Critical Studies in Democracy and Political Literacy

ISSN: 2166-5036

Why do so few people vote? What is political engagement? How does education intersect with democracy and political literacy? What can be learned from interdisciplinary studies on democracy? How do we cultivate political literacy? What is the relevance of elections in light of war, poverty, discrimination, social inequalities, etc.? What are the alternatives to the traditional electoral, representative, party-politics models that have characterized our societies? Is the mainstream media holding government to account, disseminating propaganda or fuelling the need to pacify the population? How do international systems, approaches and realities related to democracy compare, and what can we learn from others? These are some of the questions that are addressed through this book series. Seeking to fill an important gap in the literature, this book series takes on the theme of democracy in a multi-/inter-disciplinary, comprehensive, and critical way. Some books have democracy in the title but do not make it the focus, and often books that address more directly, for example, multiculturalism, media studies, or school reform may delve into the area of democracy without fully deconstructing what it is, how it functions, how people can shape and intersect with it, and how it is used (or misused) to distort power relations, which is at the base of teaching, learning and action. Thus, a broader range of materials specifically tailored to teacher-education and scholars within the education field is desirable. Similarly, the overlapping and interdisciplinary nature of the study of democracy bleeds naturally into the areas of media studies, sociology, political science, peace studies, multiculturalism, feminist studies, and cultural studies, etc., all of which have a natural and inextricable relationship to and within education.

6 publications

Complicated Conversation

ISSN: 1534-2816

Reframing the curricular challenge educators face after a decade of school deform, the books published in Peter Lang's Complicated Conversation Series testify to the ethical demands of our time, our place, our profession. What does it mean for us to teach now, in an era structured by political polarization, economic destabilization, and the prospect of climate catastrophe? Each of the books in the Complicated Conversation Series provides provocative paths, theoretical and practical, to a very different future. In this resounding series of scholarly and pedagogical interventions into the nightmare that is the present, we hear once again the sound of silence breaking, supporting us to rearticulate our pedagogical convictions in this time of terrorism, reframing curriculum as committed to the complicated conversation that is intercultural communication, self-understanding, and global justice.

91 publications

Polish Ideas in Motion. Past to Present

A series of books aimed at presenting the representative sample of Polish scholars in the field of social sciences. Of particular emphasis is laid upon works in a domain of political ideas. The series provides an overview of the most interesting debates in the world of Polish academia. It is, also, intentionally looking backward to books of the past seminal for shaping Polish schools of ideas and social science. A retrospection of the most outstanding scholars adumbrates a panorama for reconsidering intellectual life in Poland. A series of books aimed at presenting the representative sample of Polish scholars in the field of social sciences. Of particular emphasis is laid upon works in a domain of political ideas. The series provides an overview of the most interesting debates in the world of Polish academia. It is, also, intentionally looking backward to books of the past seminal for shaping Polish schools of ideas and social science. A retrospection of the most outstanding scholars adumbrates a panorama for reconsidering intellectual life in Poland.

1 publications

Diversitas

ISSN: 2031-0331

The aim of this series is to study diversity by privileging an interdisciplinary approach, through political, legal, cultural and social frameworks. The proposed method of inquiry will be to appeal, at once, to the fields of political philosophy, law, political science, history and sociology. In a period characterized by the increasing diversity of contemporary societies, the authors published in this series will explore avenues for the accommodation and management of pluralism and identity. Such studies will not be limited to assessments of federal states, but will include states that are on the path to federalization as well as non-federal states. Serious efforts will be undertaken to enrich our comprehension of so-called ‘nations without states’, most notably Catalonia, Scotland, Flanders and Quebec. A point of emphasis will also be placed on extracting lessons from experiences with civil law relative to those cases marked by the common law tradition. Monist and competing models will be compared in order to assess the relative capacity of each model to provide responses to the question of political instability, while pursuing the quest for justice in minority societies. The series also addresses the place of cities in the management of diversity, as well as the question of migration more generally and the issue of communities characterized by overlapping and hybrid identities. A profound sensitivity to historical narratives is also expected to enrich the proposed scientific approach. Finally, the works published in this series will reveal a common aspiration to advance social and political debates without privileging any particular school of thought. Cette collection cherche à étudier la diversité sous les angles politique, juridique, culturel et social en privilégiant le prisme de l’interdisciplinarité. La démarche scientifique proposée fait appel à la fois à la philosophie politique, au droit, à la science politique, à l’histoire, de même qu’à la sociologie. Au moment où les sociétés sont de plus en plus traversées par la diversité, les auteurs publiés dans cette collection exploreront des avenues en vue de gérer le pluralisme communautaire et identitaire. Sont mis à l’étude tout aussi bien les pays fédéraux et les pays en voie de fédéralisation que les pays non fédéraux. Des efforts importants seront consentis afin d’enrichir notre compréhension des nations dites «　sans État　» – pensons à la Catalogne, à l’Écosse, à la Flandre, au Pays basque et au Québec. Une volonté affirmée de mettre en parallèle les enseignements tirés des expériences civilistes et de celles propres au droit coutumier sera au rendez-vous. Les modèles monistes et concurrents seront mis dos à dos afin de saisir la capacité propre à chacun de fournir des réponses à l’instabilité politique tout en poursuivant la quête de justice pour les sociétés minoritaires. La place des métropoles au chapitre de la gestion de la diversité retiendra notre attention de même que les questions de migration des populations et du métissage communautaire. Une sensibilité à la trame historique viendra enrichir la démarche scientifique proposée. Les ouvrages publiés dans cette collection auront en commun leur volonté de faire avancer les débats de société sans privilégier aucune école de pensée. Directeur de la collection : Alain-G. Gagnon, titulaire, Chaire de recherche du Canada en études québécoises et canadiennes et directeur d'axe au Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie (CRIDAQ). Comité scientifique : Alain Dieckhoff, Institut d’Études Politiques, Paris Hugues Dumont, Facultés Saint-Louis, Bruxelles Avigail Eisenberg, University of Victoria, Victoria Montserrat Guibernau, University of London, Londres Will Kymlicka, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada Guy Laforest, Université Laval, Québec Ramon Máiz, University of Santiago de Compostela, Saint-Jacques de Compostelle Marco Martiniello, Université de Liège, Liège Ferran Requejo, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelone José Maria Sauca Cano, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Madrid Michel Seymour, Université de Montréal, Montréal James Tully, University of Victoria, Victoria Stephen Tierney, University of Edinburgh, Édimbourg Melissa Williams, University of Toronto, Toronto

39 publications

Global Studies in Education

"Global Studies in Education is a book series that address the implications of the powerful dynamics associated with globalization for re-conceptualizing educational theory, policy and practice. The general orientation of the series is inter-disciplinary. It welcomes conceptual, empirical and critical studies that explore the dynamics of the rapidly changing global processes, connectivities and imagination, and how these are reshaping issues of knowledge creation and management and economic and political institutions, leading to new social identities and cultural formations associated with education. Scholars have sought to use the term “globalization” to summarize dynamic processes now being expressed in the intensification and movement of cultural and economic capital across national borders, the acceleration of mass migration, and the amplification and proliferation of images generated in the Internet and in electronic mediation generally. These processes are now fully articulated to the organization of knowledge in educational institutions and the social and cultural environments in which both school youth and educators now operate. However, there is no settlement or general agreement, nor is there a developed literature, about how globalization processes function in the institutional terrain of education and how they impact the integration of social subjects into contemporary institutions such as the school. This new series therefore aims to provide a venue for rigorous interdisciplinary research that seeks to describe, document, theorize, and intervene in the brave new educational world defined by globalization processes. We are particularly interested in manuscripts that offer: a) new theoretical, and methodological, approaches to the study of globalization and its impact on education; b) ethnographic case studies or textual/discourse based analyses that examine the cultural identity experiences of youth and educators inside and outside of educational institutions; c) studies of education policy processes that address the impact and operation of global agencies and networks; d) analyses of the nature and scope of transnational flows of capital, people and ideas and how these are affecting educational processes; e) studies of shifts in knowledge and media formations, and how these point to new conceptions of educational processes; f) exploration of global economic, social and educational inequalities and social movements promoting ethical renewal. "

63 publications

Education and Struggle

ISSN: 2168-6432

"WE ARE THE STORIES WE TELL. The series "Education and Struggle" focuses on conflict as a discursive process where people struggle for legitimacy and the narrative process becomes a political struggle for meaning. But this series will also include the voices of authors and activists who are involved in conflicts over material necessities in their communities, schools, places of worship, and public squares as part of an ongoing search for dignity, self-determination and autonomy. This series focuses on conflict and struggle within the realm of educational politics based around a series of interrelated themes: indigenous struggles; western-Islamic conflicts; globalization and the clash of worldviews; neoliberalism as the war within;colonization and neocolonization; the coloniality of power and decolonial pedagogy; war and conflict and the struggle for liberation. It publishes narrative accounts of specific struggles as well as theorizing "conflict narratives" and the political production of meaning in educational studies. During this time of global conflict and the crisis of capitalism, Education and Struggle promises to be on the cutting edge of social, cultural, educational and political transformation. Central to the series is the idea that language is essentially a dialogical production that is formed through a process of social conflict and interaction. The aim is to focus on key semiotic, literary andpolitical concepts as a basis for a philosophy of language and culture where the underlying materialist philosophy of language and culture serves as the basis for the larger project that we might call dialogism (after Bakhtin’s usage). As the late V.N. Volosinov suggests “Without signs there is no ideology”, “Everything ideological possesses semiotic value” and “individual consciousness is a socio-ideological fact”. It is a small step to claim, therefore, “consciousness itself can arise and become a viable fact only in the material embodiment of signs”. This series is a vehicle for materialist semiotics in the narrative and dialogue of education and struggle."

39 publications

The Belt and Road Initiative

ISSN: 2689-7989

The Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) is perhaps the largest global project of both domestic significance and global import proposed by China in the history of its interactions with the world. Since its unveiling in 2013, BRI has not only been embraced by more than 120 countries spanning across all the continents and endorsed by several dozen international NGOs including UN on one hand; it has been drawing an outcry or resistance by some big powers such as the US and India on the other hand. Why is all this occurring? What are the real intentions, real results, real potential and possible risks, and future fate of BRI? Despite the growingly enormous amount of discourse both mediated and nonmediated including thousands of think tank reports about it both in Chinese and other languages such as English, Russian, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and so on, relatively little scholarship has been produced on BRI so far. However, the BRI studies could be arguably the newest China/Chinese studies and the newest area/regional/global/globalization studies all in one. Therefore, it is the goal of the present book series to advance knowledge about both China and the world from perspectives of various disciplines such as political science and economics, sociology and anthropology, communication, and so on. While proposed volumes from specific disciplines are desirable, proposed volumes on multi-disciplinary, interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary perspectives are especially welcome in the vetting process. This book series aim to produce both monographs and edited volumes from a variety of disciplinary perspectives such as economic science, political science, communication, sociology and anthropology, and so on and interdisciplinary/trans-disciplinary lenses such as area studies, international/intercultural, and global/globalization studies. The titles of the first few volumes include The United States Involvement in the South China Sea Dispute by MA Jianying, Ph. D. from Fudan University & Associate Professor of International Relations, Shandong Normal University, The Economics of the Belt and Road Initiative by CHEN Yongjun, Distinguished Professor of Economics, School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China, and the Belt & Road Initiative: Index Report on its Five-Dimensions Connectivity by ZHAI Kun, Professor of International Studies and Associate Dean of the Institute of Area Studies, Peking University, Beijing, China.

5 publications

Studies in Contemporary Women’s Writing

ISSN: 2235-4123

A series founded by Gill Rye This book series supports the work of the Centre for the Study of Contemporary Women’s Writing at the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, University of London, by publishing high-quality critical studies in the field. Studies in Contemporary Women’s Writing provides a forum for innovative research exploring new trends and issues in the work of new, hitherto neglected or established authors who write primarily, but not exclusively, in the languages covered by the Centre: French, German, Italian, Portuguese and the Hispanic languages. The series has redefined its remit in light of current scholarship. ‘Contemporary’ is still defined as ‘after 1968’, with a preference for studies of post-1990 texts in any genre. While the series initially focused on writing, it now welcomes research that crosses disciplinary boundaries and defines creativity in the broadest sense, including intersections between literature and the arts, cinema and music. Scholarship that embraces gender and sexuality more broadly, including the work of non-binary and queer authors, is also welcome. We encourage studies that connect texts with the social, cultural, linguistic and political contexts in which they are created, taking into account the transnational and postcolonial configuration of the contemporary world and its impact on lives and experiences. Proposals are invited for monographs and edited collections. The series welcomes single-author studies, thematic analyses across languages and cross-cultural discussions that rely on a variety of approaches and theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that showcase the application of new methodologies to primary texts. Manuscripts should be written in English. Editorial Board: Claudia Bernardi (Victoria University of Wellington), Francesca Calamita (University of Virginia), Emily Jeremiah (Royal Holloway, University of London), Shirley Jordan (Newcastle University), Catriona MacLeod (University of London Institute in Paris), Lorraine Ryan (University of Birmingham), Godela Weiss-Sussex (School of Advanced Study, University of London), Caragh Wells (University of Bristol), Claire Williams (St Peter’s College, University of Oxford)

15 publications

Race and Resistance Across Borders in the Long Twentieth Century

ISSN: 2297-2552

This series focuses on the history and culture of activists, artists and intellectuals who have worked within and against racially oppressive hierarchies in the twentieth century and beyond, and who have then sought to define and to achieve full equality once those formal hierarchies have been overturned. It explores the ways in which such individuals - writers, scholars, campaigners and organizers, ministers, and artists and performers of all kinds - locate their resistance within a global context and forge connections with each other across national, linguistic, regional and imperial borders. Disseminating the latest interdisciplinary scholarship on the history, literature and culture of anti-racist movements in Africa, the Caribbean, the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America, the series foregrounds, through a cross-disciplinary approach, the transnational and intercultural nature of these resistance movements. The series embraces a range of themes, including but not limited to antislavery, intellectual and literary networks, emigration and immigration, anti-imperialism, church-based and religious movements, civil rights, citizenship and identity, Black Power, resistance strategies, women's movements, cultural transfer, white supremacy and anti-immigration, hip hop and global justice movements. The series is affiliated with the Race and Resistance Research Programme at The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH), University of Oxford. Proposals are invited for sole- and joint-authored monographs as well as edited collections. We welcome projects in a wide range of fields, including but not restricted to history, political science, anthropology, literature, cultural studies and media studies. Editorial Advisory Board: Funmi Adewole (DeMontfort University), Joan Anim-Addo (Goldsmiths, University of London), Celeste-Marie Bernier (University of Edinburgh), Alan Cobley (University of the West Indies, Cave Hill), Carolyn Cooper (University of the West Indies, Mona), Zaire Dinzey-Flores (Rutgers, State University of New Jersey), Tanisha Ford (University of Delaware), Maryemma Graham (University of Kansas), Christopher J. Lee (The Africa Institute, UAE), Simon Lewis (College of Charleston), Justine McConnell (King's College London), Pap Ndiaye (Sciences Po), Tessa Roynon (University of Oxford), Barbara Savage (University of Pennsylvania), David Scott (Columbia University), Hortense Spillers (Vanderbilt University), Imaobong Umoren (London School of Economics), Harvey Young (Northwestern University)

7 publications

Urban Girls

ISSN: 2470-122X

With more attention being directed toward adolescent girls' and young women’s educational development and human rights across the globe, urban girls as an educationally and politically disenfranchised group are becoming more of the primary focus of educational, sociological, and psychological research and discourse. There is a need for theory, inquiry, and praxis that considers the dynamics of the interactions of race, class, gender, age, and spatial location on　youth education and overall socio-emotional development. The social and cultural context of where students learn, play, and work significantly shape youth's identities and agency. Similarly, gender plays an important role on students’ academic and social development. The Urban Girls series brings scholarly attention to the unique, yet diverse, cultural experiences and identities of adolescent girls and young women being socialized in urban contexts. Authors explore and theorize how young women's racialized and gendered experiences in their families, communities, and schools and larger social contexts foster agency, resilience, and resistance. Proposals for this series can be emailed to Series Editor Venus Evans-Winters at vevansw@ilstu.edu.

4 publications