Youth worldlessness and civic participation online and at school: Exploring Arendt’s philosophy

This paper seeks to explore the possible contribution that thinking with Arendt can bring to understanding the nuances of school-aged young people’s civic participation. Using Arendt’s work on responsibility, political presence and the notion of worldlessness, this paper will explore how young people’s social media interactions can serve as a way to foster a more critical sense of civic participation and political agency in education. This paper comprises three main sections. Firstly, there is a critical discussion on how the notion of ‘public sphere’ may help to conceptualise school as an important site for youth political and civic participation and engagement, even when Arendt’s position in education is that the school should not be touched by politics, in this way the paper uses Arendt to think against Arendt to position the school as a ‘space of appearance’. Secondly, the notion of what I term in this paper youth worldlessness is developed by using Arendt’s (2018) theory to frame for understanding the everyday exclusions and displacements experienced by research participants and how citizenship education struggles to serve as an outlet for them. Thirdly, the paper analyses the role of young people’s social media engagements by examining data from a qualitative study with British young people, ranging from 15 to 18 years of age

De-territorialisations for pedagogical co-creation: Challenging traditionalistic pedagogies with students in higher education

The notion of pedagogy tends to be understood as the domain of teachers, this is a reductive way of thinking about pedagogy. Instead, in this paper I explore the heteroglossia of pedagogy through the Deleuzian-Guattarian notion of assemblage. Through this approach, pedagogy is an open debate which needs to involve students to co-create the learning environment in Higher Education (HE). Drawing on data collected with first year undergraduate students and through an action research methodological approach, I will argue that collaborative and progressive pedagogies in HE must go beyond the authority of the teacher and offer students in-class opportunities to negotiate the usual power relationships that characterise traditionalistic pedagogies. Whilst there is a stronger emphasis on engaging students differently in HE, it is important to also reflect on the dynamics that emerge from initiatives that seek to redress the pedagogical imbalances that the traditionalistic classroom perpetuates, such as enforcing a prescriptive curriculum where knowledge is transferable, inert and closely policed to satisfy performative regimes of assessment. I suggest that the notion of assemblages can help us understand the solidified and accepted classroom pedagogies as territories which are still normative in education, including HE, therefore, mapping out these territories open up possibilities for de-territorialisations

The ever present discourses in education

Sociology for Education Studies provides a fresh look at the sociology of education, focusing on themes such as habitus, hegemony and intersectionality. It supports students in applying sociological theory to their own educational experiences and developing an understanding of why social orders appear to be predetermined, why the state continues to create education policy in certain forms and, crucially, how to make it better. The book explores the multi-faceted perspectives that influence the sociology of education and presents examples of the applications of sociology to a wide variety of different educational contexts, including education in schools and in the community. Chapters cover topics such as: Morality, education and social order Spaces of invisibility and marginalisation in schools The global political economy of education Rethinking the ‘international perspective’ in Education Studies This accessible book is an essential read for students of Education Studies as well as those involved in teacher education and training

The case of Tumblr: young people’s mediatised responses to the crisis of learning about gender at school

This volume critically analyses political strategies, civil society initiatives and modes of representation that challenge the conventional narratives of women in contexts of violence. It deepens into the concepts of victimhood and agency that inform the current debate on women as victims. The volume opens the scope to explore initiatives that transcend the pair abuser–victim and explore the complex relations between gender and violence, and individual and collective accountability, through politics, activism and cultural productions in order to seek social transformation for gender justice. In innovative and interdisciplinary case studies, it brings attention to initiatives and narratives that make new spaces possible in which to name, self-identify, and resignify the female political subject as a social agent in situations of violence. The volume is global in scope, bringing together contributions ranging from India, Cambodia or Kenya, to Quebec, Bosnia or Spain. Different aspects of gender-based violence are analysed, from intimate relationships, sexual violence, military contexts, society and institutions. Re-writing Women as Victims: From Theory to Practice will be a key text for students, researchers and professionals in gender studies, political sciences, sociology and media and cultural Studies. Activists and policy makers will also find its practical approach and engagement with social transformation to be essential reading

Materialising resistance against rape culture online: The phenomenon of SlutWalks

This volume critically analyses political strategies, civil society initiatives and modes of representation that challenge the conventional narratives of women in contexts of violence. It deepens into the concepts of victimhood and agency that inform the current debate on women as victims. The volume opens the scope to explore initiatives that transcend the pair abuser–victim and explore the complex relations between gender and violence, and individual and collective accountability, through politics, activism and cultural productions in order to seek social transformation for gender justice. In innovative and interdisciplinary case studies, it brings attention to initiatives and narratives that make new spaces possible in which to name, self-identify, and resignify the female political subject as a social agent in situations of violence. The volume is global in scope, bringing together contributions ranging from India, Cambodia or Kenya, to Quebec, Bosnia or Spain. Different aspects of gender-based violence are analysed, from intimate relationships, sexual violence, military contexts, society and institutions. Re-writing Women as Victims: From Theory to Practice will be a key text for students, researchers and professionals in gender studies, political sciences, sociology and media and cultural Studies. Activists and policy makers will also find its practical approach and engagement with social transformation to be essential reading

Boron Nitride Nanotube Reinforced Titanium Composite with Controlled Interfacial Reactions by Spark Plasma Sintering

In this study, Boron Nitride Nanotube (BNNT) reinforced Titanium matrix composites are synthesized by Spark Plasma Sintering. Two main challenges directly affecting the mechanical performance of BNNT-metal matrix composites are addressed:(i) Homogenous dispersion of high surface energy BNNTs, and (ii) Controlling interfacial reactions at the metal/nanotube interface. High-energy ultrasonication induced dispersion resulted in the functionalization of BNNTs by -OH radicals proving its suitability over surfactant assisted dispersion routes. The sintering of Ti (99% relative density) was achieved at 50% less processing temperature than those used in conventional sintering to minimize interfacial reactions when reinforced with BNNTs. The reduction of temperatures in addition to the reduction (by 91%) in processing times was shown to control reaction phases. Bulk compressive yield strengths of Ti-BNNT sintered at low (750oC) and high (950oC) temperatures were improved by 21% and 50% respectively, as compared to Ti alloy without reinforcement. Twin boundaries, pinning of dislocations by BNNTs, and crack bridging were strengthening mechanisms identified in the composites

The digital divide: neoliberal imperatives and education

European Social Problems is the first book to examine social issues in Europe from the perspective of the social sciences. It considers many of these social problems following the UK’s ‘leave’ vote. Key topics examined here include: immigration; multiculturalism and religion; health; inequalities; education; riots and protest; drugs and crime; sexuality. These core issues run as a thread through Europe and are experienced by Europeans themselves as social problems. As such, this text facilitates students’ direct engagement with some of the problematic constituents in their own lives. This text is suitable for those studying social policy, sociology, politics, international relations, criminology and education studies. In this way it functions as an accessible ‘reader’ for final year undergraduates as well as postgraduate students

Reconstruction of the Free Energy in the Metastable Region using the Path Ensemble

By quenching into the metastable region of the three-dimensional Ising model, we investigate the paths that the magnetization (energy) takes as a function of time. We accumulate the magnetization (energy) paths into time-dependent distributions from which we reconstruct the free energy as a function of the magnetic field, temperature and system size. From the reconstructed free energy, we obtain the free energy barrier that is associated with the transition from a metastable state to the stable equilibrium state. Although mean-field theory predicts a sharp transition between the metastable and the unstable region where the free energy barrier is zero, the results for the nearest-neighbour Ising model show that the free energy barrier does not go zero