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Honouring David Fasenfest, who has not only conducted research spanning contexts from Detroit to Shanghai but is also a long-standing editor both of a social science journal and of its related book series, this festschrift addresses issues central to political economy. These range from globalization, employment, migration, social justice, inequality, race/class, and urban poverty to Marxist theory, democracy, capitalism, neoliberalism, and socialism. In keeping with the editorial policy and ideas pursued by the honorand, the contributions emphasize the continuing need on the part of sociology to adopt a radically critical investigative approach to all these issues. Contributors are: Hideo Aoki, Tom Brass, Michael Burawoy, Rodney D. Coates, Kevin R. Cox, Raju J. Das, Ricardo A. Dello Buono, Mahito Hayashi, Lauren Langman, Robert Latham, Ngai Pun and Alfredo Saad-Filho.

The Metaphysics of Cooperation presents the intellectual achievements of the Polish associative socialist and pioneer of social sciences, Edward Abramowski. The volume is divided into five sections, each of them contains an analysis of Polish philosopher's work according to the issues he dealt with: sociology, ethics, politics, cooperativism, and psychology. Each part also contains a selection of his writings. Its intention is to show Abramowski's works in the context of global intellectual history and to include them in the current political debates. Abramowski makes fraternity or cooperation the main concepts of his social metaphysics. The Polish version of cooperativism can be inspiring both for contemporary researchers and political activists in the post-economic-crisis Europe. It also opens up a space for creating more democratic political and economic institutions.

The Aporia of Freedom systematizes social theories in a new manner, alternative both to the pluralistic concept, according to which social theories are incommensurable, and to the concept which postulates a theoretical synthesis in social sciences. Kaczmarczyk argues that famous social theories constitute interrelated attempts to solve the same problem, called the aporia of freedom. The problem concerns the relation between existential assumptions of social determinism and human freedom. Although these ideas turn out to be mutually exclusive, they seem to be necessary for the construction of a coherent and empirically convincing social theory.

This annotated commentary delineating Michel Pêcheux's materialist discourse theory anticipates the formation of a real social science to supersede the metaphysical meanings ‘always-already-there'instituted by empirical ideology. Structures of Language presents Pêcheux's consequential work in respect of Ferdinand de Saussure's epistemological breakthrough that founded the science of linguistics: the theoretical separation of sound from meaning. Noam Chomsky's generative grammar, John Searle's philosophy of language, B. F. Skinner's indwelling agents, J. L. Austin's speech situations, Jacques Lacan's symbolic order, and other influential linguistic researchers, are cited to explain imaginary semantic systems. The broader implications for structural metaphysics in language use are tacitly conveyed.

This book examines the interplay between education and society in the 20th and early 21st centuries and addresses philosophical views and educational aims with their associated values for community-based learning in the U.S.A., India, Russia, and China. The philosophical background of community-based learning in these countries relies both on national philosophical traditions and on reformist ideas in international schools of thought—over time opposition to certain international pedagogical ideas surfaced in these countries. The authors offer a comprehensive picture of community-based learning in education and demonstrate how teachers can make learning more functional and holistic so that students can work in new situations within their complex worlds. School-specific descriptions reveal how teachers and students implemented community-based projects at different times.

The purpose of this book is to provide an outlet for original research articles examining the role and value of religious and spiritual constructs across the social sciences. The aim of the series is to include an international and interfaith voice to this research dialogue. An effort is made to be interdisciplinary and academically eclectic. The articles in each volume represent a wide array of perspectives and research projects. Most of the articles report the findings of quantitative or qualitative investigations, but some deal with methodology, theory, or applications of social science studies in the field of religion, and some are applied, demonstrating the relevance of the social sciences to religious organizations and their clergy. The value of the volume is that it gives to researchers in this area a broad perspective on the issues and methods of religious research across a spectrum of academic disciplines. The aim of the book is to stimulate a creative, integrative dialogue that will enhance interdisciplinary research.

According to Durkheim comparative sociology is sociology itself. Comparative criminology goes back to the days of Durkheim, but today it is possible to conduct group comparisons in many settings and with an incredible array of data. This book represents a variety of approaches making comparisons. The emphasis is on creative methods, challenging theory and unusual subject matter. Topics range from Micro-Macro Criminology to Police Strength and from Women Police to Crime Prevention Policies in the UK and the US.Contributors are Cyndi Banks, Adam C. Bouloukos, Ken Clark, Ronald V. Clarke, Brett Dakin, Graham Farrell, Joshua D. Freilich, Gregory J. Howard, Erin Lake, Gloria Laycock, Edward R. Maguire, Mangai Natarajan, Graeme Newman, Jeremy A. Pienik, Rebecca Schulte-Murray, Mark Seis, Shlomo Giora Shoham, and Andromachi Tseloni.

This text discusses the central role of bureaucratic representation as a key vehicle for representing the general interests of most citizens in a way that is consistently superior to electoral systems in representative democracies, particularly large states. Though formal elections remain indispensable, bureaucracies in the capital, public and social sectors, have used their superior expertise and continuity, combined with social policies like affirmative action and equal pay, to achieve responsible discretion and creative implementation.

In The Interpersonal Metafunction in 1 Corinthians 1-4, James D. Dvorak offers a linguistic-critical discourse analysis of 1 Cor 1-4 utilizing Appraisal Theory, a model rooted in the modern sociolinguistic paradigm known as Systemic-Functional Linguistics. This work is concerned primarily with the interpersonal meanings encoded in the text and how they pertain to the act of resocialization. Dvorak pays particular attention to the linguistics of appraisal in Paul's language to determine the values with which Paul expects believers in Christ to align. This book will be of great value to biblical scholars and students with interests in biblical Greek, functional linguistics, appraisal theory, hermeneutics, exegesis, and 1 Corinthians.

Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion (RSSSR) publishes reports of innovative studies that pertain empirically or theoretically to the scientific study of religion, including spirituality, regardless of their academic discipline or professional orientation. It is academically eclectic, not restricted to any one particular theoretical orientation or research method. Most of our articles report the findings of quantitative or qualitative investigations, but some deal with methodology, theory, or applications of social science studies in the field of religion.

The sociology of sport is a relatively new scientific discipline, which has spread rapidly and developed in different directions across the world. It investigates social behavior, social processes, and social structures in sport, as well as the relationship between sport and society. The book Introduction to the Sociology of Sport aims to give its readers a comprehensive overview of this fascinating topic. For this purpose, it shows the interrelations between sport and identity, social class, gender, socialization, social groups, (mass) communication, the economy, and politics. In addition, the book introduces a new, innovative theory that helps readers understand the social specificity and worldwide popularity of sport.

Can one speak dispassionately today about Pierre Bourdieu? The extraordinary success of his work and its agonistic dimension makes things quite difficult. Jean-Louis Fabiani's book is an attempt to apply Bourdieu's analytical tools to his own work as he invited us in his reflexive sociology. Testing their limitations and their potential ambiguity allows the author to shed new light on the social genesis of his main concepts (field, habitus and capital) and on the complex relationship between science and politics. While the sociologist's systemic ambition is never taken for granted, it remains possible to reveal its hidden grandeur. Professor Jean-Louis Fabiani is the winner of the 2020 CEU Award for Outstanding Research [Click here to read the interview with Professor Jean-Louis Fabiani on the occasion of receiving the award]

The main gaol of this book is to discuss the place and role of video games in contemporary societies and their impact on individual relationships. It analyses how the development of video games is a sign of and a factor in the democratization of modern societies. Judit Vari explores how video games contribute to the moral and political socialization of children and teenagers. The book is structured into two parts. The first explores the methodological, ethical and epistemological implications of Games Studies, and shows how the development of an independent field of research on video games can be analyzed as a sign of democratization. The second part focuses on youth identity experimentations and how video games can contribute to the democratization of social relations. She discusses play inequalities, but also how video games are reconfiguring family and peer relationships, thereby influencing the movement of democratization of societies.

Toward Community-Based Learning contends that the ideal school offers the opportunity to understand reality in a way that connects teaching and education with conditions in the surrounding community and the student's life and concerns. This view holds that problem solving requires an understanding and awareness of the whole, which can be achieved through direct activities. In this manner, learning is linked to its natural context, with ideal instruction being actively problem-oriented, holistic, and life-centered. This thought-provoking volume offers an essential and comprehensive picture of community-based learning in the field of education. The book deals with the history of community-based learning as well as its present applications, including its global successes and difficulties. The authors provide numerous pedagogical approaches that are designed to meet the challenges of contemporary education. They show how learning is connected with authentic community environments in which students can gain new understandings through solving emerging problems. They also demonstrate how teachers can make learning more functional and holistic so that students have the ability to work in new situations within the complex world around them. School-specific descriptions reveal how teachers and their students have implemented community-based projects in the U.S.A., India, and China at different times. Contributors are: Thomas L. Alsbury, Mary Ewans, Linda Hargreaves, Susan K. Johnsen, Eija Kimonen, Susan Kobashigawa, Karon N. LeCompte, Suzanne M. Nesmith, Raimo Nevalainen, and Lakia M. Scott.

Despite the worldwide dramatic spread of religious-based discriminations, persecutions, and conflicts, both official data and academic literature have underestimated their role as a root cause of contemporary migrations. This multidisciplinary study aims to overcome this gap. Through an unprecedented collection of theoretical analysis and original empirical evidence, the book provides unique data and insights on the role of religion in the trajectories of asylum seekers and migrants – from the analysis of the religious geography of sending countries to the role of spirituality as a factor of resilience and adaptation. By enhancing both academic and political debate on these issues, the book offers the possibility of regaining awareness of the close link between religious freedom and the quality of democracy. Contributors include: Paolo Gomarasca, Monica Martinelli, Monica Spatti, Andrea Santini, Andrea Plebani, Paolo Maggiolini, Riccardo Redaelli, Alessia Melcangi, Giancarlo Rovati, Annavittoria Sarli, Giulia Mezzetti, Lucia Boccacin, Linda Lombi, Donatella Bramanti, Stefania Meda, Giovanna Rossi, Beatrice Nicolini, Cristina Giuliani, Camillo Regalia, Giovanni Giulio Valtolina, Paola Barachetti, Maddalena Colombo, Rosangela Lodigiani, Mariagrazia Santagati, Fabio Baggio, Vera Lomazzi, Paolo Bonetti, Laura Zanfrini, Mario Antonelli, Luca Bressan, Alessandro Bergamaschi, Catherine Blaya, Núria Llevot-Calvet, Olga Bernad-Cavero, and Jordi Garreta-Bochaca.

In The Rhythm of Modernization, Raül Tormos analyses the pace at which belief systems change across the developed world during the modernization process. It is often assumed that value change follows the slow rhythm of generational replacement. This book, however, reports trends that contradict this assumption in the field of values. Challenging Inglehart's modernization theory, the transition from traditional to modern values happens much quicker than predicted. Many “baby-boomers” who were church-going, morally conservative materialists when they were young, become unchurched and morally tolerant postmaterialists in their later years. Using surveys from multiple countries over many years, and applying cutting-edge statistical techniques, this book shows how citizens quickly adapt their belief systems to new circumstances throughout their lives.

In this book Devorah Kalekin-Fisman and Karlheinz Schneider analyze how the relationship between the traditional and the modern is unfolding in a particular milieu by centering on the Haredi women in Israel who become part of the national (rather than the community) work force. The book is based on analyses of interviews with people in the Haredi world. The authors'goal is to attain an understanding of what women's work means to the women, to their families, and to the Haredi community as a whole, by placing women's self-presentations in the context of sociological literatures relating to the sociology of religion and the sociology of gender.The focal issue is the question of how traditionalism fares when the legitimator / monitor of tradition in the home encounters the constraints of modernity through her studies and her work.

Selected Essays on China's Education: Research and Review (4 volumes) consists of 22 most influential theses on the history and tradition of Chinese Education. These essays, selected and translated from China's Education: Research and Review, a serial publication in Chinese, reflect the progress of qualitative research on Chinese education both within and outside China. Volume 1 focuses on Written and Oral Narratives, including six articles; Volume 2 focuses on History and Current Reality, including five articles; Volume 3 focuses on Knowledge and Tradition, including six articles; and Volume 4 focuses on Gender and Education, including five articles. Aiming to promote academic dialogues on Chinese culture and education, these essays explore important educational and cultural issues in China with a transcultural perspective.

In Sōtēria: Salvation in Early Christianity and Antiquity, an international team of scholars assembles to honour the distinguished academic career of New Testament scholar Cilliers Breytenbach. Colleagues and friends consider in which manner concepts of salvation were constructed in early Christianity and its Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts. Studies on aspects of soteriology in the New Testament writings, such as in the narratives on Jesus'life and work, and theological interpretations of his life and death in the epistolary literature, are supplemented by studies on salvation in the Apostolic Fathers, Marcion, early Christian inscriptions and Antiochian theology. The volume starts with some exemplary studies on salvation in the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea scrolls, the Septuagint, and popular Graeco-Roman literature and philosophy. Furthermore, some contributions shed light on the ancient cultural background of early Christian soteriological concepts.

Interreligious Dialogue: From Religion to Geopolitics discusses how interreligious dialogue takes place within, and is influenced by, important sociological categories and theories, such as modernity, secularization, deprivatization, social movements, and pluralism. Starting from the study of interreligious coexistence, sacred spaces, and multi-religious rituals, the book explores the patterns of interreligious governance and politics and forms of interreligious social action in European, North American, and West and South Asian contexts. The contributors to this volume apply broader theories of organizational change and planning, communication, urban neighborhood and community studies, functionalist perspectives, and symbolic interactionism, thus presenting a wide range of possibilities for sociological engagement with studies on interreligious dialogue.

The Societal Unconscious presents an innovative development of theory and methodology for adult education and learning research, recognizing psychodynamic dimensions of learning processes. With few exceptions the unconscious has been neglected in critical adult education research. The psychosocial approach in this book seeks to re-integrate the societal and the psychodynamic dimensions in analyzing adult learners and learning processes. The book responds to contemporary awareness of the societal and cultural nature of subjectivity with a new material and dialectic psychosocial theory, comprising conscious as well as unconscious levels. Tracing interdisciplinary inspirations it sets a new broad horizon for in-depth understanding of learning in everyday life. A number of empirical analyses demonstrate the entanglement of societal and psychodynamic dimensions of learning. Firstly, a part of the chapters deals with the complex subjective continuities and discontinuities in individual learning and career. Secondly, other chapters comprise analyses of leadership and the social psychology of organizational processes, and the psycho-social aspects of institutional regeneration. Thirdly, the book presents outlooks into the social psychology dimensions of wider societal and political processes, including'identity politics'and xenophobia. A last chapter finalizes the theoretical basis of the methodology.

Trust in Contemporary Society, by well-known trust researchers, deals with conceptual, theoretical and social interaction analyses, historical data on societies, national surveys or cross-national comparative studies, and methodological issues related to trust. The authors are from a variety of disciplines: psychology, sociology, political science, organizational studies, history, and philosophy, and from Britain, the United States, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, and Japan. They bring their vast knowledge from different historical and cultural backgrounds to illuminate contemporary issues of trust and distrust. The socio-cultural perspective of trust is important and increasingly acknowledged as central to trust research. Accordingly, future directions for comparative trust research are also discussed. Contributors include: Jack Barbalet, John Brehm, Geoffrey Hosking, Robert Marsh, Barbara A. Misztal, Guido Möllering, Bart Nooteboom, Ken J. Rotenberg, Jiří Šafr, Masamichi Sasaki, Meg Savel, Markéta Sedláčková, Jörg Sydow, Piotr Sztompka.

With The Life of Reason in an Age of Terrorism, Charles Padrón and Kris Skowroński (editors) gather together a broad assortment of contributions that address the germaneness of George Santayana's (1863-1952) social and political thought to the world of the early twenty-first century in general, and specifically to the phenomenon of terrorism.The essays treat a broad range of philosophical and historical concerns: the life of reason, the philosophy of the everyday, fanaticism, liberalism, barbarism, egoism, and relativism. The essays reflect a wide range of viewpoints and perspectives, but all coalesce around discussions of how Santayana's thought fits in with and enhances an understanding of both our challenging times, and our uncertain future.Contributors are: Cayetano Estébanez, Matthew Caleb Flamm, Nóra Horváth, Jacquelyn Ann Kegley, Till Kinzel, Katarzyna Kremplewska, John Lachs, José Beltrán Llavador, Eduardo Mendieta, Daniel Moreno Moreno, Luka Nikolic, Charles Padrón, Giuseppe Patella, Daniel Pinkas, Herman Saatkamp, Jr., Matteo Santarelli, Krzysztof Piotr Skowroński and Andrés Tutor.

Reflexive Religion: The New Age in Brazil and Beyond examines the rise of alternative spiritualities in contemporary Brazil. Masterfully combining late modern theory with multi-site ethnographies of the New Age, it explains how traditional religion is being transformed by processes of reflexivity, globalization and individualism. The book unveils how the New Age has entered Brazil, was adapted to local Catholic, Spiritist and psychology cultures, and more recently how the Brazilian Nova Era re-enters transnational circuits of spiritual practice. It closely examines Paulo Coelho (spiritualist novels), Projectiology (astral projection) and Santo Daime (neo-shamanism) to understand the broader “new agerization” of Christianity and Spiritualism. Reflexive Religion offers a compelling account of how the religious field is being updated under late modern conditions.

In sharp contrast to the popular belief that values are converging and becoming increasingly standardized, this book draws on the EVS surveys to show that Europe remains very diverse in terms of values orientations toward the major issues of everyday life. It also addresses how and in what direction values are actually changing, thus emphasizing the joint influence of key factors like secularization, economic development, the rise in educational attainment levels and the welfare state. Written by the team of political scientists and sociologists who are carrying out the EVS surveys in France, this books leads to the striking conclusion that increasingly individualized value systems do not necessarily mirror a more individualistic society.

Today, school is becoming a rapidly changing learning environment. Thinking about students as a homogeneous population is no longer allowed, as diversity—in terms of culture, language, gender, family organisation, learning styles and so on—has emerged as a key challenge for education today. The debate on Special Educational Needs largely reflects this challenge, as working in school implies careful reconsideration of what we mean by “normal” and “special”. Current educational intervention is generally based on a deficit and “within-child” model of facing SEN, whereas very little attention is given to the role of learning environments. The focus is on the child more than on the whole class, and on cognition and technical provisions more than on affective, sociocultural and community dimensions of learning. Conversely, regarding students and their needs as “hidden voices” allows us to adopt a transformative approach which sees diversity as a stimulus for the development of educational practices that might benefit all children and help school to become an inclusive and “moving” organisation. The aim of the book is twofold: on the one hand, it offers a systematic overview of the inclusive education state-of-the-art in six countries (Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, UK, and USA) based on the contributions by well-known scholars such as Christy Ashby, Barbara Brokamp, Fabio Dovigo, Kari Nes, Mara Westling Allodi, Tony Booth, and Beth Ferri; on the other hand, the book analyses five cases of good practices of inclusion related to different subjects and school levels.

This interdisciplinary volume investigates com-munity in postcolonial language situations, texts, and media. In actual and imagined communities, membership assumes shared features – values, linguistic codes, geographical origin, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religion, professional interests and practices. How is membership in such communities constructed, manifested, tested or contested? What new forms have emerged in the wake of globalization, translocation, and digital media? Contributions in linguistic, literary, and cultural studies explore the role of communication, narratives, memory, and trauma in processes of (un)belonging.One section treats communication and the speech community. Here, linguistic contribu-tions investigate the concept of the native speaker in World Englishes, in socio-cultural communities identified by styles of verbal duelling, in diaspora communities, physical and digital, where identification with formerly stigmatized linguistic codes acquires new currency. Divisions and alignments in digital communities are at stake in postcolonial African countries like Cameroon where identification with ex-colonizer and ex-colonized is a hot issue. Finally, discourse communities also exist in such traditional media as newspapers (e.g., the Indian tabloid in English).In a section devoted to narrative and narration, the focus is on literary perspectives – post-colonial memory, trauma, and identity in Caribbean literary works by David Chariandy and Pauline Melville and in Australian Aboriginal fiction; narratives of banditry in colonial India; xenophobia and urban space in South Africa; human–animal community crossings and anthropomorphism in Life of Pi.A third section, on linguistic crossings in transnational music styles in global and Ugandan music industries, examines language, style, and belonging in music cultures. The volume closes with a controversial debate on the agendas of academic/non-academic and postcolonial/Western communities with regard to homophobia in Jamaican dancehall culture. CONTRIBUTORSEric A. Anchimbe, Susan Arndt, Roman Bartosch, Carolyn Cooper, Daria Dayter, Dagmar Deuber, Tobias Döring, Stephanie Hackert, Caroline Koegler, Stephan Laqué, Andrea Moll, Susanne Mühleisen, Jochen Petzold, Katja Sarkowsky, Britta Schneider, Anne Schröder, Jude Ssempuuma, Robert JC Young

In Narratives and Numbers: Empirical Studies of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity Mark J. Cartledge provides a rich set of essays on key themes in Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity. Using empirical research methods drawn from the social sciences he interrogates his originally gathered data by means of theology and sociology. These studies address such issues as glossolalia, prophecy, spirituality, gender and the family, the doctrine of the Trinity, socialization, altruism and the practice of healing. Collectively they provide original insight into one of the most vibrant forms of Christianity today. Additionally, these studies model how empirical research in religion can be bought into conversation with theological discourse. The findings of this research can be used by scholars and students from different perspectives and disciplinary contexts.

'A valid contribution to the contemporary discussion of gender equality and sex differences... constitutes an important source of reflection in a changing world, in which confusion seems to be more the norm than actual freedom for all.'—As reviewed by Noga Sklar, in Times of Israel Men have lower life expectancy than women; they account for 90% of the incarcerated population; they die more often in traffic accidents, from alcohol and drug consumption, and they commit more suicides than women. Since that information has been accessible for a long time, why is it not taken into account when campaigns are created and actions are defined? Violence is not an ‘entity': it is male. Confronted with that reality, the author sought to formulate the question orientating towards the following working hypothesis: this ‘common knowledge'should be forgotten, given that the involvement of men in situations of violence plays an important role in the preservation of political ideation in contemporary societies. During this study it became clear that men are exposed to a more complex type of death than mere physical death, but just as important, which is relative to their social representation. This insight led to understanding other aspects that could be associated with men's intense involvement in situations of violence. Could it be that in contemporary culture a purpose is served by keeping men involved with situations of violence? If so, what might that be?

Ghost Movies in Southeast Asia and Beyond explores ghost movies, one of the most popular film genres in East and Southeast Asia, by focusing on movie narratives, the cultural contexts of their origins and audience reception.In the middle of the Asian crisis of the late 1990s, ghost movies became major box office hits. The emergence of the phenomenally popular “J-Horror” genre inspired similar ghost movie productions in Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore. Ghost movies are embedded and reflected in national as well as transnational cultures and politics, in narrative traditions, in the social worlds of the audience, and in the perceptual experience of each individual. They reflect upon the identity crises and traumas of the living as well as of the dead, and they unfold affection and attraction in the border zone between amusement and thrill, secular and religious worldviews. This makes the genre interesting not only for sociologists, anthropologists, media and film scholars, but also for scholars of religion.

Recent studies show that atheism is increasing. The reasons for this development have not as yet been examined thoroughly. Many atheists continue to be residual groups in surveys on religiosity, making it difficult to examine who they are and why they have chosen to be atheists.Moreover, they are minority groups in most countries (former Soviet bloc countries are left out of discussion); many do not identify with any organized groups of atheists or agnostics. Atheist groups and ideologies, then, represent a wide range of attitudes, behaviour and ways of acting towards religion. The lack of a clear definition of what being atheist (or an unbeliever) means today invites us to study the issue in greater depth. This volume represents a first attempt at understanding and scrutinizing atheism. Thanks to all contributors, it provides both a global perspective and specific insights into specific cases.

“Deftly avoiding both the zealous idealism of the policymaker and the cynical realism of the practitioner, the contributions to this volume offer empirically grounded, culturally nuanced analyses of university internationalisation in practice. Recommended reading for anyone interested in Japanese higher education today, and a fine example of how to blend engaging ‘insider'stories with rigorous scholarly analysis.” — Jeremy Breaden, PhD (Melbourne), Lecturer in Japanese Studies, School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts, Monash University

This uniquely interdisciplinary collection of essays derives in part from a two-day international conference held at Heriot-Watt University in November 1999 and conceived as a critical forum for the discussion of the concept of interaction. The collection satisfies a continuing need for interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary research in the humanities and stems from an awareness of the growing currency of interactionist theories in several fields and the need to make a critical contribution to such theories and related concepts such as intersubjectivity and dialogism. Rather than advancing an apologetic view of interaction as something given, the contributors carefully consider and challenge commonly held epistemological and theoretical assumptions relating to the interaction concept. Interaction, if it is to be a meaningful concept, must be seen in terms of its modes (e.g. linguistic, media-based), units (language, logic, communication), objectives (understanding, consensus, stability) and fields of operation (face-to-face interaction, translation, social codification). This collection is intended to offer a provisional response to the question posed by one of its contributors, ‘What does it mean today that communication as the mechanism of social co-ordination has itself become complex?'. It means that erstwhile certainties of meaning transmission, stability, duality or dichotomy, identity and difference can be challenged and theoretically modelled in new contexts. Interdisciplinarity is one means by which to illuminate this complexity from several sides in the pursuit of theoretical blind spots in the field of critical communication studies. The book will be of particular interest to researchers and students in communication theory, linguistics, translation studies, logic, social psychology, discourse studies, European Studies, philosophy and semiotics.

What was the interrelationship between education and society during the twentieth century in the United States and India? What is the essence of the historical development of educational policies and social systems in these two countries? What philosophical views and developmental courses underlie their outdoor-oriented education? What are their aims of outdoor-oriented education? What procedures are connected with their outdoor-oriented education? These questions are examined in this unique volume. This book is divided into three parts. The first part creates a context for the comparison of the issues concerning education and society. The second part analyzes the social systems and educational policies of the United States and India following their developmental trends and patterns. The third part is an analysis and comparison of the phenomena previously presented that are related to education and society through the lenses suggested by sociological theories. It compares the dimensions of the interrelationship between education and society from the standpoint of outdoor-oriented education in the two countries during the twentieth century. This thought-provoking volume is intended for anybody interested in the interplay between education and society in all its complexity. It offers a fascinating journey into the past and present of the issues that have defined the development of education and society in the United States and India.

This volume is the result of academic cooperation between scholars in Norway, Sudan, Zambia, and South Africa linked to a master's program in international education and development. It draws upon studies carried out in Sudan, Zambia, Namibia, and South Africa. Most of the chapters deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in various ways. Because youth are the group most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, the various chapters discuss the complex discursive spaces that youth inhabit and navigate, and where the interlocking concepts of social identity, power, inequality, sexuality, vulnerability, and resilience are brought together. Many of the chapters discuss the HIV/AIDS pandemic in relation to indigenous knowledges and argue for including indigenous knowledges in the fight against the pandemic. The suggestion to include indigenous knowledges opens space for a more varied, holistic, and comprehensive approach to the pandemic. The book invites readers to explore the oppressive and often dangerous socioeconomic situation that many youth in sub-Saharan Africa experience, also beyond the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Chapters on street youth in Namibia and youth in a township in Cape Town discuss the often creative coping mechanisms employed by youth to escape or mitigate the oppressive situations they find themselves in.

This book brings together recent research on interpersonal relationships in education from a variety of perspectives including research from Europe, North America and Australia. The work clearly demonstrates that positive teacher-student relationships can contribute to student learning in classrooms of various types. Productive learning environments are characterized by supportive and warm interactions throughout the class: teacher-student and student-student. Similarly, at the school level, teacher learning thrives when there are positive and mentoring interrelationships among professional colleagues. Work on this book began with a series of formative presentations at the second International Conference on Interpersonal Relationships in Education (ICIRE 2012) held in Vancouver, Canada, an event that included among others, keynote addresses by David Berliner, Andrew Martin and Mieke Brekelmans. Further collaboration and peer review by the editorial team resulted in the collection of original research that this book comprises. The volume (while eclectic) demonstrates how constructive learning environment relationships can be developed and sustained in a variety of settings. Chapter contributions come from a range of fields including educational and social psychology, teacher and school effectiveness research, communication and language studies, and a variety of related fields. Together, they cover the important influence of the relationships of teachers with individual students, relationships among peers, and the relationships between teachers and their professional colleagues.

Increasing numbers of people have contact with other cultures and languages Language Learner Narrative examines representations of this phenomenon in literary texts using an applied linguistic approach. This analysis of written narratives of language learning and cross-cultural encounter complements objective studies in intercultural communication and second language acquisition research. Kant's use of the term Mündigkeit in his essay “What is Enlightenment?” is used to frame the complex issues of language, identity, meaning and reality presented by the texts. Augmented by Pierre Bourdieu's concept of linguistic capital, this framing forms a counterpoint to the positioning of these authors as “avatar[s] of poststructuralist wisdom” (Eva Hoffman). The work includes a uniquely detailed linguistic analysis of Emine Sevgi Özdamar's Mutter Zunge, and further texts by other widely studied and less familiar authors (Yoko Tawada, Eva Hoffman, Vassilis Alexakis, Zé Do Rock). It also lists literary sources of language learner narrative. Through its fundamental examination of what and how language means to us as individuals, this volume will be of wide appeal to students and researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, intercultural communication and literary studies.

Lost in Practice offers a further development of the notion of Nordic educational action research (as described in an earlier volume, Nurturing Praxis, in 2008), aiming to deepen and enrich understandings of the Nordic educational tradition and its various practices. It explores Nordic traditions and theories, such as Bildung, practical knowledge regime and translation theory, with the aim of furthering a seminal conversation between practice theory and action research. Furthermore it illuminates the use of these theories in the context of Nordic countries by presenting a number of case studies on professional development practices, in which specific forms and arenas for enhancing dialogue and meaning making are in focus. The practices of study and research circles, peer group mentoring and dialogue conferences, as developed in the Nordic countries throughout the 20th century, are presented and discussed, both in terms of established traditions and of practices of collaborative development. The book also reflect on the “regional” traditions and educational practices in the Nordic countries are reflected on in the third part of the book. The volume addresses teachers at all levels in the educational system, particularly those who are interested in understanding educational action research and furthering collaborative forms of professional development, based on insights from different traditions for understanding and furthering the development of educational practices without getting lost.

Although we live in an era of multiple identities and belongings, origins still seem to matter. For most people origins are obvious and transparent. We all come from somewhere. Yet talking about one's origins can be highly sensitive and problematic depending on our roles, emotions, interlocutors and contexts. This volume problematizes the relativity, instability and politics of the concept in the field of education. The authors examine how origins are played upon in many and varied educational contexts and propose alternative ways of dealing with—see reinventing—origins. This volume is original in several senses. It is one of the first books to deal directly and honestly with the thorny concept of origins in education. Balancing arguments for and against the advantages and drawbacks of origins, the volume will appeal to confirmed and novice researchers, practitioners and decision-makers who struggle with these elements. The volume is not a ‘recipe book'to be followed as such. It offers fresh and sincere perspectives to current discussions on multiculturalism, intersectionality and social justice in education around the world by tackling a somewhat taboo subject.

This edited volume supports implementation of a critical literacy of popular culture for new times. It explores popular and media texts that are meaningful to youth and their lives. It questions how these texts position youth as literate social practitioners. Based on theories of Critical and New Literacies that encourage questioning of social norms, the chapters challenge an audience of teachers, teacher educators, and literacy focused scholars in higher education to creatively integrate popular and media texts into their curriculum. Focal texts include science fiction, dystopian and other youth central novels, picture books that disrupt traditional narratives, graphic novels, video-games, other arts-based texts (film/novel hybrids) and even the lives of youth readers themselves as texts that offer rich possibilities for transformative literacy. Syllabi and concrete examples of classroom practices have been included by each chapter author.

Since most research on work focuses on paid work, and most literature on education concentrates on schools, it is not surprising that studies on the relations between work and learning emphasize the relations between paid employment and organized education. This unique book deals with an area that has been rarely covered in the literature on work and education: the connections between volunteer work and informal learning. Through a variety of examples, ranging from the Red Cross to teacher-labourers, from cooperatives to social housing, and from participatory democracy to environmental social movements, this volume examines the learning dimension of volunteer work in different contexts. It also considers the special case of volunteerism among recent immigrants. The case studies analyze three basic types of voluntary organizations: those providing social services, representing local communities and mobilizing for social change. The chapters include profiles of the actual work their members do and detailed accounts of the learning practices they are engaged in during their work, and the impact of such learning on their personal and professional development. The concluding chapter offers a comparative analysis, practical recommendations and steps for further research.

This volume is a collection of studies examining the key role of the teacher in the process of school change when innovative pedagogical practices and better ways to develop the school are being sought. Teachers'work in a changing school culture is a central source of strength in establishing the new practices in ordinary school life. Teachers are generally understood to be crucial for successful change in the school, for the long-term development of their professionalism, and for the advancement of the school's socio-cultural processes. The aim of this book is to outline the complex character of teachers'work in schools and their communities. Teachers'work is observed here in the light of research presenting innovative approaches and reforms. This book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on contexts for transformation in teachers'work, the second on an examination of case studies documenting the changing nature of teachers'work, and the third on comparison of the trends and issues previously presented. The chapters in this volume discuss prospects of teachers'work in the United States and Europe, as well as in China, India, and Japan. Cover photographs by Raimo Nevalainen

Embedded Entrepreneurship examines the importance of cultural meaning in the creation and utilization of economic value. Based on case-studies from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, the authors demonstrate that micro-scale entrepreneurship is intertwined with prevailing conceptions, moralities and habituations in the entrepreneurs'social milieu. More specifically, the volume argues that meaning-making is integral to economic opportunity; that economic actors'market agency is shaped by cultural experiences; that entrepreneurs'prototypical “individualism” is socially contingent; and that cultural meanings channel economic value among economic and social domains. Addressing core questions about “embedding”, the authors suggest theoretical convergences between economic anthropology and economic sociology.Contributors include: Signe Howell, Ingrid Rudie, Leif Manger, Olaf H. Smedal, Frode F. Jacobsen, Kristianne Ervik, Anette Fagertun, Lars Gjelstad, Nils Hidle, Anja Lillegraven, Solgunn Olsen and Ingvild Solvang.