Dissecting the social body: social inequality through AIDS counter-narratives

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Mackenzie
Author(s):  
Didier Fassin

If punishment is not what we say it is, if it is not justified by the reasons we invoke, if it facilitates repeat offenses instead of preventing them, if it punishes in excess of the seriousness of the act, if it sanctions according to the status of the offender rather than to the gravity of the offense, if it targets social groups defined beforehand as punishable, and if it contributes to producing and reproducing disparities, then does it not itself precisely undermine the social order? And must we not start to rethink punishment, not only in the ideal language of philosophy and law but also in the uncomfortable reality of social inequality and political violence?


Author(s):  
Greg Anderson

To conclude the book’ s alternative account of the Athenian politeia, the chapter offers a recursive analysis of the resource flows which made this way of life possible. The result is very different from a conventional modern secular economic analysis. Instead, it treats resource transactions as the lifeblood of a cosmic ecology that united gods, land, and people in a condition of symbiotic interdependency. The most important of all these transactions were those between gods and humans, whereby the latter received secure conditions of existence in exchange for temples, sacrifices, votive treasures, and other often costly ritual offerings. The most important of the resource transactions between humans were marriages, whereby the managerial and reproductive capacities of females were transferred from one household to another, thereby perpetuating the life of the social body. Contrary to the “egalitarian” ethos which moderns believe animated “democratic Athens,” demokratia would also have been unsustainable without the innumerable contributions of resources, material and otherwise, that were made by a relatively small number of super-wealthy Athenian households. And in a polis where members typically worked only for themselves, the existence of these ecologically essential super-wealthy households would have been unsustainable without the routine exploitation of slaves.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110201
Author(s):  
Thomas A. DiPrete ◽  
Brittany N. Fox-Williams

Social inequality is a central topic of research in the social sciences. Decades of research have deepened our understanding of the characteristics and causes of social inequality. At the same time, social inequality has markedly increased during the past 40 years, and progress on reducing poverty and improving the life chances of Americans in the bottom half of the distribution has been frustratingly slow. How useful has sociological research been to the task of reducing inequality? The authors analyze the stance taken by sociological research on the subject of reducing inequality. They identify an imbalance in the literature between the discipline’s continual efforts to motivate the plausibility of large-scale change and its lesser efforts to identify feasible strategies of change either through social policy or by enhancing individual and local agency with the potential to cumulate into meaningful progress on inequality reduction.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 596
Author(s):  
Yago Bernardo ◽  
Denes do Rosario ◽  
Carlos Conte-Junior

Background and Objectives: To perform a retrospective report on the lethality of COVID-19 in different realities in the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Materials and Methods: We accomplished an observational study by collecting the data about total confirmed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 in the top 10 high social developed neighborhoods and top 10 most populous favelas in RJ to determine the case-fatality rate (CFR) and compare these two different realities. Results: CFR was significatively higher in poverty areas of RJ, reaching a mean of 9.08% in the most populous favelas and a mean of 4.87% in the socially developed neighborhoods. Conclusions: The social mitigation measures adopted in RJ have benefited only smaller portions of the population, excluding needy communities.


2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakub Urbaniak ◽  
Elijah Otu

This study seeks to articulate the universality of the eschatological expectation, in its specifically Christian form, by interpreting it from the perspective of a radical embodiment. This can be understood in a twofold manner. Firstly, the mysterious reality of the eschatological reign of God is rooted in – and thus can be more adequately grasped through the lens of – Jesus’ own body seen as distinct yet not separate from his risen body and, mutatis mutandis, from his extended body, both ecclesial and cosmic. Secondly, for the eschatological expectation to be lived out in an incarnational way, it must be ‘enfleshed’ in actions aimed at social and ecological liberation.The article consists of four sections. Firstly, we explain in what sense body – and more specifically Jesus’ body – is used in our analysis as a hermeneutic key to notions such as ‘risen body’, ‘spiritual body’, ‘extended body’, ‘social body’, ‘ecclesial body’, ‘cosmic body’, basar/kol basar (‘flesh’/‘all flesh’), and ‘life’. Then, the universality of the eschatological expectation is being articulated on two levels, namely, (1) with regard to the social, and in particular the ecclesial, body, and (2) with regard to the cosmic body, with ecological implications inherent in such perspective. Finally, we close the loop by briefly revisiting the notion of Jesus’ body.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Krause-Jensen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse through ethnographic fieldwork the social and cultural context and (unintended) consequences of introducing a management concept from the private sector (LEAN) into the public sector. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic fieldwork combined with reading of reports and material. Findings The major findings are: first, Lean is seen in a cultural context, it is argued that the persuasiveness of Lean depends on building a metaphorical connection between organizational aims and individual experiences and bodily ideals; second, Lean purports to be a win-win game and road to eliminating “waste” through worker participation, empowerment and enthusiasm. The research points to the contrary. Lean was met with scepticism and was seen by the social workers as a waste of time. Originality/value As demonstrated in the paper, the vast majority of research published about Lean is hortatory in nature. It is recipe books trying to convince readers of the benefits of introducing Lean. This paper, on the contrary, attempts an open ethnographic exploration of the Lean process and its social and cultural ramifications.


2019 ◽  
pp. 219-236
Author(s):  
Laura E. Pérez
Keyword(s):  

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 74-82
Author(s):  
Ye. I. Kirilenko

In the modern science, the body is an object of interest not only to the natural science and medicine, but also the humanities. Of special interest, in particular, for the medical discourse, is the ethnic body experience. The paper reveals features of the body experience in the east-slavonic culture from the analysis of the mythological tradition. This experience is characterized by the pronounced interest and ambivalent attitude to the body’s life, natural body standards; and emotional intensity. The experience of the social body is of highest priority in the culture.


2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 71-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sune Qvotrup Jensen ◽  
Ann-Dorte Christensen

Intersektionalitetsbegrebet indebærer, at sociale differentieringsformer som køn, klasse, etnicitet og ”race” er gensidigt konstituerende både på et identitetsmæssigt og strukturelt niveau. Begrebet har haft stor gennemslagskraft og bidraget positivt til fornyelse af dansk og international kønsforskning. Da begrebet rummer potentialer til analyser af komplekse sociale differentieringer, er det imidlertid også relevant for en bredere sociologi. Nutidige højt differentierede samfund fordrer således begreber og metodologier, som er egnede til at gribe kompleksitet. Intersektionalitetstænkningen har teorihistoriske rødder i amerikansk sort standpunktsfeminisme. I Danmark blev begrebet først anvendt af poststrukturalistiske socialpsykologer, som gentænkte det og gjorde det velegnet til at analysere, hvordan komplekse identiteter skabes i hverdagslivet. Senere er begrebet blevet anvendt af kønsforskere med andre faglige og videnskabsteoretiske udgangspunkter. I artiklen fremhæves det, at intersektionalitetsbegrebet kan anvendes til at producere forskellige typer sociologisk viden. I den forbindelse præsenteres en typologi over forskellige tilgange til intersektionalitetsanalyser, som bruges som afsæt til at skitsere tre eksempler på analyser af social ulighed og eksklusion. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Sune Qvotrup Jensen and Ann-Dorte Christensen: Inter-sectionality as a Sociological Concept Contemporary highly differentiated societies require concepts and methodologies which are suited for grasping complexity. Intersectionality is a fruitful approach to analyze this complexity because social forms of differentiation such as gender, class, ethnicity and “race” are understood as mutually co-constructing at the level of individual identities and at the level of social structures. Intersectionality is a travelling concept which is theoretically rooted in black American feminism. In Denmark, the concept was first used by post-structuralist social psychologists, who adapted it to analyzing how complex identities were created in everyday life. Later on the concept was later taken up by gender researchers within the social sciences. This article analyses how the concept of intersectionality can be used to produce different types of sociological knowledge. It introduces a typology of approaches to intersectionality analyses, which serves as the backdrop for three examples of analyses of social inequality and exclusion. Key words: Intersectionality, complexity, social differentiation, gender, class, ethnicity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 87-115
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Mochocka

Two Perspectives on the Performative Social Body: Teenage Make-up Routines in Fanfik and the Jeżycjada cycle. The article discusses make-up as an important element in a storyworld of YA fiction. It uses examples taken from novels by two Polish authors, the well-established and acclaimed Małgorzata Musierowicz, the author of the Jeżycjada cycle 1977–2015, and Natalia Osińska, who has recently debuted with a novel entitled Fanfik 2016. The article shows that Osińska’s novel can be seen as a transformative rendition of Musi­erowicz’s works. It also focuses on the paratexts adding meaningful context in the case of both Musiero­wicz and Osińska, as well as comments on the public recognition of Musierowicz’s fiction, the responses of Musierowicz’s fandom to the alleged ideological message of her novels, and the political agenda of the publishing house that put Osińska’s book on the market. The concepts of the performative social body, the cosmetic paradox, and glamour are employed to argue that Osińska’s book is intended as a critique of the world-view presented in Jeżycjada’s storyworld. Although a direct relationship between the two fictional worlds cannot be established, the article highlights some tangent points between them: in both cases, make-up serves the expression of the value system. In the Jeżycjada cycle, it is presented mostly as disguise and deception even though at the same time discreet make-up is meant to be part and parcel of womens’ lives. By contrast, featuring queer teenagers, Osińska’s debut novel highlights the transformative function of cosmetics as tools used to create the social body.Две точки зрения на перформативное социальное тело: подростковый макияж в романах Fanfik и Jeżycjada. В тексте рассматривается макияж как важный элемент мира беллетристики для юных читателей. В статье использованы примеры из романов двух польских авторов: из­вестной Малгожаты Мусерович, автора цикла Jeżycjada, и Натальи Осинской, которая недавно дебютировала c романом Fanfik. Текст объясняет тот факт, что роман Oсинской был провоз­глашен своего рода интерпретацией произведений Мусерович. В статье проанализированы паратексты, создающие значимый контекст, в произведениях Мусерович и Осинской. Автор исследования затрагивает вопрос об общественном признании литературы Мусерович. В статье прокомментированы ответы фэндома писательницы на предполагаемое идеологическое посла­ние ее романов и рассмотрена политическая позиция издательства, которое выпустило книгу Осинской на рынок. В статье также идет речь о концепции перформативного социального тела, косметического парадокса и гламура. Книга Осинской считается критикой мировоззрения, представленного в мире Jeżycjady. Хотя прямая связь между двумя вымышленными мирами не может быть установлена, между ними, безусловно, есть некоторые точки пересечения. В обоих случаях макияж служит для выражения системы ценностей. В цикле Jeżycjada макияж представ­лен в основном как маскировка и обман, но в то же время сдержанный макияж — неотъемлемая часть жизни женщин. С другой стороны, опиcывая квир подростков, Осинская подчеркивает в своем дебютном романе трансформационную функцию косметики как инструмента, исполь­зуемого для создания социального тела.


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