Book review: Social theory for alternative societies by Matt Dawson

In Social Theory for Alternative Societies, Matt Dawson shows how alternatives have been a feature of sociological thinking since its origins and reflects on the relationship between sociologists and social change. Although Jack Palmer would have welcomed more on the link between sociology and literature, the generative capacities of dystopia and a broader focus beyond left and liberal alternatives, he finds Dawson a sensitive reader and commanding narrator of the historical transformations in social theory. This is an engaging work that will have widespread appeal

Familiarity and unfamiliarity in the Bauman Archive

Reflecting on the author’s role in establishing, cataloguing and interpreting the personal papers of Zygmunt Bauman, this article reflects on central questions related to working on and with the archives of public intellectuals. It addresses the role that intellectuals, and Bauman in particular, hold in contemporary ‘memory wars’, and the role that diverse forms and practices of archives play therein. It considers the difficulties posed by and possibilities afforded by the existence of archives, as well as biographical and autobiographical writings, for the interpretation of theoretical work. To this end, the article deploys a number of keywords – estrangement, loss, silence, secrets – which have framed the author’s encounter with the Bauman archive

Photodissociation of Gas-Phase Ions Investigated Using Combined Mass-Spectrometry, Ion- Mobility and Laser Spectroscopy

The photophysics and photochemistry of molecules are dependent on the interplay between multiple quantum states, which is challenging to model and especially challenging to control. This lack of control impedes development of photoinitiators, phototherapies and next-generation mass spectrometry tools. In this thesis, the influence of charge on the photodissociation of gas-phase ions is investigated using combined ion-mobility (field asymmetric ion-mobility spectrometry), photodissociation action spectroscopy and massspectrometry techniques along with quantum chemistry methods. Target molecules range from fundamental chromophores, photoinitiators and biologically relevant ions

Everybody Loves My Baby : But My Baby Don\u27t Love Nobody But Me

Contains advertisements and/or short musical examples of pieces being sold by publisher.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6868/thumbnail.jp

The Positive Start Project: a proactive approach to promoting positive mental health in the newer engineering academic community

The Positive Start Project is a new initiative that is in the process of providing a series of workshops and events focused on academic wellbeing, career development and positive mental health within a large faculty of engineering and applied science in the UK. Aimed at building a scholarly and sustainable research and teaching community of early career academics (ECAs), the project has arisen out of a need to provide high quality professional development activities and frameworks for the ECA community whilst also combatting social and academic isolation left over from the two-year long period of ‘lockdown’. Adopting an Action Research Approach this paper addresses a little considered topic in academic circles, the need to nurture positive wellbeing amongst the Engineering Education academic community. Describing proposed plans for how the Positive Start Project will be developed, disseminated, and reviewed, attention is paid to how ‘wellbeing’ will be benchmarked at the beginning of the project. Following this a brief overview of some of the planned support and development activities is given whilst the conclusion reiterates the need for a positive and proactive approach to academic wellbeing whilst also noting why Early Career Academics are an important demographic group within our Engineering Education community

Entanglements of Modernity, Colonialism and Genocide: Burundi and Rwanda in Historical-Sociological Perspective

This thesis explores two lines of critique of social theories of modernity by way of a historical sociological analysis of Burundi and Rwanda. Firstly, it engages with arguments about the Euro-/Western-centric assumptions which are suggested to have underpinned many conceptualisations of modernity. Secondly, it considers the notion that the processes of modernity move gradually, if precariously, towards more peaceable forms of cohabitation within and between societies. In doing so, it draws on and develops the theoretical framework of entanglement, which emphasises the existence of a variety of intertwined historical routes to and through modernity. Central to the analysis is a critique of both the idea that modernity entails a progressive ‘detraditionalisation’ or destruction of traditional societal forms, and the idea that tradition provides a repository of cultural resources upon which are founded distinct, plural ‘modernities’. In the case of Burundi and Rwanda, I argue that colonial modernity, in its indirect rule format, in important respects ‘solidified’ tradition in racial terms. In the transition to independence, the colonial legacy both enabled and delimited autonomous societal self-understandings and political movements. In the postcolonial period, the tension between the modern commitment to autonomy on the one hand and seemingly traditional legacies on the other has been realised in profoundly destructive and violent ways. I conclude that the historical experiences of extremely violent social conflict in Burundi and Rwanda are situated within a specific route to and through modernity. The original contribution of the thesis is twofold. Firstly, it presents a new substantive case study to the analysis of non-Western experiences and interpretations of modernity. Secondly, in doing so, it offers a theoretical contribution to debates concerning the multiplicity of modernity which have arisen principally in the paradigm of ‘multiple modernities’ and postcolonial sociology

Entanglements of Modernity, Colonialism and Genocide: Burundi and Rwanda in Historical-Sociological Perspective

This thesis explores two lines of critique of social theories of modernity by way of a historical sociological analysis of Burundi and Rwanda. Firstly, it engages with arguments about the Euro-/Western-centric assumptions which are suggested to have underpinned many conceptualisations of modernity. Secondly, it considers the notion that the processes of modernity move gradually, if precariously, towards more peaceable forms of cohabitation within and between societies. In doing so, it draws on and develops the theoretical framework of entanglement, which emphasises the existence of a variety of intertwined historical routes to and through modernity. Central to the analysis is a critique of both the idea that modernity entails a progressive ‘detraditionalisation’ or destruction of traditional societal forms, and the idea that tradition provides a repository of cultural resources upon which are founded distinct, plural ‘modernities’. In the case of Burundi and Rwanda, I argue that colonial modernity, in its indirect rule format, in important respects ‘solidified’ tradition in racial terms. In the transition to independence, the colonial legacy both enabled and delimited autonomous societal self-understandings and political movements. In the postcolonial period, the tension between the modern commitment to autonomy on the one hand and seemingly traditional legacies on the other has been realised in profoundly destructive and violent ways. I conclude that the historical experiences of extremely violent social conflict in Burundi and Rwanda are situated within a specific route to and through modernity. The original contribution of the thesis is twofold. Firstly, it presents a new substantive case study to the analysis of non-Western experiences and interpretations of modernity. Secondly, in doing so, it offers a theoretical contribution to debates concerning the multiplicity of modernity which have arisen principally in the paradigm of ‘multiple modernities’ and postcolonial sociology

F22RS SGR 9 (Virtual TigerCard)

To Urge and Request Louisiana State University to implement a virtual TigerCard syste