Virtue Ethics: Social Care and Human Rights
This week we are going back to the beginning of the volume. The first chapter is titled “Values and Human Rights: Implications of an Emerging Discourse on Virtue Ethics,” by Dr. Michael L Penn. It gives a generous overview of the ways that virtue ethics can interact with ideas of human rights conceptually and in practice. Since its conception in the 1950s, virtue ethics has drawn on Aristotelean thought and has developed a unique perspective when compared to other moral theories like deontology and utilitarianism.
30th Anniversary Series: Racial Categorization and the Complexity of Difference
We are so excited to be taking a look back at some of our past annual lectures as we gear up for the Chair’s 30th anniversary.
We are starting this series with the address from 2018, “Deconstructing Race / Reconstructing Difference,” delivered by Dr. Jabari Mahiri. He centered his talk on ways to move and change so future generations won’t have to face the same inequities brought about by race. His argument centers around the social construction and performance of race. Despite the lack of scientific proof, race is a social fact, and the implications of the social perceptions of race are very real.
Iranian Women: Caring in Struggle
Given the ongoing protests and struggles in Iran, I am beginning our read along with Prof. Mahmoudi’s chapter. It feels particularly relevant in our contemporary moment to discuss how women in Iran have and continue to strive for equality. The chapter is titled “Difficult Care: Examining Women’s Efforts in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and examines the ongoing struggle of Iranian women since the 1979 revolution through the lens of care ethics.
Begin a New Journey into the Changing Ethos of Human Rights
For our next Edited Volume Read Along Series, I will cover “The Changing Ethos of Human Rights,” edited by Hoda Mahmoudi, Alison Brysk, and Kate Seaman. This volume explores how the discussion surrounding human rights has changed in recent years and the resulting ethical, moral, and intellectual shifts. It also particularly highlights Ethics-of-Care theories and the idea that human life has inherent value and dignity.
Systemic Racism Edited Volume Conclusion: What Can We Do Moving Forward?
The final chapter of this volume is called “Forming a Racially Inclusive Sociological Imagination: Becoming a Racial Equity learner, Racial Equity Advocate, and Racial Equity Broker.” In it, Professor Rashawn Ray discusses the impact racism still has in our society and begins to propose actions and solutions we can take to move forward. He points out the vitality of Critical Race Theory and suggests three main ways individuals can work toward racial equity.
Student Solidarity in Schools
In her chapter "Forging Alliances, Seeking Justice: How Relatively Privileged Young People Imagine and Build Solidarity across Differences," author Dr. Beth Douthirt Cohen discusses student agency in interrupting racism and other forms of oppression. She talks about how young people, especially in a school context, can perpetuate or break structures that maintain systems of inequality. She describes how fighting for justice in a way that does not immediately benefit you, like white youth interrupting white supremacy in themselves and others, makes you feel connected to movements for justice.
Democracy in Practice
The fate of our democracy is at the forefront of our minds as we head into midterm season. In this year’s annual lecture, “Democracy, Voting Rights and Black Women as the Vanguard,” Professor Martha S. Jones discusses a new way to look at American democracy through the lens of history. She addresses major questions, including how we have arrived here in 2022 and what has changed in the 102 years since the ratification of the 19th amendment.
Polarized Media and the Black Lives Matter Movement
In “Black Lives Matter in Polarized News Media: Politics, Policing, Prejudice, and Protest,” author Dr. Simone N. Durham analyses news content about BLM, which is mainly out of the control of the people within the movement. BLM was founded by three black women Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. However, unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960s, BLM is a decentralized network without official leaders. Support for the Black Lives Matter movement is polarized along several lines, with black people, democrats, and young people more likely to endorse it.
Finally in Person: Reflection on the Systemic Racism Roundtable
The roundtable on systemic racism that the Chair held on the 8th of September was my first in-person event—seeing more than just the heads and shoulders of the speakers felt strange and exciting. Rather than staring at a zoom screen, I sat in my fancy clothes and listened to our panelists speak openly and powerfully about how racism is woven throughout our education systems.
Talk is not Action: Students of Color at Predominantly White Colleges
The next chapter serves as the opening for Part III: Systemic Racism and Social Change. Dr. Chandra V. Reyna’s contribution titled “Pursuing Racial Justice on Predominantly White Campuses: Divergent Institutional Responses to Racially Palatable and Racially Conscious Students,” examines the campus culture and administration of a predominantly white university through interviews with undergraduate students. Her findings indicate that using diversity as a talking point does little to change the behavior and climate of the student body or administration. Indeed, using equity as marketing without committing to meaningful action can bring more students of color to an academic institution where they are treated poorly, feel excluded, and are unsafe.
The Racialized Problem of Homelessness and its Impact on Black Youth
In their chapter “Seeing Our Most Vulnerable Homeless Students: The Impact of Systemic Racism on the Education of Black Homeless Youth in the United States,” authors Dr. Earl J. Edwards and Dr. Pedro Noguera seek to rectify the ways in which the racial dynamics of homelessness have been overlooked in social policy and research on homelessness, youth development, and education. Since 1980, black people have made up around 40 percent of the homeless population, yet they are only 12.5 percent of the total American population. Despite the disproportionate impact of homelessness on black Americans, scholarship and society tend to ignore how homelessness is intertwined with systemic racism.
