Three Questions about Spirituality

2021 ◽  
pp. 335-344
Author(s):  
Brian Steensland
Keyword(s):  
Social Mechanisms ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Late Modernity ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

Using the concepts of developed in the volume, this chapter concludes the book by addressing three important questions about spirituality. Our approach foregrounds how spirituality is shaped by the interplay of context and practice and influenced by the distribution of material resources. On the question of the meaning of spirituality, we advance an explicitly relational approach that identifies the polysemous nature of “spirituality.” On the question of spirituality’s influence, we highlight the social mechanisms through which spirituality is likely to influence individual and public outcomes. Regarding the future of spirituality, we argue that spirituality, in both supernatural and secular forms, will endure for the foreseeable future because the conditions of late modernity will continue to create a demand for it.

Socialising heritage/socialising legacy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Bashforth ◽  
Mike Benson ◽  
Tim Boon ◽  
Lianne Brigham ◽  
Richard Brigham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Relational Approach ◽  
Professional Management ◽  
Community Activists ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Collaborative Team ◽  
Role Relationships

A key value offered by collaborative research is to recognise the powerful role relationships play in the development and legacy of knowledge. The project ‘How should heritage decisions be made?’ put the social dynamics between the collaborative team – comprised of researchers, practitioners, funders and community activists – at the heart of the project’s methodology. Thinking of this research as social and relational also reflects an interest in thinking about heritage in the same way. Taking this approach is helpful because the concept of heritage is often bound up with big and abstract aims, to be ‘forever and for everyone’. These very scaled-up ambitions often lead politically towards the professional management of heritage ‘on behalf of’ a larger public. It is shown that for participation in heritage decision-making to be increased these larger ideas – ‘stewardship’, ‘scale’, ‘significance’ and ‘the future’ – need themselves to be socialised and, through this, made more amenable to participation. The same methodologies were diagnosed for increasing participation in heritage for our own, equally relational, approach to legacy: to act, connect, reflect and situate.

scholarly journals Social reproduction strategies: Understanding compound inequality in the intergenerational transfer of capital, assets and resources

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-635
Author(s):  
Alexander Nunn ◽  
Daniela Tepe-Belfrage
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Intergenerational Transfer ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
The Social ◽  
Macro Scale ◽  
The Future ◽  
Reproduction Strategies ◽  
Economic Markets

This article focuses on the way that households respond to ‘global pressures’ by adapting their social reproduction strategies (SRS). We understand social reproduction strategies to encapsulate the more or less consciously developed day-to-day and inter-generational responses to the social conditions that households confront and their own motivations and aspirations for the future. Yet, due to a range of extant inequalities of accumulated and dynamic resources – some of which are material and some of which are at once ethereal and embodied in the concrete labouring capacities of individuals – we argue that social reproduction strategies, and capacities to pursue them, differ widely. Differences are conditioned by positionality, access to information and the construction of ‘economic imaginaries’ as well as material resources. By looking at these different expressions of social reproduction strategies, we highlight how they reinforce macro-scale socio-economic pressures, creating what we term ‘compound inequality’ into the future. Compound inequalities result from different behavioural responses to socio-economic conditions, inequality and (perceived or real) insecurity, which have the potential to exaggerate inequality and insecurity into the future. Inequalities do not just arise from formal economic markets then but also from the realm of social reproduction.

Current Postvention Research and Priorities for the Future

Crisis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Andriessen ◽  
Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart ◽  
Julie Cerel ◽  
Myfanwy Maple
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Intercultural Collaboration ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Suicide Bereavement ◽  
Ethical Approval

Abstract. Background: Suicide can have a lasting impact on the social life as well as the physical and mental health of the bereaved. Targeted research is needed to better understand the nature of suicide bereavement and the effectiveness of support. Aims: To take stock of ongoing studies, and to inquire about future research priorities regarding suicide bereavement and postvention. Method: In March 2015, an online survey was widely disseminated in the suicidology community. Results: The questionnaire was accessed 77 times, and 22 records were included in the analysis. The respondents provided valuable information regarding current research projects and recommendations for the future. Limitations: Bearing in mind the modest number of replies, all from respondents in Westernized countries, it is not known how representative the findings are. Conclusion: The survey generated three strategies for future postvention research: increase intercultural collaboration, increase theory-driven research, and build bonds between research and practice. Future surveys should include experiences with obtaining research grants and ethical approval for postvention studies.

Party preferences and political participation: the emergence of the Turkish-origin German voter

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40
Author(s):  
Vera Eccarius-Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Voting Behavior ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Turkish Origin ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Specific Interests

The article examines trends in voting preferences and voting behavior of Turkish-origin German voters. Despite only representing a small percentage of the total German electorate, Turkish-origin voters are gaining an opportunity to shape the future political landscape. While the Social Democrats have benefited most directly from the minority constituency so far, this author suggests that the Green Party is poised to attract the younger, better educated, and German-born segment of the Turkish-origin voters. All other dominant national parties have ignored this emerging voting bloc, and missed opportunities to appeal to Turkish-origin voters by disregarding community-specific interests. 

The Political and Aesthetic Power of the Everyday in Beckett's Happy Days

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-66
Author(s):  
Julie Bates
Keyword(s):  
Second World War ◽  
First Century ◽  
Environmental Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Algerian War ◽  
Material Resources ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
The Last Man ◽  
Second World

Happy Days is contemporaneous with a number of seminal contributions to the concept of the everyday in postwar France. This essay suggests that the increasingly constrained verbal and physical routines performed by its protagonist Winnie constitute a portrait of the everyday, and goes on to trace the affinities between Beckett's portrait and several formulations of the concept, with particular emphasis on the pronounced gendering of the everyday in many of these theories. The essay suggests the aerial bombings of the Second World War and methods of torture during the Algerian War as potential influences for Beckett's play, and draws a comparison with Marlen Haushofer's 1963 novel The Wall, which reimagines the Romantic myth of The Last Man as The Last Woman. It is significant, however, that the cataclysmic event that precedes the events of Happy Days remains unnamed. This lack of specificity, I suggest, is constitutive of the menace of the play, and has ensured that the political as well as aesthetic power of Happy Days has not dated. Indeed, the everyday of its sentinel figure posted in a blighted landscape continues to articulate the fears of audiences, for whom the play may resonate today as a staging of twenty-first century anxiety about environmental crisis. The essay concludes that in Happy Days we encounter an isolated female protagonist who contrives from scant material resources and habitual bodily rhythms a shelter within a hostile environment, who generates, in other words, an everyday despite the shattering of the social and temporal framework that conventionally underpin its formation. Beckett's play in this way demonstrates the political as well as aesthetic power of the everyday in a time of crisis.

Asymmetries of Spatial Contestations

Contention ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tareq Sydiq
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future

Based on fieldwork carried out from 2017 and 2018, this article examines various attempts to both organize publicly and disrupt such attempts during the Iranian protests during that time. It argues that interference with spatial realities influenced the social coalitions built during the protests, impacting the capacity of actors to build such coalitions. The post-2009 adaptation of the state inhibited cross-class coalitions despite being challenged, while actors used spatial phrasing indicating they perceived spatial divisions to emulate political ones. Meanwhile, in the immediate aftermath of the December 2017 protests, further attempts to control protest actions impacted not only those who would be able to participate in such events in the future, but also those who felt represented by them and who would be likely to sympathize with them. Based on the spatial conditions under which coalitions form, I argue that asymmetrical contestations of spatiality determined the outcome of the December 2017 protests and may contribute to an understanding of how alliances in Iran will form in the future.

I doveri della moglie secondo gli insegnamenti di alcuni predicatori e scrittori tardomedievali

2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-45
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Young Children ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Raising Children ◽  
The Social ◽  
Medieval Europe ◽  
The Future

The society of medieval Europe had specific expectations for marriageable girls. From an early age girls were taught how to be wives and mothers, for example by being entrusted with the care of their younger siblings. The girls learned everything they would need in the future by observation. According to the teachings of preachers and writers at the time, girls, irrespective of their social status, were not meant to remain idle, as there were fears that with too much free time on their hands, they might spend it contemplating their looks, practising gestures that were to attract the attention of men or spending time alone in the streets and squares, thus exposing themselves to a variety of dangers. A wife was expected to bear a lot of children, preferably boys, because the mortality rate among young children was high at the time. Wifely duties also included raising children, at least until they were taken over by, for example, a tutor hired by the father, managing the household and ensuring every possible comfort for the husband. As Gilbert of Tournai noted, it was the mother who was expected to bring up the children in faith and to teach them good manners. The duties of the wife obviously depended on her social standing — different duties were expected from the wives of noblemen than from women lower down on the social ladder, who often had to help their husbands, in addition to doing everyday chores.

Konflik Kekerasan, Otonomi Daerah dan Integrasi Nasional

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 35-42
Author(s):  
Kusnanto Anggoro
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Corrective Action ◽  
Demographic Changes ◽  
Local Autonomy ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
National Integration ◽  
Pattern Change ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cultural Tensions

In a decade of reform, several changes had been occurred. Some adjustments could be considered as a success, while others potentially could trigger conflicts. Historical conflict remnants in Indonesia were hard to restrain. Hence, national integration remains crucial in the foreseeable future. Local autonomy could be an avenue to resolve the problem of national integration in a particular context. However, local autonomy could result in the reverse end. In the midst of conflict pattern change and development over the last decade, bureaucracy (local and national) has to be able to foresee any sign of conflict (early warning) in order to be able to anticipate. Conflict recognition could be observed through various indications, ranging from demographic changes, deterioration of the social-economic situation, and/or cultural tensions. Failure to do corrective action on such deviation would lead to a greater risk of conflict occurrence.

Re-visioning obscure spaces

Thesis Eleven ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 145 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Jowel Canuday
Keyword(s):  
Social Spaces ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future

In popular imagery, the littorals of Sulu and Zamboanga conjure visions of pirates, terrorists, and bandits marauding its rough seas, open shores, and rugged mountains. These bleak accounts render the region nothing but a violent and peripheral southern Philippine backdoor inconspicuous to the sophisticated constituencies of the world’s metropolitan centres. Obscured from these imageries are the lasting cosmopolitan traits of openness, flexibility, and reception of local folk to trans-local cultural streams that marked Sulu and Zamboanga as a globalised space across the ages and oceans. The distinctive features of these cosmopolitan sensibilities are strikingly discernible in inter-generationally shared narratives, artefacts, and performances that were continually renewed from the days when Sulu and Zamboanga served as a borderless trading and cultural enclave nestled at the crossroads of the Pacific and the Indian Oceans. These enduring cosmopolitan sensibilities are embodied in the blending, among others, of the time-honoured dance of pangalay and the pop-musical dance genre celebrated on actual, analogue, and digitally-mediated spaces of the contemporary world. Furthermore, these embodied sensibilities are evident in song compositions that proclaim the humanistic themes of hope, peace, and prosperity to their place and the world in ways that exemplify the local people’s broader sense of connections beyond the narrow association of family, community, ethnicity, religion, and identity. This mixed bag of age-old and recent imaginaries and cultural traffic evoke a sociality that link the social spaces of the troubled but once and current globalised region to continuing acts of transcendence in history, memory, and visions of the future. In these marginalized places, we can see an unyielding tradition of cultural re-adaptation and creativity made up of myriad everyday acts that are down-to-earth, pragmatic, interstitial, and practical cosmopolitanism.

scholarly journals The Governance of Covid-19: Anthropogenic Risk, Evolutionary Learning, and the Future of the Social State

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-594
Author(s):  
Simon Deakin ◽  
Gaofeng Meng
Keyword(s):  
Theory And Practice ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
External Shocks ◽  
Feedback Effects ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Face ◽  
Anthropogenic Risks ◽  
Industrialised Countries

Abstract We consider the implications of the Covid-19 crisis for the theory and practice of governance. We define ‘governance’ as the process through which, in the case of a given entity or polity, resources are allocated, decisions made and policies implemented, with a view to ensuring the effectiveness of its operations in the face of risks in its environment. Core to this, we argue, is the organisation of knowledge through public institutions, including the legal system. Covid-19 poses a particular type of ‘Anthropogenic’ risk, which arises when organised human activity triggers feedback effects from the natural environment. As such it requires the concerted mobilisation of knowledge and a directed response from governments and international agencies. In this context, neoliberal theories and practices, which emphasise the self-adjusting properties of systems of governance in response to external shocks, are going to be put to the test. In states’ varied responses to Covid-19 to date, it is already possible to observe some trends. One of them is the widespread mischaracterisation of the measures taken to address the epidemic at the point of its emergence in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January and February 2020. Public health measures of this kind, rather than constituting a ‘state of exception’ in which legality is set aside, are informed by practices which originated in the welfare or social states of industrialised countries, and which were successful in achieving a ‘mortality revolution’ in the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Relearning this history would seem to be essential for the future control of pandemics and other Anthropogenic risks.

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