Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Peeling Away Theories on Gender and the Brain

Published on August 31, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

delusions-of-genderBy Katherine Bouton, in The New York Times

“Delusions of Gender” takes on that tricky question, Why exactly are men from Mars and women from Venus?, and eviscerates both the neuroscientists who claim to have found the answers and the popularizers who take their findings and run with them.

The author, Cordelia Fine, who has a Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience from University College London, is an acerbic critic, mincing no words when it comes to those she disagrees with. But her sharp tongue is tempered with humor and linguistic playfulness, as the title itself suggests. Academics like Simon Baron-Cohen and Dr. Louann Brizendine will want to come to this volume well armed. So would Norman Geschwind if he were still alive. Popular authors like John Gray (“Men are from Mars”), Michael Gurian (“What Could He Be Thinking?”) and Dr. Leonard Sax (“Why Gender Matters”) may want to read something else.

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We Are One

Published on August 30, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

we-are-oneBy Joanna Eede, in Guernica

August 9 is International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. With an indigenous uprising last month in Brazil, Survival International’s Joanna Eede celebrates the world’s first peoples in a new book.

Each tribal society is unique. Many, however, have an ancient trust in the harmony between man and nature and the belief that for nature to endure, a long-term attitude to the caretaking of the Earth is fundamental. The Iroquois of North America always consider seven generations ahead in their decision-making—a philosophy echoed by Gana Bushman Roy Sesana, when he says, “We are not here for ourselves. We are here for our children and the children of our grandchildren.”

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Diversity Journal Submissions Open for 2011 Volume

Published on August 30, 2010 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments Tags: .

diversity_frontWe are accepting submissions for the 2011 volume of The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations.

The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations creates a space for discussion for anyone with an interest in, and concern for, mediating cultural difference and diversity. The journal examines the realities of difference and diversity today, empirically and critically as well as optimistically and strategically, touching upon the topics of globalisation, identity and social group formation. At a time of virulent reactions to difference and globalisation (ethnonationalism, racist backlash, parochialism and protectionism), there is a pressing need to reflect critically on the shape and the possibilities of the normative agendas of diversity and globalism. The journal is a place for thinking about and discussing these pressing matters, and in ways that range from the ‘big picture’ and the theoretical, to the practical and everyday business of negotiating difference and diversity in organizations, communities and civic life.

The journal is relevant for academics, educators and research students in the fields of globalisation, nationalism, anthropology and cultural studies, tourism studies, ethnic studies, indigenous studies, gender studies, disability studies, gay and lesbian studies, diversity management; public administrators and policy-makers; private and public sector leaders: diversity management, equal employment opportunity, human resource development and workplace trainers and change agents—anyone with an interest, and concern for, mediating cultural difference.

Refereeing of submitted papers will commence shortly so start the submission process early by submitting your proposal.

Paper submission guidelines and timelines are available online.

Islamic Feminism

Published on August 29, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

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From Jake Alter, in The Immanent Frame

Is secular feminism feasible in the Middle East and throughout the Muslim-majority nations of the world? Isobel Coleman, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, argues that it cannot subsist on its own and that it must be allied with a form of Islamic feminism. In her most recent book, Paradise Beneath Her Feet: How Women are Transforming the Middle East, she argues that we are already witnessing the emergence of many progressive social movements within the Islamic world.

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Anti-mosque sentiment rages far from Ground Zero

Published on August 29, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

3348278nyc-mosque-falloutsff From Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com

One of the most under-reported political stories is the increasingly vehement, nationwide movement — far from Ground Zero — to oppose new mosques and Islamic community centers.  These ugly campaigns are found across the country, in every region, and extend far beyond the warped extremists who are doing things such as sponsoring “Burn a Quran Day.” And now, fromCBS News last night, we have this:

Fire at Tenn. Mosque Building Site Ruled Arson

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

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The Burqa and the Body Electric

Published on August 27, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

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By Feisal G. Mohamed, in The New York Times

In her post of July 11, “Veiled Threats?” and her subsequent response to readers, Martha Nussbaum considers the controversy over the legal status of the burqa — which continues to flare across Europe —  making a case for freedom of religious expression.  In these writings, Professor Nussbaum applies the argument of her 2008 book “Liberty of Conscience,” which praises the American approach to religious liberty of which Roger Williams, one of the founders of Rhode Island Colony, is an early champion.

Williams is an inspiring figure, indeed.  Feeling firsthand the constraint of religious conformism in England and in Massachusetts Bay, he developed a uniquely broad position on religious toleration, one encompassing not only Protestants of all stripes, but Roman Catholics, Jews and Muslims.  The state, in his view, can legitimately enforce only the second tablet of the Decalogue — those final five commandments covering murder, theft, and the like.

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Latest Diversity Journal papers

Published on August 27, 2010 in Journal. 0 Comments

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The latest issue of  The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations includes:

On Caste Privilege

Published on August 25, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

on-caste-privilegeFrom Namit Arora, in 3 Quarks Daily

An early goal of British imperialists in India was to create a class of local elites in their own image. They would be, wrote Macaulay, ‘interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons Indian in blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect.’ An elite class did emerge, not surprisingly from the socially dominant upper-caste Hindus of urban India.

These elites, chin-deep in caste identities, saw themselves as innately superior to other Indians, mirroring the class- and race-based prejudices of the British. No wonder they got along so well. Later, when these Indians opposed the British, they used the same language of political rights and liberalism that the Europeans preached at home but didn’t practice in their colonies.

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Diversity Journal: Recently Published

Published on August 19, 2010 in Journal. 0 Comments

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The latest issue of The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations includes:

At Her Majesty’s Pleasure?

Published on August 17, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

at_her_majestys_pleasureBy Justin E. H. Smith

I have a not-so-modest proposal, but before I get to it I’ll start, as is often my habit, with a bit of autobiography. Prior to moving to Canada in 2003, I never really thought about the existence of Native Americans. Of course I’d heard the standard histories, seen the caricatures in old movies, was able to make some basic distinctions as to the names and locations of the different tribes.

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