Books about Marginalization from Amazon.com

Images by Felix Gonzales-Torres

Out There addresses the question of cultural marginalization - the process through which various groups are excluded from access to and participation in the dominant culture. It is a wide-ranging anthology that juxtaposes diverse points of view on issues of gender, race, sexual preference, and class. It takes up the fundamental issues raised when we attempt to define concepts such as "mainstream" and "minority," and it opens up new ways of thinking about culture and representation in our society..
Price: $9.50 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The danger raised by the terrorist threat is real, existential, and vital to the United States. But the attacks on 9/11 have been broadly misunderstood. In assessing the meaning and significance of "the war on terror," Tschirgi raises many issues related to the Middle East and American policy toward that area. For example, he debunks the entire "exceptionalist" approach to the Arab world (the presumption that Arab societies fail to be fathomed by Western social science). While Tschirgi stresses the need for resolving the war on terrorism favorably, he also suggests two broad policy recommendations. First, he argues that while the United States should maintain its firm commitment to Israel's preservation as a Jewish state, it has no corresponding duty to support Israeli expansionism. U.S.-Israeli relations should proceed on this basis and should be informed by a greater American reliance on principles of international law. Second, Tschirgi concludes that an American withdrawal from Iraq must be effected as early as possible. Tschirgi's provocative thesis is that the attacks of 9/11 were not as unique an event as we commonly believe. Rather, they were understandable--though deplorable--human reactions to a combination of factors that fueled the Arab world's marginalization and led to a generalized feeling among the people of that region that the West (and particularly the United States) posed a mortal threat to their identity. Employing three case studies of marginalized violent conflict--Mexico's Zapatista conflict, Egypt's struggle against the Gama'a al-Islamiyya in Upper Egypt, and Nigeria's fight against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta--Tschirgi demonstrates the dynamics through which "traditional" peoples have in modern times opted to wage hopeless struggle against objectively more powerful states. The parallels between the dynamics that informed each of these situations and those marking the international Muslim insurgency against the West are striking, as are the significant differences between the two phenomena. The parallels are found in the mechanics of marginalization and resistance. The differences lie, first, in the Muslim insurgency's identification of the West as a total enemy and the struggle with it as having a zero-sum nature and, second, in the modern terrorists' potential access to lethal means of mass destruction. Both the parallels and differences that mark the two phenomena help deepen a real understanding of the meaning of 9/11..
Price: $34.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book breaks new ground by bringing together recent research into the determinants of marginalization risks for the unemployed and research into new social policies for combating marginalization. It examines the major controversies about how far entrapment in unemployment is due to resource constraints, motivational problems, or skill deficiency. It examines the forms that new policies have taken, the way they vary between EU countries, and the effects they have had on the life experiences of the unemployed. Its central concern is how far the new policies developed in the 1990s, in particular the spread of activation and welfare-to-work policies, address the major sources of vulnerability of the unemployed. The chapters draw on the results of a number of major comparative research programmes funded by the European Commission. These provide for the first time rigorous comparative data across a range of different countries. They bring together the insights of researchers from different disciplines: economists, jurists, social-psychologists, and social policy analysts. The book shows that while the new policy initiatives helped to mitigate the severity of the experience of unemployment, they were far from providing an adequate response to the underlying factors that put people at risk of marginalization. These were primarily due to skill deficiencies that were rooted in disadvantages that people experienced when they were young and in the persisting inequalities in training opportunities during people's work careers. The case is made for a major new policy initiative to improve the quality of working life of the low-skilled and their opportunities for skill development..
Price: $124.72 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This groundbreaking book examines the measures that global institutions have taken, assesses the limited success of global governance and provides a coruscating expose of its failures..
Price: $12.58 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"[Menchaca's] work buttresses the argument that race is alive and well and that twenty-five years of affirmative action policies have not eliminated the legacy of segregation .. [This book] provides an excellent view of social relations in one place across time. Compelling and thought-provoking, the study argues for sustaining public policies that challenge racist discrimination."

—Journal of American History

People of Mexican descent and Anglo Americans have lived together in the U.S. Southwest for over a hundred years, yet relations between them remain strained, as shown by recent controversies over social services for undocumented aliens in California. In this study, covering the Spanish colonial period to the present day, Martha Menchaca delves deeply into interethnic relations in Santa Paula, California, to document how the residential, social, and school segregation of Mexican-origin people became institutionalized in a representative California town.

Menchaca lived in Santa Paula during the 1980s, and interviews with residents add a vivid human dimension to her book. She argues that social segregation in Santa Paula has evolved into a system of social apartness—that is, a cultural system controlled by Anglo Americans that designates the proper times and places where Mexican-origin people can socially interact with Anglos.

This first historical ethnographic case study of a Mexican-origin community will be important reading across a spectrum of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, race and ethnicity, Latino studies, and American culture.

.
Price: $16.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As both an early disciple of and influence on Freud, Wilhelm Stekel enjoyed a unique position within the analytic movement. More recently, he has been notable more for his ostracism from Freud’s sphere and little else. The Self-Marginalization of Wilhelm Stekel brings a fresh perspective on Stekel, revealing the complex, symbiotic bond between mentor and follower in its many social, interpersonal, and psychological forms.In addition to shedding light on a famous outsider, this biography is set in a dual context of the formative years of psychoanalysis and Freud’s relationships with his colleagues: comparisons and contrasts abound with Adler, Jung, and other, revered exiles from Freudian circles. At the same time, each chapter defines and identifies a particular aspect of the marginalization process, including self-marginalization, the relationship of marginals to the mainstream, and the value of marginalization in the construction of identity. In all, this book will provide

• An in-depth look into the social history of psychoanalysis
• An informed re-thinking of Stekel’s contributions as theorist and clinician
• A new view of marginalization as differentiated from similar social phenomena
• Previously unpublished correspondence between Freud and Stekel
• A new translation of Stekel’s 1926 essay, "On the History of the Analytical Movement"

The Self-Marginalization of Wilhelm Stekel peels back layers of history to create a singular addition to our knowledge of the origins of psychoanalysis. Psychologists, social scientists, and readers interested in the history of science will find this book an illuminating glimpse into the lives and legacies of the first psychoanalysts.

.
Price: $63.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Marginality is often seen as a reflection of division, in which there is an unequal relationship of economic and political power between two extremes. In this way, it is a common thing to find oppositional couples, like North/South, Rich/Poor, Homogenous/Heterogenous, Centre/Periphery, Inclusion/Exclusion, Developed/Underdeveloped, and New/Old, in much of the literature dealing with marginality. These oppositions come about out of a socially and politically unbalanced society which is organised according to the differentiation of individuals in a hierarchical, exclusionary fashion. In this book there are 25 chapters, written by 36 academics from 27 universities located in 14 countries and in 4 continents on this fascinating subject matter..
Price: $75.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This book is a collection of case studies that explore the learning that people do through community engagement. Developed within a network of Canadian researchers and their community partners, it explores learning that is organized by the learners themselves, collectively, rather than as individuals. Reflecting the contributors’ political priorities, the volume begins with groups that are highly marginalized in our society: immigrant women, sex trade workers, senior citizens, garment workers, women doing community economic development, and people who identify with disability and anti-poverty movements. It then shifts to consider groups whose members have been accustomed to seeing themselves as ‘centered:’ or mainstream: teachers, for example, and employees of the new ‘learning organizations.’ Regardless of their location, the people involved are learning to labour and to survive the turbulence of rapid socio-economic change in the global economy. These case studies trace the enduring effects of gender, class, language, race, and governmentality on their efforts. Significantly, they also probe the possibilities for oppositional action.

"It makes a timely and significant contribution to adult learning theory and practice. It does so at a time when adult learning is very much on the agenda of academics, policy makers and organizational leaders in both formal in informal sectors around the globe."

Nancy Jackson, OISE/UToronto, Canada

.
Price: $105.18 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Science fiction occupies a peculiar place in the academic study of literature. For decades, scholars have looked at science fiction with disdain and have criticized it for being inferior to other types of literature. But despite the sentiments of these traditionalists, many works of science fiction engage recognized canonical texts, such as the Odyssey, and many traditionally canonical works contain elements of science fiction. More recently, the canon has been subject to revision, as scholars have deliberately sought to include works that reflect diversity and have participated in the serious study of popular culture. But these attempts to create a more inclusive canon have nonetheless continued to marginalize science fiction. This book examines the treatment of science fiction within the academy. The expert contributors to this volume explore a wide range of topics related to the place of science fiction in literary studies. These include academic attitudes toward science fiction, the role of journals and cultural gatekeepers in canon formation, and the marginalization of specific works and authors by literary critics. In addition, the volume gives special attention to multicultural and feminist concerns. In discussing these topics, the book sheds considerable light on much broader issues related to the politics of literary studies and academic inquiry..
Price: $24.87 [Notify me when price goes down.]