Collective Solidarity Research Articles

The Long Arm of Oppression: How Structural Stigma Against Marginalized Communities Perpetuates Within-Group Health Disparities.

Understanding and addressing health inequities calls for enhanced theoretical and empirical attention to multiple forms of stigma and its influence on health behaviors and health outcomes within marginalized communities. While recent scholarship highlights the role of structural stigma on between-group health disparities, the extant literature has yet to elucidate the mechanisms through which structural stigma gives rise to within-group health disparities. In this article, we review and use relevant literature to inform the development of a conceptual model outlining how structural stigma contributes to within-group health disparities by creating division and tension within communities marginalized due to their social statuses and identities. We specifically focus on disparities among (1) communities of color due to White supremacy, (2) gender and sexual minority communities due to patriarchy and heterosexism, and (3) the disability community due to ableism. We argue that the nature and extent of the stigma members of stigmatized communities face are intricately tied to how visible the stigmatized characteristic is to others. By visibility, we refer to characteristics that are more easily perceived by others, and reveal a person's social identity (e.g., race/ethnicity, nativity, relationship status, gender expression, and disability status). This paper advances the literature by discussing the implications of the model for future research, practice, and policy, including the importance of acknowledging the ways in which structural stigma intentionally disrupts the collective identity and solidarity of communities and consequently threatens health equity.

Constructing collective identities and solidarity in premiers\u2019 early speeches on COVID-19: a global perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a unique global experience, arousing both exclusionary nationalistic and inclusionary responses of solidarity. This article aims to explore the discursive and linguistic means by which the COVID-19 pandemic, as a macro-event, has been translated into local micro-events. The analysis studies the global pandemic through the initial statements of 29 leading political actors across four continents. The aim is to examine discursive constructions of solidarity and nationalism through the social representation of inclusion/exclusion of in-, out-, and affiliated groups. The comparative analysis is based on the theoretical and methodological framework of the socio-cognitive approach to critical discourse analysis and is informed by argumentation theory and nationalism studies. The results of our analysis suggest that leaders have constructed the virus as the main outgroup through the metaphors of the pandemic-as-war and the pandemic-as-movement which have entered the national space. Faced with this threat, these speeches have discursively constructed the nation-as-a-team as the main in-group and prioritized (1) a vertical type of solidarity based on nationhood and according to governmental plans; (2) exclusionary solidarity against rule-breakers; (3) horizontal solidarity that is both intergenerational and among family members, and (4) transnational solidarity. It is not by chance that the world stands as a relevant affiliated group that needs to forcibly collaborate in order to face the main outgroup, the virus itself. A major consensus has been found in constructing the out-group. In contrast, the linguistic and discursive constructions of in-groups and their affiliates display a greater variation, depending upon the prevalent discursive practices and social context within different countries.

Care, Dementia, and the Fourth Age in Erica Jong's Later Work.

Background and ObjectivesThis article addresses the representations of dementia and caregiving in the fourth age as depicted in Erica Jong’s later-life work. It shows how the experience of parental care leads to the discovery of new ways of human interaction and expressions of personhood.Research Design and MethodsFramed within literary-cultural age studies, the article shows how humanities-based inquiry can illuminate important aspects of aging and care of the oldest old, which are significant and revealing, but often hidden under the dark shadow of dementia.ResultsNewly discovered ways of communication challenge the notion of the loss of agency as they demonstrate that the body itself has the power of creative and intentional capacities and self-expression.Discussion and ImplicationsCare-related narratives offer new insights into aging, dementia and subjectivity that can help pursue a better analysis of the ‘deep’ old age, strengthen collective solidary and manage increasing ageism, especially pronounced during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Applied Linguists Cultivating Relationships for Justice: An Aspirational Call to Action

AbstractThis special issue features applied linguistics scholarship that cultivates relationships for justice. The collection of papers in this special issue challenges the field of applied linguistics to move beyond an acknowledgement of social inequities (through observation, analysis, and critique) toward cultivating relationships for justice (CRJ) - in order to undo past harms and collectively imagine more just futures. The authors/collaborators demonstrate how building systemic social change involves decentering the individual researcher’s interests and instead foregrounding processes of collective solidarity (Martinez et al. 2021), demonstrating how justice is relational and aspirational. In this editorial, we discuss the particular contributions of each paper, alongside thematic connection points across the articles. Our intention in including an editorial, commentaries, and a range of papers is to create space for multi-vocality and diverse genres as part of CRJ. We conclude with an aspirational call to action for members of our applied linguistics academic community.

Israeli welfare and social work: 70 years on

ABSTRACT Social Work as a profession plays a fundamental role in the development of the state, especially in assisting the most vulnerable parts of the population by way of contributing to the building of a fairer society and collective solidarity. Social work in Israel finds its professional space in several diverse fields with social work professionals using a wide variety of methodologies with individuals, groups and communities. This article discusses the evolution of the social work profession since Israel’s establishment in 1948, the welfare perspective that evolved over the years, and the vicissitudes in its underlying social values and ethical codes.

Semantic Set of N-Word Choices in Afro-American Fiction: A Corpus Analysis of Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God

This study explores the linguistic selection focusing on the use of N-word choice by African-American fiction writers. This study explains the basic concepts of language and language use, language as a text and discourse, and also the function it plays within the context. With Halliday and Hassan's semantic set of choices, this study argues that Zora Neale Hurston does not seem aware of consciously using N-words in her novel, but her use of Nword linguistic choice to communicate the theme of race is in line with her true reflection of the society and culture she is born and bred in. Hurston might have used N-word deliberately both to appropriate lexical choice with that of characters' roles as many of the Harlem Renaissance writers did and to establish a kind of community building and collective cultural solidarity, the major determinants of Hurston's use of the N-word in Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Effervescence Accelerators: Barriers to Outsiders in Christian Interaction Rituals

Abstract In interaction ritual theory, barriers to outsiders are cues that communicate who is and is not excluded from a ritual. Prior research on religious rituals has established strong support for the hypothesis that barriers promote collective effervescence and social solidarity. Questions remain, though, regarding how this social dynamic impacts the practices, identities, missions, and conflicts of congregations who strive to be inclusive. We conducted microsociological analysis of rituals based on participant-observation and focus groups at six Christian congregations: Jehovah’s Witnesses, Latter-day Saints, Christian Scientists, Brethren, Catholics, and Episcopalians. Barriers were built in all the rituals, bringing congregational distinction through contrast with different types of outsiders. We also observed effervescent moments where barriers were low and inconsequential, suggesting that severe barriers are unnecessary. Rather, the special ritual function of barriers is to provide instant jolts of effervescence, especially when other social dynamics are failing.

I’m part of the collective: exploring the influence of L1 culture on communal representation through the use of we, us and our in Nigerian undergraduates’ written texts

This study explores the influence of L1 culture on Nigerian tertiary learners’ use of first-person plural personal pronouns we, us and our in written texts to indicate the collective, i.e., the writers’ social community. The quantitative and semantic analysis of the learners’ use of the pronouns was done using the Nigerian learner English corpus (NLEC) in comparison to Louvain corpus of native English student essays (LOCNESS). The quantitative analysis indicates the overuse of first-person plural pronouns by Nigerian learners compared to their LOCNESS counterparts. The study reports on the semantic analysis and reveals that the learners’ overuse of these pronouns can be traced to their cultural background of collective shared experience, communality, inclusiveness and solidarity. This is evident in the collocates of the pronouns, e.g., ‘we live,’ ‘we have,’ ‘technology has helped us,’' ‘it gives us’, ‘our society,’ ‘our nation.’ The student-writers’ use of these pronouns indicates their involvement in issues of discourse and they emphasize collective experience. The findings of the study confirm writers make discoursal choices that align them with their L1 community which is traceable in their L2 written texts.
 Keywords: pronouns; culture; undergraduates; academic writing; student-writers; second language

Running in everyday life and festive culture of the Renaissance and the Modern Age

The subject of this research is determination of the peculiarities of running as a type of activity in the sociocultural situation of the Renaissance and the Modern Age of the Old and New World. The relevance of studying the socially important aspects of running in everyday life and festive, carnival culture of the XV – XIX centuries is substantiated by the fact that namely this period marks the onset of mental requests and revival of physical practices, which in 1896 would become the heart of the First Olympic Games, the beginning and culmination of which were the athletic competitions. The ancient ideal of kalokagathia at this time is instilled with the ideas of self-sufficiency and self-projectivity of a person, whose creative aspirations equally captivate the spirit and the body. Running develops physical and mental qualities that broaden human capabilities, being that instrument for existential growth through overcoming the boundaries of physical and spiritual “normality”, conditioned by the stereotypes and norms of everyday life. The author views running from the perspective of culturological concepts of “everyday life”, “festivity”, “carnival”, as well as the binary opposition sacred/profane. The fields of application of the acquired results include social philosophy, philosophical anthropology, and philosophy of sports. The novelty of this research consists in the interpretation of endurance running as an existential measurement of everyday life, the method of communication between different types of communities and population groups, and formation of the prototype of a “cultural body” of that time. Running is examined as a type of activity that is characteristic mostly to the lower, marginal social classes. Participation in the city festival in the format of a “carnival” running was a way to integrate into society, a manifestation of collective solidarity. Their buffoonery running distracted the audience from the everyday routine, becoming its counterpoint. The author also determines the contribution of the upper social classes to the development of running practices d: economic (funding of professional runners and material reward for the non-professional winners of the city festivals); practical (amateur running or other athletic practices as a component of a gentleman's everyday life); ideological (Renaissance humanists assumed that physical activity is a non-religious way to overcome time through maintaining physical well-being).

Institutional strengthening of farmer group to support sustainable agriculture and food security in Pesawaran regency

Sustainable agriculture and food security can be realized through the institutional strengthening of farmer groups, namely independent business and collective solidarity in facing land degradation problems, environmental quality degradation, and food security problems. This study aimed to analyze the role of farmer group institutions in supporting sustainable agriculture and food security of farmers. The method used in this study was a survey research method. The research approach used was a quantitative approach that is supported by qualitative data. Data used in this study were primary data from interviews using questionnaires to research respondents and in-depth interviews. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by the tabulation technique and analyzed by correlation analysis using the SPSS application. The results showed that the There is no significant relationship between the roles of farmer groups in preserving the environment. However, farmer groups as learning units have a significant relation to farmers’ ability to preserve the environment. The relationship between farmer group institutions (means for learning, cooperation arena, and production units) and household food security level has a very significant relation both as a whole and as a group function. The institutional strengthening of farmer groups indirect affected the improvement of environmental quality and had a direct effect on rice farmers’ food security in Pesawaran Regency.

Цифровые множества: власть и субъективность в эпоху новых медиа

This paper is a reply to Evgeniy Maslanov’s article “Challenges of Digitalization for Technogenic Civilization”. Emphasizing the total impact of digitalization on modern society, the author tends to agree with E. Maslanov that at the moment human existence is proceeding in a hybrid mode, for which the “real-virtual” dichotomy seems irrelevant. Being in this mode, a person leaves a digital footprint on the network, which forms her or his digital identity. The latter turns out to be “transparent”, vulnerable to instrumental influence from outside. Digital footprints are totalized into gigantic amounts of big data that can be used for social manipulation, as evidenced by the Cambridge Analytica case study. The manipulative activity of Cambridge Analytica fits into the context of the post-truth policy, which tends to ignore the facts in favor of false information that brings pragmatic benefits to the subject of the statement. This article argues that the complexity of social dynamics characteristic of the digital age is balanced by new means of description and analysis that enable us to better understand and navigate modernity. Nevertheless, a total description and thus stabilization of social reality seems impossible, given its advantageously network nature. The flip side of digitalization includes increased control within labor relations, blurring the boundaries between work and home as blurring the distinction between the “real” and the virtual. Along with it, the digital space is becoming a space of emancipation, where individuals-singularities form sets freed from violent unity (in the terms of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri). The multitudes unfold their subjectivity in opposition to the social system, to which they oppose networked col-lective action and solidarity. The article concludes about the dialectical role of digitalization, which can serve as both a means of control and a means of emancipation. Thus, the challenges of digitalization seem not so much a technological call as a social one.

Warfare and group solidarity: From Ibn Khaldun to Ernest Gellner and beyond

Ibn Khaldun and Ernest Gellner have both developed comprehensive yet very different theories of social cohesion. Whereas Ibn Khaldun traces the development of intense group solidarity to the ascetic lifestyles of nomadic warriors, for Gellner social cohesion is a product of different material conditions. In contrast to Ibn Khaldun?s theory, where all social ties are generated through similar social processes, in Gellner?s model the patterns of collective solidarity change through time, that is, different societies produce different forms of social cohesion. While Ibn Khaldun argues that asbiyyah is the backbone of group unity in all social orders, Gellner insists that modern societies are underpinned by very different type of collective solidarity than their premodern counterparts. In this paper I offer a critique of Ibn Khaldun?s and Gellner?s theories of social cohesion and develop an alternative explanation, which situates the social dynamics of group solidarity in the organisational and ideological legacies of warfare.

Tuvia RuebnerNow at the Threshold: The Late Poems of Tuvia Ruebner by Rachel Tzvia Back

Lee’s persistence in her desire to preach, the recognition of women as the backbone of the church, and Prathia Hall’s “I Have a Dream” talk aloud with God, among others. The discussion of Islam from the beginning of the abducted Africans’ forced migration to North America to the Nation of Islam’s influence during the modern Civil Rights Movement is fascinating. Other notable discussions include the historical bombings of Black worship houses as they were recognized as the seat of empowerment for Blacks. Gates’s discussion of the Jesuit scandal (indeed the role of the entire Catholic Church in the slave trade) involving slavery and their educational mission is riveting. Finally, his discussion on Black music (spirituals, gospel) as a requisite feature of the Black Church (along with sermonizing) is brilliantly executed and weaved throughout the account. Framed by a very informative introduction and an epilogue that contains Gates’s personal recollections of the church, the four chapters are organized chronologically by key moments in American history. Chapter 2, “A Nation within a Nation,” is especially illuminating in its guide to the development of the Black Church. Likewise , chapter 4, “Crisis of Faith,” charts the decline of the Black Church as a force for transformation to its resurgence with new and powerful voices for both social change and accommodation to new musical styles and messages. Gates identifies hip-hop as “a new kind of secular ministry.” This is a brilliant work: a compelling read that incorporates little-known facts about the Black Church and clarifies other information held popularly by the public. Adele Newson-Horst Morgan State University Tuvia Ruebner Now at the Threshold:The Late Poems of Tuvia Ruebner Trans. Rachel Tzvia Back. Cincinatti. Hebrew Union College Press. 2020. 188 pages. THE POET TUVIA RUEBNER left this world just months before the arrival of a pandemic that has since shaken it. For a life shaped by continual loss, both communal and personal, this seems a small measure of mercy. But as I read through Ruebner’s late poems, gathered in a superb bilingual collection of translations by Rachel Tzvia Back, I wondered whether the global health crisis would have affected him at all. Though his life spanned two centuries, traversed two continents, and encompassed two languages (German, his mother tongue, and Hebrew, his adopted and main language of composition), Ruebner took up BOOKS IN REVIEW Imbolo Mbue How Beautiful We Were New York. Random House. 2021. 384 pages. HOW BEAUTIFUL WE WERE is Imbolo Mbue’s second novel to be published; however , Mbue started writing it long before her first novel, Behold the Dreamers, appeared. This novel transports readers to the imaginary African village of Kosawa, grappling with the ravages of environmental pollution as a result of drilling by an American oil corporation. The novel opens dramatically when, at a village meeting with representatives from the Pexton Oil Company, Konga, a madman , captures the car keys of the delegates, steering the village toward an astonishing act of rebellion: holding the Pexton men hostage to exert pressure on the company to reveal what happened to their own men who disappeared when they went to the city to lodge a complaint. The narrative vacillates between the perspectives of the children who witness this primary act of rebellion and other characters in the village. The dramatic act of collective solidarity initiated by Konga is a sly inversion of Pexton’s strategy of liquidating the emissaries from the village who had demanded better environmental protections . The initial act of rebellion prompts a retaliatory bloodbath against Kosawa and the arrest and execution of several villagers on charges of kidnapping. Already, readers are plunged into cycles of trauma: IMBOLO MBUE 82 WLT SPRING 2021 0 remarkably little space. As a teenager he traveled from his native Bratislava to Kibbutz Merhavia in northern Israel, where he remained in a modest two-room home until his death at the age of ninety-five. Terms like “social distance” and “shelter in place” never entered his parlance, but the concepts were intuitive for him. For this reason, his poems are needed today more than ever before. They observe the wonders of the quotidian , the splendor in the...

Evangélicos e conservadorismo – afinidades eletivas: as novas configurações da democracia no Brasil

Neste artigo partimos da hipótese de que a afinidade que atrai evangélicos e conservadorismo está muito mais ligada às condições discursivas que engendram os sujeitos e suas subjetividades, do que as características intrínsecas à teologia cristã ou, especificamente, evangélica pentecostal. Com isso não queremos dizer que conformações teológicas específicas não ensejaram discursos religiosos regressivos, que a maioria de nós classificaria como conservador. Assim, chamamos a atenção, tanto para o caráter relacional, posicional das identidades evangélicas, que engendram o discurso conservador, quanto para a base material deste discurso, ligando, portanto, sujeitos e formas de sujeição e subjetivação. Interessam-nos, as formas políticas em que se precipitarão os antagonismos articulados a partir dos grupos de identidade evangélica, bem como os deslocamentos na base material destes sujeitos, que possibilitam o engendramento de subjetividades atomizadas e refratárias a solidariedades coletivas exógenas a sua comunidade. Defenderemos que, embora evangélicos tenham ganhado relevo no espaço público por pautas reativas à ampliação de direitos de minorias, tais ações não se devem unicamente a aspectos intrínsecos à teologia pentecostal, ou ao seu caráter alienante ou irracional, mas, principalmente a forma como se posicionam no jogo político nacional, ou melhor, como se publicizaram, bem como a forma como o discurso de fundo conservador é acionado como estratégia de sobrevivência nas grandes cidades.

Labour Constitutions and Occupational Communities: Social Norms and Legal Norms at Work

AbstractThis paper considers the interaction of legal norms and social norms in the regulation of work and working relations, observing that, with the contraction of collective bargaining, this is a matter that no longer attracts the attention that it deserves. Drawing upon two concepts from sociology – Max Weber's ‘labour constitution’ and Seymour Martin Lipset's ‘occupational community’ – it focuses on possibilities for the emergence, within groups of workers, of shared normative beliefs concerning ‘industrial justice’ (Selznick); for collective solidarity and agency; for the transformation of shared beliefs into legally binding norms; and for the enforcement of those norms. If labour law is currently in ‘crisis’, then a promising route out of the crisis, we argue, is for the law to recover its procedural focus, facilitating and encouraging these processes.

Collective Narcissism, In-Group Satisfaction, and Solidarity in the Face of COVID-19

The present study explored the antecedents of solidarity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that solidarity during mass emergencies involves the development of a social identity encompassing those facing a common fate, we examined how national in-group satisfaction (IS, a belief that the national in-group and one’s membership in it are of high value) versus national collective narcissism (CN, a belief that the national in-group is exceptional and entitled to privileged treatment but not sufficiently recognized by others) predicted solidarity with those affected by the pandemic in Poland. The results of cross-sectional and dynamic analyses from a panel study on a representative sample of Polish adults indicate that IS predicted greater COVID-19 solidarity, whereas CN predicted reduced COVID-19 solidarity.

On the banality of wilful blindness: Ignorance and affect in extractive encounters

Research on strategic ignorance tends to focus on the deliberate manufacture of non-knowledge as a tool of governance. In contrast, this article highlights the ‘banal’ workings of wilful blindness, how it can become a normalised part of corporate routine. It examines the diverse dynamics of wilful blindness that became visible in the planning and implementation of a mega oil development project in Timor-Leste, including spatial distancing, denial of moral implications, and the production of effervescent moments of collective solidarity. It concludes that affective states are key in the normalisation of wilful blindness, which operates at the unstable boundary between intention and affect. An emphasis on wilful blindness helps us to bridge the gap between political economy approaches that emphasise the disruptive impact of resource abundance, on the one hand, and anthropological approaches that highlight the social logics and ethical evaluations of main actors involved, on the other.

Will philanthropy save us all? Rethinking urban philanthropy in a time of crisis

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, philanthropy has been quick to react to the call for help from Governments and International Organisations. And yet, despite the overwhelming response, increasing attention has been brought to the intricate ways in which philanthropists and billionaires have been asserting their presence through their actions and influence in different spheres of power. In this commentary, I challenge the idea that philanthropy can be the solution to all of our problems, and highlight some of the problematic issues that emerge when philanthropy is put at the forefront of the discussion. Also, I point out to other elements that have been left out, including the wave of collective solidarity that has been channelled through mutual aid groups and organisations.

Invasion of Paddy Combine Harvester (PCH) and Its Socioeconomic Impacts: A Study based on Ampara District, Sri Lanka

The term mechanisation of paddy agriculture denotes that mechanical power is used in agriculture instead of human and animal power, which is totally diminished today. Paddy agriculture plays an important role in the Sri Lankan economy where rice is the staple food of the country. Ampara district in Eastern Province of Sri Lanka contributes to the national food production by through paddy cultivation. In Ampara district, the tractor was used in paddy agriculture that required the need for human power previously. Nevertheless, the invasion of Paddy Combine Harvester (PCH) has demolished the tasks done by human power in the paddy agricultural sector now. Harvesting, threshing and cleaning were carried out in different stages of a long period with multiple groups of people by using human power in the past. Now it has changed, and Paddy combine Harvester (PCH) is used for all works of harvesting, threshing and cleaning within a short period at present. This study was conducted to emphasise the changes caused by the mechanisation in paddy agriculture and examine the changes among the Muslim society after the invasion of Paddy Combine Harvester (PCH) in the paddy agricultural sector. The decline in collective action and social solidarity among family members and society, loss of farming-related celebrations and ceremonies, the decline of the contribution of women in the agriculture and loss of job opportunities and income were found to be the negative impacts of the invasion of the paddy combine harvester. The decline in the disparities among landlords and peasants, changes in the food and dressing pattern, new employment opportunities and income generation, changes in the education sector, speedy harvesting in the rainy seasons and reduction in workload and less time consumption were found to be the positive impacts of the invasion of paddy combine harvester (PCH).

Constitutionalism and Social Solidarity: A Theoretical and Comparative Analysis

In the face of the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Solidarity has become the term of the hour. The World Health Organization organized a “solidarity series of events”, under the hashtag “together at home”, and chose the title “Solidarity” for the ambitious global initiative to find a treatment to the virus, establishing a “Solidarity” response fund. Within countries, solidarity was raised as a value requiring the imposition of various social distancing measures and limitations, needed, it was argued, in order to protect both society as a whole, as well as individuals who were especially vulnerable to the virus. The different approaches taken by countries in responding to the COVID-19 crisis can, in part, be explained by the different social perceptions regarding the importance of social solidarity and the duties that stem from it. The notion of solidarity, explored below, underlies the web of mutual commitments among members of a community, and, in the case of states, among members of the political community. This article examines the role solidarity can play when recognized as a constitutional value. Narratives of solidarity are prevalent in constitutions world-wide, both implicitly and explicitly. Despite this prevalence, constitutional scholarship has payed relatively little attention to the notion of solidarity. The article aims to take a step in filling this gap. It calls for recognition and discussion of the significance, potential and perils of recognizing solidarity as a constitutional value and of applying it in constitutional adjudication. The article argues that despite the liberal aversion of the notion of solidarity, which is understandable in light of potential abuses of the concept to justify limitations of individual freedom, solidarity is a precondition for the existence of just societies and for distributive justice, as well as for ensuring that human rights are equally and inclusively realized.The article argues that the relationship between collective identity and solidarity is complex, that solidarity is a multi-layered phenomenon, and that these complexities can and should be reflected in the constitutional manifestation of solidarity. Constitutions do and should refer to more than one layer of solidarity, and courts can and should play a part in instilling substance in these layers. Where solidarity is recognizing as a value, it can serve to examine the effect of laws and policies on under-privileged members of society, and as a source for deriving duties towards them. Finally, the article argues that although constitutional solidarity may intuitively be expected to endorse only intra-state solidarity, that is, solidarity among members of the political community, constitutions can and do endorse notions of transnational solidarity. The article argues that constitutionalism can thus be an important source of “bottom-up” transnational and global solidarity.