Indigenous Rights, Insurgent Cartographies, and the Promise of Participatory Mapping

Latin American Studie

Unsettling Neoliberal Rationalities : Engaged Ethnography and the Meanings of Responsibility in the Dominican Republic and Mexico

Peer reviewe

Piecemeal Legislative Proposals: An Inappropriate Approach to Managing Offshore Oil Drilling

The election of George W. Bush in 2000 as the forty-fourth President of the United States, a perceived pro offshore oil-drilling President), was followed by several legislative proposals aimed at limiting or ceasing oil drilling off the coast of most of the states. This comment discusses why these legislative proposals are unworkable in light of the nation\u27s goals for managing offshore oil drilling. Nonetheless, many of these legislative proposals highlight the coastal state\u27s specific concerns, as well as, improvements to the offshore oil leasing decision-making process to alleviate those concerns

A Brief History of Sociology at The Ohio State University

Prepared for the Centennial of The Ohio State University

“They Sold Us Illusions”: Informality, Redevelopment, and the Politics of Limpieza in the Dominican Republic

In the capital city of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, climate change and environmental concerns are used to justify massive redevelopment projects in informal settlements located along the rivers Ozama and Isabela. Residents in such river communities negotiate the uncertainty of state planning under a new socio-environmentalism that prioritizes the environment over social concerns, while continuing to pursue bottom-up neighborhood planning despite the powerful rationality of limpieza (cleanliness), the pervasive techniques of responsibilization, and the celebratory spectacles of megaprojects. The uncertainty resulting from governance under socio-environmentalism produces ambivalence towards environmentcentered projects among residents. Drawing on oral histories and interviews with long-time community members, we suggest that residents engage in three ‘sensemaking strategies’ to process their ambivalence in the face of daily precarity, in particular the ongoing threat of evictions. Residents ‘keep up’ with the state and strategically utilize planning language to advocate for community priorities. They engage in practices of storytelling that reproduce a deep sense of community and provide a longer historical understanding of planning interventions. Finally, through verbal speculation and other ‘unsanctioned speech acts’ they analyze disruptions caused by socio-environmentalism, build solidarity with other communities, and think ahead despite uncertainty

Josephine Sletto Interview, 1980

In this interview, Josephine Sletto talks about the home front during World War II. Mrs. Sletto was born in the western part of North Dakota and moved to the area around Alexandria, Minnesota circa 1939. During World War II, Josephine worked as a clerk for the Selective Service Office.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/wwiioralhistories/1004/thumbnail.jp

Community-based vermiculture, gender, and alternative economies in informal settlements

La falta del servicio público de recolección de basura en Los Platanitos, un asentamiento informal en Santo Domingo Norte, República Dominicana, llevó a sus residentes a implementar un proyecto piloto de lombricultura con enfoque de género. El objetivo del proyecto fue disminuir la cantidad de residuos orgánicos depositados en los canales de agua que atraviesan la comunidad, y de esta manera reducir la contaminación del ambiente, mejorar la salud pública, y proporcionar una fuente de ingresos para las mujeres, que son quienes lideran el proyecto. El proyecto es innovador al integrar tecnologías culturalmente apropiadas a nivel local, desarrollar estrategias de género e inter-generacionales y tomar en cuenta principios de sostenibilidad económica. Se ha logrado establecer estructuras gerenciales y operativas que fortalecen la capacidad de organización y autogestión de la comunidad en general y de las mujeres en particular, lo cual demuestra el impacto positivo que este tipo de proyectos puede tener en el incremento del capital social y liderazgo comunitario local para la toma de decisiones que afectan la vida diaria de los residentes, en un momento en que la planificación institucional responde a un contexto político neo-liberal.In Los Platanitos, an informal settlement in North Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, a lack of municipal solid waste collection services led residents to implement a pilot vermiculture project with a focus on gender. The main goal of the project was to reduce the amount of organic waste found in waterways that run throughout the community, and thereby reduce environmental pollution, improve public health and secure a source of income for women, the leaders of the project. The project is innovative in integrating culturally appropriate local technologies, building on gender and intergenerational strategies, and taking into account principles of economic sustainability. The project has established managerial and operational structures that strengthen organizational capacity and self-management with women in particular, but also in the community at large, demonstrating the positive impact that such projects can have on increasing social capital and community leadership for decisions that affect the daily lives of residents, in a time when institutional planning responds to a neoliberal political context

Dialogue of knowledge and cognitive justice in culturally weak indigenous territories

Este artículo examina el papel central que juega la revitalización cultural, sentando las bases para un diálogo de saberes simétrico respecto a temas ambientales contenciosos. Para ello, se discuten varias experiencias de investigación participativa llevadas a cabo en el Parque Nacional Canaima, Venezuela, entre 1999 y el presente, para facilitar el diálogo sobre el uso fuego al interior del pueblo indígena Pemón, con miras a fortalecer su capacidad de diálogo y negociación con otros actores sobre el manejo sustentable de sus territorios; esto incluyó discusiones sobre procesos de cambio cultural y de formación de identidad. Estas experiencias han demostrado que una vez que se da reconocimiento público a saberes ambientales que han estado históricamente excluidos, como parte de sus propias agendas de reafirmación política y cultural, los pueblos indígenas se pueden sentir más seguros para entablar diálogos con otros actores sobre temas complejos y multifactoriales, como el uso del fuego. Estos procesos de reflexión comunitaria amplia abren paso a una situación de mayor justicia cognitiva en la gestión ambiental y territorial que forma parte de un proceso más amplio de construcción de interculturalidad. El derecho de los pueblos indígenas al autorreflexión, a pensar de manera diferente y a la libre expresión de sus conocimientos y saberes, es esencial para que se pueda dar el dialogo y la interculturalidad en condiciones de equidad.This paper examines the main role of cultural revitalization by establishing the base for a symmetric dialogue regarding environmental litigious issues. This examination discusses several experiences of participatory investigation carried out in Parque Nacional Canaima, Venezuela, from 1999 till present. These experiences sought to promote discussions about the use of fire in the indigenous village of Pemón, in order to strengthen the capacity for dialogue and negotiation with other stakeholders about the sustainable management of their territories. The promotion of dialogue included discussions about processes of cultura change and the transformation of identity. These experiences have shown that once traditionally neglected environmental knowledge is accepted –as part of their cultural and political strengthening agenda-, indigenous peoples can feel more confident to participate in dialogues with other stakeholders about complex and multifactor topics, e.g., the use of fire. These processes of group reflection pioneer towards a larger cognitive justice within environment and territory management which, in turn, is part of a greater process of intercultural construction. The right of the indigenous peoples to self-reflection, to think differently, and to have freedom of speech regarding their knowledge is central for the dialogue and equitable intercultural exchange

Building capacity for dementia care in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have limited facilities and professionals trained to diagnose, treat, and support people with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment. The situation for people with dementia is poor, and worsening as the proportion of elderly in the general population is rapidly expanding. We reviewed existing initiatives and provided examples of actions taken to build capacity and improve the effectiveness of individuals, organizations, and national systems that provide treatment and support for people with dementia and their caregivers. Regional barriers to capacity building and the importance of public engagement are highlighted. Existing programs need to disseminate their objectives, accomplishments, limitations, and overall lessons learned in order to gain greater recognition of the need for capacity-building programs