Contemporary Urban Society Research Articles

Imagens do escuro: reflexões sobre subjetividades invisíveis / Images of the darkness: reflections on invisible subjectivities

AbstractThis paper examines the epistemological model based upon the Enlightenment paradigm that underlies Modern Western thought and discusses other forms of writing and production of knowledge. Based on the the work of Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben and others, we consider the production of knowledge in darkness. We start out with an evaluation of the effects of an epistemology of light and the potential of thought in the absence of light. We present an analysis of the relationship of that epistemology with forms of organization and urban lighting, as well as the production of invisible subjectivities. In a writing exercise conducted in a zone of shadows, we relate a story which binds the production of light and shadow and their productive power within contemporary urban society. Finally, this study affirms the power of shadows and the need to devise strategies that allow us to write in or with darkness and with those invisible subjectivities which inhabit it.Keywords: epistemology, writing, cities, subjectivities, powerResumoNesse artigo refletimos sobre o modelo epistemológico pautado na ideia de luzes constituinte do pensamento Ocidental Moderno, discutindo outras formas de escrever e produzir conhecimento. A partir de autores como Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin e Giorgio Agamben, propomos uma reflexão sobre a produção do conhecimento no escuro. Iniciamos abordando os efeitos da epistemologia da luminosidade e a potência de se pensar nas sombras. Em seguida, analisamos a relação dessa epistemologia com as formas de organização e iluminação das cidades e a produção de subjetividades invisíveis. Em um exercício de escrita a partir de uma zona sombria, trazemos uma história que amarra a produção de luzes e sombras e seu poder produtivo na sociedade urbana contemporânea. Ao final, afirmamos a potência das sombras e a necessidade de construção de estratégias que nos permitam escrever no e com o escuro e com aquelas subjetividades invisíveis que o habitam.Palavras-chave: epistemologia, escrita, cidade, subjetividades, potência AbstractThis paper examines the epistemological model based upon the Enlightenment paradigm that underlies Modern Western thought and discusses other forms of writing and production of knowledge. Based on the the work of Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben and others, we consider the production of knowledge in darkness. We start out with an evaluation of the effects of an epistemology of light and the potential of thought in the absence of light. We present an analysis of the relationship of that epistemology with forms of organization and urban lighting, as well as the production of invisible subjectivities. In a writing exercise conducted in a zone of shadows, we relate a story which binds the production of light and shadow and their productive power within contemporary urban society. Finally, this study affirms the power of shadows and the need to devise strategies that allow us to write in or with darkness and with those invisible subjectivities which inhabit it.Keywords: epistemology, writing, cities, subjectivities, powerAbstractThis paper examines the epistemological model based upon the Enlightenment paradigm that underlies Modern Western thought and discusses other forms of writing and production of knowledge. Based on the the work of Michel Foucault, Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben and others, we consider the production of knowledge in darkness. We start out with an evaluation of the effects of an epistemology of light and the potential of thought in the absence of light. We present an analysis of the relationship of that epistemology with forms of organization and urban lighting, as well as the production of invisible subjectivities. In a writing exercise conducted in a zone of shadows, we relate a story which binds the production of light and shadow and their productive power within contemporary urban society. Finally, this study affirms the power of shadows and the need to devise strategies that allow us to write in or with darkness and with those invisible subjectivities which inhabit it.Keywords: epistemology, writing, cities, subjectivities, power

Shrinking cities in Australia, Japan, Europe and the USA: From a global process to local policy responses

Shrinking cities can be considered as one of the most critical challenges of contemporary urban societies. Recently, this phenomenon has been the subject of growing interest both in terms of research and from an urban policy point of view. In this paper we argue that urban shrinkage and policy responses depend on the combination of global processes and local configurations. Based on a study of shrinking cities in Australia, Japan, Germany, the UK, France and the USA, this paper first aims to explore the global process of urban shrinkage in different contexts. While the phenomenon is global it is anchored at the local level and subject to particular manifestations. After analyzing the general trends of urban shrinkage in the six countries considered, the second aim of this paper is to study the way in which policies implemented in shrinking cities differ in the various national contexts. This symposium argues that policy responses need to consider both the global forces behind shrinkage and the local context where particular characteristics are found. There are however three common areas where local actors in shrinking cities tend to focus their strategies and programs: community resilience; urban regeneration strategies; and tackling the social effects of urban shrinkage.

Defining Moroccanness: the aesthetics and politics of contemporary Moroccan fashion design

At the turn of the twenty-first century, a new generation of Moroccan fashion designers has started to emerge that can be distinguished from their predecessors by a radical style break. These designers no longer adhere to the idea that Moroccan fashion should be limited to a characteristic set of garments and/or decorations representing Arab-Muslim identity, but aspire an artistic freedom to conceptualise and define Moroccan fashion in an innovative, distinct and critical way. They are turning to Morocco's cultural diversity for inspiration, represented in popular culture, street styles, rural cultural heritage as well as the country's heterogeneous cultural past, including its African origins. This new generation, however, finds itself widely accused of ‘not being Moroccan’ by Moroccan consumers. I argue that this is due to the hegemonic construction of Moroccan national identity based on Arab-Muslim cultural heritage, dating back to the nationalist movement during the French Protectorate. What qualifies as Moroccan fashion – and especially as opposed to European fashion – in contemporary Moroccan urban society is complex and represents political, cultural and social power struggles. This style change initiated by contemporary designers not only reflects a general desire for more individual rights in relation to religious and cultural identity, but also a direct critique of the sociocultural domination of the elite. This article aims to analyse the aesthetics and politics of contemporary Moroccan fashion design and its artistic ambitions, as a way to challenge prevailing ideas of Moroccanness imposed by the ruling elite.

‘A pig is a person’ or ‘You can love a fox and hunt it’: Innovation and tradition in the discursive representation of animals

In contemporary urban society, animals have been erased in many people’s lives. They are generally encountered only as meat, pets, pests or vicariously in fiction and documentaries; yet the relation of humans to other animals is a matter of pressing environmental, social, economic and philosophical concern, and across the social and natural sciences there is increased interest in human–animal interaction. This situation gives rise to many different and often irreconcilable ways of talking about animals, and current debates about human–animal interaction are frequently polarised and based on incompatible standpoints, such as those of animal rights and human exceptionalism. This article analyses two interviews which exemplify such radically opposed views: one with a spokesperson for the Vegan Society, and one with a spokesperson for the Countryside Alliance, a pro-hunting pressure group. Both are placed against the background of other interviews collected as part of an ongoing larger research project on the discursive representation of animals. Each is shown to use and promote a way of speaking about animals which is at odds with mainstream establishment discourse. It is suggested that they represent two mirror-image reactions to the erasure of animals in contemporary urban life which, despite their differences, reflect a more intimate encounter with actual animals. One actively seeks to preserve and promote a traditional discourse, the other to innovate a new non-speciesist discourse. They thus reflect, in their uses of language, contrasting possible reactions to a major social and environmental change.

Economic consequences of horizontal stratification in postsecondary education: evidence from urban China

Drawing on nationwide representative data, we study the patterns of horizontal stratification of higher education in contemporary urban Chinese society, examining how college major, location, and ranking affect college graduates’ occupational income and the likelihood of assuming a managerial position. The results suggest that (1) college major differentiates graduates’ occupational income, with STEM and professional majors having significant economic advantages. (2) College ranking is significantly correlated with the likelihood of assuming a managerial position, implying that college ranking is an effective signal of prestige to employers in urban China. (3) A “Big City Effect” is detected as college location is significantly associated with salary levels after controlling for job location. This study adds an Eastern case to the literature on education stratification. Theoretical implications of empirical findings are also discussed

Working with diversity: A geographical analysis of ethno-racial discrimination in Toronto

Work is an important location for examining the heterogeneity of contemporary urban societies that are being transformed by migration, aging, and economic restructuring. At work locations, people from different ethnic and racial groups often encounter one another, regardless of whether they live in close proximity. Work is also a frequent site of discrimination, particularly for racial minorities. This study evaluates ethno-racial heterogeneity by documenting the spatial patterns of workplace location for ethno-racial groups in Toronto. We also compare and contrast the degree to which racial minorities experience discrimination at work. Based on our findings that underline a strong association between discrimination, racial minority status, and ethno-cultural group identification, we argue that it is important to examine critically the ways in which discrimination persists in racially and ethnically diverse work locations.

Uyghur Turkic Women and Cultural Change: Young Moslem Women Face the Future

The culture of the Turkic people now extends from the Mediterranean to Western China. The goal of this investigation is to show the importance of anthropological and sociological theory in investigating the profound changes in the world of Central Asia. The first concept is that of cultural identity which has a major impact on the discussion of the Uyghur population of China. The second is locating the discussion of Uyghur women along the important ideal type dimension, the varied range of women from their role in a conservative, patriarchal family structure to that of independent actors in a contemporary urban society. Finally, we understand that young Uyghur women face a different set of choices than those of women in other Moslem cultures or in the rest of China. If they identify with their culture as Uyghur and Moslem, their culture restricts their opportunities as Chinese citizens. As students at Minorities University of China (MUC) in Beijing, the relative freedom of Beijing influences them a great deal. Education and employment are the vehicles for integration into the larger Chinese group. Institutions such as schools of ethnic studies and the college competitive exam (the gaokao) provide opportunities as well as obstacles for Uyghur women, and serve to link Uyghur women to the dynamic aspects of change in the Moslem world.

Migrant Workers' Integration in Urban China: Experiences in Employment, Social Adaptation, and Self-Identity

The concept of integration is central for understanding the experiences of groups in marginalized positions in contemporary urban societies. Research on integration has primarily focused on international migrants, especially immigrants. Yet internal migrants like rural-urban migrant workers in China also face formidable institutional, economic, cultural, and social barriers in the host society. Informed by integration theory, and drawing on a questionnaire survey of 1,100 migrants conducted in Wuhan, this research effort examines how institutional barriers intersect with economic, social/cultural, and identity integration to explain the experiences of rural migrant workers in Chinese cities. The authors' analysis, based on OLS and logit regressions, shows that the hukou system is a persistent barrier to migrant workers, despite improvement over time of their economic, social/cultural, and identity integration into urban society. Their findings also indicate that human capital is important for migrants' economic and identity integration. Moreover, migrant workers who are socially and culturally adapted, speak the dialect of the host society, and have the financial resources to be self-employed (or buy an apartment in the city) are more likely to develop a sense of belonging in the city than other migrants.

Language policies and linguistic super-diversity in contemporary urban societies: the case of the City of Southampton, UK

Our aim here is to investigate the multilingual ‘super-diverse’ environment of Southampton City's work places, in public and private sector sites, and to observe how speakers interact and use their linguistic competences; whether this facilitates communication and social/professional integration, or whether this produces obstacles and discrimination. We assess how far explicit or implicit language policies operate in the workplace, be they local to the establishment, or influences from governmental (local or state) directives, and what factors drive such policies. We discuss how far these policies co-exist in what Spolsky [2012. Family language policy – the critical domain. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 33(1), 3–13] describes as ‘chaotic and non-hierarchical’ domains, operating from grassroots communities, or being principally ‘top-down’ directives from those in authority.

Art education serves the community: an historic view of African and the Diaspora

This paper will look at art education as an active intervention in community cultural development by looking briefly at past and present uses of African art as vehicles for maintaining social control, developing historical concepts, and disseminating educational values. We will first discuss some examples of African art objects in traditional societies as tools for social control, historic memory and education and then discuss how similar concepts are manifest in contemporary urban societies by looking a more contemporary example in the form of a phenomenon called set-setal, a movement that took place in Senegal between the years of 1989 and 1992. Key-words: community, art education, african art.

Towards a Methodology for Flexible Urban Design: Designing with Urban Patterns and Shape Grammars

Traditional urban plans use definitive design systems, without the flexibility required to deal with the complexity and change that characterize contemporary urban societies. To conceive urban plans with increased flexibility, a shape grammar-based design methodology is proposed which is capable of producing various design solutions instead of a single rigid layout. In this approach the plan is a design system encoding a set of alternative solutions, rather than a single, specific solution. This methodology was developed on the basis of the analysis of existing plans and on a series of experiments undertaken within the controlled environment of design studios. Results show that shape grammars produce urban plans with nondefinitive formal solutions, while keeping a consistent design language. They also provide plans with explicit and implicit flexibility, thereby giving future designers a wider degree of freedom. As a result, they are particularly appropriate for dealing with complexity and change throughout the legal lifespan of the plan. Finally, they provide students with a concrete methodology for approaching urban design, fostering the development of additional design skills.

Issues of water supply and contemporary urban society: the case of Greater Amman, Jordan

Over the last two decades, Jordan has suffered a chronic water crisis, and is the tenth most water-scarce nation on Earth. Such water stress has been well illustrated in the case of Greater Amman, the capital, which has grown dramatically from a population of around 2000 in the 1920s, to 2.17 million today. One of the distinctive characteristics of the water supply regime of Greater Amman is that since 1987 it has been based on a system of rationing, with households receiving water once a week for various durations. Amman is highly polarized socio-economically, and by means of household surveys, both quantitative and qualitative, conducted in high- and low-income divisions of the city, a detailed empirical evaluation of the storage and use of water, the strategies used by households to manage water and overall satisfaction with water supply issues is provided in this paper, looking specifically at issues of social equity. The analysis demonstrates the social and economic costs of water rationing and consequent management to be high, as well as emphasizing that issues of water quality are of central importance to all consumers regardless of their socio-economic status within the city.

Il quartiere nella città contemporanea

This paper focuses on the neighbourhood as the key site for understanding broader social processes in contemporary urban societies. In recent decades we see a new interest in the neighbourhood, as a consequence of the proliferation in the urban space of borders that isolate or interrupt the flows of communication and resources, creating new inequalities among social groups. The essay presents some theoretical tools for conceptualizing the neighbourhood and studying how it impacts on people’s everyday life and on their chances of life. The concept of community, traditionally used in neighbourhood studies, seems inadequate for capturing the current models of socio-territorial organization in contemporary city. Concerning in particular to the question whether and how the neighbourhood could influence urban liveability, the paper proposes the concept of neighbourhood as a filter, that sets different access thresholds to the “network of networks” of relationships, services, opportunities that is the city.

Collective Identity and Dance in Modern Urban Greece

The aim of this study is to trace the way some cultural groups demonstrate their identity through dance in the contemporary urban society. The survey follows revelry with folk music, singing and dancing organized by a local cultural troupe on the occasion of a feast day. The collection of the ethnographic data relied on long standing observation and the video recording of the revelries between 2000 and 2005. Further information was gathered with the means of a closed questionnaire and open question interviews. In the process of the material two theories were mainly employed: the performance theory and the theory of collective identity in postmodern culture. To sum up, we would say that dance as presented on the feast day reflects the local “multicultural” society’s characteristics. It retains its dynamic with its entity, function and content to be composed of agricultural and urban features. Dance continues to exist since it has the potential to adjust to each time social, economic and historical circumstances.

Tueurs à gages et conflits interpersonnels dans le Brésil urbain : d'anciennes pratiques reconsidérées

SUMMARY In present-day societies inter-personal conflicts assume many different configurations. The contexts in which confrontation and resolution take place are multiple, while, at the same time, the number of professional killers is increasing. Homicides related to the practice of resorting to gunmen are found in political campaigns, unrequited love situations, family feuds, « suspected » persons, etc. A planned murder involves two persons : the gunman who commits the crime and the interested party who pays the gunman for the criminal act. This article analyses these practices and endeavors to understand the changes and continuity in contemporary urban society. The articles divulged by the press and interviews with people directly or indirectly involved in the cases reveal changes in gunmen’s practices and their links with the social interaction in the urban world. We demonstrate that not only the hired killers and their sponsors are changing but so are the victims. These changes are shaping this practice into a kind of diffuse violence which basically results in a growing number of people resorting to the use of professional killers.

A construção do conceito de criminoso na sociedade capitalista: um debate para o Serviço Social

A violência, de alguma forma, sempre esteve presente na história da humanidade, assumindo características diferentes nos diversos contextos sociais e econômicos. Ela é o foco do assunto discutido neste artigo¹, sobretudo, em sua vertente urbana na sociedade capitalista contemporânea. Analisa-se, com base na história do direito penal, a centralidade que o conceito de criminoso alcançou no decorrer da história da sociedade moderna. A partir dos dados observados, busca-se refletir sobre a irrupção da violência individual em detrimento das demais formas de violência, presentes na ordem societária capitalista. Examina-se, no segmento, como os processos de criminalização e de controle social, empregados pelo aparato estatal elegem um inimigo comum a ser combatido: o delinqüente. Com o aporte teórico da criminologia crítica, discutem-se as contribuições que essas idéias trazem para o Serviço Social e como o assistente social pode apropriar-se delas em seu processo de formação e exercício profissional.

The Brave New World of the Post-society: The Mass-production of the Individual Consumer and the Emergence of Template Cities

Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World (Longman, Harlow, 1932/1991) portrayed a post-human world, a world where human beings were mass-produced like clones and kept in complete happiness through an endless variation of seductions and pleasures. This essay explores parallels in contemporary urban society by analysing why and how we consume—goods, places, and ultimately ourselves—in our daily shopping spaces. In today's post-society, new fashions, representations and make-overs are introduced onto the global market at breakneck speed. Globalization implies an inexhaustible resource for change in local consumption spaces, creating continuous opportunities to transform our personal identities as well as our urban environments. In our world of globalization, hyper-capitalism, and mass-individualism, there seems to be no escape from having and parading a personal identity, no escape from the commercial template for seductive urban shopping spaces. Are we in control of our own destinies? Who are we fooling when we hide in the consumerist maze of fiction and fantasy? What brave new world are we living in?

Civic Virtues in Dominican Homiletic Literature in Tuscany in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries

From an historical perspective, the theological writings of Remigio dei Girolami and the preaching ad populum of Giordano da Pisa (different in content, form, and language) present themselves as specula societatis which reflect many aspects of contemporary urban society, and show the various levels of Dominican pastoral activity. In them the moral behaviour of the individual acquires a social dimension, extending out from the private to the public sphere and involving the whole civic community. The concepts of common-good, of justice, of peace and concord, of pardon linked to patience and mercy are presented as 'civic virtues', and are introduced into the local communal life. However, the difference between theory and reality, between models of behaviour and actual practice, leads the two friars to adopt an extremely pragmatic attitude: the object of their pastoral aim is the identification and the explanation of virtuous conduct rather than the analysis and definition of virtue as a concept. This is a method which tries to find a compromise, a point of contact between two cultures, religious and lay, and which dovetails with the moralization of individual and collective behaviour which is at the core of the treatises of Remigio and the sermons of Giordano.

Actor-networking ceta-sociality, or, what is sociological about contemporary whales?

In contemporary urban Euro-American societies, whales have become hugely popular and iconic creatures, arousing controversies more intense than most other instances of animal politics. How to account sociologically, however, for the dramatic social transformation of whales, from natural resource to near-sacrosanct agent, is far from self-evident. This article advocates a change of theoretical perspective, inspired by the work of actor-network theorists Bruno Latour and Michel Callon. Rather than focussing solely on the ‘humanity’ of human-animal relations, as does most of sociology, actor-network theory (ANT) allows for the inclusion of non-human ‘actants’ (like whales) into the fabric of sociality. In the ontology of ANT, sociality emerges as semiotic-material configurations of humans, animals, and technologies- Starting from a critical review of the work by Adrian Franklin on growing ‘zoocentrism’ in late modernity, the article proceeds by demonstrating how an ‘ecologised’ ANT sociology contributes towards a better understanding of the emergence of whale ‘actor-hood’ in global society. In broader terms, the article argues that as societies themselves ecologise by weaving ever-denser networks of humans and non-humans, sociology is in need of theoretical reconfiguration. Towards this end, some prospects and limitations for ecologising sociology are set out, suggesting how sociology might come to contribute to the project of living in a hybrid world.

A longitudinal study of rats chronically exposed to aluminum at human dietary levels

According to the World Health Organization, oral ingestion of aluminum additives is the main form of aluminum exposure for the general public. Aluminum salts are added to a range of commercially-prepared foods and beverages: to clarify drinking water, make salt free-pouring, color snack/dessert foods, and make baked goods rise. In the present study, six Wistar rats chronically consumed aluminum from 16 months of age to the conclusion of their lifespan (averaging 29.8 months) in an amount (1.5 mg/kg bodyweight) equivalent to the high end of the total aluminum range ingested daily by humans living in contemporary urban society. The rats were memory-trained in a continuous rewarded alternation T-maze task and tested weekly from 5 months of age onwards. This longitudinal study compared their mean memory performances over 15 consecutive weeks during middle age (12–23 months) and old age (≥24 months). Four out of six rats continued to perform the memory task in old age without significant deficit. The remaining two obtained significantly lower mean memory scores in old age than in middle age and exhibited soft signs associated with dementia. Their hippocampal neurons stained for aluminum, showing some but not all features of aluminum accumulation that occur in human hippocampal neurons. In view of evidenced linkages of aluminum with β-amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangle formation in humans with Alzheimer's disease, the findings suggest this protocol is worth testing in larger groups of animals.