Compass Journals

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Noun Incorporation: Essentials and Extensions

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:21:00 -0800

This guide accompanies the following article: 'Noun Incorporation: Essentials and Extensions'Language and Linguistics Compass 3 (2009): 1076[ndash]1096 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-818x.2009.00171.x Noun incorporation (NI) refers to a family of grammatical constructions that stand at the center of grammar, integrating morpho-phonology and semantics, and crossing the lexical-syntactic divide. It is thus an ideal topic of study, allowing extensions in all directions. In general, a NI structure is one in which a nominal that would canonically (either in the given language, or in languages in general) be expressed as an independent argument or adjunct is instead in some way incorporated into the verbal element of the sentence, forming part of the predicate. The construction raises many issues in empirical and theoretical grammar. At the heart of many of these issues is the question whether NI is a word formation rule or whether it interacts with syntax, manipulating sentential predicates. The study of NI thus raises questions as to whether there is a distinct word-formation component. Empirically, languages exhibit myriad forms of NI, both morpho-syntactically and semantically. In early work, morphology and syntax were the main areas of attention, in particular the role of polysynthesis and compounding in NI, but in recent years, the meanings of both the parts and the whole of incorporation complexes have taken center stage. In some languages, the predicate must denote a customary activity and the object is modificational, whereas in others, the process is fully productive and the incorporated nominal can be referential. Of further interest, there is a close relation between NI and other grammatical phenomena such as possessive, classificatory, complex predicate, and existential constructions, and through its study questions of nominal semantics, transitivity, discourse focus, and sentential aspect arise. The literature on NI is particularly discoursal, from its origins to the present day, which allows as well for close study of styles of linguistic analysis and argumentation. NI can thus be used as a springboard for discussion of many issues in current and historical linguistic theory. Sapir, Edward. 1911. The problem of noun incorporation in American languages. American Anthropologist 13.250[ndash]82. A famous early paper on the topic, addressing the issue of whether NI is a word-forming or predicate forming construction, thus laying the groundwork for a century of work on the topic. Mithun, Marianne. 1984. The evolution of noun incorporation. Language 60.847[ndash]95. Perhaps the most important paper on the topic, as it presents a thorough overview of all the types of NI across a wide range of languages, suggesting an implicational hierarchy between the different types. The paper takes a lexicalist approach to NI. Sadock, Jerrold M. 1986. Some notes on noun incorporation. Language 62.19[ndash]31. A heated reply to Mithun (1984), taking issue with the view of NI as lexical, which he argues is based on the wrong approach of setting aside some types of NI. Baker, Mark C. 1988. Incorporation: a theory of grammatical function changing (in particular, Chapter 3). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. A highly influential work on the topic within Government and Binding theory, presenting a structural blueprint for dealing with a wide range of NI phenomena. Rosen, Sarah Thomas. 1989. Two types of noun incorporation: a lexical analysis. Language 65:2.294[ndash]317. An alternative to Baker (1988), which argues that NI should be treated as lexical process, rather than a syntactic one, and which presents an analysis along these lines. Baker, Mark C. 1996. The polysynthesis parameter (in particular, Chapter 7). New York: Oxford University Press. A discussion of NI as found in polysynthetic languages, arguing that true NI is limited to such languages by a macro-parameter. Gerdts, Donna B. 1998. Incorporation. In A. Spencer and A. Zwicky (eds). The handbook of morphology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 84[ndash]100. A useful overview of the NI literature up until 2001, with emphasis on the empirical range of phenomena. Massam, Diane. 2001. Pseudo noun incorporation in Niuean. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 19.153[ndash]97. An examination Niuean phrasal incorporation, opening the door to more abstract (or pseudo-) incorporation. Van Geenhoven, Veerle. 2001. Noun incorporation. State of the article. Glot International Vol. 5:8.261[ndash]71. An overview of noun incorporation literature, with emphasis on semantic issues raised by the construction. Farkas, Donka, and Henriëtte de Swart. 2003. The semantics of incorporation: from argument structure to discourse transparency. Centre for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University. An in-depth analysis of semantics and pragmatic aspects of incorporation. The introduction gives a good overview of the issues addressed in the book. Gerdts, Donna B. 2003. The morphosyntax of Halkomelem lexical suffixes. International Journal of American Linguistics 69.4.345[ndash]56. An examination of one type of obligatory incorporation in which the nominal cannot stand alone. Chung, Sandra, and William Ladusaw. 2004. Restriction and saturation. MIT Press. A study in the semantics of noun incorporation, arguing for a new type of predicate-argument relation, termed Restrict. (In particular, Chapter 3) Dayal, Veneeta. 2007. Hindi pseudo incorporation. Ms. Rutgers University.http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/%7Edayal/Pincorp-07.pdf A study of the semantics of Hindi noun incorporation, with a focus on the role of number and aspect. Johns, Alana. 2007. Restricting noun incorporation: root movement. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 25.535[ndash]76. A new analysis of one type of obligatory incorporation, found in Inuktitut, in which the verbal element cannot stand alone. Mathieu. Eric. 2009. Introduction to a special volume on noun incorporation and its kind. Lingua 119.141[ndash]7 (and papers therein). This volume contains current papers on many aspects of NI, as well as an introduction to the key issues relevant today. Noun Incorporation could be the key focus of a seminar course, or it could be used as a springboard to explore a variety of other topics. The following suggested curriculum focuses on noun incorporation, but also brings in some other topics, mainly through student projects, involving a presentation and a paper. As well as covering the topics related to the construction, the course can also serve as an introduction to analysis and argumentation, since several of the papers, from 1909 onwards, are overtly arguing against other authors listed for the course. The instructor can thus use the papers to dissect the techniques of linguistic argumentation. An option for weeks 3, 7, and 9 would be, instead of having all students read the key articles for the week, to allow them to read one from the set of related readings, which they can bring to the discussion. In this case, the instructor would present the key readings, and invite discussion of the main theme from the point of view of the readings the students have chosen. 1 Central perspectives Week 1 This session introduces the range of types of NI, examining a broad set of data, as laid out in Mithun (1984). The instructor can foreshadow the coming topics of debate through close study of the data presented. The related reading, Gerdts (2001) provides an overview of the literature on NI up to 2001. Key Reading: Mithun, Marianne. 1984. The evolution of noun incorporation. Language 60.847[ndash]95. Related Readings: Gerdts, Donna B. 1998. Incorporation. In A. Spencer and A. Zwicky (eds). The handbook of morphology. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 84[ndash]100. Week 2 This session focuses on the leading structural analysis of noun incorporation, that of Baker (1988). The goal is to understand the motivation for the analysis, and its details, so as to be able to evaluate its effectiveness in accounting for the data, with reference to the material of Week 1. The instructor can foreshadow later views that head movement should not be part of the grammar, and raise the issues discussed in the related reading, Baker (2009), as to whether head movement is truly necessary to account for NI. Key Reading: Baker, Mark C. 1988. Incorporation: a theory of grammatical function changing (Chapter 3). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Related Readings: Baker, Mark C. 2009. Is head movement still needed for noun incorporation? Lingua 119:148[ndash]65. Week 3 So far, a morphological and a syntactic analysis have been examined. This week, the focus is on reactions to these papers. The first paper, Rosen 1989, reacts against Baker's syntactic approach and proposes a lexical approach instead. The second, Sadock (1986) reacts against Mithun's lexical approach and argues for a syntactic approach instead. Related readings also argue for a lexical (Anderson 2001) or syntactic (Haugen 2007) approach, while Johns (2007) presents a syntactic view of Inuit incorporation which differs from Sadock's (1986) view. The instructor can frame the discussion around both the issues and the styles of argumentation. Key Readings: Rosen, Sarah Thomas. 1989. Two types of noun incorporation: a lexical analysis. Language 65:2.294[ndash]317. Sadock, Jerrold M. 1986. Some notes on noun incorporation. Language 62.19[ndash]31. Related Readings: Anderson, Stephen R. 2001. Lexicalism incorporation (or Incorporation lexicalized) Proceedings of the 36th Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society. Chicago: University of Chicago. Haugen, Jason D. 2008. Morphology at the interfaces [ndash] reduplication and noun incorporation in Uto-Aztecan (Part III). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Johns, Alana. 2007. Restricting noun incorporation: root movement. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 25.535[ndash]76. Week 4 Now that the students are informed about relatively current approaches to noun incorporation, it is interesting to go back to the very early papers on this topic and see how the same issues were debated in the early part of the 20th century. A meta-topic here is the history of linguistic thinking. Key Readings: Kroeber, Alfred L. 1910. Noun incorporation in American languages. In F. Heger (Ed.), XVI Internationaler Amerikanisten-Kongress (pp. 569[ndash]576). Vienna: Hartleben. Sapir, Edward. 1911. The problem of noun incorporation in American languages. American Anthropologist 13.250[ndash]82. Related Readings: Kroeber, Alfred L. 1911. Incorporation as a linguistic process. American Anthropologist 13.577[ndash]84. Weeks 5 and 6 These two weeks are devoted to student presentations. Each student will present a paper they have read, with critique and commentary, on an empirically or theoretically different aspect of noun incorporation. Examples include incorporation of subjects and adjuncts, possessive incorporation, obligatory NI, incorporation of other categories (PPs, Vs, etc.), or Lexical Functional Grammar approaches to NI. Depending on the session length and the number of students, the presentations might range from brief overviews of ten minutes each to longer presentations up to half an hour each. The next two weeks will explore two fairly recent views of noun incorporation that study the phenomenon in two very diverse types of language. Baker (1996) argues that true noun incorporation occurs only in polysynthetic languages, where the incorporated noun is referential. Massam (2001) examines noun incorporation in an isolating language, in which the incorporated noun generally is non-referential and modificational. A question arising is whether the two types of noun incorporation are completely separate, or related in some way, and if the latter, exactly how they can be related so as to capture both similarities and differences. Week 7 This week's reading looks at a polysynthetic language, in which the incorporated noun is referential. In related papers, Jelinek (1984) lays relevant groundwork for the understanding of polysynthetic languages, while Gerdts and Marlett (2008) look at obligatory incorporation of reduced nominals. Key Reading: Baker, Mark C. 1996. The polysynthesis parameter (Chapter 7). New York: Oxford University Press. Related Readings: Jelinek, Eloise: 1984. Empty categories, case and non-configurationality. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 2.39[ndash]76. Gerdts, Donna B. and Stephen A. Marlett. 2008. Introduction: the form and function of denominal verb constructions. International Journal of American Linguistics 74:4.409[ndash]22. Week 8 This week's reading looks at an isolating language, in which the incorporated noun is non-nonreferential. In a related paper, Massam (2009) examines a different type of NI in the same language, in which the incorporated nominal is referential. Key Reading: Massam, Diane. 2001. Pseudo noun incorporation in Niuean. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 19.153[ndash]97. Related Reading: Massam, Diane. 2009. Existential incorporation constructions. Lingua 119.166[ndash]84. The next two weeks focus on recent literature on the semantics of NI, which is often non-referential, modificational, and in some cases classificatory. Core debates are how to formalize the existential force of the nominal, whether narrow scope indefinites are incorporated, and whether incorporated nouns are number neutral. The role of pragmatics is also examined. Week 9 This week explores the concept of semantic incorporation, which posits that incorporated nominals are not arguments, and that narrow scope indefinites are semantically incorporated, by reading the early work on this topic by Van Geenhoven (1988a). The related readings (Van Geenhoven 1998b, Chung and Ladusaw 2004, Farkas and de Swart 2003) discuss this and related issues further, while Van Geenhoven (2001) provides an overview of the semantics of NI. Key Reading: Van Geenhoven, Veerle. 1998a. On the argument structure of some noun incorporating verbs in West Greenlandic. In Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder (eds). The projection of arguments: lexical and compositional factors. Stanford: CSLI Publications. 225[ndash]63. Related Readings: Chung, Sandra, and William Ladusaw. 2004. Restriction and saturation. MIT Press. Farkas, Donka, and Henriëtte de Swart. 2003. The semantics of incorporation: from argument structure to discourse transparency. Centre for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University. Van Geenhoven, Veerle. 1998b. Semantic incorporation and indefinite descriptions: semantic and syntactic aspects of noun incorporation in West Greenlandic. Dissertations in Linguistics. Stanford: CSLI Publications. (Introduction) Van Geenhoven, Veerle. 2001. Noun incorporation: State of the article. Glot International Vol. 5:8.261[ndash]71. Week 10 This week explores issues related to number and aspect in the semantics of NI. A related older paper (Hopper and Thompson, 1980) looks at the broader issue of degrees of transitivity. Key Reading: Dayal, Veneeta, 2007. Hindi pseudo incorporation. Ms. Rutgers University. http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/%7Edayal/Pincorp-07.pdf Related Reading: Hopper, Paul and Sandra Thompson. 1980. Transitivity in grammar and discourse. Language 56.251[ndash]99. Weeks 11 and 12 Students will present original research orally, based on their final papers. The paper can focus on NI or, particularly if a student wants to work on a language that does not exhibit NI, other topics can be explored, such as bare/reduced NPs, transitivity, modification, serial verbs, polysynthesis, locatives, existentials, possessors, or classification. Is noun incorporation a distinct grammatical phenomenon, or should it be folded into other constructions, such as compounding or polysynthesis? Is the mental grammar divided into a Lexical and a Syntactic component? What makes the difference between a language in which incorporated nouns are referential vs a language in which they are modificational? What is the relation between NI and other types of incorporation of material into verbs, such as clitics, secondary predicates, modifiers, prepositions, etc.? Is incorporation properly restricted to complements, and if so, how do we treat the apparent exceptions? If not, why are there overwhelmingly more cases of complement incorporation? What are the limits of what we want to call noun incorporation? Are narrow scope indefinites incorporated? What is at the heart of the connection between noun incorporation and possessors, classification, existential, complex predicate and locative constructions? To what extent are constructions a legitimate object of study in theoretical syntax? Should they be defined semantically or morpho-syntactically?

Accounting for the Unaccountable: Lesbianism and the History of Sexuality in Eighteenth-Century Britain

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:41:00 -0800

What is the history of sexuality a history of? This article provides an overview of scholarship in the field of 18th-century studies and the history of sexuality, paying particular attention to the exemplary case of female same sex desire in order to explore the hermeneutical problems faced by this area of study. Unlike, for example, the history of women which has its object of study defined within its title, the history of sexuality is, in many ways, a history without a proper object. Is it a history of sexual practices such as prostitution, homosexuality or adultery? Is it a history of sexual identities like the sodomite, the sadist or the virgin? This essay argues that it is a history of ideas and ideologies surrounding sexuality's discursive significance and reads how what we know about the past is grounded in our present cultural understandings of sexuality. Concentrating on the history of lesbianism and the emergence of a bourgeois discourse of heteronormativity in the 18th century, the article demonstrates how what we know about sex in the past is determined by who speaks, from where, and when.

Political Culture in the 1590s: The 'Second Reign of Elizabeth'

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:40:00 -0800

In the mid-1990s, John Guy argued that Elizabethan political culture was transformed in the late 1580s, as the regime increasingly endorsed authoritarian definitions of monarchical power. This article reconsiders the foundations of Guy's hypothesis, analysing some of the key political and intellectual and literary contexts that conditioned the expression of political ideas in the final years of Elizabethan England.

The Devolution of Peru's Sendero Luminoso: From Hybrid Maoists to Narco-Traffickers?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:40:00 -0800

This History Compass article examines the ideological transformation of Peru's Sendero Luminoso insurgency from its immediate origins in the 1960s in the remote province of Ayacucho to its devolution to small armed bands of drug traffickers in the nation's remote central Andean regions. Originally, Sendero claimed allegiance to the peasant-based Marxism of José Carlos Mariátegui, the founder of Peru's Socialist Party. In reality, however, much of its ideology and revolutionary strategy was based on Maoist theory. As, Sendero's Maoism was largely based on its leader's experience in China in the mid-1960s, the party felt compelled to rabidly defend 'orthodox' Maoism as China moved away this ideology in the late 1970s. Maoism with a Peruvian radical stamp, nevertheless, failed to win over the peasantry in the 1980s. Sendero's leadership then violated basic Maoist strategy and began an urban terror campaign which exposed its leadership to eventual capture in late 1992. Since then, Sendero has survived only as a force fortified by drug revenues and isolated by rugged mountain terrain. We can only speculate about its future. But an estimated 66,000 deaths caused by its insurgency are stark evidence of its destructive potential.

'Outlandish Love': Marriage and Immigration in City Comedies

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:40:00 -0800

This article questions the orthodox reading of early English city comedies that such plays exhibit intense national or proto-national fervor, especially articulated in terms of anti-alien sentiment. A close examination of The Dutch Courtesan and Englishmen for My Money shows that English playgoers were keen to see their cosmopolitan city staged. Moreover, these plays suggest that when it came to European immigrants to England, status and wealth were far more important to the English than considerations of birthplace and ethnicity.

Home, Colonial and Foreign: Europe, Empire and the History of Migration in 20th-century Britain

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:39:00 -0800

This essay reviews the increasingly rich recent literature on 20th-century transnational movements from empire and Europe to Britain and in the opposite directions, particularly on migration. It suggests that this work offers a way of thinking about British-empire and British-European relations [ndash] themes that have been comparatively neglected in 20th-century social and cultural history, especially in the period of decolonisation. While much of the literature on migration treats empire and Europe separately, as well as immigration and emigration, the essay makes connections between them, looking at changing British perceptions of Europe and the world beyond Europe: of home, colonial and foreign. It argues that the second half of the century saw an increasing erosion of distinctions between 'colonial' and 'foreign' and a reorientation of British world views towards Europe that owed little to its membership of the EU.

Medieval Sicily and Southern Italy in Recent Historiographical Perspective

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:39:00 -0800

Sicily and southern Italy during the Middle Ages have been a neglected area of study for many years, primarily due to the general belief that the area fell into decline after the 'fall' of Rome. Recently, however, there has been growing interest in the Muslims of medieval Sicily and Italy, as well as the Jewish and Greek populations that lived under Latin Christian rule for many centuries. There has also been a rise in scholarship on the medieval Mediterranean region as a whole, which has caused a re-evaluation not only of the role and importance of the Mediterranean world, but also of how the medieval European system worked, how Latin Christendom related to the Muslim states on its southern borders, and what roles Muslim cultures and settlements played in the development of Italy's society.

Victimhood Nationalism and History Reconciliation in East Asia

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:39:00 -0800

'Victimhood nationalism' is a working hypothesis to explicate competing national memories over the historical position of victims in coming to terms with the pasts. Once put into the dichotomy of victimizers and victims in national terms, the victimhood becomes hereditary and thus consolidates the national solidarity beyond generations. Without a reflection on the victimhood nationalism, the postwar Vergangenheitsbewäeltigung cannot be properly grasped. Victimhood nationalism is intrinsically transnational as victims are unthinkable without victimizers. The transnationality of victimhood nationalism demands a histoire croisée to comprehend the entangled past of the victimized and victimizers. A transnational history of 'coming to terms with past' would show that the vicious circle of victimhood nationalisms, based on the antagonistic complicity of nationalisms between the victimizers and victims, has been a rock to any historical reconciliation effort. Focused on East Asia this essay is a part of the plan to write a transnational history of the victimhood nationalism in Korea, Poland and Israel with Japan and Germany as counterparts.

Conservation Geographies in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Politics of National Parks, Community Conservation and Peace Parks

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:43:00 -0800

Sub-Saharan Africa has been the location of intense conservation planning since the colonial era. Under the auspices of wilderness protection, colonial authorities established national parks largely for the purpose of hunting and tourism while forcibly evicting indigenous populations. Concerns about the ethical and economic impacts of protected areas have generated interest in community conservation initiatives that attempt to include local participation in natural resource management. In recent years, the anticipated loss of biodiversity, coupled with the integration of ecological concepts into planning processes, has generated interest in larger-scale initiatives that maximize protected habitat. Central to this shift are transboundary conservation areas, or Peace Parks, that involve protected territory that supersedes national political borders. This study provides a review of national parks, community conservation, and Peace Parks, in order to understand the development politics and governance challenges of global conservation. Although these approaches are not mutually exclusive, the study asserts that they represent major trajectories to conservation planning in Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. In considering the histories of these models in Sub-Saharan Africa, I argue that conservation planners often prioritize economic and ecological factors over the political circumstances that influence the effectiveness of these approaches. The study concludes by suggesting that an analysis of these three models provides a lens to examine ongoing debates regarding the employ of conservation as an economic development strategy and the challenges to environmental governance in the 21st century.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Text as it happens – literary geography

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:43:00 -0800

This guide accompanies the following article: Sheila Hones, Text as it happens [ndash] literary geography, Geography Compass 3 (2009): pp 1-6. 10.1111/j.1749-8198.2009.00291.x One of the major challenges to the development of literary geography as a coherent geographical field has been the extent to which work attempting to link literary texts and literary studies with geographical interests and spatial theory has varied according to discipline, methodological orientation, era, academic context and scholarly purpose. This history of diversity has also inhibited the development of cross-disciplinary literary-geographical work. Thrift's (2006) four propositions about space offer one potentially accommodating framework for work in literary geography. First, he argues that space is everywhere and everything is spatial. This is an important reminder that space is the key to narrative generally, and hence that literary geography involves much more than the analysis of landscape description and setting. It also usefully directs attention towards extra-textual geographies relating to manuscript production, book distribution, canon formation, and academic criticism. Second, he emphasises the point that spatial boundaries are permeable. Fiction leaks into the real, and vice versa: stories have settings, for example, and settings have stories. Additionally, as texts become activated in varying contexts, those text events bring writers, readers, texts, and books together in ways that render them inseparable and mutually influential. Third, he notes that space is not static but always in motion. This suggests not only that writers, readers, texts and books themselves are literally mobile but also that narrative strategy itself always produces a mobile and unfixed time-space geography. Finally, space is not singular: there are many kinds of space and these various spatial dimensions co-exist heterarchically. We can make this directly relevant to literary geography first in terms of textually mediated geographies (as for example as in Brosseau's distinction between the geographies 'in' the novel and the geographies 'of'' the novel) and second in relation to geographies of shared readings, knowledge production, and reader response. Thrift, N. (2006) Space. Theory, Culture and Society 23 (2[ndash]3), pp. 139[ndash]146. This list introduces some of the key English-language commentaries on and reviews of the field within social and cultural geography. 1. Wright, J. K. (1924). Geography in literature. Geographical Review 14 (84), pp. 659[ndash]660. In this unsigned two-page comment, Wright introduces evidence of the 'geographical instinct' of writers who have 'trained themselves to visualize even more clearly than the professional geographer those regional elements of the earth's surface most significant to the general run of humanity'. 2. Salter, C. L., and Lloyd, W. J. (1977). Landscape in literature. Resource Papers for College Geography 76-3. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. Concentrating on the use of literary texts in the geography classroom, this focuses on how 'signatures of the cultural landscape' are made visible in fictional settings: the aim is to 'see patterns more clearly in literature and landscape' in order to appreciate 'how completely mankind has been responsible for the form of the world we live in'. 3. Tuan, Y.-F. (1978). Literature and geography: implications for geographical research. In: Ley, D., & Samuels, M. S. (eds) Humanistic geography. Chicago: Maaroufa Press, pp. 194[ndash]206. Tuan argues that 'literary art serves the geographer in three principal ways': (i) as 'a thought experiment' suggesting topics of study; (ii) as an artefact in the history of ideas; (iii) as a model for geographical work that balances the subjective and the objective. 4. Thrift, N. (1978). Landscape and literature. Letters to the editor. Environment and Planning A 10, pp. 347[ndash]349. In this response to Salter and Lloyd's Landscape in literature, Thrift characterizes the practice of working with chunks of decontextualized landscape description as a form of 'stamp collecting'. 5. Barrell, J. (1982). Geographies of Hardy's Wessex. Journal of Historical Geography 8, pp. 347[ndash]361. This article focuses on the way in which Hardy's narrative method manages to hold irreconcilable spatial 'modes of knowing' in tension in the juxtaposition of various narrative voices and in the projection of an impossibly complex implied reader. 6. Silk, J. (1984). Beyond geography and literature. Environment and Planning D 2, pp. 151[ndash]178. Silk argues for a materialist analysis as a challenge to bourgeois ideology, recommending feminism, regionalism, separatism, nationalism, and landscape or environmental appreciation as appropriate research themes for literary geography. 7. Mallory, W. E. and Simpson-Housley, P. (1987). Geography and literature: a meeting of the disciplines. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press. This collection, which includes essays by geographers, literary critics and literary authors, sets out to 'bridge the gap between the geographer's factual descriptions and the writer's flights of imagination'. The introductory essay by J.W. Miller makes the case for a regionalist approach to literary geography. 8. Pocock, D. C. D. (1988). Geography and literature. Progress in Human Geography 12 (1), pp. 87[ndash]102. Pocock characterises geography's 'interface with literature' as having two main dimensions: (i) 'substantive or data-seeking' and (ii) 'methodological or philosophical'. He distinguishes geographical contributions to literary criticism from the work of the 'geographer qua geographer', which he argues should focus not on particular authors but on the study of 'an area, topic or people'. 9. Brosseau, M. (1994). Geography's literature. Progress in Human Geography 18, pp. 333[ndash]353. Brosseau builds on a review of 'how literature was integrated into the broader intellectual agenda of geographers' to argue that literary geography has been characterised by 'the partial silencing of the literary text as a text'. He calls for more attention to be paid to the ways in which texts generate 'norms, particular models of readibility, that produce a particular kind of geography'. 10. Sharp, J. (2000). Towards a critical analysis of fictive geographies. Area 32 (3), pp. 327[ndash]334. Although acknowledging the difficulties of assessing the ways in which non-specialist audiences actually read and respond to fiction, Sharp emphasises the need to include studies of reception, consumption and social impact as well as interpretative criticism in literary geography. For comparative cross-disciplinary purposes, see for example: Blair, S. (1998). Cultural geography and the place of the literary. American Literary History 10 (3), pp. 545[ndash]567. Thacker, A. (2005[ndash]2006). The idea of a critical literary geography. New Formations 57, pp. 145[ndash]149. Jones, E. (2008). Literature and the new cultural geography. Anglia: Zeitschrift fur Englische Philologie 126 (2), pp. 221[ndash]240. This syllabus is designed to suggest ways in which geographers might make productive connections between spatial theory and fiction. The goal is to read fiction spatially, building on ideas suggested by existing studies in geography and literary studies. Focus: Where does fiction happen? Reading: (1) McGurl, M. (1999). Social geometries: taking place in Henry James. Representations (68), pp. 59[ndash]83. (2) Abbott, E. A. Flatland: a romance of many dimensions. (1884). In: multiple editions, including Stewart, I. (ed. and intro) The annotated Flatland (2002). New York: Basic Books. Gibson, W. (1985). 'Johnny Mnemonic'. In Gibson, W. (2000) Burning chrome and other stories. London: Voyager. Practice: Where do the events in Flatland and 'Johnny Mnemonic' take place? Do either of these stories have 'a setting'? Focus: How real are fictional settings? In what ways are real places fictional? Reading: (1) Crang, M. (2003). Placing Jane Austen, displacing England: touring between book, history and nation. In: Pucci, S.R. & Thompson, J. (eds) Jane Austen and Co. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, pp. 111[ndash]130. Henderson, G. L. (1999). California & the fictions of capital. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, Introduction, pp. ix[ndash]xix; Chapter 4, pp. 123[ndash]49. Tuan, Y.-F. (1985). The landscapes of Sherlock Holmes. Journal of Geography 84 (2), pp. 56[ndash]60. (2) Conan Doyle, A. 'The adventure of the empty house' (1903) first US publication: Collier's, September 26, 1903; first UK publication: Strand Magazine, October 1903. Practice: Visit the website for the Sherlock Holmes museum supposedly located on the site of 221B Baker St, London (or visit the museum itself). Was this visit to the invented 'real' setting mediated by your reading? Has your reading been influenced by this visit? Focus: The networked text: issues of editing, publication and revision. Reading: (1) Horne, P. (1998). Henry James at work: the question of our texts. In: Freedman, J. (ed.) The Cambridge companion to Henry James. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. McWhirter, D. (1995). The whole chain of relation and responsibility: Henry James and the New York Edition. In: McWhirter, D. (ed.) Henry James's New York Edition: The construction of authorship. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Practice: What do the histories of the publication, revision and editing processes involved in James's work add to our understanding of its geographies? In what different senses can 'the text' be located? Focus: Geographies 'in' fiction and geographies 'of' fiction. Reading: (1) Brady, M. P. (1999). The contrapuntal geographies of Woman Hollering Creek and other stories. American Literature 71 (1), pp. 117[ndash]150. Brosseau, M. (1995). The city in textual form: Manhattan Transfer's New York. Ecumene 2, pp. 89[ndash]114. (2) Cisneros, S. (1991). Woman Hollering Creek and other stories. New York: Random House. Practice: How does the Cisneros story 'Mericans' enact the socio-spatial complexity of Mexico City in its form (narrative style) as well as in its content (narrative action)? Focus: Geographies of fantastic fiction: writing the unwritable. Reading: (1) Kneale, J. (2006). From beyond: H. P. Lovecraft and the place of horror. Cultural Geographies 13 (1), pp. 106[ndash]126. (2) Lovecraft, H. P. (1925). The Unnamable. In: Joshi, S. T. (ed.) The dreams in the witch house and other weird stories. London: Penguin, pp. 82[ndash]89. Practice: Thinking about the limits of representation and the challenge of 'writing the unwritable', compare 'The Unnamable' with 'Burning Chrome' and with the first chapter of Flatland. Focus: Distinguishing between different voices in the text: author, authorial persona, narrators, 'centres of consciouness'. Reading: (1) Hones, S. (1993). The landscape according to whom? Place and point of view in Willa Cather's 'A Wagner Matinée. Keisen Jogakuen College Bulletin 5, pp. 109[ndash]131. (2) Cather, Willa. (1905). A Wagner Matinée. In: O'Brien, S. (ed.) Willa Cather: early novels and stories. New York: Library of America, pp. 102[ndash]110. Practice: Describe the 'I' voice in the story 'Never Marry a Mexican' from Woman Hollering Creek. In what ways would you distinguish the narrator from the author in this story? In what ways can this distinction be understood spatially? Focus: Distinguishing between different kinds of readers: 'intended', 'ideal', 'implied' and 'resisting'. Reading: (1) Barnett, C. (1996). 'A Choice of nightmares': narration and desire. Heart of Darkness. Gender, Place and Culture 3 (3), pp. 277[ndash]292. Barrell, J. (1982). Geographies of Hardy's Wessex. Journal of Historical Geography 8, pp. 347[ndash]361. Practice: What kinds of readers, inhabiting what kind of spaces, would you associate with the story 'Never Marry a Mexican'? Do you experience any kind of resistance in reading this story? Do you experience a sense of distance from the 'I' voice? Focus: Sharing readings in social contexts. Reading: (1) Kneale, J. (1999). The virtual realities of technology and fiction: reading William Gibson's Cyberspace. In: Crang, M., Crang, P. and May, J. (eds) Virtual geographies. London and New York: Routledge, pp. 205[ndash]221. Torsney, C. B. (2000). 'We are family'? The immaterial community of the James family discussion list. Henry James Review 21, pp. 298[ndash]304. (2) Gibson, W. (1985). Burning chrome. In: William Gibson (2000) Burning chrome and other stories. London: Voyager. Practice: Prepare 2 sets of comments on 'Burning Chrome': (1) for an informal reading group and (2) for an academic seminar on geographies of cyberspace. Discuss the key differences between the two sets of comments. Focus: Relationships between texts, and between writing and reading Reading: (1) Surgeoner, J. C. (2007). A feminist literary cartography of the Canadian North: women, writing and place in Aritha van Herk's Places far from Ellesmere. Gender, Place and Culture. 14 (6), pp. 641[ndash]658. (2) Crane, S. (1898). The bride comes to yellow sky. Repr. In: Scharnhorst, G. (2005) (ed.) The Red badge of courage and other stories. New York: Penguin Books, pp. 151[ndash]165. Veenendaal, C. (1973). On my fourteenth wedding anniversary I ride on trains, Repr. In: Hedin, R. (1996) (ed.) The great machines: poems and songs of the American railroad. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, pp. 173[ndash]174. Practice: What's spatial about intertextuality? Identify exactly what the poet has changed or cut in her use of the quotation from the story. Would you be able to make sense of the poem without reading the story? Does your reading of the poem add to your reading of the story? Focus: Disciplinarity and the challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration. Reading: (1) Ogborn, M. (2005[ndash]2006). Mapping words. New Formations 57, pp. 145[ndash]149. (2) Phillips, R. (1997). Introduction, Mapping men and empire: a geography of adventure. London: Routledge, pp. 1[ndash]21. Thacker, A. (2003). Chapter I: Theorising space and place in modernism. In: Moving through modernity: space and geography in modernism. Manchester: Manchester UP, pp. 13[ndash]45. Practice: What's spatial about disciplinarity? Do the two book chapters seem to locate themselves in different academic spaces? Do they seem to be addressing different 'implied readers'?

Ancient Greek Accentuation in Generative Phonology and Optimality Theory

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:23:00 -0800

Ancient Greek had a complex accentuation system in which phonological factors interacted with the morphology and lexicon. This system has become important in the debate over whether a phonological theory should operate with derivations or constraints, or a combination of the two. This study surveys recent analyses of the Ancient Greek accentuation system in Generative Phonology and Optimality Theory, and challenges these analyses with some additional data.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Political Elites and the Culture of Social Movements

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:52:00 -0700

While sociologists have paid a great deal of attention to how political elites matter for the emergence and development of social movements, they have focused less explicitly on how political elites matter for the culture of social movements. Considering the amount of attention paid to culture in the field of social movements, this issue is an important one to address. This essay reviews work that directly and indirectly addresses this relationship, showing how political elites matter for various aspects of movement culture, like collective identity and framing. It also reviews literature that suggests how movement culture comes to impact political elites. The essay concludes by drawing from very recent scholarship to argue that to best understand political elites and the culture of social movements, we need to think about culture and structure as intertwined and to understand how relations matters in the construction of meaning. Armstrong, Elizabeth, and Mary Bernstein 2008. 'Culture, Power and Institutions: A Multi-Institutional Politics Approach to Social Movements.'Sociological Theory 26(1): 74[ndash]99. This is a very recently published article that advances a fairly complex understanding of the relationship between culture, power, and institutions. The authors conceptualize social movements as phenomena that emerge in a society where power is distributed, enacted, and challenged across multiple institutional contexts. While they review a range of empirical cases to illustrate their concerns about the power of the political process model, they largely focus on gay and lesbian activism to illustrate the application of their 'multi-institutional politics approach'. Davenport, Christian 2005. 'Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.'Journal of Conflict Resolution. 49(1):120[ndash]40. Davenport's article is a good place to think about how cultural aspects of social movements impact repression. He examines how covert intelligence-gathering activities were directed against the Republic of New Africa, a Black Nationalist organization, in Detroit, Michigan and finds that the racial identity of the challengers was a significant factor in determining who was targeted. Importantly, he shows how the identity of groups, along with their strategy and goals, affect the way they are perceived and treated by political elites. Johnston, Hank and Bert Klandermans 1995. Social Movements and Culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. This volume remains one of the best edited collections of readings on the relationship of social movements and culture. Top scholars in the field of social movements review the conceptualization of culture in movement studies, cultural processes in movements, and methods for studying culture and collective action. Laraňa Enrique, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield, eds. 1994. New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. This is an important edited volume in which leading scholars in the field present both case study of movements (for example, of the women's movement and student movements) and theoretical and conceptual assessments of the role of culture and identity in movements. McCammon Holly J., Karen E. Campbell, Ellen M. Granberg, and Christine Mowery. 2007. 'Movement Framing and Discursive Opportunity Structures: The Political Successes of the U.S. Women's Jury Movements.'American Sociological Review 72: 725[ndash]49. McCammon and her co-authors examine factors that explain activists' state-level success in winning women the legal right to serve on juries. One of their key findings is that activists' use of particular frames was more successful when those frames resonated with the current state of legal discourse. In other words, to win, activists must advance claims that resonate with discourse established by political elites. Meyer David S., Nancy Whittier, and Belinda Robnett, eds. 2002. Social Movements: Identity, Culture and the State. New York: Oxford University Press. This is another excellent edited volume that offers essays by leading scholars on the relationship between identity, culture, and the state. Meyer's introduction is particularly useful for the topic at hand, as he points out the ways that state action and polities often create the basis for a challenging group's collective identity. Polletta, Francesca. 1998. 'Legacies and Liabilities of an Insurgent Past.'Social Science History 22(4): 479[ndash]512. In this article, Polletta examines the different ways in which members of the United States Congress commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr., and finds that they most often emphasize King's legacy of community service and institutional politics over disruptive insurgency. For black legislators, however, the story is more complicated, as they must also carefully caution that King's legacy has not been fully realized. Polletta shows that how the culture of movements gets integrated into the discourse of elites is shaped by how elites are situated in a network of relationships[mdash]with other elites, with their own social groups, and with challengers. Social Movementsand Culture http://www.wsu.edu/~amerstu/smc/smcframe.html Sponsored by the American Studies program at Washington State University, this site provides great links to bibliographies, movement websites, and other resources. Speech Prepared for March on Washington, 1963 http://www.crmvet.org/info/mowjl.htm Read the text of Congressman John Lewis' speech at the March on Washington, referred to at the beginning of the article. Sociology Eye http://sociologycompass.wordpress.com/ This website, associated with Sociology Compass, is a great site for thinking about how a range of contemporary issues are sociologically important. Check it out to look for posts related to social movements, culture, and political elites. Though a post may not directly seem to address the issue, oftentimes you can think about the ways in which a discussed subject implicitly tells you something about how the three things relate. Below I provide suggestions for topics and readings that might be assigned in a range of courses, including: a general social movements course, a course focused on social movement culture, or a sociology of culture course with a unit on social movements. McAdam, Doug 1994. 'Culture and Social Movements.' Pp. 36[ndash]57 in New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity, edited by Enrique Laraňa, Hank Johnston, and Joseph R. Gusfield. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Swidler, Ann. 1995. 'Cultural Power and Social Movements.' Pp. 25[ndash]40 in Social Movements and Culture, edited by Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Snow, David A., E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Steven K. Worden, and Robert D. Benford 1986. 'Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation.'American Sociological Review 51: 464[ndash]81. Williams, Rhys H. 2004. 'The Cultural Contexts of Collective Action: Constraints, Opportunities, and the Symbolic Life of Social Movements.' Pp. 91[ndash]115 in The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, edited by David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Gamson, William 1988. 'Political Discourse and Collective Action.' Pp. 219[ndash]144 in International Social Movement Research, vol. 1, edited by Bert Klandermans, Hanspeter Kreisi, and Sidney Tarrow. Greenwich, CT: JAI. Kriesi, Hanspeter 2004. 'Political Context and Opportunity.' Pp. 67[ndash]90 in The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, edited by David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. McCarthy, John D. and Mayer N. Zald 1977. 'Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory.'American Journal of Sociology 82:1212[ndash]1241. Meyer, David S. 2002. 'Opportunities and Identities: Bridge-Building in the Study of Social Movements.' Pp. 3[ndash]21 in Social Movements: Identity, Culture and the State, edited by David S. Meyer, Nancy Whittier, and Belinda Robnett. New York: Oxford University Press. Rucht, Dieter 2005. 'Movement Allies, Adversaries, and Third Parties.' Pp. 197[ndash]261 in The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, edited by David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Armstrong, Elizabeth, and Mary Bernstein 2008. 'Culture, Power and Institutions: A Multi-Institutional Politics Approach to Social Movements.'Sociological Theory 26(1): 74[ndash]99. Fantasia, Rick and Eric L. Hirsch 1995. 'Culture in Rebellion: The Appropriation and Transformation of the Veil in the Algerian Revolution.' Pp. 144- 159 in Social Movements and Culture, edited by Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Irons, Jenny 2009. 'Political Elites and the Culture of Social Movements.'Sociology Compass 3/3: 459[ndash]74. McCammon, Holly J., Karen E. Campbell, Ellen M. Granberg, and Christine Mowery 2007. 'Movement Framing and Discursive Opportunity Structures: The Political Successes of the U.S. Women's Jury Movements.'American Sociological Review 72: 725[ndash]49. Polletta, Francesca 1998. 'Legacies and Liabilities of an Insurgent Past.'Social Science History 22(4): 479[ndash]512. Skrentny, John 2006. 'Policy-Elite Perceptions and Social Movement Success: Understanding Variations in Group Inclusion in Affirmative Action.'American Journal of Sociology 111(6):1762[ndash]1815. Boudreau, Vincent 2002. 'State Repression and Democracy Protest in Three Southeast Asian Countries.' Pp. 28[ndash]46 in Social Movements: Identity, Culture and the State, edited by David S. Meyer, Nancy Whittier, and Belinda Robnett. New York: Oxford University Press. Cunningham, David 2004. There's Something Happening Here: The New Left, The Klan, and FBI Counterintelligence. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Cunningham, David and Barb Browing 2004. 'The Emergence of Worthy Targets: Official Frames and Deviance Narratives Within the FBI.'Sociological Forum 19(3):347[ndash]369. Davenport, Christian 2005. 'Understanding Covert Repressive Action: The Case of the U.S. Government against the Republic of New Africa.'Journal of Conflict Resolution 49 (1):120[ndash]140. Noonan, Rita K. 1995. 'Women Against the State: Political Opportunities and Collective Action Frames in Chile's Transition to Democracy.'Sociological Forum 10: 81[ndash]111. In what ways do political elites matter for the development of a social movement's culture[mdash]in terms of the development of movement frames, discourse, and collective identity? (You might focus on a particular movement to address this question) How do those same aspects of a movement's culture impact political elites? Can you think of examples in which we can see elites reflecting meaning produced by social movements? What do you think are the most effective ways that social movements can impact political elites on a cultural level? What factors shape the relationship between movement cultures and political elites? What do you think are the best ways to conceptualize "political elites" and "social movement culture"?

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Cultural Approaches to Understanding School Violence

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:52:00 -0700

Although criminologists have long dominated the field of school violence research, there has been a growing body of research by cultural sociologists in this area as well. In many ways, a cultural approach to understanding school violence has taken school violence beyond the realm of just criminal and physical acts of violence. These scholars have begun to examine verbal, emotional, sexual, and racial expressions violence, as well as violence that is perpetuated by institutions, what Bourdieu has called symbolic violence. Courses that take this perspective explore how cultural concepts, or what Swidler calls a 'cultural toolkit', can be used as a lens for analyzing the experiences and practices of school violence. This can include, for example, an examination of how the dominant American ideology of meritocracy and competition can foster fights between middle school students, or how a feminine identity might push girls to be relationally aggressive towards each other rather than physically aggressive. In this regard, cultural sociology broadens our understanding of what constitutes school violence to uncover a wide spectrum of behaviors, attitudes and beliefs that may indeed lead to more overt expressions of violence. In doing so, a cultural approach can also help educators rethink discipline policies that have been created to resolve this social problem. Swidler, Ann 1986. 'Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.'American Sociological Review51: 273[ndash]86. Swidler's concept of a cultural toolkit provides a strong foundation for any cultural sociology course. Swidler defines a cultural toolkit as the symbols, stories, rituals, beliefs, ideologies and practices of daily life through which people use to shape their behavior. This paper presents a broad understanding of culture, which Swidler argues is not a unified system, but rather a set of complex and changing concepts from which we select different pieces from in order to construct different strategies of actions. When considering cultural approaches to school violence, it is useful to consider this broad definition of culture. Henry, Stuart 2000. 'What is School Violence? An Integrated Definition.'Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science567: 16[ndash]30. Henry provides a definition of school violence that transcends physical violence and interpersonal violence between students to include psychological, emotional, ethical and moral violence that occurs not only between students, but also includes harm committed by teachers and organizations against students. This latter form of harm can include tracking, school security, sexual harassment, or essentially anything that hinders the creativity, learning and academic success of a student. Henry argues that school violence must include symbolic violence, which he defines as the use of authority, power, and coercion to dominate an individual or group of people. Ferguson, Ann Arnett 2000. Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Ferguson builds on Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence and Foucault's theory of disciplinary power to examine an intervention program for 'at-risk' students, which was comprised of mainly 5th and 6th grade African-American males. Her ethnography provides a great example of the benefit of using a cultural approach to studying violence, discipline and punishment in schools. For example, Ferguson argues that fighting among boys should be seen as a symbolic expression of masculinity and a space for boys to do emotional work, as well as a site for the production of power and a form of resistance to authority. Her work also explores how teachers and administrators can enact a form of symbolic violence onto students. She observed how the cultural behaviors of African-American boys, for example, their use of Black English, was often translated by the teachers as 'problem behavior' and resulted in their label of 'Troublemaker'. Such labels often condemned the boys to the bottom rung of the social order and negatively impacted their academic success. Spina, Stephanie Urso, ed. 2000. Smoke and Mirrors: The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society. New York, NY: Rowan and Littlefield. This edited collection examines school violence as a complicated and multi-faceted phenomenon, exploring how political, economic, ideological and discursive practices contribute to school violence. This interdisciplinary book includes chapters from Donna Gaines, Henry Giroux, Peter McLaren, Stanley Aronowitz, and Paulo Freire and Donald Macedo. The authors expand the definition of violence by arguing that youth violence, adult violence and societal violence are all intricately connected, and therefore prevention of school violence would requires educators to move beyond reform that only takes place in the school system. Instead, violence prevention needs to implore a broader strategy for change that includes schools, families, communities, and beyond. Brown, Lyn Mikel 2003. Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection among Girls. New York, NY: New York University Press. Mikel Brown conducted qualitative interviews with more than 400 girls from first grade through high school who were from different economic, racial and geographic backgrounds. She begins the book by analyzing the cultural messages that girls receive in the media; messages and images that she argues provide girls with a context for fighting among their peers. She draws on Paulo Freire's notion of horizontal violence to look at how girls' meanness to other girls is a result of their struggle to make sense of gender-saturated images of beauty and heterosexuality that often reinforce their subordinate status in the world. Girlfighting then becomes an avenue to power for young girls in a culture that is rife with sexism. Unlike many other recent books on relational aggression among girls, Mikel Brown interrogates the complicated intersections of race, ethnicity, and class as it relates to girlfighting. Casella, Ronnie 2001. 'Being Down': Challenging Violence in Urban Schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Casella's ethnography of Brandon High School, a small city school in a diverse neighborhood in upstate New York, takes a cultural-ecological approach to school violence, capturing systemic, interpersonal and hidden forms of violence. He provides a thoughtful critique of intervention strategies that have been created to deal with school violence, such as peer mediation programs, the use of police officers in the hallways, and D.A.R.E. programs, because these programs only address individual acts of violence and do not account for the realities of urban environments, prejudice, economic injustice and poverty that underlie and contribute to school violence. Merten, Don E. 1994. 'The Cultural Context of Aggression: The Transition to Junior High School.'Anthropology and Education Quarterly25(1): 29[ndash]43. Don Merten has published several articles that provide a useful framework for examining aggressive behavior from a cultural standpoint. The data from this article come from a larger ethnographic project of predominantly middle class students in a suburban area who recently transitioned from elementary to junior high school. Merten argues that middle class culture promotes and celebrates individualism, success and hierarchy, which in turn creates a culture that promotes aggressive behavior among students, because students learn that meanness can be an easy avenue for gaining power and status in the hierarchy of cliques in schools. Morris, Edward 2005. '"Tuck in that Shirt!" Race, Class, Gender and Discipline in an Urban School.'Sociological Perspectives48(1): 25[ndash]48. Morris draws on Bourdieu's classic reproduction theory to look at the relationship between cultural capital and bodily discipline as it relates specifically to clothing styles and manners. This article is based on an ethnographic study of an urban middle school in Texas that recently enlisted a 'Standard Mode of Dress' uniform policy. The regulation of dress became a constant source of conflict between the students and staff at the school, but had the most punitive effect on poor and racially ethnic minority students, whose cultural styles tended to be negatively stereotyped by the teachers. These students were more likely to punished for violating the policy, even though all social class and racial groups, to some degree, violated the policy. This harsher punishment engendered resistance and alienation among the minority students, which Morris argues had the potential of pushing these students away from school, further reproducing the very inequalities that the school was trying to change. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/crimeindicators2008/ The National Center for Education Statistics puts out an annual report on indicators of School Crime and Safety. The indicators in this report are based on information drawn from a variety of data sources, including national surveys of students, teachers, and principals. The report covers not just overt forms of school violence, such as bringing a weapon to school, fighting, and teacher injuries, but also covers bullying, victimization, student perceptions of school safety, and availability and use of drugs and alcohol. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/index.htm The Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System is a school-based survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey is conducted every 2 years and provides a representative sample of 9th through 12th graders in public and private schools in the United States. The YRBSS asks a wide variety of questions, but most relevant to school violence include self-reported responses about behaviors that might lead to unintentional injuries and violence, such as carrying a weapon to school, being threatened by a weapon or being in a fight on school grounds. These data serve a useful comparison between student self-reporting of violent behavior and school reporting of incidents of school violence. http://www.sshs.samhsa.gov/default.aspx The Safe Schools/Healthy Students website is a federal initiative by the U.S. Departments of Education, Justice, and Health and Human Services. It provides many useful resources, including links federal reports on school safety, a list of related websites, and video podcast discussions of school violence that can be used in the classroom. http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2001/uslgbt/toc.htm 'Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in U.S. Schools' is a report conducted by the Human Rights Watch. Data consists of interviews with 140 students, ages 12[ndash]21, and 130 parents, teachers, administrators and counselors across seven states, in every region of the U.S. The findings discuss a broad spectrum of violent behavior, including verbal harassment, homophobia, and physical violence. It can be useful for classroom discussion because each finding section of the report includes a 'case study' of one of the participants with direct quotes from their interview. http://www.aauw.org/research/hostile.cfm 'Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing and Sexual Harassment in School' is a national report conducted by American Association of University Women on 8th to 11th grade students. The study found that 8 in 10 students experienced some form of harassment during their time in school. Both the executive summary and entire report are available to download on the website. Defining Culture Swidler, Ann 1986. 'Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies.'American Sociological Review 51: 273[ndash]86. Jepperson, Ronald and Ann Swidler 1994. 'What Properties of Culture Should We Measure?'Poetics 22: 359[ndash]71. Cultural Capital and Symbolic Violence Bourdieu, Pierre and Jean-Claude Passeron 1977. Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture. London: Sage. Lareau, Annette, and Elliott B. Weininger 2003. 'Cultural Capital in Educational Research: A Critical Assessment.'Theory and Society 32: 567[ndash]606. Reproduction Theory MacLeod, Jay 1987. Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood. Oxford: Westview Press. Read Chapter 2, 'Social Reproduction in Theoretical Perspective.' Pp. 11[ndash]24 and Chapter 8, 'Reproduction Theory Reconsidered,' pp. 135[ndash]54. Cultural Pedagogy Giroux, Henry 2000. 'Representations of Violence, Popular Culture and Demonization of Youth.' Pp. 93[ndash]105 in Smoke and Mirrors: The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society. Edited by Stephanie Urso Spina. New York, NY: Rowan and Littlefield. Henry, Stuart 2000. 'What is School Violence? An Integrated Definition.' Annals of the American Academy of Political and social Science 567: 16[ndash]30. Watkinson, Ailsa 1997. 'Administrative Complicity and Systemic Violence in Education.' Pp. 3[ndash]24 in Systemic Violence in Education: Promise Broken. Edited by Juanita Ross Epp and Ailsa M. Watkinson. Albany, NY: State University of NY Press. Urso Spina, Stephanie 2000. 'Violence in Schools: Expanding the Dialogue.' Pp. 1[ndash]40 in Smoke and Mirrors: The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society. New York, NY: Rowan and Littlefield Casella, Ronnie 2001. 'What is Violent about School Violence? The Nature of Violence in a City School.' Pp. 15[ndash]46 in Preventing Violence in Schools: A Challenge to American Democracy. Edited by Joan Burstyn. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Elliott, Delbert S., Beatrix Hamburg, and Kirk R. Williams 1998. 'Violence in American Schools: An Overview.' Pp. 3[ndash]30 in Violence in American Schools. Edited by Delbert S. Elliott, Beatrix A. Hamburg, and Kirk R. Williams. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Newman, Katherine 2004. Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings. NY: Basic Books. Read Part I, Chapters 1[ndash]3, pp. 3[ndash]76. Merten, Don 1994. 'The Cultural Context of Aggression: The Transition to Junior High School.'Anthropology and Education Quarterly, v. 25 (1): 29[ndash]43. Willis, Paul 1977. Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Farnborough, England: Saxon House. Newman, Katherine 2004. Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings. NY: Basic Books. Read Part II, Chapters 4[ndash]7, pp. 77[ndash]178. MacLeod, Jay 1987. Ain't No Makin' It: Aspirations and Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood. Oxford: Westview Press. Read Chapter 6, 'School: Preparing for Competition,' pp. 83[ndash]111. Devine, John 1997. Maximum Security: The Culture of Violence in Inner-City Schools. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read Chapter 1, 'Schools or 'Schools'? Competing Discourses on Violence,' pp. 19[ndash]46. Kimmel, Michael S. and Matthew Mahler 2003. 'Adolescent Masculinity, Homophobia, and Violence.'The American Behavioral Scientist 46(10): 1439[ndash]58. Ferguson, Ann Arnett 2000. Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Read Chapter 4, 'Naughty by Nature,' pp. 77[ndash]99 and Chapter 6, 'Getting into Trouble,' pp. 163[ndash]96. Bender, Geoff 2001. 'Resisting Dominance? The Study of a Marginalized Masculinity and its Construction within High School Walls.' Pp. 61[ndash]78 in Preventing Violence in Schools: A Challenge to American Democracy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Klein, Jessi and Lynn S. Chancer 2000. 'Masculinity Matters: The Omission of Gender from High-Profile School Violence Cases.' Pp. 129[ndash]62 in Smoke and Mirrors: The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society. New York, NY: Rowan and Littlefield. Eder, Donna 1985. 'The Cycle of Popularity: Interpersonal Relations among Female Adolescents.'Sociology of Education 58(3): 154[ndash]65. Merten, Don 1997. 'The Meaning of Meanness: Popularity, Competition, and Conflict Among Junior High School Girls.'Sociology of Education 70(3): 175[ndash]91. Merten, Don 2005. 'Transitions and 'Trouble': Rites of Passage for Suburban Girls.'Anthropology and Education Quarterly 36(2): 132[ndash]48. Artz, Sibylle 2004. 'Violence in the Schoolyard: School Girls' Use of Violence.' Pp. 167[ndash]90 in Girls' Violence: Myths and Realities, edited by Christine Alder and Anne Worrall. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Morris, Edward W. 2007. ''Ladies' or 'Loudies'? Perceptions and Experiences of Black Girls in Classrooms.'Youth & Society 38: 490[ndash]515. Mikel Brown, Lyn 2003. Girlfighting: Betrayal and Rejection among Girls. NY: New York University Press. Language and Symbolic Violence Ferguson, Ann Arnett 2000. Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Read Chapter 7, 'Unreasonable Circumstances,' pp. 197[ndash]226. Youth Talk about Violence Diket, Read M. and Linda G. Mucha 2002. 'Talking about Violent Images.'Art Education March: 11[ndash]7. Morrill, Calvin, Christine Yalds, Madelaine Adelman, Michael Musheno, and Cindy Bejarano 2000. 'Telling Tales in School: Youth Culture and Conflict Narratives.'Law & Society Review 34(3): 521[ndash]65. Burman, Michele 2004. 'Turbulent Talk: Girls Making Sense of Violence.' Pp. 81[ndash]103 in Girls' Violence: Myths and Realities. Edited by Christine Alder and Anne Worrall. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Obidah, Jennifer 2000. 'On Living (and Dying) with Violence: Entering Young Voices in the Discourse.' Pp. 49[ndash]66 in Smoke and Mirrors: The Hidden Context of Violence in Schools and Society. New York, NY: Rowan and Littlefield. Clothing and School Safety Debates Holloman, Lillian and Velma LaPoint, Sylvan I. Alleyne, Ruth J. Palmer, and Kathy Sanders-Phillips 1996. 'Dress-Related Behavioral Problems and Violence in Public School Settings: Prevention, Intervention, and Policy[mdash]A Holistic Approach.'The Journal of Negro Education 65(3): 267[ndash]281. Stanley, M. Sue 1996. 'School Uniforms and Safety.'Education and Urban Society 28(4): 424[ndash]35. Gereluk, Dianne 2008. 'Limiting Free Speech in the United States.' Pp. 41[ndash]64 in Symbolic Clothing in Schools: What Should Be Worn and Why. New York, NY: Continuum. Brunsma, David L., ed. 2006. Uniforms in Public Schools: A Decade of Research and Debate. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education. Clothing, School Policies and Symbolic Violence Horvat, Erin McNamara 1999. '"Hey, Those Shoes are Out of Uniform": African American Girls in an Elite High School and the Importance of Habitus.'Anthropology and Education Quarterly 30(3): 317[ndash]42. Morris, Edward 2005. '"Tuck in that Shirt!" Race, Class, Gender and Discipline in an Urban School.'Sociological Perspectives 48(1): 25[ndash]48. Ferguson, Ann Arnett 2000. Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Read Chapter 3, 'School Rules,' pp. 49[ndash]73. This Media Education Foundation film explores the relationship between popular culture and the construction of violent masculinity. Of particular relevance to this class, the film examines how the construction of masculinity relates to school shootings. The film is directed by Sut Jhally and narrated by Jackson Katz. This film could be used in the section Cultural Scripts [ndash] Masculinity. This Media Education Foundation film, written and directed by Sut Jhally, examines the relationship between professional wrestling and the construction of masculinity. The film looks at how wrestling contributes to homophobia, violence against women and bullying in school. This film could be used in the section Cultural Scripts [ndash] Masculinity. This film originally aired on PBS''In the Mix,' a television series created by and for teens. The film examines stereotyping and conflict in schools through the eyes and voices of teenagers attending a diverse suburban high school. This film could be used in the section Cultural Resources [ndash] Language. This PBS Frontline film focuses on Kip Kinkel, who in 1998, at the age of 15, shot his mother and father, and then opened fire at his school in Springfield, Oregon, killing two and injuring 25. He is currently serving 111 years in prison. The film provides an understanding of the tragedy through multiple viewpoints, including interviews with Kip's sister, teachers and psychiatrists. This film could be used in the section Broadening the Definition of School Violence. Written by Tina Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman's book, Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence, this fictional account of 'mean girls' is a film that most college students will be familiar with. Clips from the film can be used in the section Cultural Scripts[mdash]Femininity to begin a discussion about relational aggression between girls in schools. It can also be used to examine the role that racism and classism play in our public perception of violent behavior, particularly since 'mean girls' in this film tend to be constructed as white and upper class, whereas in contrast, 'violent girls' in film have historically been constructed as poor, young women of color. 1. Social Policy and Intervention. This assignment is intended to get students critically thinking about how educators approach school violence. Have students pick either a national intervention program, such as D.A.R.E., or a local school policy created to deal with school violence. Begin by analyzing how school violence is defined and what type of intervention/prevention is being proposed. Require students to use a cultural approach to understand and critique the policy. In writing the paper, students should consider the following questions. How would a cultural sociologist define violence? What types of violence are missing from this policy? How would this policy be different if it took into account a cultural approach? The book, 'Being Down': Challenging Violence in Urban Schools (2001) by Ronnie Casella provides a good background resource for completing this assignment. 2. Observation Project: Clothing and School Safety. Students will begin by gaining permission to observe at a local middle school or high school. Begin by analyzing the school policy towards clothing. Some schools might have an official uniform policy, whereas others might have policies regarding certain types of clothing (i.e. gang clothing, clothing with profanity, etc.) Next, spend several days observing students in non-classroom settings, like the hallways, cafeteria, bus or playground. Take detailed fieldnotes. Pay particular attention to the clothing that students wear, any discussion made about clothing by either students or teachers, the relationship between clothing and identity, how clothes are used as a site of resistance, and how clothes might cause conflict between students, or between students and teachers. (You may also want to informally interview students about their perception of the school's policy on clothing, how they negotiate rules about clothing, and how they see clothing policies as contributing to conflict and violence, as well as school safety.) As a class, develop a coding scheme for the fieldnotes. Each student will then individually write an analysis paper on the relationship between clothing, conflict, discipline policies, and school violence. 3. Mean Girls: Examining Relational Aggression in Schools. There has been much public attention in recent years to 'mean girls.' As a class, view the film Mean Girls during the course section, Cultural Scripts [ndash] Femininity. As a class, develop an interview guide with about six open-ended questions (i.e. What were your experiences with 'mean girls' in high school? How did you or a close friend deal with being the victim of relational aggression? To what extent did you ever participate in being a 'mean girl'? How did teachers at your school respond to relational aggression between girls?) Next, have students interview six female students using the class interview guide. Students can work individually or in groups to write a paper that compares and contrasts the social construction of mean girls in the film with the actual perceptions of mean girls from their research participants. The analysis should be grounded in the social science research that students are reading on relational aggression.

The Janus-Face of Whiteness: Toward a Cultural Sociology of White Nationalism and White Antiracism

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:51:00 -0700

While the sociological study of white identity has traversed many stages, its most recent turn emphasizes the contextual heterogeneity of whiteness. Because of this increased attention to context and locality, the study of whiteness has never been more amenable to cultural analysis than it is today. Hence, an emphasis on different white racial formations that span a political spectrum from conservative to liberal and racist to antiracist is now dominant. In this vein, white nationalists and white antiracists represent the distinct polarities of contemporary inquisitions into white identity formation. Motivated by this academic milieu, this article first reviews the common perception that whiteness is in 'crisis' and polarizing into antagonistic political projects. Second, the article scans the literature on white nationalist and white antiracist groups, making explicit the relation to cultural theory. Third, the article questions why these two groups are consistently juxtaposed against one another and how such a conceptualization hinders, rather than advances, cultural analysis. Fourth and last, the article advanced a cultural sociological framework for understanding white racial identity formation that neither collapses white identities into a monolithic collective nor reifies white formations as a static typology. Such an approach considers the general processes and contexts which produce 'whiteness' and give it meaning, as well as illuminates the social relationships and practices in which white racial identity formations become embedded.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Transnational Crime and Transnational Policing

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:51:00 -0700

Issues surrounding what has variously been defined as 'global', 'international' or 'transnational' forms of 'organized crime' are a frequent staple of globalization crisis talk and are frequently used to justify the emergence and elaboration of transnational policing capacities. How well does this functional explanation account for these related sets of phenomena? What are the particular organizational and institutional characteristics of transnational policing institutions? What counts as transnational organised crime? How does the apparent dialectic between transnational organised crime and transnational policing relate to broader issues of global governance? How do the practices of transnational policing relate to the structure of global society more generally? Sociological questions about global crime and policing turn out to be fundamental questions about the nature of the world system. Sheptycki, J. (ed.) 2000. Issues in Transnational Policing. London: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-19260-9. This pioneering book opened up the sociology of transnational policing. The book contains chapters by leading scholars in the sociology of policing and is the first to consider the consequences of globalization specific to the institutions of policing. Chapters consider a number of important emerging issues in relation to transnational policing. The introduction attends to the definitions of the book's central terms: 'policing' and 'transnational'. It also provides a typology relating to the field of policing that has had major implications for the understanding of policing accountability under transnational conditions. The first chapter, by Les Johnston, considers the emergence of transnational private security, by mapping the global security market. Chapter two, by Jean-Paul Brodeur, provides empirical insights into the workings of legal due process in complex transnational criminal enquiries raising questions about the accountability structures in the coming 'age of transnational high policing'. Chapter three, by Didier Bigo, traces the emergence of liaison officer networks across the European policing field. Frank Gregory charts the historical rise of private criminality as a matter of international concern in chapter four, while James Sheptycki undertakes a descriptive analysis of the global system for policing money in chapter five. In chapter six, Peter Manning considers various aspects of policing and technology under conditions of transnationalisation, paying some considerable attention to the policing of 'new social spaces'[ndash] that is the rise of so-called 'cyberspace'. Chapter seven, by James Sheptycki, is a concluding chapter which considers the historical case of the 'international war on drugs' held to be the 'paradigm example of transnational policing'. Sheptycki, J. and A. Wardak (eds) 2004. Transnational and Comparative Criminology. London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-904385-05-9. This book advocates that contemporary criminology be both transnational and comparative. The introduction describes the field of criminology by placing it in a global context. One key question is how academic criminologists can cope with the difficulties of cultural relativism in fostering a comparative and transnational view of the field. The book is broken into four sections. In the first, a variety of comparative studies are considered. Difficulties in measuring trends in comparative crime statistics across national jurisdictions, techniques for doing so and the interpretation of such data are all considered. The use of qualitative data in comparative studies is also considered. The authors advocate the combination of different types of data in a 'second best' approach to the interpretation of transnational and other types of crime. In the second section, a variety of 'area studies' are considered. These are: West Africa, Southern Africa, Singapore, China and Saudi Arabia. These chapters each offer extended transnational and comparative treatment of issues of crime, crime definition and crime control in their respective regions. Section 3 deals with specific transnational crime control issues that have been identified. Four separate chapters consider transnational organized crime, transnational white collar crime, transnational corruption in the EU and international sex-trafficking in the EU. The final section considers transnational control responses to transnational crime and the book concludes with a chapter on reflexivity in the academic study of crime, crime definition and crime control. Goldsmith, A. and J. Sheptycki (eds) 2007. Crafting Transnational Policing. Oxford: Hart Publishing, ISBN-10: 1841137766. The notion that police around the world share a distinctive outlook has been established, as has the assumption that police must co-operate internationally if they are to respond effectively to the crime and insecurity associated with the transnational condition. Yet the possibility of developing a genuinely transnational policecraft seems negligible. It is possible to discuss in ideal terms such notions as transnational ethics, global social justice and the like but what, practically speaking, could be meant by a transnational constabulary ethic? Arguably, the situated nature of policing means that there is no such thing as a common transnational policecraft and hence no possibility of an overarching ethic for the constabulary. Liberal democratic theories of policing are also ill-adapted to the global conditions that are the consequence of prevailing neo-liberal governmental logics. This book presents a collection of essays that are the results of a workshop at the Onati Institute for the Sociology of Law entitled: Transnational Policing and the Constabulary Ethic. It provides descriptive accounts of transnational policing in a variety of regional settings around the world but grounds the analysis in debates about what would constitute good policing under transnational conditions. Sheptycki, J. 2008. 'Transnationalism, Orientalism and Crime.'Asian Journal of Criminology, 3: 13[ndash]35. DOI: 10.1007/s11417-008-9049-0 The article asks the question: how applicable are European and North American criminological theories to the situation in Asia? It takes a transnational and comparative perspective in relating contemporary and historical trends in crime, crime definition and crime control in a variety of Asian countries that comprise the so-called Confucian sphere. It provides a criminological critique of the 'Asian values debate' and, through an analysis of trends in crime, crime definition and crime control in China and Japan, of organised crime across the region, as well as selected examples of state-organised crime, seeks to provide a perspective on the developing criminological discourses of 'the Orient'. The paper argues that, although cultural aspects are important and interesting in understanding the crime situation in the region, ultimately it is changes in politics and governance, economy and society that are most efficacious in explaining current criminological trends and developments. Sheptycki, J. 2007. 'High Policing in the Security Control Society.'Policing 1(1): 70[ndash]9, Oxford University Press. This article considers the nature and practice of high policing in the security control society. It looks at the effects of the new information technologies on the organization of policing[ndash]intelligence and argues that a number of 'organizational pathologies' have arisen that make the functioning of security intelligence processes in high policing deeply problematic. The article also looks at the changing context of policing and argues that the circuits of the security[ndash]intelligence apparatus are woven into, and help to compose, the panic scenes of the security control society. Seen this way, the habits of high policing are not the governance of crisis, but rather governance through crisis. An alternative paradigm is suggested, viz. the human security paradigm, and the paper concludes that, unless senior ranking policing officers [ndash] the police intelligentsia'[ndash] adopt new ways of thinking, the already existing organizational pathologies of the security[ndash]intelligence system are likely to continue undermining efforts at fostering security. Sheptycki, J. 2007. 'Criminology and the Transnational Condition: A Contribution to International Political Sociology.'International Political Sociology 1: 391[ndash]405. This article contributes to international political sociology and the further enhancement of the interdisciplinary study of the global system by introducing the vocabulary of critical criminology into the discourse. It suggests that the contemporary global system is ripe with existential anxieties that are symptoms of momentous historical change and it argues that, for good or for ill, issues of crime definition and control have become central to the transnational condition. As a consequence, criminological theories should be introduced into theoretical discussions about the nature of the contemporary global scene. Such conceptual thinking is vital, given the centrality of the language of criminal threats in the language of global governance and the language of governance globally. The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces http://www.dcaf.ch/ Small Arms Survey http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/ One World Trust http://www.oneworldtrust.org/ Open Society Institute http://www.soros.org/ The Jack and Mae Nathanson Centre on transnational human rights, crime and security http://nathanson.osgoode.yorku.ca/ The drug policy alliance network http://www.drugpolicy.org/homepage.cfm The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index190EN.html The Environmental Investigation Agency http://www.eia-international.org/ Corporate Watch http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/ I Introduction and overview Definitions, problems and issues: What is policing? What is crime? What do the terms internationalisation, globalisation and transnationalisation refer to? What consequences follow from a world-system without world policing? Outside reading: Castells, M. The Rise of the Network Society, Cambridge, MA: Blackwell (1996). Held, D., A. McGrew, D. Goldblatt and J. Perraon 1999. The Global Transformations Reader. Cambridge: Polity Press. Held, D. 2003. Cosmopolitanism, a Defence. Cambridge: Polity. Sklair, L. 2001. The Transnational Capitalist Class. Oxford: Blackwell. II Issues in comparative criminology What is crime and how to academic criminologists study in comparative perspective? The use and abuse of statistics in understanding crime cross-nationally, cross-culturally and cross-jurisdictionally. The uses of qualitative data in interpreting problems in comparative criminology. The comparative study of crime and the emerging world system. Outside reading: Hofstede, Geert 2001. Culture's Consequences, Comparing Values, Behaviours, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations. Beverly Hills: Sage. Reichel, P. 2007. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems, a Topic Approach. Harlow: Pearson Education. III Issues in transnational criminology What is transnational about transnational crime? How are transnational crime problems defined and prioritized? How are transnational crime problems measured and evaluated? What do we know about the various types of transnational crime? Outside reading: Beare, M. 2004. Critical Reflections on Transnational Organized Crime, Money Laundering and Corruption. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Edwards, A. and P. Gill 2004. Transnational Organised Crime; Perspectives on Global Security. London: Routledge. Reichel, P. 2005. Handbook of Transnational Crime and Justice. London: Sage. IV Issues in transnational policing Who are the transnational police? What is Interpol? What do transnational police agents do? How are transnational policing priorities set? Under conditions of transnationalisation, what is the relationship between law and policing? Outside reading: Anderson, M. et al. 1995. Policing the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Andreas, P. and T. Snyder. Wall Around the West. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Andreas, P. and E. Nadelmann 2006. Policing the Globe; Criminalization and Crime Control in International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ratcliffe, J. 2004. Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence. NSW: Federation Press. What challenges do researchers interested in comparative criminology face and why? What are comparative and transnational criminology and how are they different? With reference to the contemporary period, can you think of practical elements, themes or questions that are common to both? What is transnational policing and how can it be made accountable to the global commonwealth? What are the practices that feature most prominently in transnational discourses about contemporary policing and how are these understood from a human rights, civil liberties or human security point of view? What does the study of transnational crime and policing reveal about the nature and character of the world system? Based on knowledge acquired from this course, choose a topic in transnational or comparative criminology and create a briefing portfolio. The portfolio will consist of four items: (i) three page statement of purpose; (ii) annotated bibliography; (iii) poster and presentation; and (iv) written essay. As part of the project, students should prepare a poster presentation (approx. 18"× 24") detailing the chosen topic through the display of quantitative and qualitative types of data together with key concepts, case-study vignettes, maps and pictures. Students will give an oral presentation based on their poster and create an annotated bibliography and write a short essay on their chosen topic based on the feedback they receive. Some suggested topics: comparative study of gun-homicide in two or more countries/cultures; comparative study of rape and sexual assault in two or more countries/cultures; comparative student of family violence in two or more countries/cultures; environmental organized crime; policing the global money system; policing and the global drug prohibition regime; controlling piracy on the high seas [ndash] then and now; transnational crimes of the powerful and the powerless; policing, tourism and crime; corporate crime and state crime [ndash] spot the difference.

Social Aspects of Genetic Testing Technologies

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:51:00 -0700

Since the early days of the Human Genome Project, there has been increasing social scientific research that promises to elucidate the social implications, aspects or dimensions of research on human, animal and plant genetics. This paper discusses the literature on the social aspects of different types of genetic testing technologies and their applications in the contexts of clinical medicine, biomedical research, personal and family genealogy, and criminal justice. Although there are many differences in the practices, purposes and organization of these technologies across such contexts, this paper shows that social scientists' understandings of their social aspects centers on individual and collective experiences of how genetic testing technologies operate in practice.

Art Markets, Sociology and the Emotional Art Object

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:50:00 -0700

In its current state the sociology of art markets is characterized by an externalist approach to the analysis of art value in which the art object is the repository of beliefs, judgements given to it by art market actors. However, a review of the literature on art museums poses a challenge to this externalist approach by focusing on the mutually constitutive relationship between the art object, its exhibition and museum context, and viewers. The article reviews this literature exploring the advantages of this line of research for a meaningful sociology of art markets. It will argue for the need to overcome its current externalist focus with studies of the emotional dimension of art market objects as well as of the practices of art market actors.

Documentary at a Crossroads: Reality TV and the Hybridization of Small-Screen Documentary

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:50:00 -0700

Today, as tendencies of popularization and hybridization have fundamentally redefined conventional notions of (small) screen documentary, the genre (re-)emerges as a particularly appealing topic of scholarly research. This article elaborates some of the main strands of the multifaceted debate about these ongoing developments, thereby focusing on the 'reality TV' phenomenon, which is probably the most notable, yet also most controversial embodiment of the shifting that takes place. Discussing key positions regarding the problem of labeling and definition, questions of documentary values, and ethical issues, it is argued that a comprehensive, nuanced approach based on profound conceptualizations as well as empirical research into production and reception contexts are invaluable in making an astute assessment of the popular hybrid documentary.

Teaching & Learning Guide for 'Beauty Work: Individual and Institutional Rewards, the Reproduction of Gender, and Questions of Agency'

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:50:00 -0700

Similar to race, class, and gender, the body is an important signifier that shapes identity, social processes, and life outcomes. In our article, we examine the individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals and the social stigma and discrimination experienced by the less physically attractive. This body hierarchy is tied in part to the performance of beauty work, including attempts to transform and/or manipulate one's hair, make-up, and body shape or size. We explore these beauty work practices, highlight the gendered nature of this body hierarchy, and situate these practices in debates about agency and cultural structure. Are beauty conformists 'cultural dopes' who buy into an oppressive patriarchal beauty culture that creates docile bodies? Or, are these individuals 'savvy cultural negotiators' who participate in beauty work practices to reap material and psychological rewards? Bordo, Susan. 2003. Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture & the Body. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. A series of essays that examine Western body culture, including media images, weight loss practices, reproduction, psychology, medicine, and eating disorders. In her analysis, Bordo adopts a postmodern feminist interpretation, problematizing the female body as a cultural construct. Davis, Kathy. 1991. 'Remaking the She-Devil: A Critical Look at Feminist Approaches to Beauty'. Hypatia, 6, 21[ndash]43. Drawing on interviews with Dutch cosmetic surgery patients, Davis examines how women account for their decisions to participate in cosmetic surgery and how they view it in light of surgery outcomes. She argues that women actively pursue cosmetic surgery for instrumental reasons including regaining control of their lives, feeling normal, and/or righting the wrong of an ongoing suffering. Dellinger, Kirsten and Christine L. Williams. 1997. 'Makeup at Work: Negotiating Appearance Rules in the Workplace'. Gender & Society, 11, 151[ndash]77. Dellinger and Williams analyze in-depth interviews to understand the reasons why women do [ndash] or do not [ndash] wear makeup in the workplace. Women are negatively sanctioned when they do not wear makeup (e.g. they are questioned about their health or heterosexuality) and are positively rewarded when they do wear makeup (e.g. they are seen as more credible, feel more confident, etc.). The authors argue that such practices ultimately reinforce inequality between women and men, but that individual resistance strategies are unlikely to be successful given the institutional and structural constraints faced by women. Gagné, Patricia and Deanna McGaughey. 2002. 'Designing Women: Cultural Hegemony and the Exercise of Power Among Women Who have Undergone Elective Mammoplasty'. Gender & Society, 16, 814[ndash]438. The authors address two feminist perspectives on cosmetic surgery using interviews with women who have undergone elective mammoplasty. One perspective suggests that women who elect cosmetic surgery are victims of false consciousness whose bodies are disciplined by a male gaze. A second perspective centralizes women's agency; surgery enables women to achieve greater power and control over their lives. They propose a grounded theoretical synthesis, maintaining that surgery can be empowering at an individual level, but can also reinforce hegemonic ideals that oppress women as a group. Gimlin, Debra L. 2002. Body Work: Beauty and Self-Image in American Culture. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Gimlin examines four sites of body work [ndash] the beauty salon, aerobics classes, a plastic surgery clinic, and a fat acceptance organization. Relying on ethnographic and interview data, she discusses women's body transformation efforts and how they negotiate the relationship between body and self. Lovejoy, Meg. 2001. 'Disturbances in the Social Body: Differences in Body Image and Eating Problems among African American and White Women'. Gender & Society, 15, 239[ndash]61. Lovejoy reviews several perspectives on racial/ethnic differences in body image and eating disorders including: (1) a psychometric perspective that focuses on attitudinal and perceptual body image; (2) white feminist perspectives that focus on social control and changing gender roles; and (3) black feminist perspectives that claim obesity is a problem for black women, see eating as a mechanism to cope with oppression, and acknowledge black women's susceptibility to eating disorders. According to Lovejoy, black women's positive body satisfaction can be explained through an alternative beauty aesthetic and the cultural construction of femininity in black communities. Pope, Harrison G., Jr., Katharine A. Phillips and Roberto Olivardia. 2000. The Adonis Complex: The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession. New York: The Free Press. In contrast to the many works that focus on women, these authors discuss appearance stereotypes and appearance work related to men and masculinity. While more journalistic than academic in tone (and quality of research design), the authors draw on surveys, interviews, and archival documents to argue that women's entrance into previously masculine arenas (e.g. male-dominated occupations) has led to a sort of 'threatened masculinity.' As a result, men use their bodies to demonstrate masculinity (e.g. increased musculature) [ndash] often through unhealthy behaviors and practices, including steroid use and eating disorders. Weitz, Rose. 2001. 'Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and Accommodation'. Gender & Society, 15, 667[ndash]86. Based on in-depth interviews with women, Weitz shows how women use their hair (style, length, color, etc.) to conform to, resist, and negotiate hegemonic beauty norms, thereby gaining [ndash] or losing [ndash] personal and professional power and other advantages. Weitz's article is particularly useful for illuminating how personal advantages can belie group advantages as well as the limitations of the agency versus docile bodies argument. West, Candace and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. 'Doing Gender'. Gender & Society, 1, 125[ndash]51. This article introduces the idea of gender as an accomplishment or a performance. Femininity and masculinity, the authors argue, do not automatically follow from biological sex. Rather, males and females perform gender in their daily routines and interactions with others. We 'do gender,' for example, through our appearance, behaviors, speech patterns, etc. Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women. New York: Harper Collins. This book explores the relationship between unattainable beauty ideals and women's social advancement. Examining issues including work, culture, religion, sex, and hunger, Wolf argues that despite increased advancement in the public sphere, women's self-esteem and equality are stymied by the beauty myth and an obsession with body perfection. About Face! http://www.about-face.org/ About Face is an organization whose mission is to equip women and girls with tools to understand and resist harmful media messages that affect their self-esteem and body image. Website contains images of positive and negative advertisements (along with discussion questions and company contact information), further reading suggestions, and links to other organizations dealing with either body image or media literacy. Adios Barbie http://www.adiosbarbie.com/ A website devoted to creating awareness about disempowering cultural messages about bodies, encouraging positive body image, and taking an active role in creating unique versions of beauty and identity. Jean Kilbourne http://www.jeankilbourne.com/lectures.html Jean Kilbourne is an author and lecturer whose works focuses extensively on the depiction of women in advertising. Her website includes recourses for change and postings from organizations with opportunities for individuals to get involved in activities/events that challenge destructive media images. The 'Film & Video' link also includes films on advertising and western beauty culture. Lauren Greenfield http://www.laurengreenfield.com/ Lauren Greenfield is a photographer whose images capture, among other things, the toll of beauty stereotypes and beauty work on women of all ages. Particularly relevant are Greenfield's collections titled Girl Culture and Thin. The website includes photographic images, short films, links to Greenfield's books and films, and further resources, including readings for teens, activists, and educators (including an extensive discussion/exercise guide for Girl Culture). Love Your Body Day Campaign (National Organization of Women) http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/ Website for NOW's annual body-image campaign that began in 1998. Includes activism resources (primarily for college campuses), including a Powerpoint presentation with images and text about how commercial images (with a focus on advertising) affect both women and men ('Sex, Stereotypes and Beauty: The ABCs and Ds of Commercial Images of Women'). Newsweek, Lifetime Spending on Beauty http://www.newsweek.com/id/187758 Interactive graphic, 'The Beauty Breakdown', shows the average cost that women in various age groups spend on beauty products and services. Graphic also includes links on the right-side menu to other Newsweek articles and photo essays related to beauty work. We encourage use of this article in various Sociology, Gender and Women's Studies, and Cultural Studies courses including Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Gender, and the Sociology of Body. In what ways does your level of physical attractiveness affect how others treat you? How does your race and gender shape your response? Consider various contexts including school, work, gym, church, etc., and how social context might affect social treatment. What are some individual and institutional rewards conferred upon physically attractive individuals? How are physically unattractive individuals stigmatized and treated differently? Why do you think individuals make assumptions and treat people differently based on physical attractiveness? What are some common forms of beauty work practices? Do you engage in any of these practices? Why? Why do you think others engage in these practices? How do practices and consequences differ by gender? By race? By sexual orientation? How is beauty work a gendered double standard? That is, how do beauty work 'obligations' differ for women and men? Also, what are some contradictions women face when they perform beauty work? In other words, what are some of the costs to performing [ndash] as well as not performing [ndash] beauty work? What, if any, forms of resistance are an effective means of social change? Do 'alternative' appearances, i.e., body piercings, scarring, or tattoos, or advertising campaigns such as the Dove Real Body campaign constitute resistance to beauty ideals that promote social change? How might different strands of feminist thought envision social change? Reading Assignment: Beauty Assumptions Select photos of both conventionally attractive and unattractive men and women from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. Select these photos in pairs, varying preferably all but the level of physical beauty, e.g. attractive white woman versus unattractive white woman, attractive black man versus unattractive black man. If possible, use 'before and after' makeover photos. Before students read the assigned article, ask them to rate the person depicted in each photo on various personality characteristics. Use semantic differential scales and pairs such as happy-sad, beautiful-ugly, intelligent-unintelligent, healthy-unhealthy, honest-dishonest, friendly-unfriendly, etc. After students have read the article, revisit their responses. Are there any patterns of assumed characteristics based on level of physical attractiveness? How does race and/or gender affect responses? Use this exercise to transition into a discussion of the article. Journal Assignment: Media and Our Beauty Culture Ask students to examine critically and document observations about the beauty culture that surrounds them. In a week, students should pay special attention to what they see on television. In terms of physical attractiveness, who is depicted on television? Moreover, how do depictions vary by physical attractiveness? What roles do physically attractive individuals play? How are they depicted? Conversely, what roles and portrayals are associated with less physically attractive individuals? Would they see similar depictions in other media such as film, magazines, and the internet? In their write-up, students should also discuss the social meanings and significance of these television depictions. For example, do they think these portrayals affect their views of beauty, their assumptions about others, and how they treat others?

Gender and the Civil Rights Movement

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:49:00 -0700

This study outlines how gender relations and gender differences come into play in the civil rights movement [ndash] the national movement to transform American race relations in the 1950s and 1960s. Social movement scholarship on the civil rights movement emphasizes dramatic mass mobilizations and charismatic leadership, both distinctively masculine enterprises. This emphasis overlooks the subtle and underappreciated dynamics of gender in shaping cultures of protest and resistance. Consideration of gender and gender roles in the private and public spheres provides a more nuanced understanding of protest strategies and the formulation of resistance in direct action. Gendered patterns related to movement participation, mobilization, leadership, strategies and ideologies also bring into focus how local issues shaped regional variations in civil rights initiatives. Finally, gender symbolism and culture deepen our understanding of non-violent direct action as a moral, emancipatory performance, serving to blur the physical boundaries enacted by civil restraint.

Stereotypical Relations and Utterance Understanding: An Introduction to Xu Sheng-Huan's Stereotypical Relation-Based Approach to Pragmatics

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:31:00 -0700

An utterance hardly provides adequate information for its understanding, but the stereotypical relations (SRs) suggested by its linguistic components and mode of expression help to complement the explicitly expressed content, thus making the utterance serve its communicative function. Stereotypical relations are a speaker/hearer's perception and memory of the relations between things in the experiential world. Such relations, once entrenched, are the cognitive device by which humans understand, represent, and express the world. Things in SRs are interdependent; the presence of one entails that of another. Therefore, an utterance implicates the necessary information by SRs to 'fill up' the information gap in the context of communication. Stereotypical relations can be characterized in terms of similarity and proximity, both of which are categories of degree.

Quantified Conditionals and Compositionality

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:31:00 -0700

The interpretation of conditionals in the scope of a quantifier (as in 'No student will succeed if he goofs off') presents a troubling puzzle. Either we are forced to abandon the thesis that natural language obeys the compositionality principle, or we must commit to a semantics for conditionals that involves an uncomfortably high degree of stipulation. This article surveys the recent literature on quantified conditionals and aims to pinpoint the issues that stand in the way of a compositional analysis.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Parallelism and Competition in Syntactic Ambiguity Resolution

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:31:00 -0700

Two metaphors have dominated cognitive psychology throughout its history: 'activation' and 'computation'. Activation (itself metaphorically based on neural firing rate) assumes that representations (mental symbols or patterns of non-symbolic 'nodes') exist at varying degrees of activation, and high activation of a representation amounts to something like perception or recall. Computation assumes that representations are instead constructed from more elementary components, and that a representation does not exist prior to its construction. We examine the differential implications of these metaphors in the domain of sentence comprehension. Most theories that claim the representation of a sentence is something that is activated by input which proposes that multiple representations are at least temporarily activated, and in order for one representation to be selected, it must de-activate the others in a time-consuming process of competition. Theories that claim that the representation of a sentence is constructed, in contrast, have to posit rules for how the input guides construction, but by and large, these theories do not claim that alternative possible representations compete with each other. We review evidence indicating that time-consuming competition does exist in the process of recognizing individual words, but propose that nearly all existing evidence denies competition in the case of sentence comprehension. Clifton, C., Jr., A. Staub, and K. Rayner. 2007. Eye movements in reading words and sentences. Eye movement research: insights into mind and brain, ed. by. R. van Gompel, M. Fisher, W. Murray and R. L. Hill, 341[ndash]71. New York: Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-008044980-7/50017-3 This chapter contains an extensive review of experiments on eye movements made while reading sentences, examining a number of questions in addition to the one addressed here, namely, whether the eyes slow down while reading a syntactically ambiguous phrase. Duffy, S., G. Kambe, and K. Rayner. 2001. The effect of prior disambiguating context on the comprehension of ambiguous words: evidence from eye movements. On the consequences of meaning selection: perspectives on resolving lexical ambiguity, ed. by D. S. Gorfein, 27[ndash]43. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/10459-002 An accessible review of eyetracking research supporting the existence of competition between alternative meanings of ambiguous words. Elman, J. L., M. Hare, and K. McRae. 2004. Cues, constraints, and competition in sentence processing. Beyond nature-nurture: essays in honor of Elizabeth Bates, ed. by M. Tomasello and D. Slobin, 111[ndash]138. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This chapter presents an implemented constraint-based model of sentence comprehension, making a clear prediction that time-consuming competition exists during the reading and the resolution of a syntactic ambiguity, and presenting data that indicate that reading is slowed only during the resolution. Frazier, L. 1987. Sentence processing: a tutorial review. Attention and performance XII, ed. by M. Coltheart, 559[ndash]86. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This is probably the most-cited presentation of the 'garden-path' model discussed in the paper. It predates the full development of constraint-based competition models. Frazier, L. (1995). Constraint satisfaction as a theory of sentence processing. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 24.437[ndash]68. doi:10.1007/BF02143161 This article presents a variety of criticisms of constraint-based models of sentence processing in addition to the current claim that competition in the region of a syntactic ambiguity is not observed. Green, M. J., and D. C. Mitchell. 2006. Absence of real evidence against competition during syntactic ambiguity resolution. Journal of Memory and Language 55.1[ndash]17. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2006.03.003 Green and Mitchell present an interesting claim that local ambiguity does not necessarily result in competition. The claim seems to be correct, but we argue that it does not plausibly apply to most instances of sentence comprehension. MacDonald, M. C., N. J. Pearlmutter, and M. S. Seidenberg. 1994. The lexical nature of syntactic ambiguity resolution. Psychological Review 101.676[ndash]703. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.101.4.676 This is an important article, advocating the claim that sentence comprehension is much the same as word recognition, and that both are characterized by competition between multiple possible representations. van Gompel, R. P. G., M. J. Pickering, and M. J. Traxler, M. 2001. Reanalysis in sentence processing: evidence against current constraint-based and two-stage models. Journal of Memory and Language 45.225[ndash]258. doi:10.1006/jmla.2001.2773 One of a series of studies indicating that syntactic ambiguity can speed reading rather than slowing it. 1. Assuming the authors' perspective that there is parallel activation of, and competition between, multiple meanings of a word, but not between multiple syntactic analyses, why might this be the case? Are there considerations of efficiency or resource constraints that would give rise to this difference? 2. In what other areas of cognition is there evidence of competition for selection between activated representations, or between response options? 3. The authors suggest that the argument by Green and Mitchell (2006) is implausible because it assumes pre-activation of all possible sentence continuations. Do you agree that this is implausible? Why or why not? 4. In discussing Levy's (2008) proposals, the authors raise the issue of whether processing behavior at the point of syntactic disambiguation is bimodal or unimodal. Why is this important? How could you tell if there is bimodality? 5. Can you think of predictions made by an account of syntactic processing that assumes parallel activation of multiple alternatives, other than the ones discussed in the article? 6. One possibility that is alluded to briefly in the article is that the reading time advantage obtained by van Gompel and colleagues for globally ambiguous sentences may be because of a failure to fully resolve the ambiguity. Do you know of any specific evidence suggestive of this? Can you think of critical experiments that might address this issue? Early Models: Heuristics, Delay The Garden Path (GP) Model Focuses on ambiguity resolution Proposes structural simplicity as primary principle Assumes a separate reanalysis stage when first-pass parsing fails Constraint-Based Models Simultaneous (optimal) use of many information types Parallel activation of multiple analyses Reanalysis as re-weighting or re-ranking The State of the Art Problems for the GP model Evidence for rapid use of non-syntactic information Cases in which parsing preferences do not conform to simplicity metrics Problems for constraint-based models Failure to show reversals of GP-predicted preferences Failure to show evidence of competition during ambiguity (PRESENT REVIEW GOES HERE) Emergence of new perspectives Frequency-based accounts Importance of structural prediction.

Thinking Outside the Box: Engaging Critical Geographic Information Systems Theory, Practice and Politics in Human Geography

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:20:00 -0700

Over the past decade or more, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been re-imagined and reconfigured through critical GIS research and practice, as scholars and activist have sought new ways of engaging GIS beyond its characterization in the 1990s as a rationalist and rationalizing tool. Where many existing discussions of the contributions of critical GIS have focused on its position and impacts in GIScience, here I review recent work in critical GIS with an eye toward highlighting its contributions and possibilities in critical human geography. This study examines the theorizations, epistemological frameworks, and methodological innovations are enabling human geographers to engage with GIS, cartography, and geovisual methods in their work in creative ways. I begin by unpacking the 'critical' in critical GIS, illustrating how it has drawn upon theory and politics from critical theory to offer a series of key reconceptualizations of GIS and its knowledge-making repertoire. Then, I illustrate the ever-diversifying ways in which critical GIS theory and practice are being woven into geographers' research and activism.

Actions Can Speak as Loud as Words: Measuring Behavior in Psychological Science

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:20:00 -0700

It has been argued that there is a growing trend in personality and social psychological science concerning the preference of self-report measures over the use of direct observations of behavior for the outcome variables of interest. Augmenting the use of self-reports with measures of behavior helps achieve methodological pluralism that allows researchers to triangulate on the phenomenon of interest and have increased confidence in understanding the phenomenon. To facilitate this process, we discuss a sample of social psychological and personality studies published during APA's 'Decade of Behavior' that use straightforward and innovative ways of measuring behavioral outcome variables. Specifically, we identify three different strategies for incorporating behavior in a study: behavioral traces, behavioral observations, and behavioral choice. In each case, we show how measures of behavior complement self-report measures. By making a conscientious effort to include more behavior measures in our research, we can broaden the appeal of psychological science by enhancing our understanding of the causes and antecedents of human behavior.

Lay Psychology and the Social Value of Persons

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:19:00 -0700

Personality traits are basic constructs of lay psychology. Unlike the traditional view in which traits are considered as descriptive tools, we argue that the most frequent traits are evaluative criteria, that is, they do not point out what people are, but what people are socially worth. First, we intend to report on various studies showing that traits can be viewed as generalizations of affordances in social relations: traits supply information not only on what people are doing, but also, and several times more, on what is possible to do with people. Second, we challenge the dominant view underlying social judgments by showing that the two traditional factors can be viewed as aspects of the social value of persons. We called them social desirability and social utility. We shall show that the two dimensions intervene in situations in which social value of the person is engaged. To finish, we shall address the link between these dimensions with some aspects of individualism.

On the Relationship between Social Capital and Individualism–Collectivism

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:19:00 -0700

Both social capital and individualism[ndash]collectivism (IC) have been, and still are, popular and well-researched constructs in social sciences. Many theorists have argued that individualism poses a threat to social cohesion and communal association. Other researchers believe that growth of individuality, autonomy, and self-sufficiency are necessary conditions for the development of social solidarity and cooperation. The present article reviews the studies on the relationship between social capital and IC, using different data and different measures. We conclude that countries with higher level of social capital (where people believe that most people can be trusted) are also more individualistic, emphasizing the importance of independence, personal accomplishments, and freedom to choose one's own goals. In societies where trust is limited to the nuclear family or kinship alone, people have lower levels of social capital. Social capital increases as the radius of trust widens to encompass a larger number of people and social networks, bridging the 'gap' between the family and state.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: The Nature of Contemporary Prejudice: Insights from Aversive Racism

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:19:00 -0700

Intergroup bias is one of the most actively researched topics in the field of social psychology. Hundreds of books and thousands of research articles have addressed this issue over more than half a century. Although the psychological roots of blatant prejudices are well documented, the development of more subtle and often unintentional forms in societies in which its expression is discouraged poses new and unique challenges to the pursuit of justice and equality in contemporary society. Our interests in the psychological underpinnings of prejudice as researchers and educators are both practical and conceptual. On the practical side, understanding the nature of contemporary forms of prejudice has clear implications for developing effective techniques for combating bias and discrimination. In 1967, nearly 3 years after the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, race riots in the United States prompted the Kerner Commission to investigate the sources of racial tension. Upon the conclusion of its investigation, the commission cited White America's failure to assist Blacks in need, rather than actively trying to harm Blacks, as a primary cause of racial disparities and, ultimately, civil unrest (Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1968). Indeed, it was research on the differential helping behavior of politically liberal Whites toward Black and White motorists who were stranded on a highway that represented the first empirical work on aversive racism (Gaertner, 1973). Considerable subsequent research on aversive racism has revealed that the consequences of subtle bias can be as severe and pernicious as those of blatant prejudice. Conceptually, the complexities of contemporary forms of prejudice and recent advances in techniques and tools for studying non-conscious biases make this research area an exciting and challenging one. We hope that this guide can help orient educators to the many excellent resources that exist and convey our enthusiasm for exploring what psychological methods and theories can contribute to understanding one of the most challenging social issues faced in contemporary society. Allport, G. W. (1954/1979). The Nature of Prejudice (25th anniversary edition). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. A classic text by one of the most influential prejudice scholars of the 20th century. Dovidio, J. F., Glick, P., & Rudman, L. A. (Eds.). (2005). On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Organized around Allport's central themes, this edited volume commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Gordon Allport's classic work by examining the current state of knowledge in the field. Renowned international scholars review recent developments and share their insights into where the next few decades may take us. Certain to be a future classic! Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,56, 5[ndash]18. A seminal article that demonstrates both automatic and controlled components of stereotyping. The first series of studies to show that racial stereotypes are activated automatically upon perceiving a person's group membership. Also one of the first papers to use indirect cognitive methods (e.g., subliminal priming) to assess stereotypic group judgments. Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2004). Aversive racism. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 36, pp. 1[ndash]51). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. A comprehensive review of research on aversive racism, detailing historical trends and over three decades of theoretical and empirical work on the causes, consequences, and challenges of contemporary racial prejudice. Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56, 109[ndash]118. An engaging review of research on contemporary sexism, distinguishing benevolent and hostile forms of sexism and their complementary contributions to gender inequality within the United States and internationally. Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,90, 751[ndash]783. The most comprehensive empirical review, to date, of the effectiveness of intergroup contact for reducing prejudice. Important questions tested in this review include that of whether intergroup contact is associated with less prejudice even when Allport's 'optimal' conditions (e.g., shared goals, equal status between groups) are not met (it is), whether these conditions significantly enhance the degree to which contact promotes positive intergroup relations (it does), and whether the contact[ndash]prejudice link extends to group contexts beyond interracial and interethnic samples (it does). Dovidio, J. F., Kawakami, K., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 62[ndash]68. The first study to examine how implicit and explicit racial attitudes systematically influence verbal and non-verbal behavior and subsequent impressions during interracial interactions. Hebl, M. R., Foster, J. B., Mannix, L. M.., & Dovidio, J. F. (2002). Formal and interpersonal discrimination: A field study of bias toward homosexual applicants. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 815[ndash]825. One of the first studies to examine discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and the interpersonal processes involved in such stigmatization in actual employment settings. Pettigrew, T. F., & Meertens, R. W. (1995). Subtle and blatant prejudice in Western Europe. European Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 57[ndash]75. A cross-national perspective on subtle and blatant forms of prejudice and their distinction. Son Hing, L. S., Li, W., & Zanna, M. P. (2002). Inducing hypocrisy to reduce prejudicial responses among aversive racists. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 71[ndash]78. This study identifies a potent strategy (hypocrisy induction) for reducing aversive racists' prejudicial behavior and employs a new individual difference measure for assessing aversive racism. Greenwald, A. G., Poehlman, T. A., Uhlmann, E. L., & Banaji, M. R. (2009). Understanding and using the Implicit Association Test: III. Meta-analysis of predictive validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 17[ndash]41. A meta-analysis of judgmental biases and discrimination effects using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) demonstrating the power of indirect measures for predicting modern forms of discrimination. Pearson, A. R., Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2009). The nature of contemporary prejudice: Insights from aversive racism. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 314[ndash]338. An overview of theoretical and empirical work on contemporary racism in the United States, detailing its consequences for everyday social interactions and decision-making, techniques for combating subtle forms of bias, and emerging developmental perspectives on its origins and maintenance. 1. Project Implicit http://implicit.harvard.edu An educational and research resource for studies on implicit social cognition, featuring online demonstrations and tests of implicit bias and stereotyping, including assessments of implicit attitudes toward racial and ethnic groups, weight, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and political orientation. 2. UnderstandingPrejudice.org The most comprehensive online resource to date for information on prejudice, discrimination, multiculturalism, and diversity. A wonderful compilation of educational resources, including research summaries on key topics in the field, multimedia links, teaching resources (including in-class exercises, springboard topics for discussions, bibliographies, and suggested assignments), links to relevant organizations, and a directory of experts in the field. 3. ReducingStereotypeThreat.org An excellent resource for educators, researchers, and policy-makers on the nature, causes, and consequences of stereotype threat, including descriptions of situational and personality influences, mechanisms, unresolved questions, and critiques of research on this important phenomenon. The website also includes an extensive collection of research articles, chapters, and books in this research area. 4. A Class Divided http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided http://www.newsreel.org/guides/blueeyed.htm (teaching guide) Two comprehensive web guides to the dramatic 1968 classroom demonstration by elementary school teacher Jane Elliott revealing the power and ease with which intergroup biases can develop, including teaching guides, online readings and links, transcripts of interviews, and free access to a full-length PBS Frontline documentary on the original demonstration. 5. CROW: Course Resources on the Web http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/crow/activities.htm A resource for online demonstrations and class exercises covering a wide variety of introductory topics in prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. 6. What Would You Do? http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo Video clips from a hidden camera television show on ABC showing bystander reactions to racism, sexism, and homophobia. Excellent for generating discussion on variability in bystander responses to prejudice, and personal and situational antecedents and social norms that drive these responses. Course Description This course is a cross-disciplinary seminar on the cultural, biological, and psychological underpinnings of intergroup prejudice, designed for graduate students and advanced undergraduates in psychology, sociology, anthropology, communications, and related disciplines. Although course content will emphasize the causes and consequences of traditional and contemporary forms of racial bias in the United States, other forms of 'isms' will also be explored, both nationally and cross-nationally. Topics will include psychological and behavioral manifestations of blatant and subtle forms of bias, prejudice in everyday interpersonal interactions, techniques for reducing conscious and non-conscious biases, and emerging developmental and neuroscientific perspectives on intergroup bias. Requirements and Grading The primary requirements of the course are to complete assigned readings and actively participate in class discussions, which include posting reading responses to the course bulletin board in advance of class discussions and serving as a co-facilitator of one class discussion. Grading for the course will be based on discussion participation (25%), weekly reading responses (25%), a mid-term 'exam', which may involve alternative exercises such as debates on key controversies in the field (25%), and a final 12[ndash]15-page research proposal (which should relate to students' personal research interests, 25%). Course Readings Readings for each class will include selected chapters from the recent edited volume by Dovidio, Glick, and Rudman (2005) reflecting on Allport's seminal book, and two to three journal articles illustrating relevant processes. Optional readings are indicated for some topics to provide interested readers with additional information. Class facilitators will also have the flexibility to choose alternative articles for the class to read, with the permission of the instructor. All readings will be made available through the course website. Texts Allport, G. W. (1954/1979). The Nature of Prejudice (25th anniversary edition). Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books. (Optional) Dovidio, J. F., Glick, P., & Rudman, L. A. (Eds.). (2005). On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years after Allport. Malden, MA: Blackwell. (Selected readings) Assignments Reading responses. Students will be asked to post a two- to three-paragraph reading response to the online course bulletin board by 7 p.m. the evening before class. Reading responses can incorporate a wide range of questions/comments, including (but not limited to) identifying key issues that are confusing or need clarification, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of the research, discussing alternative explanations, possible boundary conditions, discussing theoretical and/or practical implications of the study findings, identifying points of contact with other readings or prior class discussions, and/or describing alternative ways of testing the study hypotheses. Class facilitator. To allow flexibility to accommodate student interests, students will be asked to co-facilitate one class. Students will work with the instructor to organize the class, formulate questions, and highlight key controversies to guide class discussion. In addition, facilitators will identify a 'stump the chump' study from an empirical article. The article should be one that is not covered in the readings and that illustrates a key insight related to the topic. For this exercise, the student facilitator will describe the design of the study and will ask the class to make predictions and formulate a rationale for these predictions before revealing the study results. Research proposal. A short research proposal (12[ndash]15 pages) will be due at the end of the semester. The proposal should build on a topic relevant to the study of prejudice but ideally relate to one's own research interests. The paper should be in APA format and include a thorough introduction (background), a methods section, a proposed results section, and a discussion of the contribution such a project would make to the field. Week 1: Prejudice: Past and Present (DGR Ch. 1) Duckitt, J. H. (1992). Psychology and prejudice: A historical analysis and integrative framework. American Psychologist, 47, 1182[ndash]1193. Pearson, A. R., Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2009). The nature of contemporary prejudice: Insights from aversive racism. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3, 314[ndash]338. Week 2: The Nature of the Problem (DGR Ch. 3) Kurzban, R., & Leary, M. (2001). Evolutionary origins of stigmatization: The functions of social exclusion. Psychological Bulletin, 127, 187[ndash]208. Brewer, M. B. (1999). The psychology of prejudice: Ingroup love or outgroup hate? Journal of Social Issues, 55, 429[ndash]444. Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. (2000). Aversive racism and selection decisions: 1989 and 1999. Psychological Science, 11, 315[ndash]319. Week 3: Motivational Processes (DGR Chs 6, 15) Fein, S., & Spencer, S. J. (1997). Prejudice as self-image maintenance: Affirming the self through derogating others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 31[ndash]44. Monin, B., & Miller, D. T. (2001). Moral credentials and the expression of prejudice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 33[ndash]43. Glick, P., & Fiske, S. T. (2001). An ambivalent alliance: Hostile and benevolent sexism as complementary justifications for gender inequality. American Psychologist, 56, 109[ndash]118. Optional: Pratto, F., & Shih, M. (2000). Social dominance orientation and group context in implicit group prejudice. Psychological Science, 11, 521[ndash]524. Week 4: Cognitive Processes (DGR Chs 11, 13) Hamilton, D. L., & Gifford, R. K. (1976). Illusory correlation in interpersonal perception: A cognitive basis of stereotypic judgments. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 12, 392[ndash]407. Nelson, T. E., Biernat, M. R., & Manis, M. (1990). Everyday base rates (sex stereotypes): Potent and resilient. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 664[ndash]675. Hodson, G., Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Processes in racial discrimination: Differential weighting of conflicting information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 460[ndash]471. Optional: Bargh, J. (1999). The cognitive monster: The case against the controllability of automatic stereotype effects. In S. Chaiken & Y. Trope (Eds.), Dual-Process Theories in Social Psychology (pp. 361[ndash]368). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Week 5: Emotion Processes (DGR Ch. 22) DeSteno, D. et al. (2004). Prejudice from thin air: The effect of emotion on automatic intergroup attitude. Psychological Science, 15, 319[ndash]324. Cottrell, C. A., & Neuberg, S. L. (2005). Different emotional reactions to different groups: A sociofunctional threat-based approach to "prejudice". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 770[ndash]789. Optional: Mackie, D. M., Devos, T., & Smith, E. R. (2000). Intergroup emotions: Explaining offensive action tendencies in an intergroup context. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 79, 602[ndash]616. Cuddy, A. J. C., Rock, M., & Norton, M. I. (2007). Aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Inferences of secondary emotions and intergroup helping. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 107[ndash]118. Week 6: Mid-Term Exam (Debates) Week 7: Prejudice in Social Interactions I: Processes Word, C. O., Zanna, M. P., & Cooper, J. (1974). The nonverbal mediation of self-fulfilling prophecies in interracial interaction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10, 109[ndash]120. Dovidio, J. F., Kawakami, K., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Implicit and explicit prejudice and interracial interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 62[ndash]68. Optional: Snyder, M., Tanke, E. D., & Berscheid, E. (1977). Social perception and interpersonal behavior: On the self-fulfilling nature of social stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35, 655[ndash]666. Week 8: Prejudice in Social Interactions II: Consequences (DGR Ch. 10) Hebl, M. R., Foster, J. B., Mannix, L. M., & Dovidio, J. F. (2002). Formal and interpersonal discrimination: A field study of bias toward homosexual applicants. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 815[ndash]825. Kawakami, K., Dunn, L., Karmali, F., & Dovidio, J. F. (2009). Mispredicting affective and behavioral responses to racism. Science, 323, 276[ndash]278. Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2007). Negotiating interracial interactions: Costs, consequences, and possibilities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 316[ndash]320. Week 9: Institutional Biases (DGR Ch. 14) Graham, L. O. (1995). Invisible man: Why this Harvard-trained lawyer went undercover as a busboy at an all-white Connecticut country club. In Lawrence Otis Graham (Ed.), Member of the Club: Reflections on Life in a Racially Polarized World (pp. 1[ndash]26). New York, NY: HarperCollins. Eberhardt, J. L., Davies, P. G., Purdie-Vaughns, V. J., & Johnson, S. L. (2006). Looking deathworthy: Perceived stereotypicality of black defendants predicts capital-sentencing outcomes. Psychological Science, 17, 383[ndash]386. Dovidio, J. F., Penner, L. A., Albrecht, T. L., Norton, W. E., Gaertner, S. L., & Shelton, J. N. (2008). Disparities and distrust: The implications of psychological processes for understanding racial disparities in health and health care. Social Science & Medicine, 67, 478[ndash]486. Week 10: Combating Explicit Biases (DGR Ch. 17) Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. (1999). Reducing prejudice: Combating intergroup biases. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 101[ndash]105. Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751[ndash]783. Paluck, E. L. (2009). Reducing intergroup prejudice and conflict using the media: A field experiment in Rwanda. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 574[ndash]587. Optional: Stangor, C., Segrist, G. B., & Jost, J. T. (2001). Changing racial beliefs by providing consensus information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 486[ndash]496. Son Hing, L. S., Li, W., & Zanna, M. P. (2002). Inducing hypocrisy to reduce prejudicial responses among aversive racists. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 71[ndash]78. Week 11: Combating Implicit Biases (DGR Ch. 20) Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5[ndash]18. Blair, I. V. (2002). The malleability of automatic stereotypes and prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 242[ndash]261. Rudman, L. A., Ashmore, R. D., & Gary, M. L. (2001). "Unlearning" automatic biases: The malleability of implicit prejudice and stereotypes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 856[ndash]868. Optional: Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., & Voci, A. (2007). Reducing explicit and implicit outgroup prejudice via direct and extended contact: The mediating role of self-disclosure and intergroup anxiety. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 369[ndash]388. Week 12: Developmental Perspectives (DGR Ch. 19) Dunham, Y., Baron, A. S., & Banaji, M. R. (2008). The development of implicit intergroup cognition. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12, 248[ndash]253. Apfelbaum, E. P., Pauker, K., Ambady, N., Sommers, S. R., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Learning (not) to talk about race: When older children underperform in social categorization. Developmental Psychology, 44, 1513[ndash]1518. Optional: McGillicuddy-De Lisi, A. V., Daly, M., & Neal, A. (2006). Children's distributive justice judgments: Aversive racism in Euro-American children? Child Development,77, 1063[ndash]1080. Week 13: Neuroscientific Perspectives Cunningham, W. A., Johnson, M. K., Raye, C. L., Gatenby, J. C., Gore, J. C., & Banaji, M. R. (2004). Separable neural components in the processing of Black and White Faces. Psychological Science,15, 806[ndash]813. Amodio, D. M., & Ratner, K. (forthcoming). The brains behind intergroup relations: A social neuroscience analysis of the regulation of intergroup responses. To appear in J. Decety and J. T. Cacioppo, Handbook of Social Neuroscience. Oxford University Press. Optional: Olsson, A., Ebert, J. P., Banaji, M. R., & Phelps, E. A. (2005). The role of social groups in the persistence of learned fear. Science,309, 785[ndash]787. Week 14: Wrap-Up & Synthesis (DGR Ch. 26) Steele, S. (1990) A negative vote on affirmative action. Excerpted from The Content of Our Character. Originally published in The New York Times Magazine, 13 May 1990. Fiske, S. T., Bersoff, D. N., Borgida, E., Deaux, K., & Heilman, M. E. (1991). Social science research on trial: Use of sex stereotyping research in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins. American Psychologist, 46, 1049[ndash]1060. Paluck, E. L., & Green, D. P. (2009). Prejudice Reduction: What works? A critical look at evidence from the field and the laboratory. Annual Review of Psychology,60, 339[ndash]367. Optional: Class Exercise Instructor Preparation: Prepare stick-on labels (one for each student) with a single trait (e.g., lazy, ambitious, athletic, etc.) printed large enough to be visible at a distance of 5[ndash]6 feet. Exercise: Place the trait labels in an envelope and ask each student to select one label at random and place it on the forehead or chest of the student to his or her left, such that the trait remains to be visible to all members of the class except for the student for whom the trait was selected. Is Fate at Work? Ask each student to provide the class with a brief (1[ndash]2 min) verbal description of what he or she did over the summer or winter break. Upon the conclusion of each description, ask the class to formulate questions for the speaker with the aim of assessing whether or not the speaker's personality actually reflects elements of the randomly chosen trait (i.e., is fate at work?). Relay to the class that any question is a fair game, as long as it does not mention the assigned trait or a synonym of the trait. Author Commentary and Discussion: Following this exercise, it is useful to discuss Darley and Gross's (1983) classic study on confirmatory bias and a recent adaptation and extension of this study by Wegener, Clark, and Petty (2006), which tie well into a discussion of processes that work to perpetuate subtle forms of discrimination (see Hodson, Dovidio, & Gaertner, 2002). Indeed, the point of the Darley and Gross study is that people believe that they are objective information processors and that they typically refrain from using non-diagnostic information, such as race or social class, to develop impressions of another person's character or ability when more direct diagnostic information is available. In the Darley and Gross experiment, participants are presented with 'non-diagnostic' information about a young girl's socioeconomic status as being either high or low. Participants are then shown a video of an ambiguous test performance by the girl (i.e., one that reveals both successes and failures). In their study, those who were led to believe that the girl was higher in socioeconomic status developed the impression that the student's performance was well above grade level. In contrast, although the student's performance was identical in both conditions, participants who were led to believe that the student was of low socioeconomic status reported her performance to be well below grade level. Additionally, only those viewing the video developed these strong impressions: whereas those who did not view the video but only possessed the non-diagnostic information guessed that her abilities were at grade level; those who viewed the video believed that they had diagnostic information confirming expectations derived from the non-diagnostic information. In the present exercise, the class questions following each speaker description are often quite revealing, as they frequently expose just how much of our searching for the truth looks to confirm, rather than disconfirm, evidence of a suspected trait or ability. Questions that seek to confirm a trait lead one to think of those situations in which the trait might be true or ability might be revealed. After several such questions, the person answering the questions may come to believe that he or she actually is, for example, quite athletic, which can lead respondents to further confirm the questioner's initial suspicions (or stereotypes) through a self-fulfilling prophecy. This exercise should take 15[ndash]20 min. Darley, J. M., & Gross, P. H. (1983). A hypothesis-confirming bias in labeling effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,44, 20[ndash]33. Hodson, G., Dovidio, J. F., & Gaertner, S. L. (2002). Processes in racial discrimination: Differential weighting of conflicting information. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin,28, 460[ndash]471. Wegener, D. T., Clark, J. K., & Petty, R. E. (2006). Not all stereotyping is created equal: Differential consequences of thoughtful versus non-thoughtful stereotyping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,90, 42[ndash]59.

Guns, Germs, and Sex: How Evolution Shaped Our Intergroup Psychology

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:00 -0700

A phenomenon of perennial interest to social psychologists is people's tendency to categorize others on the basis of group membership and to exhibit a preference for members of the ingroup relative to the outgroup. Recent work emphasizing the evolutionary functions of outgroup aggression, exploitation, and avoidance have shed new light on previously observed intergroup phenomena and generated many new empirical findings. We delineate two distinct evolved psychologies of intergroup relations and review recent research pertaining to each. One research line (on the psychology of warfare) focuses on the intergroup competition for resources; as we describe below, such competition [ndash] and the associated exploitative psychology [ndash] is more amplified among men. The other research line (on the psychology of disease avoidance) focuses on the need to avoid contagious disease. Because the threats posed by competitive versus disease-carrying outgroups are qualitatively distinct, the psychological reactions may also be qualitatively distinct.

Lay Theories of Personality: Cornerstones of Meaning in Social Cognition

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:00 -0700

Lay theories (or 'implicit theories') are cornerstones for social cognition: people use lay theories to help them make sense of complex and ambiguous behavior. In this study, we describe recent research on the entity and incremental theories (the belief that personality is fixed or malleable). In so doing, we demonstrate that each theory does not act alone. Instead, each is associated with a set of allied beliefs, the sum total of which cohere into two distinct meaning systems. We present evidence that these meaning systems produce systematic differences in a range of fundamental social cognition processes, with important implications for the field's understanding of trait/situation attribution, moral judgment, person memory, and stereotyping. We further argue that because meaning systems serve a central meaning-making function, people are motivated to believe that the meaning system they are using is effective and accurate. Accordingly, we present evidence that people exhibit processing distortions and compensatory mechanisms to minimize the impact of information that violates their meaning system. We discuss the implications of these findings for the field's understanding of basic social cognition.

Relational Self-Construal: Past and Future

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:00 -0700

Relational self-construal is characterized as the extent to which a person defines the self in terms of close relationships. In this article, I distinguish relational self-construal from collective-interdependent self-construal and from other similar-sounding constructs. I review the history of the concept of relational self-construal and how it is most frequently measured or manipulated. The remainder of the article focuses on research that examines the role of relational self-construal in cognition, affect, motivation, and close interpersonal relationships.

The ABC's of LGM: An Introductory Guide to Latent Variable Growth Curve Modeling

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:18:00 -0700

In recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the complexity of theoretical models that attempt to explain behavior from both contextual and developmental perspectives. This increase in the complexity of our theoretical propositions regarding behavior parallels recent methodological advances for the analysis of change. These new analysis techniques have fundamentally altered how we conceptualize and study change. Researchers have begun to identify larger frameworks to integrate our knowledge regarding the analysis of change. One such framework is latent growth modeling, perhaps the most important and influential statistical revolution to have recently occurred in the social and behavioral sciences. This study presents a basic introduction to a latent growth modeling approach for analyzing repeated measures data. Included is the specification and interpretation of the growth factors, primary extensions such as the analysis of growth in multiple populations, and structural models including both precursors of growth, and subsequent outcomes hypothesized to be influenced by the growth functions.

The Self-Conscious Emotions: How are they Experienced, Expressed, and Assessed?

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:17:00 -0700

The self-conscious emotions (e.g., embarrassment, guilt, pride, shame) are a special class of emotions that critically involve the self, including the capacity to form stable self-representations and to evaluate oneself relative to internal and external standards. In this article, we summarize five areas of recent research on self-conscious emotions: (a) the cognitive elicitors, or causal appraisals, that generate them; (b) their non-verbal expressions; (c) the underlying neural processes; (d) the degree to which their experience and expression varies across cultures; and (e) the measures that have been developed to assess them. In each section, we provide recommendations for future research directions.

Getting Emotional About Explanations: Social Explanations and Social Explanatory Styles as Bases of Prosocial Emotions and Intergroup Attitudes

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:17:00 -0700

We are interested in the bases of social emotions such as compassion and hostility. Our analysis centers on social explanations, or people's answers to the question: Why does the target behave that way or experience those outcomes? Below, we review classic approaches to social explanation and then review work linking explanations to emotions. Finally, we focus on work from our lab that connects explanations to prosocial emotions and intergroup attitudes, including compassion for the disadvantaged and reduced vengefulness toward the violent. A crucial contribution of our work is to illuminate complex connections between explanations and emotions: A given explanation has different socio-emotional implications depending on the explainer's motives. Finally, we review our work suggesting that individuals have social explanatory styles, and that particular styles are predictive of dispositional compassion. A key implication of our work is that social explanations are another basis of prosociality, in addition to factors such as empathy and moral principles.

Memory as a Self-Protective Mechanism

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:17:00 -0700

The autobiographical memory literature has established that people remember poorly unpleasant, relative to pleasant, life events. We complemented this literature with a theoretical model [ndash] the mnemic neglect model [ndash] and an experimental paradigm that exerts tight control over the to-be-remembered material. Participants recall poorly self-threatening feedback compared to self-affirming or other-relevant feedback [ndash] a phenomenon we labeled mnemic neglect. The phenomenon is motivational: it is in the service of self-protection. The phenomenon is also flexible. Participants can switch from self-protection (e.g. avoiding negative feedback) to an alternative goal (e.g. striving for feedback with improvement potential), when circumstances call for it such as when the feedback is provided by a close other rather than a stranger. Finally, self-threatening feedback may be forgotten, but it is not lost: the mnemic neglect effect is not obtained in recognition recall.

How can We Reduce the Distress Associated with Health Screening? From Psychological Theory to Clinical Practice

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:16:00 -0700

Health screening involves the early identification of risk factors for disease or early-stage disease. There is clear evidence of a health benefit following many screening programs. However, these programs may also contribute to significant psychological distress in a significant minority of vulnerable individuals. This paper considers the impact of screening in relation to breast cancer, focusing on assessment of genetic risk for breast cancer and mammography. It then reviews how these programs presently try to minimize any distress among participants before examining how health and clinical psychological theory can contribute to the development of new interventions, focusing on the use of cognitive challenge and teaching appropriate emotion-focused coping strategies such as mindfulness and distraction. Future research developments are then addressed.

Evidence of System Justification in Young Children

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:16:00 -0700

The near ubiquity of ingroup preference is consistent with the view that it is an automatic consequence of social categorization, possibly a basic foundation of intergroup relations. However, research with adults has demonstrated that automatic ingroup preference is notably absent among less dominant, less advantaged groups, an outcome predicted by System Justification Theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994). How basic is this tendency to justify existing social arrangements? Data from young children are crucial in addressing whether such an opposing orientation is itself a fundamental feature of intergroup social cognition. The developmental data summarized here suggest that knowledge about the relative status of one's ingroup is absorbed and internalized sufficiently early in life, revealing system-justifying tendencies by age 5, the earliest age such questions have been examined to date. Across several studies summarized here young children from non-dominant groups failed to show an implicit ingroup preference, similar to their adult counterparts. We conclude that from an early age intergroup preferences are constrained by knowledge, implicit or explicit, about the relative status differences among groups and may suggest an orientation toward supporting existing social and political structures. The possibility that system-justifying tendencies may exist in even younger children remains open for future tests.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: The Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory as a Culturally Relevant Personality Measure in Applied Settings

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:16:00 -0700

This paper introduces the development of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) as a culturally relevant measure for personality assessment in collectivistic cultures. The CPAI was developed as a joint effort of psychologists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the late 1980s. In response to the critique of the imposed etic approach in cross-cultural personality assessment, the team considered it timely to develop an indigenous measure suitable for the Chinese people who constituted at least one-fourth of the world's population. The team built on their experience in the methodology of the adaptation and standardization of the Chinese MMPI to design a comprehensive indigenous instrument covering personality characteristics for normal as well as diagnostic assessment of the Chinese people. In addition to universal personality traits, the CPAI included indigenously derived scales that assessed the relational aspects of personality. The cross-cultural relevance of the CPAI was assessed by examining the convergence and divergence of the CPAI with the NEO PI-R (Costa, & McCrae, 1992) measuring the Five Factor Model, which was claimed to cover universal personality dimensions. A joint factor analysis of the CPAI and the NEO PI-R in both Chinese and Singaporean samples showed that the CPAI factor of Interpersonal Relatedness (IR) did not load on any of the Big Five factors, whereas none of the CPAI scales loaded on the Openness to Experience factor of the NEO PI-R. In the present article, we reported three studies that illustrated the usefulness of these indigenous scales in Chinese organizational settings. The Interpersonal Relatedness factor scales on the CPAI contributed additional value beyond scales from the universal factors of Social Potency and Dependability in profiling MBA students at senior-level positions, in assessing hotel workers' customer orientation, and in predicting senior executives' leadership behaviors. 1. Cheung, F. M., Leung, K., Fan, R. M., Song, W. Z., Zhang, J. X. & Zhang, J. P. (1996). Development of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 27, 181[ndash]199. This article described the methods and procedures used in developing the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI), reports initial findings on the reliability of the inventory, and discusses related issues in cross-cultural personality assessment. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Leung, K., Ward, C., & Leong, F. (2003). The English version of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 433[ndash]452. The article examined the structure of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI), an indigenous Chinese assessment instrument, in two English-speaking samples. In Study 1, the English version of the CPAI was developed and administered to a sample of 675 Singaporean Chinese (aged 18[ndash]73 years). In Study 2, the English version CPAI was administered to a Caucasian American sample (n = 137). Factor analysis showed that the factor structure of the English version CPAI was similar to the structure of the original Chinese version in the normative sample. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Zhang, J. X., Leung, K., Leong, F., & Yeh, K. H. (2008). Relevance of openness as a personality dimension in Chinese culture: Aspects of its cultural relevance. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39, 81[ndash]108. The Openness factor was missing from the original Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). We used a combined emic-etic approach to generate six culturally relevant Openness scales. Joint factor analyses showed that four of the CPAI-2 Openness scales loaded with the Openness factor of the NEO-FFI. This article also presents the factor structure of the CPAI-2 and its joint factor analysis with the NEO-FFI in the re-standardization sample. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., & Zhang, J. X. (2004). What is "Chinese" personality?: Subgroup differences in the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2). Acta Psychologica Sinica, 36, 491[ndash]499. This paper reported subgroup differences in the CPAI 2 normative sample to illustrate variations and continuity of personality characteristics within the same culture. Sex and age differences on mean scores of the CPAI-2 scales are consistent with expected variations associated with socialization and developmental stages. There is no consistent pattern of variations across Hong Kong and different geographical regions within Mainland China. Within culture and cross-cultural differences illustrate the continuity of individual differences in personality, and the dialectics of emic and etic constructs. Kwong, J. Y. Y., & Cheung, F. M. (2003). Prediction of performance facets using specific personality traits in the Chinese context. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 99[ndash]110. This study examined how personality variables relate differentially to interpersonal and personal facets. Supervisory-level employees completed the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and provided their recent performance appraisal records. Results indicated that personality traits that relate to interpersonal orientation (e.g., Harmony and Leadership in the CPAI) better predicted interpersonal versus personal contextual behaviors, whereas a trait associated with personal virtues such as moral obligation and loyalty to group (CPAI's Veraciousness) predicted the personal but not the interpersonal domain. Cheung, F. M., Leung, K., Zhang, J. X., Sun, H. F., Gan, Y. Q., Song, W. Z., & Xie, D. (2001). Indigenous Chinese personality construct: Is the Five Factor Model complete? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 407[ndash]433. This paper investigated the universality and sufficiency of the 5-factor model in the Chinese context. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) were employed among Chinese students, Chinese Managers, and Hawaiian students. A comprehensive analysis showed that the 6-factor models were superior to the 5-factor models and that the Interpersonal Relatedness factor which was defined only by CPAI scales could not be consistently explained by a combination of the Big Five factors. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., & Zhang, J. X. (2004). Convergent validity of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2: Preliminary findings with a normative sample. Journal of Personality Assessment, 82, 92[ndash]103. This study examined the convergent validity of the CPAI, an indigenously constructed measure, by comparing its patterns of correlations with the MMPI-2 (Butcher et al., 2001). Results provide preliminary support for the convergence between most of the CPAI clinical scales and the relevant MMPI-2 scales. The CPAI personality scales further illustrated the patterns of personality features associated with the MMPI-2 scales in a Chinese cultural context. Cheung, S. F., Cheung, F. M., Howard, R., & Lim, Y. H. (2006). Personality across ethnic divide in Singapore: Are "Chinese traits" uniquely Chinese? Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 467[ndash]477. In this study, the English version of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory-2 (CPAI-2) was administered to three samples representing the main ethnic groups in Singapore. Factor analysis and Procrustes rotation showed that the four CPAI-2 factors, Social Potency, Dependability, Accommodation, and Interpersonal Relatedness, could generally be recovered. Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI): http://ww3.psy.cuhk.edu.hk/~cpaiweb/ This website indexes a description for the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory [ndash] 2 (CPAI-2) and the Cross-cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory [ndash] Adolescent Version (CPAI-A) in English and Chinese. We provide directions for researchers to request for research use of these measures that will contribute to building up the database on the validity of the CPAI-2 or CPAI-A. The website also provides related references including publications by our research team and other researchers who used the CPAI-2 and CPAI-A. The aim of this seminar is to introduce students to universal and culture-specific personality. Personality models, research paradigms, and cross-cultural issues of personality assessment are discussed. The Cross-cultural Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2) is cited as an example of the combined etic-emic approach to develop indigenous personality assessment. The program of research to validate the CPAI-2, especially its utility in applied settings, is reviewed. This seminar on personality assessment consists of lectures, class discussion, readings, small group activities, and a proposed group project. There are some required readings. In addition, each student will be responsible for presenting one extra journal article. The primary requirement of the course is to do all required and additional readings in preparation for the discussions, to present a journal report in class outside of the assigned readings, and to work together in small groups to develop a research project. All students are expected to participate thoughtfully and actively in the class discussions. Final grades will be based on the amount and quality of student participation in general (20%), individual presentation of the journal report (40%), and a group presentation (including powerpoint and handout) that proposes a new study (40%) that answers an interesting question on cross-cultural personality assessment, based on the current state of knowledge on this topic. Using powerpoint, outline the journal article that you were assigned and present it to the class, as a teacher would present the material to his or her class. State clearly what the rationale was for the research, what literature was pertinent, what the hypotheses were, how the study was done, what the results were, and what the authors felt the primary contribution was. Then, offer your own assessment of the research, as a reviewer would. What were its strengths and what were it weaknesses? Did you spot any alternative explanations or confounds? Do you think the findings would generalize to other manipulations, measures, and populations (if not, why not)? What further studies would you suggest doing based on this research? The presentation of the group research project should consist of a powerpoint that includes: (i) a title page; (ii) a brief introduction, citing relevant research; (iii) the hypothesis, stated clearly; (iv) a method section that the reader could use to replicate the study; (v) a graph or table of the expected results; (vi) a brief discussion section that indicates, if the results supported the hypothesis, what the theoretical and practical significance would be for the field; and (vii) a reference section. The group should also hand in a 150-word (maximum) abstract. Your final grading will be based on a composite score of your presentation and your seminar contributions. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Zhang, J. X., Leung, K., Leong, F. T. L., & Yeh, K. H. (2008). Relevance of openness as a personality dimension in Chinese culture. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39, 81[ndash]108. Cheung, F. M., Leung, K., Fan, R., Song, W. Z., Zhang, J. X., & Zhang, J. P. (1996). Development of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 27, 181[ndash]199. Church, A. T. (2001). Personality measurement in cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Personality, 69, 979[ndash]1006. Van de Vijver, F., & Leung, K. (1997). Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Individual article (or cluster of articles), from which each of you chooses one (each student needs to choose a different article). If you would like to choose something not on this list, get lecturer's approval: Butcher, J. N., Cheung, F. M., & Lim, J. (2003). Use of the MMPI-2 with Asian populations. Psychological Assessment, 15, 248[ndash]256. Chan, B. (2005). From West to East: The impact of culture on personality and group dynamics. Cross-Cultural Management, 12, 31[ndash]45. Chen, S. X., Bond, M. H., & Cheung, F. M. (2005). Personality correlates of social axioms: Are beliefs nested within personality? Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 509[ndash]519. Cheung, F. M. (2004). Use of Western- and indigenously-developed personality tests in Asia. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53, 173[ndash]191. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., & Leung, F. (2008). Clinical validity of the Cross-Cultural (Chinese) Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2) in the assessment of substance use disorders among Chinese mean. Psychological Assessment, 20, 103[ndash]113. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Leung, K., Ward, C., & Leong, F. (2003). The English version of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34, 433[ndash]452. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Wada, S., & Zhang, J. X. (2003). Indigenous measures of personality assessment in Asian countries: A review. Psychological Assessment, 15, 280[ndash]289. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., & Zhang, J.X. (2004a). What is "Chinese" personality?: Subgroup differences in the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-2). Acta Psychologica Sinica, 36, 491[ndash]499. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., & Zhang, J.X. (2004b). Convergent validity of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2: Preliminary findings with a normative sample. Journal of Personality Assessment, 82, 92[ndash]103. Cheung, F. M. & Leung, K. (1998). Indigenous personality measures: Chinese examples. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 29, 233[ndash]248. Cheung, F. M., Leung, K., Zhang, J. X., Sun, H. F., Gan, Y. Q., Song, W. Z., & Xie, D. (2001). Indigenous Chinese personality construct: Is the Five Factor Model complete? Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 407[ndash]433. Cheung, S. F., Cheung, F. M., Howard, R., & Lim, Y. H. (2006). Personality across ethnic divide in Singapore: Are "Chinese traits" uniquely Chinese? Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 467[ndash]477. Fu, H., Watkins, D., & Hui, E., K. P. (2004). Personality correlates of the disposition towards interpersonal forgiveness: A Chinese perspective. International Journal of Psychology, 39, 305[ndash]316. Heine, S. J., & Buchtel, E. E. (2009). Personality: The universal and the culturally specific. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 369[ndash]394. Ho, M. Y., Cheung, F. M., & Cheung,S. F. (2008). Personality and life events as predictors of adolescents' life satisfaction: Do life events mediate the link between personality and life satisfaction? Social Indicators Research, 89, 457[ndash]471. Kwong, J Y. Y., & Cheung, F. M. (2003). Prediction of performance facets using specific personality traits in the Chinese context. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 99[ndash]110. Leung, K., Cheung, F. M., Zhang, J. X., Song, W. Z., & Xie, D. (1997). The five factor model of personality in China. In K. Leung, Y. Kashima, U. Kim, & S. Yamaguchi (Eds.), Progress in Asian social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 231[ndash]244). Singapore: John Wiley. Lin, E. J., & Church, A. T. (2004). Are indigenous Chinese personality dimensions culture-specific? An investigation of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory in Chinese American and European American samples. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 586[ndash]605. Liu, L. A., Friedman, R. A., & Chi, S. C. (2005). 'Ren Qing' versus the 'Big Five': The role of culturally sensitive measures of individual difference in distributive negotiations. Management and Organizational Review, 1, 225[ndash]247. McCrae, R. R., Yik, M. S. M., Trapnell, P. D., Bond, M. H., & Paulhus, D. L. (1998). Interpreting personality profiles across cultures: Bilingual, acculturation, and peer rating studies of Chinese undergraduates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1041[ndash]1055. Sun, H. F., & Bond, M. H. (2000). Choice of influence tactics: Effects of the target person's behavioral patterns, status and the personality influencer. In Li, J.T., Tusk, A. S., & Weldon. E. (Eds.), Management and organizations in the Chinese context (pp. 283[ndash]302). London: MacMillan. Yang, K. S. (1997). Theories and research in Chinese personality: An indigenous approach. In H. S. R. Kao & D. Sinha (Eds.), Asian perspectives on psychology (pp. 236[ndash]262). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Yik, M. S., & Bond, M. H. (1993). Exploring the dimensions of Chinese person perception with indigenous and imported constructs: Creating a culturally balanced scale. International Journal of Psychology, 28, 75[ndash]95. Introduction (1) the brief history of cross-cultural personality assessment, (2) international research on the Five Factor Model, (3) the application of etic and emic approaches in the field of personality assessment, (4) indigenous research on personality assessment in Asia, (5) the development of CPAI, and (6) the application of the CPAI/CPAI-2 in applied settings. Cheung, F. M., Cheung, S. F., Wada, S., & Zhang, J. X. (2003). Indigenous measures of personality assessment in Asian countries: A review. Psychological Assessment, 15, 280[ndash]289. Cheung, F. M., Leung, K., Fan, R., Song, W. Z., Zhang, J. X., & Zhang, J. P. (1996). Development of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI). Journal of Cross-cultural Psychology, 27, 181[ndash]199. Church, A. T. (2001). Personality measurement in cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Personality, 69, 979[ndash]1006. Van de Vijver, F., & Leung, K. (1997). Methods and data analysis for cross-cultural research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Individual presentations, and group presentations. What are the problems of the imposed etic approach in personality assessment? What is the primary content of a combined emic-etic approach used in personality assessment? Why should the indigenous dimensions of personality be emphasized beyond the classic Big-Five factors? How would you evaluate newly developed measures of personality traits in a non-Western culture? What is the main contribution of the CPAI scales in the field of personality assessment? What is the added value of the emic CPAI scales in applied settings? We designed a classroom demonstration on personality assessment, and request students (or a small group, for instance, 2[ndash]5 persons) develop a mini scale to assess one culturally-relevant personality construct. We expect this classroom activity to assist students to understand the meaning of an emic personality trait that reflects a culturally-relevant construct in their own life.

Teaching and Learning Guide for: Recent Work on Propositions

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0700

Some of the most interesting recent work in philosophy of language and metaphysics is focused on questions about propositions, the abstract, truth-bearing contents of sentences and beliefs. The aim of this guide is to give instructors and students a road map for some significant work on propositions since the mid-1990s. This work falls roughly into two areas: challenges to the existence of propositions and theories about the nature and structure of propositions. The former includes both a widely discussed puzzle about propositional designators as well as direct and indirect arguments against the existence of propositions. The latter is dominated by what is currently the central debate about the metaphysics of propositions, i.e. whether they are structured, composite entities or unstructured ontological simples. This issue has eclipsed older debates about whether propositions can be identified with sets of possible worlds or other kinds of sentence intensions. Soames, Scott. 'Direct Reference, Propositional Attitudes, and Semantic Content.'Philosophical Topics 15 (1987): 47[ndash]87. Reprinted in Propositions and Attitudes. Eds. N. Salmon and S. Soames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. 197[ndash]239. Essential groundwork for more recent work on propositions. Soames gives a careful and exacting presentation of the case against identifying propositions with sets of possible worlds or other truth-supporting circumstances. Also contains a detailed statement of the Russellian conception of propositions on which propositions are ordered sets of objects, properties and relations. King, Jeffrey. 'Designating Propositions.'The Philosophical Review 111 (2002): 341[ndash]71. Sometimes substituting a definite description for a corresponding 'that'-clause can lead to bizarre changes in truth-conditions: compare 'Bill fears that Hillary will be president' with 'Bill fears the proposition that Hillary will be president'. This puzzle about propositional designators threatens the relational analysis of propositional attitude reports, the view that 'believes' expresses a relation to the proposition designated by its 'that'-clause, and thereby poses an indirect threat to the existence of propositions. King's solution posits an ambiguity in verbs like 'fear' that embed both 'that'-clauses and definite descriptions. Jubien, Michael. 'Propositions and the Objects of Thought.'Philosophical Studies 104 (2001): 47[ndash]62. A direct attack on the existence of propositions. Jubien deploys an analogue of the problem that Paul Benacerraf raised for set-theoretical reductions of numbers against metaphysical reductions of propositions. Just as numbers can be reduced to sets in many different ways, any reduction of propositions brings with it equally good variants, thus making any such reduction arbitrary and unmotivated. The only alternative is to treat propositions as abstract metaphysical primitives. As Jubien argues, however, abstract primitive entities are incapable of doing what propositions must do, i.e. represent objects and states of affairs on their own, without the input of thinking subjects. The upshot is the propositions cannot be reduced and they cannot be primitive, and so they must not exist. Hanks, Peter. 'How Wittgenstein Defeated Russell's Multiple Relation Theory of Judgment.'Synthese 154 (2007): 121[ndash]46. Scepticism about propositions has recently led some philosophers, Jubien included, to resuscitate Russell's multiple relation theory of judgment, the idea that judgment is a many-place relation to objects, properties and relations. This paper explains why Russell himself abandoned that theory, and why the theory is still refuted by an objection due to Wittgenstein. Hofweber, Thomas. 'Inexpressible Properties and Propositions.'Oxford Studies in Metaphysics. 2 vols. Ed. D. Zimmerman. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. 155[ndash]206. An indirect attack on the existence of propositions. Hofweber argues that sentences like 'Bill believes something that Hillary asserted' do not commit us to the existence of propositions. His view is that propositional quantification is an instance of what he calls 'internal' or 'inferential role' quantification, a kind of quantification that carries no ontological implications. Schiffer, Stephen. The Things We Mean. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003. esp. chs 1[ndash]2. Schiffer defends his theory of pleonastic propositions, on which propositions are unstructured, have no parts, and are very finely grained. Bealer, George. 'Propositions.'Mind 107 (1998): 1[ndash]32. Bealer defends his algebraic theory of propositions, which, like Schiffer's pleonastic account, treats propositions as unstructured metaphysical simples. King, Jeffrey. The Nature of and Structure of Content. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. The best developed current theory of the structure in structured propositions. King identifies propositions with certain kinds of facts in which objects, properties and relations are bound together by amalgams of syntactic and semantic relations. Hanks, Peter. 'Recent Work on Propositions.'Philosophy Compass 4 (2009): 1[ndash]18. A survey of work on propositions since the mid-1990s that complements this teaching and learning guide. Contains responses to Jubien's and Hofweber's arguments against propositions and critical discussions of Schiffer's pleonastic propositions and King's theory of propositional structure. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/propositions/ Propositions (Matthew McGrath) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/propositions-structured/ Structured Propositions (Jeffrey King) http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/propositions-singular/ Singular Propositions (Greg Fitch) The following partial syllabus can be used as a unit on recent work on propositions in graduate level courses in philosophy of language or metaphysics. Week 1: A Substitution Puzzle About Propositional Designators King, Jeffrey. 'Designating Propositions'. Moltmann, Friederike. 'Propositional Attitudes Without Propositions.'Synthese 135 (2003): 77[ndash]118. Week 2: The Benacerraf Problem and Propositional Representation Benacerraf, Paul. 'What Numbers Could Not Be.'Philosophical Review 74 (1965): 47[ndash]73. Jubien, Michael. 'Propositions and the Objects of Thought.' Week 3: Propositional Quantification Hofweber, Thomas. 'Inexpressible Properties and Propositions'. Hofweber, Thomas. 'A Puzzle about Ontology.'Noûs 39 (2005): 256[ndash]83. Week 4: Schiffer on Pleonastic Propositions Schiffer, Stephen. 'Language-Created Language-Independent Entities.'Philosophical Topics 24 (1996): 149[ndash]67. Schiffer, Stephen. The Things We Mean, chs 1[ndash]2. Week 5: King on Structured Propositions King, Jeffrey. 'Structured Propositions and Complex Predicates.'Noûs, 29 (1995): 516[ndash]35. King, Jeffrey. The Nature and Structure of Content, chs 1[ndash]3. Why does identifying propositions with sentence intensions, e.g. sets of possible worlds, 'require the attitudes to have a particular sort of closure under logical consequence, which they clearly don't have' (Mark Richard)? How does the difference between (a) and (b) pose a threat to the existence of propositions? Bill fears that Hillary will be president. Bill fears the proposition that Hillary will be president. What is the Benacerraf problem for metaphysical reductions of propositions? Why must a proposition represent 'on its own cuff' (Michael Jubien)? Why is this a problem for the view that propositions are primitive abstract entities? What does it mean to say that propositions are structured? Give two different accounts of what propositional structure might be.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Frege on Definitions

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0700

Three clusters of philosophically significant issues arise from Frege's discussions of definitions. First, Frege criticizes the definitions of mathematicians of his day, especially those of Weierstrass and Hilbert. Second, central to Frege's philosophical discussion and technical execution of logicism is the so-called Hume's Principle, considered in The Foundations of Arithmetic. Some varieties of neo-Fregean logicism are based on taking this principle as a contextual definition of the operator 'the number of [hellip]', and criticisms of such neo-Fregean programs sometimes appeal to Frege's objections to contextual definitions in later writings. Finally, a critical question about the definitions on which Frege's proofs of the laws of arithmetic depend is whether the logical structures of the definientia reflect our pre-Fregean understanding of arithmetical terms. It seems that unless they do, it is unclear how Frege's proofs demonstrate the analyticity of the arithmetic in use before logicism. Yet, especially in late writings, Frege characterizes the definitions as arbitrary stipulations of the senses or references of expressions unrelated to pre-definitional understanding. One or more of these topics may be studied in a survey course in the philosophy of mathematics or a course on Frege's philosophy. The latter two topics are obviously central in a seminar in the philosophy of mathematics in general or more specialized seminars on logicism, or on mathematical definitions and concept formation. Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason. Trans. P. Guyer and A. Wood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999 [1781, 1787], A7-10/B11-14, A151/B190. In the first Critique, Kant appears to give four distinct accounts of analytic judgments. The initial famous account explains analyticity in terms of the predicate-concept belonging to the subject-concept (A6[ndash]7/B11). In this passage, we also find an account of establishing analytic judgments on the basis of conceptual containments and the principle of non-contradiction. (The other accounts are in terms of 'identity' (A7/B1l), in terms of the explicative[ndash]ampliative contrast (A7/B11), and by reference to the notion of 'cognizability in accordance with the principle of contradiction' (A151/B190).) Frege, Gottlob. The Foundations of Arithmetic. Trans. J. L. Austin. 2nd ed. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1980 [1884], especially sections 1[ndash]4, 87[ndash]91. Frege here criticizes and reformulates Kant's account of analyticity. Central to Frege's account is the provability of an analytic statement on the basis of (Frege's) logic and definitions that express analyses of (mathematical, especially arithmetical) concepts. Frege, Gottlob. Review of E. G. Husserl. 'Philosophie der Arithmetik I [1894],' in Frege, Collected Papers. Ed. B. McGuinness. Trans. M. Black et al. Oxford: Blackwell, 1984. 195[ndash]209. In this review, Frege responds to Husserl's charge that Frege's definitions fail to capture our intuitive pre-analytic arithmetical concepts by claiming that the adequacy of mathematical definitions is measured, not by their expressing the same senses, but merely by their having the same references, as pre-definitional vocabulary. It follows not only that Husserl's criticism is unfounded, but also that there can be alternative, equally legitimate, definitions of mathematical terms. Frege, 'Logic in Mathematics,' in Frege, Posthumous Writings. Trans. P. Long and R. White. Oxford: Blackwell, 1979 [1914]. 203[ndash]50. These are a set of lecture notes including, among other things, an account of proper definitions as mere abbreviation of complex signs by simple ones, in contrast to definitions which purport to express the analyses of existing concepts. Frege here claims that if there is any doubt whether a definition purporting to express an analysis succeeds in capturing the senses of the pre-definitional expressions, then the definition fails as an analysis, and should be regarded as the introduction of an entirely new expression abbreviating the definiens. Picardi, Eva. 'Frege on Definition and Logical Proof,'Temi e Prospettive della Logica e della Filosofia della Scienza Contemporanee. i vol. Eds. C. Cellucci and G. Sambin. Bologna: Cooperativa Libraria Universitaria Editrice Bologna, 1988. 227[ndash]30. Picardi sets out forcefully the view that unless Frege's definitions capture the meanings of existing arithmetical terms, his logicism cannot have the epistemological significance he takes it to have. Dummett, Michael. 'Frege and the Paradox of Analysis,' in Dummett, Frege and other Philosophers. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 17[ndash]52. Dummett agrees with Picardi's view and analyzes the philosophical pressures that led Frege to the account of definition in 'Logic in Mathematics.' Especially significant is Dummett's claim of the centrality of the transparency of sense [ndash] that if one grasps the senses of any two expressions, one must know whether they have the same sense [ndash] in Frege's account. Benacerraf, Paul. 'Frege: The Last Logicist,'Midwest Studies in Philosophy. vol. 6. Eds. P. French, T. Uehling, and H. Wettstein. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1981. 17[ndash]35. Frege's aims, on Benacerraf's reading, are primarily mathematical. Frege was interested in traditional philosophical issues such as the analyticity of arithmetic only to the extent that they can be exploited for the mathematical goal of proving previously unproven arithmetical statements. Hence, Frege never had any serious interest in or need for showing that his definitions of arithmetical terms reflect existing arithmetical conceptions. Weiner, Joan. 'The Philosopher Behind the Last Logicist,' in Frege: Tradition and Influence. Ed. C. Wright. Oxford: Blackwell, 1984. 57[ndash]79. Weiner argues that on Frege's view, prior to his definitions of arithmetical terms the references of such expressions are in fact not known by those who use arithmetical vocabulary. Thus, in Foundations, Frege operated with a 'hidden agenda' (263) namely, replacing existing arithmetic with a new science based on stipulative definitions that assign new senses to key arithmetical terms. Tappenden, Jamie. 'Extending Knowledge and 'Fruitful Concepts': Fregean Themes in the Foundations of Mathematics.'Noûs 29 (1995): 427[ndash]67. Tappenden argues that Frege takes his crucial innovation over previous practices and accounts of mathematical concept formation to be the role of quantificational structure made possible by his logical discoveries. Horty, John. Frege on Definitions: A Case Study of Semantic Content. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. A useful interpretation of Frege's views of definition, together with suggestive extensions for resolving the issues framing Frege's views. Shieh, Sanford. 'Frege on Definitions,'Philosophy Compass 3/5 (2008): 992[ndash]1012. A more detailed account of Frege's views on definition and the philosophical issues they raise, surveying and discussing critically the main substantive and interpretive issues. On Frege http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frege/ On the Paradox of Analysis http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/analysis/ The following is a 3-week module that can be incorporated into fairly focused historically oriented graduate-level seminars on logicism or on the paradox of analysis. It is also possible to compress the material into 2 weeks in an undergraduate or graduate class Frege's thought in general. Week I: Background, Kant on Analyticity; Definition in Foundations, Review of Husserl, and 'Logic in Mathematics' Readings Kant, Immanuel. Critique of Pure Reason, A7[ndash]10/B11[ndash]14. Frege, Gottlob. The Foundations of Arithmetic, sections 1[ndash]4, 87[ndash]91. Frege, Gottlob. Review of E. G. Husserl, Philosophie der Arithmetik I. Frege, Gottlob. 'Logic in Mathematics.' Optional Proops, Ian. 'Kant's Conception of Analytic Judgment,'Philosophy and Phenomenological Research LXX, 3 (2005): 588[ndash]612. Week II: The Supposed Paradox of Analysis, Picardi and Dummett; Bypassing Traditional Epistemological Issues About Mathematics, Benacerraf Readings Picardi, Eva. 'Frege on Definition and Logical Proof.' Dummett, Michael. 'Frege and the Paradox of Analysis.' Benacerraf, Paul. 'Frege: The Last Logicist.' Optional Tappenden, Jamie. 'Extending Knowledge and 'Fruitful Concepts': Fregean Themes in the Foundations of Mathematics.' Week III: Weiner's Hidden Agenda Interpretation Readings Weiner, Joan. 'The Philosopher Behind the Last Logicist.' Optional Weiner, Joan. Frege in Perspective. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990. To what extent is Frege's account of analyticity in Foundations a rejection, and to what extent an updating, of Kant's view of analyticity? According to Picardi it 'would be incomprehensible' how Frege's proofs tells us anything about the arithmetic we already have unless his 'definitions [are] somehow responsible to the meaning of [arithmetical] sentences as these are understood' (228). Why does she hold this? Why does Dummett agree with her? Do you think Frege's logicism needs to address this worry? What are the major differences and continuities in Frege's discussions of definition in mathematics in Foundations, the review of Husserl and 'Logic in Mathematics'? Frege writes that definitions must prove their worth by being fruitful. He also says that nothing can be proven using a proper definition that cannot be proven without it. Are these claims consistent? Why or why not? Weiner held that in Foundations Frege had 'hidden agenda.' What, according to her, is this agenda? How does this fit with Frege's later views of definition? What are Frege's main complaints about Weierstrass's definitions in 'Logic in Mathematics'? Are these criticisms consistent with Frege's account of 'definition proper' in the same text? What, if anything, is the relation between Frege's critique of Hilbert's use of definitions and Frege's later views of definitions?

God and the Natural World in the Seventeenth Century: Space, Time, and Causality

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0700

The employment by seventeenth-century natural philosophers of stock theological notions like creation, immensity, and eternity in the articulation and justification of emerging physical programs disrupted a delicate but longstanding balance between transcendent and immanent conceptions of God. By playing a prominent (if not always leading) role in many of the major scientific developments of the period, God became more intimately involved with natural processes than at any time since antiquity. In this discussion, I am particularly concerned with the causal and spatio-temporal relations between God and nature in the seventeenth century as recent scholarship has revealed how dramatically traditional conceptions of these relations were transformed by philosophers and scientists like Descartes, Malebranche, More, and Newton.

Cartesian Sensations

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0700

Descartes maintained that sensations of color and the like misrepresent the material world in normal circumstances. Some prominent scholars have argued that, to explain this Cartesian view, we must attribute to Descartes a causal account of sensory representation. I contend that neither the arguments motivating this reading nor the textual evidence offered in its support is sufficient to justify such attribution. Both textual and theoretical reasons point in the direction of an (at least partial) internalist account of Descartes' views on sensory representation.

Buck-Passing Accounts of Value

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:15:00 -0700

This paper explores the so-called buck-passing accounts of value. These views attempt to use normative notions, such as reasons and ought to explain evaluative notions, such as goodness and value. Thus, according to Scanlon's well-known view, the property of being good is the formal, higher-order property of having some more basic properties that provide reasons to have certain kind of valuing attitudes towards the objects. I begin by tracing some of the long history of such accounts. I then describe the arguments which are typically used to motivate these views. The rest of this article investigates how some of the central details of the buck-passing accounts should be specified, and what kind of problems these views face.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: What is at Stake in the Cartesian Debates on the Eternal Truths?

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:23:00 -0700

Any study of the 'Scientific Revolution' and particularly Descartes' role in the debates surrounding the conception of nature (atoms and the void v. plenum theory, the role of mathematics and experiment in natural knowledge, the status and derivation of the laws of nature, the eternality and necessity of eternal truths, etc.) should be placed in the philosophical, scientific, theological, and sociological context of its time. Seventeenth-century debates concerning the nature of the eternal truths such as '2 + 2 = 4' or the law of inertia turn on the question of whether these truths were created along with nature, or were uncreated and subsisting in God's mind. One's answer to that question has direct consequences for conceptions of the necessity/contingency of mathematical and natural knowledge, how knowledge of such truths is accomplished by humans, and what grounds these truths. In this paper, I review the positions of four successors to Descartes' philosophy on the question of the eternal truths to illustrate how in specific ways that question with its theological, metaphysical, modal, and epistemological dimensions concerned the objectivity and certainty of the discoveries of the new science. Clarke, Desmond. Descartes' Philosophy of Science. University Park, Penn State Press, 1982. This work provides an account of Descartes as a practicing scientist whose rationalism is mitigated by reliance on experiment and experience. Author re-examines Descartes' philosophical and scientific works in this new light. Dear, Peter. Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge and its Ambitions, 1500[ndash]1700. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2001. This work provides a useful overview of the issues and thinkers of the Scientific Revolution. Of particular relevance is chapter 8 on Cartesian and Newtonian science. Funkenstein, Amos. Theology and the Scientific Imagination from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1986. This work is an advanced study of the theological and metaphysical foundations of early modern science. Discussions include questions of God's nature, God's knowledge in relation to human knowledge, providence, the laws of nature, and the truths of mathematics. In particular, chapter 3 discusses Descartes' account of the eternal truths and divine omnipotence. Garber, Daniel. Descartes' Metaphysical Physics. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1992. This work examines how Descartes' metaphysical doctrines of God, soul, and body set the groundwork for his physics. It includes a study of God and the grounds for the laws of physics (chapter 9). Henry, John. The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science. 3rd ed. New York, Palgrave, Macmillan Press, 2008. This work provides a brief, general, and informative overview of the Scientific Revolution, including the themes of method, magic, religion, and culture. Osler, Margaret J. Divine Will and the Mechanical Philosophy: Gassendi and Descartes on Contingency and Necessity in the Created World. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1994. This work is an examination and comparison of the mechanical philosophies of Gassendi and Descartes. It offers in-depth discussion of the issue of voluntarism and intellectualism in the period and how that related to conceptions of laws of nature and the eternal truths. Shapin, Steven. The Scientific Revolution. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1996. This work provides a critical synthesis of as well as a guide to recent scholarship in the history of science for a general readership. Dr. Robert A. Hatch's Scientific Revolution Website: http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/rhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Home/ A compendium of resources for the study of Scientific Revolution. Early English Books Online: http://eebo.chadwyck.com/home Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473 to 1700. Early Modern Resources: http://www.earlymodernweb.org.uk/emr/ Early Modern Resources is a gateway for all those interested in finding electronic resources relating to the early modern period in history. Gallica, the Digital Library of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France: http://gallica.bnf.fr/ An ever-growing digital library which includes numerous primary and secondary texts of relevance to Descartes and his role in Scientific Revolution. Hatfield, Gary, 'René Descartes', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Spring 2009 ed. Ed. Edward N. Zalta; URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/descartes/ Slowik, Edward, 'Descartes' Physics', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Winter 2008 ed. Ed. Edward N. Zalta; URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2008/entries/descartes-physics/ The following is five weeks covering Cartesian Science in a course on Descartes or the Scientific Revolution, or 17th-century theories of matter, or related themes on early modern truth and method, especially on the continent. This material is best suited to a graduate level audience, but it could be modified to suit an upper-division undergraduate course, as the readings are basically primary texts whose context and background can be explained in lectures. Week 1: Cartesian Revolution in France Scientific method Role of mathematics and experiment Certainty of scientific knowledge Readings: Hatfield, Gary, 'René Descartes', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Spring 2009 ed. Ed. Edward N. Zalta; URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2009/entries/descartes/ Descartes, Discourse on Method, Parts 1[ndash]3 Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, First Meditation. Week 2: Descartes' Scientific Treatises Mechanization and mathematization of nature Primary[ndash]secondary quality distinction Readings: Discourse on Method, Parts 4[ndash]6 Selections from Descartes' Scientific Essays: The World or Treatise on Light (ATXI 3[ndash]48); Treatise on Man (ATXI 119[ndash]202); Optics (ATVI 82[ndash]147). Slowik, Edward, 'Descartes' Physics', The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Winter 2008 ed. Ed. Edward N. Zalta; URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2008/entries/descartes-physics/ Henry, John, 'The Mechanical Philosophy,' chapter 5. The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science. 3rd ed. Macmillan, 2008. Week 3: Descartes' Theory of Nature Descartes' derivation of the law of conservation and the three laws of motion God's role in the metaphysics and physics of nature Readings: Selections from Principles of Philosophy, Preface (all); Letter to Elizabeth; Part I: 1[ndash]8; Part II: 1[ndash]45, 55, 64; Part III: 1[ndash]4, 15[ndash]19, 45[ndash]47; Part IV: 187[ndash]207. John Henry, 'Religion and Science,' chapter 6. The Scientific Revolution and the Origins of Modern Science. 3rd ed. Macmillan, 2008. Week 4: Post-1650 Cartesian Science: Necessity and Contingency in Nature Debates on God, Creation, and Causes Readings: Easton, Patricia, 'What is at Stake in the Cartesian Debates on the Eternal Truths?' Philosophy Compass 4.2 (2009): 348[ndash]62. Malebranche, Nicolas, 'Elucidation 10', from The Search after Truth (1674). Note: All selections available in Nicolas Malebranche (1992). Philosophical Selections, edited by S. Nadler, Hackett. Gottfried Leibniz (1714) Monadology. Week 5: Causes in Nature and Morals Theodicy as an explanation of defect and evil in a lawful universe: Malebranche v. Leibniz Readings: Nicolas Malebranche, Elucidation XVI (on occasionalism), and Treatise on Nature and Grace, Discourse One, Part 1. Gottfried Leibniz (1706), Theodicy. Weekly questions can be used to focus the readings. This can be done in a web or e-mail discussion thread, as a weekly assignment, or for in class discussion. I require students to post a short paragraph in response to the question or some posting by a classmate on the question. Students are required to post by 10 a.m. the day before we meet for class on a course website. Week 1: According to Descartes, what role does skepticism play in scientific reasoning? Week 2: Comment on the following: 'But I am supposing this machine to be made by the hands of God, and so I think you may reasonably think it capable of a greater variety of movements than I could possibly imagine in it, and of exhibiting more artistry than I could possibly ascribe to it' [Treatise on Man; ATXI 120]. Week 3: What is Descartes' conception of the relation between the metaphysics and physics of nature? Week 4: Critically discuss the positions of Descartes, Malebranche, and Leibniz on what provides the foundation for the certitude of natural knowledge? Week 5: Explain why both Malebranche and Leibniz consider moral sin to be analogous to natural defect? Hold a debate on the question of the status of the eternal truths. The proposition will be Descartes' position: 'Eternal truths must be both created and necessary if certainty in science is to be possible'. Format: At the beginning of the 5-week module, students will be assigned to one of three roles: Team A, Team B, and judge's panel. Students will be given the debate proposition, but will not be told which team will take the affirmative and which team the negative until the time of the debate. Recommend a variation on the Classic Debate Format to encourage the development of argument: sequence begins with affirmative construction (8 minutes), negative construction (8 minutes), second affirmative construction (8 minutes), second negative construction (8 minutes), first negative rebuttal (4 minutes), first affirmative rebuttal (4 minutes), final negative rebuttal (4 minutes) and final affirmative rebuttal (4 minutes). Judges Panel: will consist of 3[ndash]4 judges who will assess the performance of Teams A and B. Judgment should be based on the persuasiveness of the team position. Debate will be held at the end of the fifth week, or semester, whichever makes most sense given the course length and structure. The author gratefully acknowledges the immensely helpful comments and suggestions by the participants in her graduate seminar on the Scientific Revolution: Benjamin Chicka, Sarah Jacques-Ross, Richard Ross, Marcella Stockstill, and Zohra Wolters.

Emergence in Physics

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:23:00 -0700

This paper begins by tracing interest in emergence in physics to the work of condensed matter physicist Philip Anderson. It provides a selective introduction to contemporary philosophical approaches to emergence. It surveys two exciting areas of current work that give good reason to re-evaluate our views about emergence in physics. One area focuses on physical systems wherein fundamental theories appear to break down. The other area is the quantum-to-classical transition, where some have claimed that a complete explanation of the behaviors and features of the objects of classical physics entirely in quantum terms is now within our grasp. We suggest that the most useful way to approach the emergent/non-emergent distinction is in epistemic terms, and more specifically that the failure of reductive explanation is constitutive of emergence in physics.

Disagreement as Evidence: The Epistemology of Controversy

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:22:00 -0700

How much should your confidence in your beliefs be shaken when you learn that others [ndash] perhaps 'epistemic peers' who seem as well-qualified as you are [ndash] hold beliefs contrary to yours? This article describes motivations that push different philosophers towards opposite answers to this question. It identifies a key theoretical principle that divides current writers on the epistemology of disagreement. It then examines arguments bearing on that principle, and on the wider issue. It ends by describing some outstanding questions that thinking about this issue raises.

Taste and Objectivity: The Emergence of the Concept of the Aesthetic

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 05:22:00 -0700

Can there be a philosophy of taste? This paper opens by raising some metaphilosophical questions about the study of taste [ndash] what it consists of and what method we should adopt in pursuing it. It is suggested that the best starting point for philosophising about taste is against the background of 18th-century epistemology and philosophy of mind, and the conceptual tools this new philosophical paradigm entails. The notion of aesthetic taste in particular, which emerges from a growing sense of dissatisfaction with an undifferentiated category of taste, comes to be set apart from gustatory taste on account of its normativity and aspirations to objectivity. The paradox of taste, as found in Hume and Kant, is examined, and shown to be highly relevant to contemporary metaphysical debate within aesthetics. Specifically, this paper argues that both Realists and Anti-Realists rely more heavily than assumed on the idea of taste.

Computer Simulation and the Philosophy of Science

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:49:00 -0700

There are a variety of topics in the philosophy of science that need to be rethought, in varying degrees, after one pays careful attention to the ways in which computer simulations are used in the sciences. There are a number of conceptual issues internal to the practice of computer simulation that can benefit from the attention of philosophers. This essay surveys some of the recent literature on simulation from the perspective of the philosophy of science and argues that philosophers have a lot to learn by paying closer attention to the practice of simulation.

Works and Performances in the Performing Arts

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:49:00 -0700

The primary purpose of the performing arts is to prepare and present 'artistic performances', performances that either are themselves the appreciative focuses of works of art or are instances of other things that are works of art. In the latter case, we have performances of what may be termed 'performed works', as is generally taken to be so with performances of classical music and traditional theatrical performances. In the former case, we have what may be termed 'performance-works', as, for example, in free improvisations. Where we have performances of performed works, a number of distinctive philosophical questions arise: What kind of thing is a performed work? How is it appreciated through its performances? Is 'authenticity' an artistically relevant quality of performances of performed works, and, if so, why? How much of what goes on in the performing arts is rightly viewed as the performance of performed works? Artistic performances, whether or not they are of performed works, raise philosophical questions of their own. Can a performance itself be rightly viewed as a work of art? How do improvisation and rehearsal enter into the performing arts, and how do they bear on the appreciation of artistic performances? What role does the audience play in such performances? Does the performer's use of her own body as an artistic medium, as for example in dance performance, generate special constraints on appreciation? How, finally, does what is usually classified as 'performance art' relate to activities in the performing arts more generally construed? I critically survey the ways in which these questions have been addressed by principal theorists in the field.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Locke on Language

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:48:00 -0700

Although a fascination with language is a familiar feature of 20th-century empiricism, its origins reach back at least to the early modern period empiricists. John Locke offers a detailed (if sometimes puzzling) treatment of language and uses it to illuminate key regions of the philosophical topography, particularly natural kinds and essences. Locke's main conceptual tool for dealing with language is 'signification'. Locke's central linguistic thesis is this: words signify nothing but ideas. This on its face seems absurd. Don't we need words to signify things as well? But its very absurdity [ndash] our inclination to dismiss Locke as a 'linguistic idealist'[ndash] should signal to us that we have not yet understood Locke. Doing so must begin with an analysis of signification. Each of the three main interpretations on offer allows Locke to escape the charge of linguistic idealism, although they do so in very different ways. Locke's text also offers an influential account of linguistic particles, words like 'is', 'and' and 'if'. These signify, not ideas, but acts of the mind. These acts can either take place within a proposition, uniting its constituent ideas into a thought that admits of a truth-value, or they can take propositions as their objects, in which case they express attitudes like doubt, assertion and so on. Even this seemingly innocuous sketch of Locke's view is controversial, and many writers, from J.S. Mill onwards, have argued that Locke cannot make sense of propositional attitudes. Apart from the intrinsic interest of these questions, understanding how Locke thinks language works is a prerequisite for understanding his arguments against scholastic essentialism. It also illuminates later discussions of language in Berkeley, Hume and Mill. Losonsky, Michael. 'Language, Meaning, and Mind in Locke's Essay.'The Cambridge Companion to Locke's Essay. Ed. Lex Newman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. 286[ndash]313. In addition to making some original points, Losonsky provides an excellent overview of the three main competing positions on Lockean signification: the Fregean reading, the Scholastic reading and the Indicator theory (see entries 2[ndash]5 in the following). Kretzmann, Norman. 'The Main Thesis of Locke's Semantic Theory.'Locke on Human Understanding. Ed. I. C. Tipton. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1975. 123[ndash]40. Kretzmann's influential paper offers a broadly Fregean analysis, according to which primary signification is sense and secondary, reference. Locke can then avoid the charge of linguistic idealism, as it is not the case that words signify only ideas. Ashworth, E. J. 'Do Words Signify Ideas or Things?'Journal of the History of Philosophy 19 (1981): 299[ndash]326. Ashworth rejects Kretzmann's view, partly on the grounds of anachronism, and sets Locke in his historical context. As she reads Locke, he holds a scholastic position, according to which signification amounts to 'making known' or 'expressing'. This preserves the portmanteau analysis of Kretzmann: words can primarily signify or express ideas, while secondarily signifying things. Lowe, E. J. 'Language and Meaning,' chapter 4. Locke. London: Routledge, 2005. This is a spirited defense of Locke's claim that words signify ideas against contemporary prejudices. Like Ian Hacking (see entry 7 in the following), Lowe argues that Locke is not offering a semantic theory in anything like the contemporary sense; rather, he is concerned with explaining human communication. Ott, Walter. Locke's Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. On the interpretation offered in chapter 1, Lockean signification is indication: words signify ideas in the same sense in which clouds signify rain. If this view is correct, Locke is departing from the particular scholastic tradition Ashworth focuses on, and embracing instead a tradition running from the Stoics through Thomas Hobbes. http://www.springerlink.com/content/xv362655719101n3/ Winkler, Kenneth. 'Signification, Intention, Projection.' Forthcoming, Philosophia. http://www.springerlink.com/content/xv362655719101n3 Although previous commentators acknowledge the role of intentions in Locke's view (see especially Kretzmann's argument from the uses of words), Winkler claims that they are far more central to Locke's view than has been supposed. In particular, Winkler uses these considerations to criticize the indicator interpretation. Hacking, Ian. Why Does Language Matter to Philosophy? Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1975. Much broader in focus than these other works, Hacking's classic text has much to say about early modern views on language. Hacking argues that Hobbes and Locke do not, properly speaking, even have theories of meaning. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Locke, by William Uzgalis: The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy's entry on Locke, author unknown: Ashworth, E. J. 'Do Words Signify Ideas or Things?'Journal of the History of Philosophy 19 (1981): 299[ndash]326. Kretzmann, Norman. 'The Main Thesis of Locke's Semantic Theory.'Locke on Human Understanding. Ed. I. C. Tipton. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1975. 123[ndash]40. Locke, Essay III. i[ndash]iii. Lowe, E. J. 'Language and Meaning,' chapter 4. Locke. London: Routledge, 2005. Locke, Essay III. vii. Ott, Walter. 'Propositional Attitudes in Modern Philosophy.'Dialogue 41 (2002): 1[ndash]18. Owen, David. 'Locke on Judgment.'The Cambridge Companion to Locke's Essay. Ed. Lex Newman. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007. 406[ndash]35. If one wanted to explore whether and how Locke applies his semiotic theory in his anti-essentialist argument, one might add (or perhaps replace Week 3 with): Locke, Essay III. vi; III.xi. 4[ndash]22. Bolton, Martha. 'The Relevance of Locke's Theory of Ideas to his Doctrine of Nominal Essence and Anti-Essentialist Semantic Theory.'Locke. Ed. Vere Chappell. Oxford: OUP, 1998. pp. 214[ndash]225 Ott, Walter. 'Locke's Argument from Signification.'Locke Studies 2 (2002): 145[ndash]76. What is a semantic theory? What do we want out of such a theory, and does Locke even purport to provide one? What are the differences among the three main competing readings of Locke? What is at stake here? What, if anything, turns on which of them accurately captures Locke's view? How does Locke think his linguistic thesis tells against competing views, such as those of the scholastics? What is the difference between a proposition and a list? Can Locke account for this difference? There is clearly a difference between merely thinking that the cat is on the mat and asserting that it is. Can Locke account for this difference?

Identity Theories

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:48:00 -0700

Identity theories are those that hold that 'sensations are brain processes'. In particular, they hold that mental/psychological state kinds are identical to brain/neuroscientific state kinds. In this paper, I isolate and explain some of the key features of contemporary identity theories. They are then contrasted with the main live alternatives by means of considering the two most important lines of objection to identity theories.

Teaching & Learning Guide for Business Ethics: An Overview

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:15:00 -0700

Business ethics is often taught by philosophers, but rarely to students pursuing a degree in philosophy. It is a service course designed primarily for those in business and allied programs (e.g., marketing, accounting). These students typically have little patience for the abstract questions that occupy philosophers. So it is useful to spend time motivating the issues through a consideration of cases drawn from, or modeled on, actual events. Most texts and anthologies are brimming with such cases. From here, the instructor can transition to a careful exploration of the underlying philosophical issues. While the ethical questions raised by business activity are complex and varied, they involve familiar concepts, such as responsibility, autonomy, truth, justice, exploitation, and relativism. The diversity of the field of business ethics allows the instructor to tailor the content of the course to her audience. A course for accounting students may consider the ethical failures leading to Enron's collapse; one for marketing students may consider the ethics of advertising to children; and another for finance students may consider the ethics of insider trading. Most of these articles are widely reprinted. Milton Friedman, 'The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits', Ethical Theory and Business, 8th ed., Eds. Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie, and Denis G. Arnold (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 51[ndash]5. Friedman argues that, within the bounds of law and 'ethical custom', managers should manage the firm as its owners want them to, which usually is to 'make as much money as possible'. R. Edward Freeman, 'A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation', Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology, Eds. Fritz Allhoff and Anand Vaidya (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2008), 69[ndash]78. In the classic counterpoint to Friedman's shareholder-centered view, Freeman argues that managers should aim to 'balance' the interests of all stakeholders. W. Michael Hoffman, 'Business and Environmental Ethics', Business Ethics Quarterly 1 (1991): 169[ndash]84. Hoffman defends the view, against critics such as Norman Bowie, that firms have moral obligations to the environment beyond what is required by law. In doing so, he appeals to the view that natural things besides persons have moral status. Tara J. Radin and Patricia H. Werhane, 'Employment-at-Will, Employee Rights, and Future Directions for Employment', Business Ethics Quarterly 13 (2003): 113[ndash]30. Werhane, together with her recent collaborator Radin, is an influential contributor to philosophical discussions of job security. This article presents their latest thinking, and contains a helpful bibliography. Michael Davis, 'Some Paradoxes of Whistleblowing', Business and Professional Ethics Journal 15 (1996): 3[ndash]19. In this tightly argued article, Davis motivates the problem of whistleblowing, criticizes Richard DeGeorge's popular justification of it, and presents his own justification. Thomas Carson, 'Deception and Withholding Information in Sales', Business Ethics Quarterly 11 (2001): 275[ndash]306. How much information should sales people be required to disclose to customers? Carson critiques others' views, then articulates, and defends his own theory. Colin Boyd, 'The Structural Origins of Conflicts of Interest in the Accounting Profession', Business Ethics Quarterly 14 (2004): 377[ndash]98. This article explores the conflict of interest at the heart of the collapse of Enron and Arthur Andersen and then considers whether the Sarbanes[ndash]Oxley Act of United States is an adequate response. Michael J. Phillips, 'The Inconclusive Ethical Case Against Manipulative Advertising', Business and Professional Ethics Journal 13 (1994): 31[ndash]64. In this detailed and nuanced article, Phillips identifies weaknesses in many common critiques of manipulative (as opposed to merely informative) advertising, but concludes that this practice remains morally problematic. Thomas Donaldson, 'Values in Tension: Ethics Away from Home', Harvard Business Review 74:5 (1996): 48[ndash]62. When in Rome, do as the Romans? Donaldson says 'no', and offers practical advice on how to navigate the morally significant cultural differences in international business. Ian Maitland, 'The Great Non-Debate Over International Sweatshops', Ethical Theory and Business, 8th ed., Eds. Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie, and Denis G. Arnold (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008), 597[ndash]608. Maitland rejects a variety of criticisms of 'international sweatshops'. While the conditions in these factories may seem bad to us, he argues, they are often better than anything else available to those who work in them. A History of Business Ethics (Richard T. DeGeorge) http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/presentations/business-ethics-history.html A history of the field by one of its most distinguished contributors. Business Ethics (Alexei Marcoux) http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/ethics-business/ An up-to-date summary of business ethics research. The Business Ethics Blog (Chris MacDonald) http://www.businessethicsblog.com/ A topical and frequently updated blog on business ethics issues. Knowledge at Wharton/Business Ethics http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/category.cfm?cid=11 Short, accessible pieces covering a range of topics in business ethics. United Nations Global Compact http://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html Ten principles for ethical business, explained in detail. There are numerous business ethics textbooks and anthologies. Textbooks generally cover a wider range of topics, but can lack the 'punch' of anthologies composed of articles in which authors defend their own views. Effective anthologies include, but are not limited to: Fritz Allhoff and Anand Vaidya (Eds.), Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology (Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 2008). Tom L. Beauchamp, Norman E. Bowie, and Denis G. Arnold (Eds.), Ethical Theory and Business, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008). Joseph R. Desjardins and John J. McCall (Eds.), Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005). Thomas Donaldson and Patricia H. Werhane (Eds.), Ethical Issues in Business: A Philosophical Approach, 8th ed. (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008). W. Michael Hoffman, Robert E. Frederick, and Mark S. Schwartz (Eds.), Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality, 4th ed. (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2001). My recommendations that follow indicate in which collection(s) the article appears. The reader can also search for the article online to find its original source. Many are from journals, and can be easily downloaded. A course in business ethics often begins with a brief survey of important moral theories (utilitarianism, deontology, virtue theory) and/or theories of distributive justice (egalitarianism, libertarianism). All of these anthologies contain discussions of these theories. In addition (or instead), it might begin with selections from classic works such as Locke's Second Treatise, Smith's The Wealth of Nations, and Marx's Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844. These works engage recurring themes in contemporary business ethics, including the nature and value of property rights (Locke), the efficiency of the market (Smith), and the ethical aspects of wage labor (Marx). Appropriate selections from these readings can be found in [1] and [4]. Milton Friedman, 'The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits', in [1], [2], [3], [4], and [5]. R. Edward Freeman, 'A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation', in [1] and [5]. Similar articles by Freeman appear in [2], [3], and [4]. John Boatright, 'Fiduciary Duties and the Shareholder[ndash]Management Relation: Or, What's So Special About Shareholders?', Business Ethics Quarterly 4 (1994): 393[ndash]407. Joseph Heath, 'Business Ethics Without Stakeholders', in [1]. Norman Bowie, 'Morality, Money, and Motor Cars', in [2], [3], and [5]. W. Michael Hoffman, 'Business and Environmental Ethics', in [5]. Amory B. Lovins, L. Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken, 'A Road Map for Natural Capitalism', in [3]. Ian Maitland, 'Rights in the Workplace: A Nozickian Argument', in [3]. Joseph R. Desjardins and Ronald Duska, 'Drug Testing in Employment', in [1], [3], and [5]. Michael Cranford, 'Drug Testing and the Right to Privacy: Arguing the Ethics of Workplace Drug Testing', in [1]. Richard A. Epstein, 'In Defense of the Contract at Will', in [1], [2], and [4]. Patricia H. Werhane and Tara J. Radin, 'Employment at Will and Due Process', in [1] and [2]. Similar articles by Werhane appear in [3] and [4]. Sissela Bok, 'Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibility', in [4]. Michael Davis, 'Some Paradoxes of Whistleblowing', in [2]. Albert Z. Carr, 'Is Business Bluffing Ethical?' in [1], [3], and [4]. David M. Holley, 'A Moral Evaluation of Sales Practices', in [5]. Thomas Carson, 'Deception and Withholding Information in Sales', in [3]. Michael J. Phillips, 'The Inconclusive Ethical Case Against Manipulative Advertising', Business and Professional Ethics Journal 13 (1994): 31[ndash]64. Thomas Donaldson, 'Values in Tension: Ethics Away From Home', in [1], [4], and [5]. Ian Maitland, 'The Great Non-Debate Over International Sweatshops', in [1], [2], [3], and [4]. Denis G. Arnold and Norman E. Bowie, 'Sweatshops and Respect for Persons', in [2] and [3]. Nien-hê Hsieh, 'The Obligations of Transnational Corporations: Rawlsian Justice and the Duty of Assistance', Business Ethics Quarterly 14 (2004): 643[ndash]61. In whose interests should corporations be managed? Are there any minimum conditions for work quality (including safety, privacy, and participation) that all firms must observe? Or can any conditions be justified, provided that workers freely agree to them? Does the prohibition against deception [ndash] and the requirement to be truthful [ndash] apply just as firmly in the business world as it does in 'real life'? Do firms have obligations to protect the environment beyond what is required by law? What, if anything, makes the environment worthy of special concern? To what extent are firms responsible for the labor practices of their suppliers, especially those in foreign countries? Debate. Have students conduct formal in-class debates about the issues covered in the course. Divide them into teams of 3[ndash]6 students. Each debate will focus on a single question or topic, and will be between two teams who take up opposing views. Each team will prepare a document stating its case. The teams will exchange documents a day or two before the debate. This gives each team time to digest and prepare a response to the other team's case. The original cases and responses will be presented in class, followed by further questions and answers from the debaters and other students. Students can be graded on their in-class performances and work on the supporting documents. (This idea is due to the Wharton Ethics Program.)

The Open Borders Debate on Immigration

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:15:00 -0700

Global migration raises important ethical issues. One of the most significant is the question of whether liberal democratic societies have strong moral obligations to admit immigrants. Historically, most philosophers have argued that liberal states are morally free to restrict immigration at their discretion, with few exceptions. Recently, however, liberal egalitarians have begun to challenge this conventional view in two lines of argument. The first contends that immigration restrictions are inconsistent with basic liberal egalitarian values, including freedom and moral equality. The second maintains that affluent, liberal democratic societies are morally obligated to admit immigrants as a partial response to global injustices, such as poverty and human rights violations. This article surveys the main philosophical arguments for these positions on immigration and discusses the critical responses to these arguments.

Aesthetics and Cognitive Science

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:15:00 -0700

Experiences of art involve exercise of ordinary cognitive and perceptual capacities but in unique ways. These two features of experiences of art imply the mutual importance of aesthetics and cognitive science. Cognitive science provides empirical and theoretical analysis of the relevant cognitive capacities. Aesthetics thus does well to incorporate cognitive scientific research. Aesthetics also offers philosophical analysis of the uniqueness of the experience of art. Thus, cognitive science does well to incorporate the explanations of aesthetics. This paper explores this general framework of expansionism: a research strategy that suggests that the explanatory goals and resources of both aesthetics and cognitive science should expand to include those of the other. Two relations are considered. First, what is the relation between aesthetics and more traditional cognitive science? Second, what is the relation between aesthetics and new developments in cognitive science that de-emphasize mental representation and emphasize body and action?

On the Philosophy of Group Decision Methods II: Alternatives to Majority Rule

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:14:00 -0700

In this companion piece to 'On the Philosophy of Group Decision Methods I: The Non-Obviousness of Majority Rule', we take a closer look at some competitors of majority rule. This exploration supplements the conclusions of the other piece, as well as offers a further-reaching introduction to some of the challenges that this field currently poses to philosophers.

On the Philosophy of Group Decision Methods I: The Nonobviousness of Majority Rule

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:14:00 -0700

Majority rule is often adopted almost by default as a group decision rule. One might think, therefore, that the conditions under which it applies, and the argument on its behalf, are well understood. However, the standard arguments in support of majority rule display systematic deficiencies. This article explores these weaknesses, and assesses what can be said on behalf of majority rule.

Popular Culture (Islam, Early and Middle Periods)

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:00:00 -0800

This contribution dwells on popular culture in Mamluk Egypt and Syria. Following a short examination of this topic and of the sources, the study focuses on three themes: the cycle of life, the cycle of the year and sacred topography. Popular manners and customs provoked opposition from religious circles. A condensed delineation of these voices is provided at the closing part of the article.