found in The Fight Over Food analyze and evaluate both the theoretical and historical contexts of the agrifood system and the ways in which trends of individual action and collective activity have led to an “accumulation of resistance” that greatly affects the mainstream market of food production. The overarching theme that integrates the case studies is the idea of human agency and the ways in which people purposefully and creatively generate new forms of action or resistance to facilitate social changes within the structure of predominant cultural norms. Together these studies examine whether these combined efforts will have the strength to create significant and enduring transformations in the food system.