Mature Enough to Disobey Jurors, Women, and Radical Enfranchisement in Tocqueville’s Democracy in America

While many have pointed to Tocqueville’s admiration of the jury system as a schoolhouse for civic participation, I argue that Tocqueville sets up, but forgoes, the opportunity to make jurors empowered enough to counter the ills of democracy that he enumerates, specifically the tyranny of the majority and soft despotism. The education of American women, Tocqueville remarks, prepares them to be independent, confident and astute observers of social conditions, but these characteristics are eclipsed by their domestic responsibilities as wives and mothers. Juxtaposing two sections of Democracy in America that are normally thought of separately (juries and women), I show that Tocqueville falters in his perception of the radical enfranchisement of jurors and women because of his fears about the instability of democracy (with its delusions of equality) just as he provides some of the best arguments for the importance of their political interventions.

Download Full-text

Latina and African American Women: Continuing Disparities in Health

International Journal of Health Services ◽

10.2190/mncj-nb8e-m0wa-1fgm ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 555-584 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Marsha Lillie-Blanton ◽

Rose Marie Martinez ◽

Andrea Kidd Taylor ◽

Betty Garman Robinson

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

Social Class ◽

Health Services ◽

African American Women ◽

Racial Differences ◽

Family Income ◽

Work Conditions ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Minority Population ◽

American Women

Women of all races have faced incredible challenges as they sought to realize the promises of America. For women of color, these challenges were compounded by the second-class citizenship of U.S. racial and ethnic minority population groups. In an effort to assess the quality of life experienced by Latina and African American women, this article provides descriptive information on racial/ethnic differences in women's social conditions, health status, exposure to occupational and environmental risks, and use of health services. When possible, indices are stratified by family income to limit the effects of social class on the comparison of racial differences. The authors provide evidence that Latina and African American women are more likely than nonminority women to encounter social environments (e.g., poverty, densely populated neighborhoods, hazardous work conditions) that place them at risk for ill-health and injury. Although persistent racial disparities in health are often attributed to the lifestyle behaviors of racial minority populations, they are undoubtedly a consequence of poorer social conditions as well as barriers in access to quality health services. To achieve further gains, public policies must reduce social inequalities (i.e., by gender, race, and social class) and assure greater equity in access to resources that facilitate healthier environments and lifestyles. Public health initiatives should be community-based, reflecting a shared partnership that actively engages minority women in decision-making about their lives.

Download Full-text

Outrageous Flirtation, Repressed Flirtation, and the Gallic Singularity

French Politics Culture & Society ◽

10.3167/fpcs.2020.380104 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 67-90

Author(s):

Jean Elisabeth Pedersen

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

The United States ◽

Democratic Society ◽

American Women ◽

The Third ◽

The Future ◽

History Of ◽

Democracy In America ◽

Changing Attitudes ◽

Gender System

This article offers a new way of understanding Alexis de Tocqueville’s complex position as a French observer who studied the United States, an ambivalent aristocratic cultural commentator who put his hopes for the future in democratic society, and a paradoxical figure in the history of debates over the so-called “Gallic singularity” who ultimately argued that the new American sex/gender system could provide a better model for women in a democracy than the traditional French one. The introduction and first section highlight Tocqueville’s changing attitudes toward what he saw as the key contrasts between European marriages and American marriages by comparing his initial letters home from the United States with his eventual work in Democracy in America. The second section compares his views of French and American women with those of his contemporaries Germaine de Staël and Gustave de Beaumont. The third section explains his changing views by establishing the connections between his comparative arguments about women and marriage and his comparative arguments about democracy itself.

Download Full-text

On Conditions of Participation: The Deficits of Public Reason

Human Affairs ◽

10.2478/v10023-008-0007-3 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Marek Hrubec

Keyword(s):

John Rawls ◽

Public Reason ◽

Civic Participation ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Democratic Deficit ◽

Social Deficit ◽

The Social

On Conditions of Participation: The Deficits of Public ReasonThe paper analyzes the conditions of civic participation that are elucidated by criticism of the deficits of public reason. The interpretation proceeds in three steps. First, the idea of public reason and discourse is analyzed, followed by an explanation of democratic deficit and of the social deficit in the second and third steps, respectively. These deficits are analyzed as an essential limit to political and social conditions of the participation of citizens. The analysis focuses thereby on the theory of public reason by one of the most influential political philosophers of the last decades, John Rawls. The paper identifies two main pitfalls in his theory: first, the deficit following from an inadequate integration of an individual into society, which, in this case, represents democratic deficit, second, the deficit linked with underrating the socio-distributive dimension of justice, which means a social deficit.

Download Full-text

Catholic Social Teaching and America's Suboptimal Breastfeeding Rate: Where Faith and Policy Should Meet to Combat Injustice

The Linacre Quarterly ◽

10.1080/00243639.2017.1384268 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 84 (4) ◽

pp. 356-366

Author(s):

Grace Emily Stark

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Social Economic ◽

Catholic Social Teaching ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Social Teaching ◽

American Women ◽

Breastfeeding Rate ◽

Catholic Healthcare ◽

Accepted Practice ◽

American Catholic

Despite the numerous health benefits of breastfeeding, few American women breastfeed for the optimal duration of time. Reasons given for not following national and global institutional breastfeeding recommendations are various and multi-faceted. However, for many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching seeks to protect the poor and the vulnerable by working for social and economic justice, encourages stewardship of the environment, and uplifts the family as the most important unit in society. As such, Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. In response to the crisis in American rates of breastfeeding, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions. Summary For many American women who would like to breastfeed, unjust historical, social, economic, cultural, and environmental factors negatively impact their ability to breastfeed. Catholic social teaching has clear implications for individuals and institutions seeking to make breastfeeding a more widespread, accepted practice. Therefore, American Catholic healthcare institutions should work particularly hard to promote the just economic and social conditions necessary for American women to breastfeed their children, starting by implementing breastfeeding-friendly policies for patients and employees in their own institutions.

Download Full-text

Combining Professional Interests and Travel: People to People Citizen Ambassador Program

Perspectives on Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders ◽

10.1044/gics1.2.47 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 47-54

Author(s):

Alex Johnson ◽

Amanda Hitchins

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Health Education ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Exchange Program

Abstract This article summarizes a series of trips sponsored by People to People, a professional exchange program. The trips described in this report were led by the first author of this article and include trips to South Africa, Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia, and Israel. Each of these trips included delegations of 25 to 50 speech-language pathologists and audiologists who participated in professional visits to learn of the health, education, and social conditions in each country. Additionally, opportunities to meet with communication disorders professionals, students, and persons with speech, language, or hearing disabilities were included. People to People, partnered with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), provides a meaningful and interesting way to learn and travel with colleagues.

Download Full-text