Suchergebnisse

"Is there any public discourse left, or has advertising, with its aggressive sales techniques, usurped the role of democratic, civil debate? Beginning in the 1960s, there was a proliferation of social, political, and corporate advertising in affluent, developed nations that spoke to the "public good" on everything from milk to family values. Surveying over 10,000 advertisements from the past 40 years, "Endless Propaganda" underscores the presence of advertising rhetoric, even in the context of apparently non-partisan collective health issues such as cancer. The public sphere, argues Paul Rutherford, has been transformed into a huge marketplace of goods and signs. Civil advocacy has become a special art of authority that subjects politics, social behaviour, and public morals to the philosophy and discipline of marketing. Without suggesting that there is one simple way to understand the transformation that democracy has undergone because of this phenomenon, the author introduces and applies the cultural theories of several important philosophers: Habermas, Gramsci, Foucault, Ricoeur, and Baudrillard. The reader is thus given the necessary tools to critically examine the examples at hand and many others that exist beyond the pages of this study."--

Using a discourse-centered approach to ethnography, this book provides an empirically based, contemporary overview of a rapidly changing First Nations village in northern Ontario (Canada). Data were collected in the 1980s during a 2-year residence and follow-up visits in the Severn Ojibwa community of Lynx Lake, a remote subarctic village in which the Native language, Ojibwa, is completely viable and used by every member of the Native community. Analyses illustrate the ways in which a society is indexed through its discourse, and how changes in society affect language use. The portrayal of Lynx Lake and its unique brand of self-determination demonstrates that cultural change and the adoption of modern technology in Native communities need not result in the loss of Native identity or language. Chapters cover diverse topics, including: (1) characteristics of the Severn Ojibwa language variety and of the Lynx Lake community; (2) changes in communication networks induced by technological imports into Lynx Lake; (3) usage of Severn Ojibwa, Cree, and English in various social contexts, and different types of code switching; (4) English literacy, the very high literacy rate in Ojibwa using Cree syllabics, and community means of learning and teaching syllabics; (5) the intersection of music, language, and literacy; (6) church discourse and the role of the Anglican church in community life and identity; (7) first-person narratives and storytelling; (8) genres of legend and myth; and (9) the use of discourse as a tool in sociocultural analysis. Appendices include a typological overview of Severn Ojibwa and Ojibwa speech terms. (Contains 152 references, chapter notes, and an index.)

[spa] Uno de los aspectos problemáticos que posee el enfoque de empoderamiento de mujeres radica en que desde los años noventa en adelante se ha ido utilizando progresivamente pero sin suficiente precisión, realizándose un uso difuso de los conceptos de poder y empoderamiento, sin claridades conceptuales ni metodológicas, con lo que se diluye su potencial de cambio social. En vista de precisar a qué apunta el empoderamiento cuando se refiere a la transformación de las relaciones de poder opresivas entre los géneros, escogí como guía teórica la aproximación de Iris Marion Young sobre la justicia social y política, ya que esta ofrece importantes reflexiones que pueden contribuir a clarificar los planteamientos de este enfoque y su implementación. El objetivo de esta tesis fue realizar un análisis teórico y práctico, examinando, por un lado, los argumentos centrales respecto del aporte de la noción de justicia social y política de Iris Marion Young y las ideas sobre una ciudadanía más inclusiva desde el pensamiento feminista hacia el enfoque de empoderamiento de mujeres y, por otro lado, las visiones sobre el poder y la adquisición del mismo en las acciones colectivas y prácticas comunitarias de grupos de mujeres, organizaciones y colectivas/os feministas chilenas/os. Todo ello para comprender las distintas posiciones sobre el poder y la lucha ciudadana presentes en el feminismo de este país, a la luz de los valores de libertad de decisión e igualdad de derechos en un horizonte de justicia social y política. El haber optado por un análisis teórico-práctico se fundó en mi formación de origen como trabajadora social chilena, especialmente en trabajo comunitario, y en la relevancia de basar en reflexiones teóricas rigurosas el diseño e implementación de iniciativas de intervención social con grupos y comunidades en entornos de exclusión social, entre los cuales suelen ser protagonistas las mujeres. La hipótesis de trabajo utilizada fue que no toda propuesta de empoderamiento permite avanzar en el horizonte del autodesarrollo y la autodeterminación, conceptos clave de Iris Marion Young, ya que se requiere un marco de transformación social feminista para desplegar todas las potencialidades del poder colectivo, tanto a nivel teórico-filosófico como a nivel de intervención social fundada. Para llevar a cabo el objetivo de la tesis esta se estructuró en dos partes. La primera correspondió al análisis teórico-crítico del enfoque de empoderamiento de mujeres y consta de dos capítulos, que abordan la ciudadanía de las mujeres en un sistema sexo-género opresivo y las posibilidades de una ciudadanía más inclusiva desde el empoderamiento de las mujeres. La segunda parte de la tesis consistió en el análisis y sistematización de la información empírica, componiéndose también de dos capítulos. El primero sitúa la acción colectiva feminista dentro del estado actual de los derechos humanos de las mujeres en América Latina y en Chile, y el segundo presenta los resultados del trabajo de campo sobre las visiones del empoderamiento que poseen grupos feministas y de mujeres en este país. Como guía epistemológica del trabajo empírico sobre el empoderamiento elegí la mirada cualitativa o interpretativista y la metodología correspondió a un estudio de casos, de tipo colectivo y abierto. En cuanto a los resultados, analizo las convergencias entre los aportes de Iris Marion Young al enfoque de empoderamiento de mujeres y los posicionamientos y prácticas de los nueve grupos estudiados, el vínculo entre empoderamiento y ciudadanía, las características del empoderamiento en las prácticas comunitarias de los grupos, para concluir afirmando que el empoderamiento puede constituir una herramienta adecuada siempre que cumpla determinadas características asociadas a una propuesta más amplia, dentro de un proyecto de transformación feminista con impactos a nivel micro y macro social. ; [eng] The aim of this thesis has been to perform a theoretical and practical analysis of social and political justice from a feminist point of view in Chile. On the one hand, it has examined Iris Marion Young's central arguments regarding the notion of social and political justice and analysed main ideas about a more inclusive citizenship from feminist thought to approach to empowerment of women. On the other hand, it has researched the main issues about power and the acquisition of it in Chilean grassroots women and feminist organisations' collective action. Throughout this research I come to knowledge the different positions about power and civic struggle in the feminist debate in this country, in a horizon of freedom of choice and equal rights within social and political justice agenda. To choose for a theoretical and practical analysis was based on my original training as a Chilean social worker, especially focused in community work. From this position, it is crucial to develop rigorous theoretical reflections in order to design and implement adequate social intervention initiatives with groups and communities in environments of social exclusion usually including women-leading protagonists. The working hypothesis followed was that not all empowerment proposed enables progress on the horizon of self-development and self-determination, part of Iris Marion Young's key concepts. An adequate empowerment proposal requires a framework for feminist social transformation in order to display all the potentialities of collective power, both at the theoretical-philosophical and social intervention level. As epistemological guide I chose the qualitative or interpretive view. The methodology corresponded to a collective, open case study regarding the selection of informants, interpretation and analysis in the production of situational context type. As for the results, I identified important convergences between the contributions of Iris Marion Young's approach to empowerment of women and the positions and practices of the studied groups. Thus, the groups agree with the necessary task of feminist deconstruction of the category "woman", especially from lesbofeminismo point of view, but also from the options for a popular and revolutionary feminism.

The article analyzes the cyberpunk genre as an understanding of the phenomenon of the information society. The emergence of cyberpunk associated with the proliferation of personal computers, thanks to which many scientific ideas materialized in the 1950s and 1960s. The most famous representatives of this direction can be called Walter Yon Williams, Allen Steele, Rudy Rücker, Pat Cadigan. In the CIS, the first cyberpunk literary work was the story "The Network", written jointly by A. Tyurin and A. Shchegolev. Elements of cyberpunk are found in the works of S. Lukyanenko, V. Panov, A. Zorich, D. Simmons.If the cyberpunk was originally part of the underground and infatuation of the information elite, then gradually, as major publishers became interested in it, it became part of popular culture and dissolved in it. Both theorists of the information society and representatives of the cyberpunk genre tried to analyze the world in which life would change radically under the influence of computer technology. The cyberpunk ideologists used their books as a metaphorical warning against the alarming trends in the development of modern society. The creators of the theory of the information society mainly focused on its positive aspects, while cyberpunks talked about the negative that can come into the life of society and an individual person if it becomes a reality. Cyberpunk focused on the dark side of high technology, without which the existence of any phenomenon is impossible. Neither the philosophical constructions of the theorists-apologists of the information age, nor the gloomy prophecies of the representatives of the Movement were fully embodied in reality. The reason for this can be seen in the fact that the understanding of the information that the first and the second operated on turned out to be false (more realistic, obviously, is the consideration of information not as a resource, but as communication). The information, according to D. Ivanov, is communication, the operation of transmitting characters, encouraging action. Its huge technical, economic, political role is explained precisely by the fact that it is not meaningful (as opposed to knowledge) and not substantive (as opposed to a product). Information is operational, it serves to justify action. That is why it is so valuable to modern man, being his idol. In a traditional society, or in a modernizing society, built on an ideological basis of activity, information on such a role could not claim.Keywords: information, cyberpunk, mass culture, science fiction, information society. ; У статті аналізується жанр кіберпанк як осмислення феномена інформаційного суспільства. І теоретики інформаційного суспільства, і представники жанру кіберпанк намагалися проаналізувати світ, в якому життя зміниться кардинальним чином під впливом комп'ютерних технологій. Творці теорії інформаційного суспільства в основному зосереджувалися на його позитивних аспектах, в той час як киберпанки говорили про те негативному, що може прийти в життя суспільства і окремо взятої особистості, якщо воно стане реальністю. Кіберпанк зосереджувався на темній стороні високих технологій, без якої неможливе існування будь-якого явища. Ні філософські побудови теоретиків-апологетів інформаційного століття, ні похмурі пророцтва представників Руху кіберпанка в повній мірі в реальність не втілилися. Причину цього можна угледіти в тому, що розуміння інформації, яким оперували і перші, і другі, виявилося неправдивим (більш реалістичним, очевидно, є розгляд інформації не як ресурсу, а як комунікації).Ключові слова: інформація, кіберпанк, масова культура, наукова фантастика, інформаційне суспільство. В статье анализируется жанр киберпанк как осмысление феномена информационного общества. И теоретики информационного общества, и представители жанра киберпанк пытались проанализировать мир, в котором жизнь изменится кардинальным образом под воздействием компьютерных технологий. Идеологи киберпанка использовали свои книги как метафорическое предупреждение против тревожных тенденций развития современного им общества. Создатели теории информационного общества в основном сосредотачивались на его позитивных аспектах, в то время как киберпанки говорили о том негативном, что может прийти в жизнь общества и отдельно взятой личности, если оно станет реальностью. Киберпанк сосредотачивался на темной стороне высоких технологий, без которой невозможно существование любого явления. Ни философские построения теоретиков-апологетов информационного века, ни мрачные пророчества представителей Движения в полной мере в реальность не воплотились. Причину этого можно усмотреть в том, что понимание информации, которым оперировали и первые, и вторые, оказалось ложным (более реалистичным, очевидно, является рассмотрение информации не как ресурса, а как коммуникации).Ключевые слова: информация, киберпанк, массовая культура, научная фантастика, информационное общество. The article analyzes the cyberpunk genre as an understanding of the phenomenon of the information society. The emergence of cyberpunk associated with the proliferation of personal computers, thanks to which many scientific ideas materialized in the 1950s and 1960s. The most famous representatives of this direction can be called Walter Yon Williams, Allen Steele, Rudy Rücker, Pat Cadigan. In the CIS, the first cyberpunk literary work was the story "The Network", written jointly by A. Tyurin and A. Shchegolev. Elements of cyberpunk are found in the works of S. Lukyanenko, V. Panov, A. Zorich, D. Simmons.If the cyberpunk was originally part of the underground and infatuation of the information elite, then gradually, as major publishers became interested in it, it became part of popular culture and dissolved in it. Both theorists of the information society and representatives of the cyberpunk genre tried to analyze the world in which life would change radically under the influence of computer technology. The cyberpunk ideologists used their books as a metaphorical warning against the alarming trends in the development of modern society. The creators of the theory of the information society mainly focused on its positive aspects, while cyberpunks talked about the negative that can come into the life of society and an individual person if it becomes a reality. Cyberpunk focused on the dark side of high technology, without which the existence of any phenomenon is impossible. Neither the philosophical constructions of the theorists-apologists of the information age, nor the gloomy prophecies of the representatives of the Movement were fully embodied in reality. The reason for this can be seen in the fact that the understanding of the information that the first and the second operated on turned out to be false (more realistic, obviously, is the consideration of information not as a resource, but as communication). The information, according to D. Ivanov, is communication, the operation of transmitting characters, encouraging action. Its huge technical, economic, political role is explained precisely by the fact that it is not meaningful (as opposed to knowledge) and not substantive (as opposed to a product). Information is operational, it serves to justify action. That is why it is so valuable to modern man, being his idol. In a traditional society, or in a modernizing society, built on an ideological basis of activity, information on such a role could not claim.Keywords: information, cyberpunk, mass culture, science fiction, information society.

Costa Rica has intensified vegetable production by implementing monocultures managed with technological packages (synthetic fertilizers and pesticides). This model has sustained production in Zarcero, a municipality that supplies fresh vegetables to Costa Rica's capital and surroundings. However, investigations developed by the Regional Institute for Studies on Toxic Substances (IRET) have revealed concerning information on pesticide use regime in the area and associated adverse effects on the environment and health of inhabitants. In response to this problem, IRET, the School of Agricultural Sciences, and the Division of Rural Education launched a project in 2018. The project's primary aim was "to promote an alternative model for agricultural production through collaborative work, social sharing and construction of knowledge, in order to reduce the use of agrochemicals in Zarcero, Alajuela." The project included activities developed by academic groups, farmers and their families, and school children. The academic groups worked to carry out the following activities: a) a theoretical-political framework of common reference; b) an interdisciplinary perspective to design work strategies based on analysis to transform actual situations; and c) good collaborative relationships, and from there to pool goals. Achieving these activities needed executing other ones: a) study circles; b) fieldwork; c) knowledge exchange processes at the national and international level; d) the production of educational written materials for farmers; and e) articulation of the previous activities with teaching, research, and production activities. In addition, agroecology has been positioned in the institutional, local, regional, and national political agendas and in some international territories. From the academic work produced in the project, we have learned to be and do "Necessary University" since public universities need to legitimize themselves in the country. Therefore, we proposed to regain the trust of farmers and their families by creating spaces for rapprochement to contextualize and reflect on agricultural problems jointly, revitalize local knowledge, obtain inputs for the writing of educational documents with a socio-critical approach from popular education. As a result, it has been possible to "sow" the idea of change in some farmers; spaces for exchange between local farmers and farmers from other municipalities have been created. Small children are a driving force for change in homes; so, we have actively worked with them guided by critical pedagogy and carrying out collaborative school-family-community work. Moreover, it has been possible to politicize the national events, re-signifying the farmer's knowledge and diversifying the learning scenarios. In conclusion, we consider that academic work linked to real situations enables improvement processes in the productive agricultural life of the communities and enriches teaching, research, extension, and writing in the public university. All these activities stimulate the social sharing of knowledge that links local knowledge to the academic one generated in universities, promotes unlearning of the traditional manner of "building university," and contributes to reflection anchored to the biocentric approach. The present work provides ideas for the construction of a university extension policy. It contributes to developing a work process to understand better the link that university life should have with the daily needs of communities and the processes of improving farming-socio-community life. ; En Costa Rica, la producción de hortalizas se ha intensificado en las últimas décadas por el uso de paquetes tecnológicos (fertilizantes y plaguicidas sintéticos) en monocultivos. Este modelo ha sostenido la producción en Zarcero, cantón que provee productos vegetales al Valle Central. Sin embargo, estudios realizados por el Instituto Regional de Estudios en Sustancias Tóxicas (IRET) han revelado resultados preocupantes sobre el uso de plaguicidas y sus efectos negativos en el ambiente y en la salud de las personas. Como respuesta a esta problemática se inició en el 2018 un proyecto con la participación del IRET, de la Escuela de Ciencias Agrarias y de la División de Educación Rural, cuyo objetivo es "promover un modelo alternativo en la producción agrícola mediante trabajo colaborativo, diálogo de saberes y la construcción social del conocimiento para disminuir el uso de agroquímicos en Zarcero, Alajuela".En el proyecto se han desarrollado actividades con 1) equipo académico nacional e internacional, 2) personas agricultoras y sus familias, 3) escolares. El primer paso del proyecto ha consistido en la conformación de un equipo donde sus integrantes desarrollen: a) un marco teórico-político de referencia común, b) una mirada interdisciplinaria para analizar-trabajar-transformar la realidad y c) un tejido afectivo para favorecer entendimientos y desde ahí mancomunar metas. Para lograrlo, se han realizado: a) círculos de estudio, b) trabajo de campo, c) intercambio de saberes en el ámbito nacional e internacional, d) producción educativa agrícola modular y e) la articulación con la docencia, la investigación y la producción. Además, se ha posicionado la agroecología en las agendas políticas institucional, local, regional y nacional y en algunos territorios internacionales del continente.Desde el trabajo académico tejido en el proyecto se ha aprendido a ser y a hacer "universidad necesaria", ya que las universidades requieren legitimarse en el país, por lo que se ha propuesto, para recuperar la confianza de las personas agricultoras y sus familias, gestar espacios de acercamiento para contextualizar conjuntamente y reflexionar sobre la problemática agrícola, revitalizar saberes locales y obtener insumos para la escritura de documentos educativos con enfoque sociocrítico desde la educación popular.

One of the main problems of Ukrainian national culture formation, which was being repressed and neglected for centuries, and several decades was "clamped" between the need to be "padded" in party ideology and survival under severe scholastic taboo is a problem of hitherto discrepancies autochthonous (native) traditions of the past and biased approaches, attitudes, requirements for interpretation of our aesthetic and spiritual past.Only along with getting formal independence of Ukraine began a new interpretation of the centuries-old Ukrainian Cultural Heritage, return from oblivion its unique artistic heritage, development of research experience, bringing this potential to popular culture creating treasury (storage of cultural values). This led to a growing interest of modern Ukrainian scholars of hushed or withdrew in Soviet times, themes and genres, especially national historical trend, the disclosure of their meaning and significance for cultural science. At the present stage of Ukrainian musical culture development is very important in our view, to find out how it was emerged and originated the statist vision of the history of Ukraine and its culture.Scientific interest in the problems and development of national retrospectives, including musical culture of Ukraine in the first third of the twentieth century, is driven by the need to recreate historical events attributed to its ups and downs of underground development in an atmosphere of prohibition and repression.The analysis of scientific sources indicates that performed archival research and publications of A.Adamenko and T.Voronkovoyi [1] – is a brief review of the available documents of the Society; V.Kuzik research papers [4], [5] have intelligence character in nature, and the monograph by O. Bugaev [3] is an attempt to play the archival heritage of M.Leontovich Musical Society. as a holistic phenomenon of musical and cultural process of the 20 th century. In these materials for us within the designated theme, the specific interest is the existence of more obscure facets of creativity of B.Lyatoshinskiy as a member of the functioning process of Ukrainian musical culture within the framework of the M.Leontovich Musical Society and beyond. The object of our attention is the activity of Ukrainian musical theorist and talented composer B.Lyatoshinskiy and his place and degree of influence as music and public figure, who was a member of M.Leontovich Musical Society.However, the specific aim of this work is to study the importance of the individual personified by Boris Liatoshynskiy in the development of M.Leontovich Music Society and his contribution to the creative, educational and pedagogical sphere of musical culture across the organization as a whole and in relation to its individual members.National musical culture of this period is characterized by a certain progress: national identity was formed by combining the dynamics of folk expression and the best traditions of classical music. Across the state of that period there were developed a variety of creative societies and Boris Liatoshynskiy joined the creative team of the Association for Contemporary Music at the M.Leontovich Music Society and who led it from 1922 to 1925 years.In the political context, the fate of the M.Leontovich Musical Society evolved very difficult and controversial – from the most vibrant and exciting events to tragic in the history of the musical culture of the period and was inextricably linked to the life and work of its members. Leontovich Musical Society brought together the two most typical for the time trend, namely a broad democratization of musical culture among the rural and urban population and the professionalization of musical life through music education staff, which led to the creation of specialized secondary and higher music schools, formation of Ukrainian national musical theater, creating philharmonic, symphony orchestras, theater groups, music houses of culture, which enabled professional concert performance. The Leontovich musical Society played the role in the modern Composers of Ukraine National Union. Indeed, the existence of the Society provided an opportunity to consider more deeply talented composing and performing arts, educational and outreach activities that significantly affected the formation of social, intellectual and cultural growth of the Ukrainian nation as a whole.Cultural activity of Boris Nikolayevich Lyatoshynskiy in the M.Leontovich Music Society deserves attention not only as a complement to its artistic heritage, but as artistic-aesthetic and ethical position of the creative elite of a bygone era. In his activities Boris Lyatoshynskiy covers and strives to solve a wide range of issues including in particular, provided by him a great practical role of cinema in popular music education, awarding state of outstanding Soviet composers, preparation of special movie expedition for the collection and study of folk song and dance work – from distant musical past to the contemporary achievements of Soviet culture. ; Отражено культурный мир украинской элиты в творческом наследии Бориса Лятошинского. Осуществлено исследование персонифицированного значения личности Бориса Лятошинского в развитии Музыкального общества им. Н. Леонтовича и его вклада в творческую, просветительскую и педагогическую сферы музыкальной культуры как в масштабах организации в целом, так и по отношению к отдельным ее членам. ; Досліджено культурний світ української еліти в творчій спадщині Бориса Лятошинського. Здійснено дослідження персоніфікованого значення особистості Бориса Лятошинського у розвитку Музичного товариства ім. М.Леонтовича та його внеску у творчу, просвітницьку та педагогічну сфери музичної культури як в масштабах Товариства в цілому, так і щодо окремих його членів.

The City of Jobs organizes a series of learning situations related to educational and vocational guidance for students of the establishment of Cadenazzo-Vira Gambarogno, a popular middle school in the Italian part of Switzerland. Throughout the four years of middle school, unique, as in France, pupils are invited to confront with personalities from the world of work, to visit companies and professional schools, to carry out a brief research in the computer room, to watch a feature film and to participate in a symposium on the evolution of work, or, to take an optional course in initiation into lexicon and economic language. Research studies this pedagogical project as a focal point, that is a center towards which converge a set of complex social processes, related to the building dynamics of the unique middle school. Carrying an effective social diversity, this one can merely be thought of in close relation with a changing world of work, in search of new balances. This work comes from a decennial social action, between 2003/2004 and 2013/2014, which became an ethnographic research carried out by one of the animators, around thirty semi-structured interviews, fully transcribed and translated into French, with middle school professionals, pupils' parents, invited personalities and students who animated the project. These data are supplemented by others, especially from available archival documents, assessment reports made by students after visits and articles published in a cultural weekly magazine, allowing the analysis of an experience through the construction of a case study. The first part of this study focuses on the relationship between collaboration and conflictuality in the elaboration process of the City of Jobs. A strategic analysis of the active minority highlights a structure of power relations centered around a triangular game between social actors, leading to a continuous oscillation between a dynamic of autonomous innovation, of heterogeneous innovation and reflexive slowdown. The second part analyzes the role of educational engineering in the efficiency of its daily progress. A desirability analysis of the implemented learning situations shows a differentiated responsible participation of students in learning, favouring the succession of the vocational sequence and the construction of a transitional competence, able to guide the transitions of life of these individualities under construction. The third part, finally, examines the repercussions on the identity form of the students. A structural analysis of the life stories of the most engaged students sketches an identity transformation which shows the appearance of a spirit of performance, with individualized variations, which reinforces the control of life transitions. This plural approach brings out the contours of a breach towards the realization of a truly unique middle school, because equitable, result of a fragile balance constantly renewed between freedom and equality, first of all at the level of the hidden curriculum. What makes awakened individuality arise, potential fruit of the emerging ideal-type of the democratic teacher. Simultaneously, these contours reveal the limits of this process of internal rejuvenation of the republican school, namely the weakness of the elaboration of a vision of the social world of the teaching staff, vector of this dynamic, and the unavoidable extension of the equity of the school universe to the world of work, within the framework of the emergence of an open society. ; La Cité des Métiers propose aux élèves de l'établissement de Cadenazzo-Vira Gambarogno, un collège populaire dans la partie italienne de la Suisse, une série de situations d'apprentissage liées à l'orientation scolaire et professionnelle. Tout au long des quatre années du collège, unique, comme en France, les élèves sont amenés à se confronter avec des personnalités issues du monde du travail, à visiter des entreprises et des écoles professionnelles, à réaliser une brève recherche en salle d'informatique, à regarder un long-métrage et à participer à un colloque sur le travail, ou encore, à suivre un cours facultatif d'initiation au lexique et au langage économiques. Cette recherche étudie ce projet pédagogique comme un point focal, au sens de centre vers lequel convergent un ensemble de complexes processus sociaux, reliés à la dynamique de construction du collège unique. Porteuse d'une effective mixité sociale, celle-ci ne peut se penser qu'en relation étroite avec un monde du travail en mutation, à la recherche de nouveaux équilibres. Ce travail est issu d'une action sociale décennale, entre 2003/2004 et 2013/2014, devenue ensuite une recherche ethnographique effectuée par l'un des animateurs, autour de trente entretiens semi-directifs, entièrement retranscrits et traduits en français, avec des professionnels du collège, des parents d'élèves, des personnalités invitées et des élèves ayant animé le projet. Ces données sont complétées par d'autres, issues en particulier de documents d'archives disponibles, de rapports de bilan réalisés par les élèves après des visites et d'articles publiés dans un hebdomadaire culturel, permettant d'analyser une expérience par la construction d'une étude de cas. La première partie de cette étude se focalise sur le rapport entre la collaboration et la conflictualité dans le processus d'élaboration de la Cité des Métiers. Une analyse stratégique de la minorité active, met en évidence une structure des relations de pouvoir centrée autour d'un jeu triangulaire entre acteurs sociaux, conduisant à une oscillation continue entre une dynamique d'innovation autonome, d'innovation hétéronome et de ralentissement réflexif. La deuxième partie analyse le rôle de l'ingénierie pédagogique dans l'efficacité de son déroulement quotidien. Une analyse de désirabilité des situations d'apprentissage mises en place, fait ressortir une participation responsable différenciée des élèves aux apprentissages, favorisant la succession de la séquence vocationnelle et la construction d'une compétence transitionnelle, en mesure de guider les transitions de vie de ces individus en devenir. La troisième partie, enfin, étudie les répercussions sur la forme identitaire des élèves. Une analyse structurale des récits de vie des élèves les plus engagés, esquisse une transformation identitaire vers l'apparition d'un esprit de performance, aux déclinaisons individualisées, qui renforce la maîtrise des transitions de vie. Cette démarche plurielle met en évidence les contours d'une brèche vers la réalisation d'un collège effectivement unique, puisque équitable, résultat d'un fragile équilibre sans cesse renouvelé entre la liberté et l'égalité, tout d'abord au niveau du curriculum caché. Ce qui fait surgir une individualité éveillée, fruit potentiel de l'idéal-type émergent de l'enseignant démocratique. Simultanément, ces contours font apparaître les limites de ce processus de rajeunissement interne de l'école républicaine, à savoir la faiblesse de l'élaboration d'une vision du monde social du corps enseignant, vecteur de cette dynamique, et de l'incontournable prolongement de l'équité de l'univers scolaire vers le monde du travail, dans le cadre de l'émergence d'une société ouverte.

The City of Jobs organizes a series of learning situations related to educational and vocational guidance for students of the establishment of Cadenazzo-Vira Gambarogno, a popular middle school in the Italian part of Switzerland. Throughout the four years of middle school, unique, as in France, pupils are invited to confront with personalities from the world of work, to visit companies and professional schools, to carry out a brief research in the computer room, to watch a feature film and to participate in a symposium on the evolution of work, or, to take an optional course in initiation into lexicon and economic language. Research studies this pedagogical project as a focal point, that is a center towards which converge a set of complex social processes, related to the building dynamics of the unique middle school. Carrying an effective social diversity, this one can merely be thought of in close relation with a changing world of work, in search of new balances. This work comes from a decennial social action, between 2003/2004 and 2013/2014, which became an ethnographic research carried out by one of the animators, around thirty semi-structured interviews, fully transcribed and translated into French, with middle school professionals, pupils' parents, invited personalities and students who animated the project. These data are supplemented by others, especially from available archival documents, assessment reports made by students after visits and articles published in a cultural weekly magazine, allowing the analysis of an experience through the construction of a case study. The first part of this study focuses on the relationship between collaboration and conflictuality in the elaboration process of the City of Jobs. A strategic analysis of the active minority highlights a structure of power relations centered around a triangular game between social actors, leading to a continuous oscillation between a dynamic of autonomous innovation, of heterogeneous innovation and reflexive slowdown. The second part analyzes the role of educational engineering in the efficiency of its daily progress. A desirability analysis of the implemented learning situations shows a differentiated responsible participation of students in learning, favouring the succession of the vocational sequence and the construction of a transitional competence, able to guide the transitions of life of these individualities under construction. The third part, finally, examines the repercussions on the identity form of the students. A structural analysis of the life stories of the most engaged students sketches an identity transformation which shows the appearance of a spirit of performance, with individualized variations, which reinforces the control of life transitions. This plural approach brings out the contours of a breach towards the realization of a truly unique middle school, because equitable, result of a fragile balance constantly renewed between freedom and equality, first of all at the level of the hidden curriculum. What makes awakened individuality arise, potential fruit of the emerging ideal-type of the democratic teacher. Simultaneously, these contours reveal the limits of this process of internal rejuvenation of the republican school, namely the weakness of the elaboration of a vision of the social world of the teaching staff, vector of this dynamic, and the unavoidable extension of the equity of the school universe to the world of work, within the framework of the emergence of an open society. ; La Cité des Métiers propose aux élèves de l'établissement de Cadenazzo-Vira Gambarogno, un collège populaire dans la partie italienne de la Suisse, une série de situations d'apprentissage liées à l'orientation scolaire et professionnelle. Tout au long des quatre années du collège, unique, comme en France, les élèves sont amenés à se confronter avec des personnalités issues du monde du travail, à visiter des entreprises et des écoles professionnelles, à réaliser une brève recherche en salle d'informatique, à regarder un long-métrage et à participer à un colloque sur le travail, ou encore, à suivre un cours facultatif d'initiation au lexique et au langage économiques. Cette recherche étudie ce projet pédagogique comme un point focal, au sens de centre vers lequel convergent un ensemble de complexes processus sociaux, reliés à la dynamique de construction du collège unique. Porteuse d'une effective mixité sociale, celle-ci ne peut se penser qu'en relation étroite avec un monde du travail en mutation, à la recherche de nouveaux équilibres. Ce travail est issu d'une action sociale décennale, entre 2003/2004 et 2013/2014, devenue ensuite une recherche ethnographique effectuée par l'un des animateurs, autour de trente entretiens semi-directifs, entièrement retranscrits et traduits en français, avec des professionnels du collège, des parents d'élèves, des personnalités invitées et des élèves ayant animé le projet. Ces données sont complétées par d'autres, issues en particulier de documents d'archives disponibles, de rapports de bilan réalisés par les élèves après des visites et d'articles publiés dans un hebdomadaire culturel, permettant d'analyser une expérience par la construction d'une étude de cas. La première partie de cette étude se focalise sur le rapport entre la collaboration et la conflictualité dans le processus d'élaboration de la Cité des Métiers. Une analyse stratégique de la minorité active, met en évidence une structure des relations de pouvoir centrée autour d'un jeu triangulaire entre acteurs sociaux, conduisant à une oscillation continue entre une dynamique d'innovation autonome, d'innovation hétéronome et de ralentissement réflexif. La deuxième partie analyse le rôle de l'ingénierie pédagogique dans l'efficacité de son déroulement quotidien. Une analyse de désirabilité des situations d'apprentissage mises en place, fait ressortir une participation responsable différenciée des élèves aux apprentissages, favorisant la succession de la séquence vocationnelle et la construction d'une compétence transitionnelle, en mesure de guider les transitions de vie de ces individus en devenir. La troisième partie, enfin, étudie les répercussions sur la forme identitaire des élèves. Une analyse structurale des récits de vie des élèves les plus engagés, esquisse une transformation identitaire vers l'apparition d'un esprit de performance, aux déclinaisons individualisées, qui renforce la maîtrise des transitions de vie. Cette démarche plurielle met en évidence les contours d'une brèche vers la réalisation d'un collège effectivement unique, puisque équitable, résultat d'un fragile équilibre sans cesse renouvelé entre la liberté et l'égalité, tout d'abord au niveau du curriculum caché. Ce qui fait surgir une individualité éveillée, fruit potentiel de l'idéal-type émergent de l'enseignant démocratique. Simultanément, ces contours font apparaître les limites de ce processus de rajeunissement interne de l'école républicaine, à savoir la faiblesse de l'élaboration d'une vision du monde social du corps enseignant, vecteur de cette dynamique, et de l'incontournable prolongement de l'équité de l'univers scolaire vers le monde du travail, dans le cadre de l'émergence d'une société ouverte.

The origins of the incest taboo have puzzled many of the most influential minds of the West, from Plutarch to St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, David Hume, Lewis Henry Morgan, Sigmund Freud, Emile Durkheim, Edward Westermarck, and Claude Lévi-Strauss. This book puts the discussion of incest on a new foundation. It is the first attempt to thoroughly examine the rich literature, from philosophical, theological, and legal treatises to psychological and biological-genetic studies, to a wide variety of popular cultural media over a long period of time. The book offers a detailed examination of discursive and figurative representations of incest during five selected periods, from 1600 to the present. The incest discussion for each period is complemented with a presentation of dominant kinship structures and changes, without arguing for causal relations. Part I deals with the legacy of ecclesiastical marriage prohibitions of the Middle Ages: Historians dealing with the Reformation have wondered about the political and social implications of theological debates about the incest rules, the Enlightenment opted for sociological considerations of the household and a new anthropology based on the passions, Baroque discourse focused upon sexual relations among kin by marriage , while Enlightenment and Romantic discussions worried the intimacy of siblings. The first section of Part II deals with the six decades around 1900, during which European and American cultures obsessed about the sexuality of women. Almost everyone concurred in the idea that mother made the family what it was; that she configured the household, kept the lines of kinship vibrant, and stood at the threshold as stern gatekeeper, and many thought that she managed these tasks through her sexuality and an eroticized relationship with sons. Another story line, taken up in the section "Intermezzo," this one about the physical and mental consequences of inbreeding, appeared after 1850. To what extent do close-kin marriages pose risks for progeny? At its center, lay the incest problematic, now restated: Is avoidance of kin genetically programmed? Do all cultures know about risks of consanguinity? As for the twenty-first century, evolutionary and genetic assumptions are challenged by a living world population containing roughly one billion offspring of cousin marriages. Part III deals with one of the perhaps most remarkable reconfigurations of Western kinship in the aftermath of World War I: The shift from an endogamous to an exogamous alliance system centered on the "nuclear family." An historical anomaly, this family form began to dissolve almost as soon as it came together and, in the process, shifted the focus of incest concerns to a new pairing: father and daughter. By the 1970s, when the father/daughter problematic swept all other considerations of incest aside, that relationship had come to be modeled, for the most part, around power and its abusive potential. As for "incest," its representations in the last three decades of the twentieth century no longer focused on biologically damaged progeny but rather on power abuses in the nuclear family: sexual "abuse." By the mid-1990s, Western culture at least partly redirected its gaze away from father and daughter towards siblings, especially towards brothers and sisters and the sexual boundaries and erotics of their relationships. Correspondingly, siblings became a "model organism" for psychotherapy, evolutionary biology, and the science of genetics

Part I: Spas Introduction The Travels through England of Dr Richard Pococke, ed. J J Cartwright, 2 vols (1888), vol. 1, extract; O Goldsmith, The Life of Richard Nash, of Bath, Esq; Extracted Principally from his Original Papers (1762), extract; [Anon], Sunday Walks, round London and Westminster; to which are Added the Adventures of Two Young Gentlemen in and Near Town (1795), extracts; W F Mavor, The British Tourists; or, Traveller's Pocket Companion through England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, 6 vols (1798-1800), vol. 6, extract; A F Hargrove, A Brief Description of Places of Public Interest in the County of York, within Twenty-Six Miles of the City (1843), extracts The Science behind the Use of Mineral Waters: J Floyer, An Enquiry into the Right Use and Abuses of the Hot, Cold, and Temperate Baths in England, etc (1696), extract; J Atkins, A Compendious Treatise on the Contents, Virtues, and Uses of Cold and Hot Mineral Springs in General (c.1730), extract; Peter Shaw, An Enquiry into the Contents, Virtues and Uses of the Scarborough Spaw-Waters (1734), extract; J King, An Essay on Hot and Cold Bathing (1737), extract; R O Allsop, The Hydropathic Establishment and its Baths (1891), extracts Climate, Air and Sunshine in the Treatment of Patients: T B Burr, The History of Tunbridge-Wells (1766), extract; [J Sprange], The Directory: or, The Ancient and Present State of Tunbridge Wells (1816), extract; J Clark, The Influence of Climate in the Prevention and Cure of Chronic Diseases, More Particularly of the Chest and Digestive Organs (1829), extracts; J McPherson, The Baths and Wells of Europe (1873), extract; J Braun, On the Curative Effects of Baths and Waters: Being a Handbook to the Spas of Europe (1875), extracts; R F Fox, Strathpeffer Spa, its Climate and Waters (1889), extracts; H D Rawnsley, 'Sunlight or Smoke?', Contemporary Review (1890) Part II: Case Studies of Spas Bath: J Atkins, A Compendious Treatise on the Contents, Virtues, and Uses of Cold and Hot Mineral Springs in General (c.1730), extract; E D Clarke, A Tour through the South of England, Wales and Part of Ireland, Made during the Summer of 1791 (1793), extract; G S Carey, The Balnea, or, an Impartial Description of all the Popular Watering Places in England (1799), extract; E Lee, The Baths and Watering-Places of England, Considered with Reference to their Curative Efficacy (1848), extract Tunbridge Wells: J Macky, A Journey through England, 2 vols (1722), vol. 1, extract; T B Burr, The History of Tunbridge-Wells (1766), extract; [J Feltham], A Guide to all the Watering and Sea Bathing Places, with a Description of the Lakes; a Sketch of a Tour in Wales, and Itineraries (1803), extract; [J Sprange], The Directory (1816), extracts; J Evans, Recreation for the Young and the Old (1821), extract; J R Thomson, Pelton's Illustrated Guide to Tunbridge Wells (1893), extract Cheltenham: A Fothergill, A New Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Qualities of the Cheltenham Water, etc (1785), extract; [D Williams], Royal Recollections on a Tour to Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester and Places Adjacent, in the Year 1788 (1788), extracts; E Lee, The Baths and Watering-Places of England, Considered with Reference to their Curative Efficacy (1848), extract; [Anon.], The New Cheltenham Guide (1861), extracts Editorial Notes List of Sources

Jennifer Huddleston


As headlines have gotten the attention of parents and policymakers, a new Surgeon General's report has raised concerns about children's and teens' time on social media. Some states, including Utah, Arkansas, and California, have introduced bills that claim to "protect children," but these bills would carry significant consequences for speech and privacy. Many parents and policymakers are wondering what could be done to help keep kids safer online without taking such a restrictive —and likely unconstitutional — approach.
The issue of keeping children and teens safe online is as unique as each individual child and family. The best answers for these concerns are not one‐​size‐​fits‐​all and thus will emerge from a variety of market and civil society forces that can respond to these unique needs. In my latest policy brief, I highlight some ways that policymakers who want to support parents and families navigating these questions could do so without the problems for speech, privacy, and parental choice.
Many great resources exist already, from parental controls to resources for having conversations about technology with children and teens, but parents are often unsure of what parental controls are available, how to have conversations with their children about technology, or where to look for guidance. Policymakers could help empower parents by collating existing resources or engaging in other educational opportunities so families can choose the right solutions for their concerns. These resources need not be developed by the government, as a wide array of both industry and civil society groups have already developed such resources.
Second, further research is needed to understand the underlying concerns around issues like teenage mental health and social media. It should not be presumed that technology is always to blame, and how technology can help with these same issues should also be explored. Not only should further research and conversations include scientific and social science research, but policymakers and trusted adults like parents, caregivers, and teachers should also ask children and teenagers why they prefer to spend time online and discuss the value they find in online communities.
Finally, many states already have a digital or computer literacy component in their curriculums. However, many of these curriculums and standards were developed before social media gained popularity. This year, Florida passed a law to include updated online safety and media literacy around social media in a way that allows schools and parents to be aware of and choose the curriculum. This flexible approach does not dictate to children and teenagers what choices they should make, but instead prepares them to both make responsible choices and understand the risks and benefits of using technology.
In short, it is understandable that many parents are concerned about what they hear about children, teenagers, and social media. It is not uncommon for these concerns to arise with technology or in popular culture. Similar concerns have played out over everything from the novel to video games.
Despite these concerns, many children and teens have found valuable online communities, educational opportunities, or new passions online. Rather than rushing to regulate or take away technology from teenagers, parents, and policymakers should look at the tools available to empower and educate all users on how to have a beneficial online experience.

The aim of the article is to explore of genre and dramaturgic features of a modern historical film.
The research methodology is based on the systematic use of materials from the scientific branches of art and cultural science, cinema theory and history, psychology, etc. The empirical basis of the study included a series of historical films of the XXI century, a detailed analysis of genre and dramaturgic features was carried out.
The results. Historical drama is the leading genre of a film based on real events, which grinds the past, turning it into a mirror image of the present. Thus, the theme of the film, its newsworthiness has the equal importance along with the genre, which ensures the integrity of the material, director's and cameraman's methods and techniques and the style, which forms the aesthetic expressiveness of the film.
Films based on real events, which premiered in the XXI century, were chosen as the empirical basis of the study. As the core of the plot were chosen issues of human rights violations, social discrimination and injustice. These problems have their origins in ancient times and have long been the main obstacles for the establishment of democratic values in society.
We found that modern historical drama has significant morphological differences from the XX century drama: lack of epicism, abandonment of the tragic component in favor of a happy ending, the transition from melodramatics to hybridization of drama with more dynamic genres: action, road movie, western. At the same time, we see that modern historical drama has signs of genre elasticity and syncretism, which allows forming new multi­genre constructions that have not yet entered scientific circulation in the domestic press (action drama, crime drama, western drama, kidnap drama, etc.).
The dramatic features of modern historical films are closely related to the genre construction of the films. The genre of autobiography determines the priority of using the "plot of growing up" and "plot of the experience", when the main characters grow up psychologically and fight for their rights: life, freedom, personal inviolability. The hero — is dominated archetype, a person who serves others, sacrifices himself or puts himself in constant danger for the sake of others.
The issue of social inequality in the historical context, when realities separate the viewer from the depicted events for a significant period of time, is reflected in the historical film more often and has a proper response from the viewer. At the same time, the modern issue of human rights, which demonstrates the principle of "democracy for the elect" is not so popular among modern fans of historical cinema.
Novelty. The scientific novelty of the article is to identify the modern morphology of historical film, the actualization of the relationship between the genre, the magnitude of the theme of historical film, its dramatic solution and the value expectations of the audience.
The practical significance. The main theses and results of the research may be useful for practicing screenwriters of historical films. The recommendations in this article contribute to the creation of a commercially successful and psychologically powerful film product. In addition, the article can be used for academic disciplines in film schools in Ukraine and abroad.

Modern populism as a challenge to liberal democracy is analysed. The main factor in the rise of populism is the decline in the attractiveness of liberal decisions in the fields of politics, economics and culture, and the growing mood of "abandonment" of empirical political consciousness, the growing popularity of the policy of denial. The characteristic features of populism as an unintellectual, primitive, but a very effective method of influencing the political audience are identified. Populism is a very effective method of fighting for power in the context of unstable development. It is generalized that populism appeared at the end of the 21st century as a social movement, ideology and type of political activity. Since then, it has firmly taken its place in the political consciousness of the masses, acquiring new features and intensifying in periods when countries experienced turning points in their history. The dynamics of populism as a socio-political phenomenon in Ukraine is analysed on the example of the growing popularity of catch-all parties and the trend of ideological deradicalization (indoctrination) of politics in general. On the example of a number of European parties, the phenomena of populism and Euroscepticism are studied as two different sides of one protest movement, which is the so-called "political alternative". As a political science structure, populism lacks a sufficient theoretical background, but, nevertheless, has a holistic structure. It is emphasized that populism is not a threat to democracy, but to the dominant liberal version of democracy. The objective of populism is to turn popular preferences into public policy without obstacles that prevented liberal democracies from responding effectively to pressing problems (illiberal democracy). An important factor in the growth of populism is the lack of effectiveness of constitutionalism and other formal, limited institutions, procedures to ensure the principles of people's sovereignty, democracy, justice, ensuring the interests of the majority in the modern world. ; Проаналізовано сучасний популізм як виклик ліберальній демократії. Основним чинником зростання популізму визначено зниження привабливості ліберальних рішень у сферах політики, економіки та культури, наростання настроїв «відмови» від емпіричної політичної свідомості, зростання популярності політики заперечення. Визначено характерні ознаки популізму як неінтелектуального, примітивного характеру, але дуже дієвого методу впливу на політичну аудиторію. Популізм є вагомим методом боротьби за владу в умовах нестабільного розвитку. Узагальнено, що популізм з'явився наприкінці ХІХ століття як громадський рух, ідеологія і вид політичної діяльності, який з того часу міцно зайняв свої позиції в політичній свідомості мас, набуваючи нових рис і активізуючись у періоди, коли країни переживали переломні етапи своєї історії. Динаміку розвитку популізму як суспільно-політичного феномену в Україні проаналізовано на прикладі зростання популярності всеохопних партій (catch-all parties) і тенденцій ідеологічної деради-калізації (індоктринації) політики загалом. На прикладі низки європейських партій досліджено феномени популізму та євроскептицизму як дві різні сторони одного протестного руху, що становить так звану «політичну альтернативу». Як політологічна конструкція популізм ще не має достатнього теоретичного обгрунтування, проте має цілісну структуру. Наголошено, що популізм є загрозою не для демократії, а для провідного ліберального варіанту демократії. Завдання популізму - перетворити народні уподобання на державну політику без перешкод, які заважали ліберальним демократіям ефективно реагувати на нагальні проблеми (неліберальна демократія). Важливим чинником зростання популізму визначено недостатню дієвість конституціоналізму та інших формальних, обмежених інститутів, процедур для забезпечення принципів народного суверенітету, демократії, справедливості, забезпечення інтересів більшості в сучасному світі.

"Cyberpunk" is a word that is both familiar and unfamiliar to us. In some ways, it is familiar to us. As a sub-genre of science fiction, Cyberpunk is a popular futuristic theme that greatly influenced pop culture in the 21st century. We are fascinated by the bizarre but realistic fictional world, a dystopian society characteristic of "high tech and low life" for the majority population, it presents. In most works of this genre, an overwhelming technology company monopolies most social resources and dominates society like a "leviathan". The majority population is alienated from the well-being brought by high technology. They are exploited by the social elites and forced to endure the scarcity of resources and terrible living standards. On the other hand, it is unfamiliar to us. We believe that such a dystopian world can only exist in artworks or literature. Natural rights, social contracts, and "all men are created equal"—these concepts have been deeply embedded in our laws and culture. After the USSR fall, most of us believe that we have reached "the end of history." In this democratic system we proud of, there will be no more oppressors benefiting from exploiting others with their social power. At least, the organization that most likely to become a "leviathan", the government, has been tamed by the democratic system we built. Naturally, people tend to believe in what they want to believe. A promise of a bright future is always more attractive than disturbing predictions. However, ignorance is always the outset of disaster. In the 21st century, cyber technology advances at an unprecedented pace. The rocketing up Internet market produces thousands of tech entrepreneurs every year. We once believed that the Internet's development could lead to diversity and transparency and facilitate the free dissemination of information. Nevertheless, tech giants, such as Google and Facebook, are gradually taking over the world of the Internet. They overwhelm, annex the smaller companies and monopolize the dissemination of information. It is a dangerous sign. Once a group monopolizes information distribution, it can choose what people can know and control the minds. The church in the middle age dominated the era by fabricating information cocoons for the whole population. Being the judge of the truth and knowledge, they took away the people's reason and forced them to follow its words blindly. With the power of faith, it became the "leviathan" of its time. The Enlightenment freed people's reason from the "leviathan" by breaking the information cocoon. However, today, with the help of AI-algorithm and user experience design, the tech giants who dominate the information are trying to build information cocoons for each of us. Sadly, immersed in the convenience of the services they brought us, this time, we voluntarily give them our reason. These rising "digital leviathans" are once again closing the window of reason for humanity and driving us towards the world of Cyberpunk. This essay endeavors to demonstrate why our society in the 21st century is on the way to Cyberpunk. With Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx's philosophical ideas, this essay will analyze the consequences that tech giants and their social media have on both individuals and society and why these consequences lead us towards the era of Cyberpunk.

The post-1994 era in the South African public imagination was envisaged to herald widespread and transformative efforts to reverse the gross injustices and human rights violations inflicted over many decades of apartheid and colonialism. One of the key measures initiated by the democratic government to drive this nation building project was the land reform programme. The 'land question', which is a popular tagline in South Africa when reference is made to land reform, has come to define the general discourse of socioeconomic disadvantage and change in the post-apartheid and post-colonial period – similarly to other former settler colonies in the African continent and the broader Global South. For South Africa though, this specific issue has been characterised by numerous challenges and failures largely at the level of the state, wherein a significant lack of public engagement, public participation and democratic redistribution was not being done according to 'the will of the people'. On a number of occasions, the South African state has gone on a 'solo crusade' to implement the land reform programme under complex conditions that are largely unfavoured by ordinary people 'on the ground' – especially those who were the primary victims of land dispossession under colonialism and apartheid. As a result, over the past few years, indigenous black communities across the country especially in (semi)urban and township areas have voluntarily 'occupied' land at their own will and sometimes 'illegally', as a way to take up settlement space and determine their lives on the land of their birth. Beyond the public discourse of 'land invasions' and 'failed land reform projects', this study was conducted to closely understand the extent to which public engagement and participation has been integral in the systematic mechanism(s) to transform the patterns of land ownership and control in the democratic South Africa. To do this, the site of KwaZakhele, Silvertown, in Port Elizabeth was selected to conduct the study. This township is an outcome of apartheid geography and land dispossession where many generations of indigenous black people were displaced. Today, it is a struggling community characterised by high rates of poverty and unemployment – and one of its unresolved socio-political issues is the question of the skewed patterns of land ownership in the area. Methodologically, qualitative semi-structured interviews were utilised to conduct the study and the Marxist Concept of Citizenship was selected as a theoretical framework for the study by the researcher. The study has found that, amongst the general legislative and political shortfalls of public participation breakdown, there are other deep seated structural socioeconomic issues that are at the root of the problem – such as economic inequalities and very low prospects of social mobility – which collectively reproduce the persistent inadequacies of political instability and social unrest in the area. The study recommends an astute combination of 'bottom-up' active citizenship and major socioeconomic transformation in the area as a systematic and structural mechanism to empower the community of Silvertown to be the champion of its own liberation struggle for the freedom of its people to own land and democratically participate in their own governance, self-determination, and prosperity. ; Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Governmental and Social Sciences, 2021