"EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Human service work is performed in many places – hospitals, shelters, households – and is characterised by a complex mixture of organising principles, relations and rules. Using ethnographic methods, researchers can investigate these site-specific complexities, providing multi-dimensional and compelling analyses. Bringing together both theoretical and practical material, this book shows researchers how ethnography can be carried out within human service settings. It provides an invaluable guide on how to apply ethnographic creativeness and offers a more humanistic and context-sensitive approach in the field of health and social care to generating valid knowledge about today’s service work."

Short Description:
“Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Case Studies” is a freely accessible eCampus Ontario Pressbook containing case studies of immigrant women experiencing domestic violence to be used as educational materials. The book highlights the complexity of domestic violence cases in immigrant communities and the different legal processes that these women encounter in seeking justice and the challenges they face in relation to re-establishing their own lives and the lives of their children. The book contains questions for reflection; a description of legal processes involved in DV cases, and a glossary of the terms used throughout the case studies.

Long Description:
“Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Case Studies” is a freely accessible eCampus Ontario Pressbook containing case studies of immigrant women experiencing domestic violence to be used as educational materials. The contents were created by analysing closed legal case files of 15 immigrant women living in Ontario who experienced domestic violence. The comprehensive case studies that emerge from this research present domestic violence experienced by immigrant women in all its complexity, highlighting their unique vulnerability at the intersections of race, gender and immigration status. The book also highlights the different legal processes that these women encounter in seeking justice and the challenges they face in relation to re-establishing their own lives and the lives of their children. In addition to the cases, the book contains questions for reflection; a description of legal processes involved in DV cases, and a glossary of the terms used throughout the case studies. This interactive Pressbook is an ideal resource for social work and legal practitioners, including students in social service work, social work and law programs, in order to increase their understanding about the complexity of domestic violence cases in immigrant families and develop strategies for culturally informed interventions.

Word Count: 42082

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This course focuses on the origins, functions, and implications of downtown management organizations (DMOs), such as business improvement districts, in a variety of national contexts including the United States, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. It critically examines how a range of urban theories provide a rationale for the establishment and design of DMOs; the evolution and transnational transfer of DMO policy; and the spatial and political externalities associated with the local proliferation of DMOs. Particular emphasis is given to the role of DMOs in securing public space.

Short Description:
This book introduces topics about identity, dress, and the body. Through the content, readers explore how individuals and communities use dress as a way to communicate (i.e. “negotiate” in fashion studies) their various identities. There is heightened attention to social justice, power, privilege, and oppression. That is, the content focuses on the experiences of historically marginalized communities and the ways they navigate dress and dressing their bodies in different contexts. In the first part of the book, readers are introduced to concepts and theories related to fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories. In the second part, readers examine the role that fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories play in identity development for individuals in marginalized communities in the United States.

Long Description:
This book introduces topics about identity, dress, and the body. Through the content, readers explore how individuals and communities use dress as a way to communicate (i.e. “negotiate” in fashion studies) their various identities. There is heightened attention to social justice, power, privilege, and oppression. That is, the content focuses on the experiences of historically marginalized communities and the ways they navigate dress and dressing their bodies in different contexts. In the first part of the book, readers are introduced to concepts and theories related to fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories. In the second part, readers examine the role that fashion, clothing, dress, and/or accessories play in identity development for individuals in marginalized communities in the United States.

Word Count: 33371

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This class examines the relationship between a number of mind-altering substances and cultural processes. We look at the relationship between drugs and such phenomena as poverty, religion, technology, inter-generational conflict, colonialism, and global capitalism. We read about the physiological and psychological effects of these substances – ranging from alcohol to LSD, cocaine and ecstasy – and ask why different societies prohibit and sanction different drugs. We examine the use of mind-altering substances in a number of “traditional” societies, and follow the development of a global trade in such substances as sugar, coffee, tea, nicotine, cocaine, and marijuana concurrent with the evolution of global capitalism. We look at the use of LSD as a mind-control substance by the CIA and as a mind-altering substance in the 1960’s counter-culture, and we look at the rise of Prozac® and Viagra® as popular, if controversial, pharmaceutical products in recent years. Finally, we evaluate America’s current drug laws.

Dynamics of Interpersonal Relations I, is an exploration of the small-group process through participation, interpretation and study. Major focus is on the class itself as an interacting group providing for personal, interpersonal, and intellectual challenge. The modules are designed for undergraduate students to become familiar with group dynamics. This resource has OpenStax text chapters, TedTalks and group activities. Thank you to Jennifer Burns for sharing this resource.

Dynamics of Interpersonal Relations I, is an exploration of the small-group process through participation, interpretation, and study. A major focus is on the class itself as an interacting group providing for personal, interpersonal, and intellectual challenges. The modules are designed for undergraduate students to become familiar with group dynamics. This resource has a syllabus, OpenStax text chapters, TedTalks, and group activities. Thank you to Jennifer Burns for sharing this resource.

Short Description:
The book looks at the George Floyd uprising using the theory of the Black Radical Tradition and Black Marxism. Part of a global wave of rebellions against the police, inequality, and the state, the 2020 uprising opened up a new chapter in the revolutionary history of the proletariat.

Long Description:
The book looks at the George Floyd uprising using the theory of the Black Radical Tradition and Black Marxism. Part of a global wave of rebellions against the police, inequality, and the state, the 2020 uprising opened up a new chapter in the revolutionary history of the proletariat. Erupting in Minneapolis in late May, the uprising spread across the United States. Over the course of the next few months, dozens of police stations were attacked, hundreds of cop cars were burned, and thousands of stores in downtown urban centers were looted. The Black proletariat led the charge, but other racialized proletarians joined the fight, demonstrating new possibilities for multi-racial struggle. At the same time, this uprising was contained and repressed by a Black led counterinsurgency that played a definitive role in neutralizing the revolutionary potentials of the movement. Furthermore, there were clear limits to the uprising when it came to gender. When it was time to rebel for Breonna Taylor, few were willing to fight as hard as they had for George Floyd. These and other uncomfortable truths are considered in the opening text, “Race, Class, and Gender in the 2020 Uprising.” Aside from wrestling with these contradictions, Insurgent Possibilities documents the Walter Wallace Jr. rebellion in Philadelphia, where the Black proletariat refined the tactic of looting by car, one of the greatest tactical innovations of the uprising. “Cars, Riots, and Black Liberation» is a first hand reflection on this phenomenon. Insurgent Possibilities also argues that the tensions and contours of the 2020 riots indicate the unique relationship between civil war and revolution that is so pronounced in the United States. Building off of the analysis set out in earlier texts, “Prelude to a New Civil War” traces the mounting hostilities of the uprising back to the unfinished business of the first US Civil War. The last text in the collection, “Fire on Main Street,” looks at how the uprising played out in small cities and suburbs throughout the country, focusing on the strategic implications that these peripheral areas pose for questions of insurrection and revolution.

Word Count: 18079

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This subject examines the interactions of East Asia with the rest of the world and the relationships of each of the East Asian countries with each other, from ca. 1500 to 2000 A.D. Primary focus on China and Japan, with some reference to Korea, Vietnam, and Central Asia. Asks how international diplomatic, commercial, military, religious, and cultural relationships joined with internal processes to direct the development of East Asian societies. Subject addresses perceptions and misperceptions among East Asians and foreigners.

This subject is an introduction to various forms of culture in East Asia (focusing on China, Japan and Korea), including both traditional and contemporary examples. Critically examines the shared cultural elements that are widely considered to constitute “East Asian culture,” and also the diversity within East Asia, historically and today. Examples include religious and philosophical beliefs (Confucianism and Buddhism), literature, art, food, architecture, and popular culture. The study of gender will be an integral part of this subject. The influence and presence of Asian cultural expressions in the U.S. are also considered.
This class is suitable for students of all levels, and requires no Asian language background. Students who wish to fulfill the MISTI-Singapore requirement may do the final project on Singapore. Taught in English.
The course includes field trips to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Peabody Essex Museum.

Eco-Social Work in Climates of Change examines the role of social work in disconnecting Indigenous people from their lands and cultural ways of connecting to land. As with other disciplines like economics, social work is mired in a modern worldview that is disconnected from Earthly relations; a disconnection that has fueled both the profession’s colonial growth and contemporary global environmental issues. We are in a time of changes when social work needs to re-learn the value(s) of rooting environmental justice and healing practices in the broader sociality of Earth relations, and that is the focus of this course.

This course will explore the relation of women and men in both pre-industrial and modern societies to the changing map of public and private (household) work spaces, examining how that map affected their opportunities for both productive activity and the consumption of goods and leisure. The reproductive strategies of women, either in conjunction with or in opposition to their families, will be the third major theme of the course. We will consider how a place and an ideal of the “domestic” arose in the early modern west, to what extent it was effective in limiting the economic position of women, and how it has been challenged, and with what success, in the post-industrial period. Finally, we will consider some of the policy implications for contemporary societies as they respond to changes in the composition of the paid work force, as well as to radical changes in their national demographic profiles. Although most of the material for the course will focus on western Europe since the Middle Ages and on the United States, we will also consider how these issues have played themselves out in non-western cultures.

As markets or production bases, China and India are becoming important and integral players in the global economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investments and outsourcing businesses have increased dramatically in these two economies. Despite the rising importance of these two economies on the world stage, our knowledge and analysis of these two countries in an integrated manner has remained poor. The two are often lumped together by business analysts as “emerging markets,” despite the substantial differences in their political systems, reform policies and business organizations. Academics, in contrast, have tended to treat the two countries separately, preferring to specialize in issues and questions specific to one or the other country.
The purpose of this course is to analyze these two countries within a coherent analytical framework. Our learning model is inductive, and heavily based on class discussions and participation. The group projects should aim at integrating analysis, knowledge and understanding of these two countries. We will also experiment with other forms of group projects, such as creating and working on business plans and those projects that integrate research from field trips with more traditional research, such as library research. There is no prerequisite but 15.012 (Applied Macro- and International Economics) and 15.223 (Global Markets, National Policies and the Competitive Advantage of Firms) are highly recommended.

This is a project to assist in the design, drawing, modeling and hopefully constructing of a small Community Children’s Center near Guayaquil, Ecuador. For the last year, Nicki Lehrer, from MIT’s Aero/Astro Department, has been organizing efforts to build the project. The goal of the workshop is to provide her with a full fleshed out design for the community center so it can be built in the summer of 2007.

Word Count: 20993

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An exploration of different ways people from the US, Brazil and Mexico have reclaimed authority over their communities and lives in the global age.

This course proposes that most cities have neither the infrastructure nor the processes in place to support the demographically complex public in fulfilling its role in democracy. Through this course, participants will learn a set of design principles for creating public engagement practices necessary for building inclusive civic infrastructure in cities. Participants will also have the opportunity to review and practice strategies, techniques, and methods for engaging communities in demographically complex settings.

This book is a compilation of open source resources to be used in an Engineering in Society course. Jennifer Kirkey started this work in the summer of 2018. She teaches physics and astronomy at Douglas College in New Westminster, British Columbia, and works closely with the engineering program there.

Volume 20

Short Description:
English Language Learners Bring You the World is an annual publication of writings by the students in the English as a Second Language and Intensive English programs at South Puget Sound Community College. In it, you will find paragraphs of a few sentences by beginning writers as well as longer essays from our most advanced classes. Regardless of length, each piece offers a window into the writer's unique perspective on culture, language, and life as an immigrant.

Long Description:
Since the year 2000, English language learners at SPSCC have shared their writings in this annual digest. After a two-year hiatus during the global COVID-19 pandemic, in a time of many challenges, it is with joy that we renew our publication of English Language Learners Bring You the World.

This year, over 70 students from 37 countries have shared their stories and essays. The contributions are organized alphabetically by country of origin. Student biographies are listed in an About the Authors section at the end of the book. Although the students in the English as a Second Language and Intensive English programs at South Puget Sound Community College come from all over the world, their common experiences and dedication to learning English bring them together. As teachers, we are honored to have students who are so caring and so interested in learning. We hope you draw as much inspiration from reading their stories as we have.

Word Count: 25080

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This course explores the complex interrelationships among humans and natural environments, focusing on non-western parts of the world in addition to Europe and the United States. It uses environmental conflict to draw attention to competing understandings and uses of “nature” as well as the local, national and transnational power relationships in which environmental interactions are embedded. In addition to utilizing a range of theoretical perspectives, this subject draws upon a series of ethnographic case studies of environmental conflicts in various parts of the world.