Generational Inversions: \u27Working\u27 for Social Reproduction amid HIV in Swaziland

How do people envision social reproduction when regular modes of generational succession and continuity are disrupted in the context of HIV/AIDS? How and where can scholars identify local ideas for restoring intergenerational practices of obligation and dependency that produce mutuality rather than conflict across age groups? Expanding from studies of HIV/AIDS and religion in Africa, this article pushes for an analytic engagement with ritual as a space and mode of action to both situate local concerns about and practices for restoring dynamics of social reproduction. It describes how the enduring HIV/AIDS epidemic in Swaziland contoured age patterns of mortality where persons identified socially and chronologically as youth have predeceased their elders. Based on discourse analyses of ethnography at church worship services and life cycle rites between 2008 and 2011, the findings show how both elders and youth understood this crisis of ‘generational inversions’ as a non-alignment of age groups and articulated projects to restore succession and continuity in vernacular idioms of ‘work’ as moralised social and ritual action

Growing up and growing old with television: peripheral viewers and the centrality of care

This essay draws on feminist work on the ethics of care to both (re)establish an alliance between the very young and the very old and to begin to challenge the normative models of subjectivity and spectatorship that circulate within film and television studies. Through textual experiences of time and space and the operations of care, we emphasize the reciprocity and interdependence between generations. This recognition, we argue, offers a new mode of engagement with the challenges of ‘growing up’ and ‘growing old’ on and with television. In our alignment of older and younger audiences we challenge the normative chain of associations where ageing is represented as growth, and growth is associated with development. For the child, this model appears unproblematic even inevitable: ageing = growth = development. In contrast, ageing for older individuals is associated not with growth and development but with decline. A positive alignment between childhood and old age may offer an understanding of this motion (between the status, capacity and experience of child and older adult) as continuous, as an oscillation that is often made evident in the interdependence between child and adult. This, we believe, is mirrored in certain textual and experiential characteristics of television, and we explore it through close textual analysis of children’s programmes Katie Morag, Old Jack’s Boat and Mr Alzheimer’s and Me. These are programmes that not only offer representations of caring intergenerational relationships (of grandchild and grandparent) but express, in their seaside locations, an ebb and flow that is mapped onto experiences of both television and of intergenerational care

Latino immigrant families learning with digital media across settings and generations

Latino families in the U.S. are an under-served population, and are adopting digital technologies rapidly. This article shares case studies from in-depth research with Latino immigrant families and their use of technology, focusing on family technology practices that were interest-driven, cross-setting, and in some cases also collaborative among family members. Three cases illustrate ways that families, all of whom had elementary school-age children, were innovative in their use of technology to learn, as well as how digital content and devices served to help children and parents explore content across settings. In addition to documenting families’ existing practices, the study examined what happened when each family received a tablet device with curated language- and literacy-related content. The analysis highlights how introducing these tools made new practices possible among families, while building on parents’ and children’s existing expertise. We focus on three types of connections that technology facilitated: 1) aligning access to rich content at home and school leading to more exploration of academically relevant material; 2) expanding parents’ roles as collaborative learners of English as a second language among other topics; and 3) Digital production that connects civic, STEM, and language practices. We highlight ways in which families used innovative approaches to get the most out of the devices and content they had access to. We also explore how other factors including technology infrastructure, opacity of the app marketplace, and cost can constrain families’ opportunities to learn with technology

Conclusion

De Pascal à Heidegger, des Pensées à Sein und Zeit, nous avons franchi un intervalle de trois siècles pour rencontrer, au cœur de la modernité comme à l’ère de la technique, le même constat angoissé de désontologisation de notre univers. Que les Pensées ne puissent être lues qu’eu égard à un projet moderne aux implications acosmiques, voilà qui, du moins nous l’espérons, relève désormais d’une évidence. L’attention pascalienne à l’hétérogénéité des ordres, le rôle reconnu à l’imagination et l..

From seed to society

This research explores the potential of community gardens for improving the daily social reproduction and the consequent impact on the social structure of a neighborhood. Specifically , it focuses on how addressing spatial factors when choosing locations for community gardens can contribute to addressing the socio-economic disparities (i.e. gender related dynamics, intergenerational cohesion, etc.), the research uses the case study of barcelona’s neighbourhood La Pau, characterized by socio-economic inequality and the loss of solidarity among the younger generation. The study engages the factors related to the establishment of the garden within the urban fabric, and its effects on the social and economic well-being of the community . To comprehensively analyze these aspects, a mixed-methods approach is employed: Literature review, comparative study of relevant examples, spatial analysis, and a workshop involving active participation from neighbors. The research builds on theoretical framework from various authors, such as Colin Ward’s concepts of self-organized allotments and the mutualist values that underpin their operations. Further, Silvia Federici’s exploration of cooperative societies in everyday reproduction provides insights into understanding the role of spatial qualities in fostering social cohesion at the neighborhood level. Carolys steel’s work supports the intersection of food production and urban life and complex set of values attached to community gardens. Through this research, the aim is to shed light on the transformative potential of community gardens in promoting social cohesion and improving the socio-economic balance of impoverished areas. By examining the interplay between the garden’s establishment, socio-spatial factors, and their impact on the everyday relations of community making, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of how community-led initiatives can shape and be shaped by spatial factors and what impact this has on social structures within a neightborhood context

Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A Policy and Practice Primer

Across the nation, artistic and cultural practices are helping to define the sustainability of urban, rural, and suburban neighborhoods. In the design of parks and open spaces; the building of public transit, housing, and supermarkets; in plans for addressing needs for community health and healing trauma; communities are embracing arts and culture strategies to help create equitable communities of opportunity where everyone can participate, prosper, and achieve their full potential. And artists are seeing themselves -- and being seen by others -- as integral community members whose talents, crafts, and insights pave the way to support community engagement and cohesion."Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A Policy and Practice Primer" highlights both promising and proven practices that demonstrate equity-focused arts and culture policies, strategies, and tools. The report describes the role of arts and culture across the nine sectors below. Within each policy chart there are goals, policies, and implementation strategies that can help achieve communities of opportunity. These policies have yielded such outcomes as: support for Native artists in reservation-based cultural economies, the creation of a citywide cultural plan, engaging low-income youth of color in using digital media, and efforts to address redevelopment, employment, food access, and environmental justice