The Society for the Study of Social Problems: Conflict, Social Action, and Change DivisionS Summer 2010 Newsletter In This Issue: Message from the Division Chair 2010 SSSP Conference: CSAC Division Sessions Feature Story: Social Action and Change - The 2010 United States Social Forum Award Winner: 2010 CSAC Graduate Student Paper Competition Spotlight on Research: The Environmental Justice Research Center at Clark Atlanta University Announcements: Books, Journals, Research Centers, Call for Papers Newsletter Editor: Deborah G. Perkins, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology College of Natural and Applied Sciences Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528-6054 dperkins@coastal.edu (Page 1) Message from the Division Chair: Debbie Perkins Coastal Carolina University Greetings friends and members! I am excited about serving as chair of SSSP’s Conflict, Social Action, and Change (CSAC) Division and look forward to meeting you at the upcoming SSSP conference in Atlanta, GA, on August 13-15. “Social Justice Work” is the theme of this year’s conference, and a great program has been planned that focuses on action-based scholarship and research on a variety of social justice issues including civil rights, human rights, political and economic equality, labor rights, health and environmental justice. This year’s conference comes at a critical time of global and local crises, and it is vital as scholars, researchers, and activists to participate in the struggle to create a more democratic and just world. The Summer 2010 issue of the CSAC Newsletter provides more information about division sessions and events at the upcoming SSSP conference. Also included is our “Feature Story” of the 2010 United States Social Forum (USSF)that was recently held in Detroit. Jackie Smith documents how thousands of activists from around the country and world came together to plan bottom-up strategies and to build collaborative coalitions in response to the economic, political, and ecological crises facing us at this historical moment. As part of the larger World Social Forum, the USSF is based on the ideas that “another world is necessary” and “another world is possible.” This issue’s “Spotlight on Research” (a column borrowed from the newsletter of our friends in SSSP’s Community Division) features Clark Atlanta University’s Environmental Justice Research Center (EJRC), located in Atlanta, Georgia, the host city for this year’s SSSP conference. Contributor, Glenn S. Johnson informs us of EJRC’s work on environmental racism and justice issues and highlights several current projects including EJRC’s work in the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Cleanup and the State of Black Atlanta Summit 2010. Here’s wishing you a wonderful summer. I hope to see you next month at the SSSP meetings in Atlanta where we can engage in critical “Social Justice Work.” (Page 2) 2010 SSSP Conference Schedule: CSAC Division Date/Time/Location/Session/Session Title or Event Friday 8/13, 8:30 – 10:10, Georgia 10, 5, Shifting Discourse: Reconstructing Ideology for Social Justice and Change Friday 8/13, 10:30– 12:10, Georgia 10, 13, Community Based Participatory Research: Academicians and Community Organizations Working Together for Social Justice and Change Friday 8/13, 4:30 – 6:10, Georgia 13. Division Meeting Friday 8/13, 6:30 – 7:30, Athens, Division Reception (joint reception) Saturday 8/14, 12:30 – 2:10, Georgia 2, 52, Youth on the Frontline of Activism* Saturday 8/14, 2:30 – 4:10, Georgia 10, 65, Grass-Roots Community Development Practices and Social Change* Saturday 8/14, 4:30 – 6:10, Georgia 10 76, Gender Issues in Globalization, Resistance, and Social Change* Sunday 8/15, 10:30– 12:10, Georgia 2, 91, National and Local Immigration Policies and their Impacts on Communities* Sunday 8/15, 12:30 – 2:10, Georgia 2, 99, Teaching for Social Justice and Social Change: Connecting to Movement Building in the 21st Century Sunday 8/15, 2:30 – 4:10, Georgia 2, 106, Political Economy and Inequality* Sunday 8/15, 4:30 – 6:10, Georgia 2. 113, Global Intersections: Inequalities, Conflict, and Environmental Justice* * Co-Sponsored Sessions (Page 3) Feature Article: United States Social Forum Brings 20,000 Activists to Detroit - the "Solution City" By: Jackie Smith, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame. Jackie Smith, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Sociology and Peace Studies at Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at University of Notre Dame. Smith is known for her research on the transnational dimensions of social movements, which explores how global economic and political integration influence the ways people engage in politics. Most recently, her work has focused on transnational social movements for global economic justice, and the World Social Forum process in particular. Social Movements for Global Democracy (2008, The Johns Hopkins University Press) examines relationships between globalization and social justice organizing, and it argues that movements should work to strengthen multilateral institutions that support human rights and environmental protection. (http://kroc.nd.edu/people/directory/faculty/jackie-smith) June 22-26 witnessed what may prove to be one of the most important political gatherings in our country's recent history. The US Social Forum brought 20,000 activists from around the country and world together to discuss how to respond to the economic and ecological crises that plague our local communities, our nation, and our world. The US Social Forum is part of the larger, World Social Forum process, which has been developing since it originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001. It has mobilized hundreds of thousands of people who believe “another world is possible,” and who have come together to find strategies and build coalitions capable of challenging the forces of neoliberal globalization. Activists in this movement are truly building peace by targeting the structural violence of our world economy and the overt violence and deprivation in local communities. They are developing strategies for addressing conflicts without violence, as was witnessed by the organizers' training of their community safety/marshals and security staff and by the use of "conflict resolution teams" to help guide and mediate conflicts that emerged in the sessions. The US Social Forum also witnessed what may have been one of the most productive large-scale conversations in the US left on the politics of Zionism, racism, and the Middle East conflict as these relate to other struggles and movements for peace and justice. And this forum saw some new experiments in models of more participatory forms of democracy.   As you probably noticed, despite the importance of this event, the mainstream media has done little to help people learn about it. The Social Forum “process” requires the support of people with communication skills to help inform the general public about the important work that is happening in the US and World Social Forums. We need to work on expanding the political imaginations of US citizens, for “another United States is necessary” if we are to realize a different sort of world. The US media lacks political imagination, and only reports on activities that link directly to the “realistic politics” of conventional electoral and legislative processes. The social forums don't fit this standard template and are thus ignored as utopian. They are also ignored because they challenge the status quo of market ideology and corporate power, which is why it is important for more people to participate in the work of legitimizing and disseminating the messages of and stories about the Forums. The story emerging from Detroit is that another Detroit is actually happening--through the determined work of tireless activists in the city that industry and political elites have spurned. The movements are moving from the margins, and more people need to hear that story so they don't succumb to the hopelessness and despair that is inevitable if one relies on the stories of exclusionary, stagnant, and even hate-filled politics in Washington and in tea party rallies around the country. There are far more peacebuilders and changemakers than tea-partiers, and we need to help tell the story that cooperation and not market-oriented competition is what will bring us a better world.   I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve as one of Sociologists without Borders’ delegates to the National Planning Committee of the US Social Forum. Part of this work involved efforts to develop and support the Forum’s communication strategy, and I helped set up the US Social Forum writers network to encourage sociologists and others working in communities to ‘become the media’ and to think creatively about expanding our popular communication media. I hope SSSP members will contribute to the work of talking, writing, and communicating with your networks about the USSF. If you’d like to join the writers network (whose post-USSF operations are yet to be defined), please email writers@ussf2010.org . Accounts of the USSF and background pieces that relate the US Forum to the World Social Forum process can be found at http://organize.ussf2010.org/news-stories. Among the stories you'll find there are interviews with SSF member Immanuel Wallerstein; interviews on labor and the WSF process with Peter Waterman, Bill Fletcher, and Detroit local organizer Reg McGhee; reports on gender justice activism at the USSF; and analyses of particular workshops held at the Forum. Please check these out and circulate to your networks as appropriate! Excerpts from the official USSF press release: The 2010 USSF came at a critical moment. As the world confronts the converging crises of economy, ecology and empire, the need for global social movements has never been greater. The past three years since the first USSF in Atlanta have been extraordinary - the United States was hit with the worst economic recession in 80 years (demonstrating both our urgent needs as well as opportunities), we elected our first black president on a mandate of hope and change from Bush-era repression, the Latin-American Left has been on the rise, and social movements have forged a strong agenda to fight for systems change and climate justice through the Cochabamba Summit in April 2010. These and other crises and opportunities present a historical moment for movements to intervene, to shine, and to provide answers and solutions to the huge problems facing our people and our planet.  With “From Detroit to Dakar” as its motto (Dakar is the site of the upcoming World Social Forum in 2011), the Social Forum advanced a US-based agenda for transformation, inspiration and leadership from the grassroots, in sharp contrast to the fear and false solutions offered by conservative members of government and corporate elites.  The week-long forum of 1,062 workshops and 50 assemblies resulted in more than 50 national days of action being planned and more than 100 resolutions on issues including workers rights, displacement and global migration, challenges facing Detroit and other post-industrial cities, media justice, transformative healing, and fossil fuel extraction. From the resolution on Displacement, Migration, and Immigration: “The freedom to move across borders that were set up to colonize and exploit people for profit is a basic element of human dignity. We recognize the right and need for Peoples to migrate and connect across the world to experience other cultures and expand our understanding of life.” From the Endless War and Militarism resolution: “We call for a diametrical shift of U.S. tax revenues from war and militarization to meet human needs, here and abroad. This requires recalibrating the moral compass of the nation in ways that prioritize sustainability, justice and equity over power, growth and control of resources.” From the Ecological Justice resolution: “We call on our U.S. social movements to recognize that we are in a moment of epic transition on Mother Earth and to unite in a frontline community-led movement for Ecological Justice. We must foster communities of resistance and resilience that are reclaiming our right to home—sharing our resources in a reflective, responsive relationship to place.” [Full text of all resolutions can be viewed here: http://www.pma2010.org/resolutions] Organizers decided to hold the Forum in Detroit because of its great legacy of activism. Detroiter Reg McGhee of Michigan Jobs With Justice said “the labor movement in Detroit was fed by the coming together of local and international struggles,” and he praised Detroit as “ground zero of a new agenda, for the rights of the people and the planet, not banks and profit.” In his address at the Forum’s closing ceremony, Bolivian Ambassador Pablo Solon said, “We need to promote and build an environmental code of justice, and we need to build it from the grassroots.” Criticizing the secrecy and exclusionary nature of the Copenhagen Accord on climate change, Solon noted “You can’t have a small group of nations who, because they think they are the most powerful, are going to be able to decide for the rest. That’s very undemocratic.” He praised the Social Forum process as building great “momentum to organize and mobilize” for a more just and sustainable world.  Participation in the USSF was increased by Detroit Expanded, which was organized in recognition of the millions of people struggling in communities across the world who were unable to come to Detroit due to economic hardship, war, or visa requirements. Detroit Expanded connected USSF workshops and People’s Movement Assemblies to people across the nation and globe via chat, VoIP calls, streaming audio and video, and other moments of connection. The expanded connections fueled national and global participation in the Forum by directly connecting to and involving thousands of people who were not physically in Detroit. Range of Events and Impact Cultural events were a critical part of the US Social Forum this year, and many free concerts and art exhibits were held at Hart Plaza and across the city.  In the Children’s Social Forum and the Creativity Lab, attendees worked on art, sculptures, and puppets for the actions, demonstrations, and street theater held during the Forum. “I’ve never seen anything like this, in Detroit or anywhere,” said Forum participant and Detroit resident Charnika Jett. “The sense of joy, support, and determination on the part of the people here, both Detroiters and visitors, is just incredible.”Louis Head, an organizer from New Mexico, was especially excited at the opportunities to work with Detroiters on specific issues like food and climate justice. “I’ve been to lots of conferences where people just talk at you. But here at the Social Forum I’ve gotten a lot of hands-on experience. I was actually able to work on these issues in Detroit and meet the people here, who are awesome.”   “The Social Forum made all kinds of history in terms of the frameworks and actions we committed to during the People's Movement Assembly,” National Coordinator Adrienne Maree Brown said. “The work of communities to uplift and align our work, and the efforts of the People’s Movement Assembly folks to synthesize that work, was dynamic and incredible.” The Leftist Lounge party in Detroit’s Eastern market on Friday, June 25 attracted more than 6500 attendees, and lasted until 3:30 am. Nationally renowned DJs and performers were featured as well as art pieces created in the Social Forum’s Creativity Lab. Revenue to the city and local businesses and hotels during the week of the Social Forum is estimated at well over 1 million dollars. Austin Moyer, manager of the Chrome Bar and Grille at Detroit’s Hilton Garden Inn called it the best week of his life. "Not only did I have a full house every night, but the people were amazing, nice to our staff and we had no problems whatsoever. I've never seen anything like it."  There is much to say about these intense five days in Detroit this summer. But I want to emphasize one effort that many groups put forth for a National Day of Action on July 29, 2010, when Arizona's SR 1070 goes into effect. The action is to demand human rights for all and to end discriminatory legislation and practices in our border policies. I hope you will all support this effort and also support local organizing and awareness in your communities.  *FOR MORE NEWS and analysis ON THE USSF: Detroit's Metro Times Interviews with USSF Organizers --As someone who was part of the organizing effort behind the USSF, I think this interview captures much of the essence of the thinking and strategizing behind the Forum. It also demonstrates the leadership skills and commitment of some of the core organizers. *USSF Photo Stream*Digital Journal Coverage of USSF (with links to other sources): DigitalJournal.com is a social news site powered by people just like you. Made up of professional journalists, citizen journalists, bloggers, passionate writers and regular Joes and Janes, DigitalJournal.com covers news and issues of the day*Inter-Press News Service offers several in-depth articles on key themes and programs emerging from the USSF--including the "Detroit to Dakar" initiative to link the US and 2011 World Social Forums, the Excluded Worker Congress, migrant rights initiative, and youth environmental and anti-poverty campaigns*  Local coverage of protest against Detroit's incinerator in Detroit News* ussfwriters2010.blogspot.com Local coverage of protest against Detroit's incinerator in Detroit News. ussfwriters2010.blogspot.com (Page 7) Graduate Student Paper Competition Congratulations! Timothy L. O’Brien AND Oren Pizmony-Levy Sociology Department Indiana University - Bloomington Winners of the 2010 Graduate Student Paper Competition Award for their paper entitled, “The Credibility of University Professors: Is there a Penalty on Engaged Scholarship?” The authors will present their award winning paper at the SSSP conference Sunday, August 15th, Session #86 **Thanks to members of this year’s selection committee** Glenn S. Johnson, Ph.D., Clark Atlanta University Erin E. Robinson, Ph.D., Canisius College Matthew E. Wilkinson, Ph.D., Coastal Carolina University (Page 8) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE RESOURCE CENTER at CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY Contributer: Glenn S. Johnson, Ph.D. Glenn S. Johnson, Ph.D., is research associate in the Environmental Justice Resource Center and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Clark Atlanta University. He coordinates several major research activities including transportation, urban sprawl, public involvement, facility siting, and toxics. He has worked on environmental policy issues for eight years and assisted R.D. Bullard with research for the book Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class, and Environmental Quality (1994). He is co-editor of a book entitled Just Transportation: Dismantling Race and Class to Mobility (New Society Publishers, 1997). He also co-edited with Robert D. Bullard and Angel O. Torres a book entitled Sprawl City: Race, Politics, and Planning in Atlanta (Island Press, May 2000). His most recent book is co-edited with Robert D. Bullard and Angel O. Torres and is entitled Highway Robbery (South End Press, 2004). The Environmental Justice Resource Center (EJRC) at Clark Atlanta University is a comprehensive university-based center dedicated to education, research, and service. The EJRC was formed by Environmental Justice pioneer, Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D., in 1994 to serve as a research, policy, and information clearinghouse on issues related to environmental justice, race and the environment, civil rights and human rights, facility siting, land use planning, brownfields, transportation equity, suburban sprawl and smart growth, energy, global climate change, and climate justice. The overall goal of the center is to assist, support, train, and educate people of color, students, professionals, and grassroots community leaders with the goal of facilitating their inclusion into the mainstream of decision-making. The center is multi-disciplinary in its focus and approach. It serves as a bridge among the social and behavioral sciences, health professionals, natural and physical sciences, engineering, management, and legal disciplines to prevent and solve environmental and health problems. The center's programs build on work with which its staff has been engaged for over two decades. (http://www.ejrc.cau.edu) STATE OF BLACK ATLANTA SUMMIT 2010: The State of Black Atlanta Summit 2010 was held  February 20, 2010 on the campus of Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA. The one-day Summit was convened by the Environmental Justice Resource Center to coincide with the Black History Month celebration and was part of the center’s Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities Initiative (SGSCI) funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. The Summit organizers commissioned working papers from top Atlanta leaders in academic, public health, business, media, and local community based organizations with the goal of impacting public sector policies related to health, environmental justice, civil rights and human rights, transportation and land use, housing and home ownership, wealth creation and business development, equitable development, education, food security, and parks and green access in Atlanta’s underserved communities. More than a dozen Summit authors presented a shared vision for leading Black Atlanta into a just, healthy, and sustainable future. The Summit also provided a forum for diverse community members to learn about shared priorities for the year. Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, and Angel O. Torres provide an overview paper for the summit that represented a synthesis of challenges, barriers, and opportunities facing Black Atlanta. (See http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/State_of_Black_Atlanta_Exploding_the_Myth_of_Black_Mecca.pdf) Page Title CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY HAS HAND IN GULF OF MEXICO OIL SPILL CLEAN-UP Description: Date: 5/24/2010 Author: Office of Marketing and Communications Origin: http://www.cau.edu/NewsAndPressDetails.aspx?Id=173 ATLANTA (May 24, 2010) — Seventy-five graduates of a training program co-sponsored by Clark Atlanta University and Dillard University are helping to clean the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while at the same time promoting minority involvement in construction and environmental industries. Since 1995, the Clark Atlanta University Environmental Justice Resource Center (EJRC), in partnership with Dillard University’s Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ), has implemented the Minority Worker Training Program (MWTP) in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Florida. Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the program provides basic skills training, including academic remediation and life skills training, for residents of communities who are economically and environmentally disadvantaged. CAU’s Dr. Robert Bullard, environmental justice watchdog and director of EJRC, said, “We are extremely proud of the graduates of this training program, utilizing their skills in hazardous waste management. In this critical clean-up effort, they are helping to make a difference in the lives of people today and far in the future.” One graduate, Barry Hereford, a 31-year-old former Georgia inmate, said that the greatest blessing he has received has been participating in the Minority Worker Training Program. He stated, “I never would have imagined in a million years that I would have been able to obtain so much in such a short time.” He says he is still in awe of the fact that he now has Certifications in Lead, Asbestos, HazMat and Mold Awareness, in addition to the OSHA and construction knowledge he has obtained. Hereford has accepted a position with a local signatory company for Roofers Local #136 in Atlanta and is scheduled to begin working in mid-June. The training program has community partners. In Atlanta, they are the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency and the Community Improvement Association. In Savannah, Ga., it is The Harambee House, Inc./Citizens for Environmental Justice. This program was developed by Clark Atlanta University in collaboration with Dillard University. Its publication was made possible by grant number # 3U45ES010664-1081 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS, NIH. COMMUNITIES CREATING HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS COMMUNITIES CREATING HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS: The Environmental Justice Resource Center is currently partnered with the Praxis Project on a program called Communities Creating Healthy Environments (CCHE). CCHE is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) that aims to prevent childhood obesity by increasing access to healthy foods and safe places to play in communities of color. The program's principal goal is to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015 by supporting diverse, community-based organizations and federally chartered tribal nations in the development and implementation of effective, culturally competent policy initiatives to address the root causes of childhood obesity locally. This capacity-building initiative brings successful local advocacy organizations together with key local, state, and national leaders to build healthier communities.  As one of the Technical Assistance (TA) Advisors for the project, the EJRC staff (Robert D. Bullard, Glenn S. Johnson, and Angel O. Torres) is tasked with developing and implementing Community Based Participatory Research programs for the participating community groups. The EJRC staff is also heavily involved in recruiting and selecting new grantees, and they are also advising the project on areas such as grassroots organizing, research and evaluation, policy creation and evaluation, and technology implementation. State of Black Atlanta Summit 2010 (Page 10) ANNOUNCEMENTS AND NEWS Awards/Honors: Howard Lune, Hunter College, CUNY, received the 2009 Outstanding Book in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research Award from The Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) for his book, Urban Action Networks: HIV/AIDS and Community Organizing in New York City (Rowman and Littlefield, 2007). Urban Action Networks traces the origins and trajectory of the field of community based and nonprofit organizations that emerged in response to AIDS in NYC from 1981 to 1991. Lune studies the field as a whole and covers the spectrum from radical activist groups to state-sponsored service organizations. Winner of the Peace Consortium's 2009 Peace Studies Book of the Year Award, Social Justice, Peace, and Environmental Education: Transformative Standards, Julie Andrzejewski, Marta Baltodano, and Linda Symcox, eds. (New York: Routledge.) What would critical educational "standards" look like if they were generated from social justice perspectives and through collaborative and inclusive processes? This is the central question posed in this groundbreaking examination of the interconnectivity of social justice, peace, and environmental preservation. Challenging education that promotes consumerism, careerism, and corporate profiteering, the contributers offer examples of a new paradigm for practicing a transformative critical pedagogy. Books: Academic Repression: Reflections from the Academic Industrial Complex (AK Press 2010) co-edited by Anthony J. Nocella, II, SUNY Cortland, Steve Best, U. of Texas, El Paso, and Peter McLaren, UCLA. “Since 9/11, the Bush administration has pressured universities to hand over faculty, staff, and student work to be flagged for potential threats. Numerous books have addressed the question of academic freedom over the years; this collection asks whether the concept of academic freedom still exists at all in the American university system. It addresses not only overt attacks on critical thinking, but also—following trends unfolding for decades—engages the broad socioeconomic determinants of academic culture.” (http://www.AKPress.com). Contemporary Anarchist Studies: An Introductory Anthology of Anarchy in the Academy (Routledge). Edited by Randall Amster, Abraham DeLeon, Luis Fernandez, II, Anthony J. Nocella, Deric Shannon. “This volume of collected essays by some of the most prominent academics studying anarchism bridges the gap between anarchist activism on the streets and anarchist theory in the academy. Focusing on anarchist theory, pedagogy, methodologies, praxis, and the future, this edition will strike a chord for anyone interested in radical social change.” (http://www.routledge.com) Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11 (Russell Sage Foundation 2009) by Louise A. Cainkar, is now available . Built on the most comprehensive ethnographic study of the post 9/11 period for American Arabs and Muslims, supplemented by oral histories, and rigorous historical, demographic, and policy analysis, Homeland Insecurity provides detailed treatment of Arab American history, Post 9/11 government policies, patterns of hate crimes, personal experiences with anger, fear, and discrimination, gendered experiences, urban/suburban variations, solidarity and civic engagement, religiosity, views of the future, and the role of racialization in all of these. (http://www.russellsage.org) Judging Victims: Why We Stigmatize Survivors and How They Reclaim Respect." (2010) Boulder CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Jennifer Dunn critically examines why we stigmatize survivors of rape, battering, incest, and clergy abuse—and how they reclaim their identities. “Dunn explores the shifting perceptions over time of victims as blameworthy, blameless, pathetic, or heroic figures. She also links those images to their real-world consequences, demonstrating that they dominate the ways in which people think about intimate violence and individual responsibility. Her analysis cuts to the core of fundamental issues at the center of debates about crime and deviance, victimization, and social problems.” (http://www.rienner.com) Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding: Moving from Violence to Sustainable Peace, Louis Kriesberg and Bruce W. Dayton, eds. Oxford, UK: Routledge, 2009. “This book seeks to examine the causes of escalation and de-escalation in intrastate conflicts. Specifically, the volume seeks to map the processes and dynamics that lead groups challenging existing power structures to engage in violent struggle; the processes and dynamics that contribute to the de-escalation of violent struggle and the participation of challengers in peaceful political activities; and the processes and dynamics that sustain and nurture this transformation. By integrating the latest ideas with richly presented case studies, this volume fills a gap in our understanding of the forces that lead to moderation and constructive engagement in the context of violent, intrastate conflicts.” (http://www.routledge.com) Journal Articles: Thomas DeGloma's article, “Awakenings: Autobiography, Memory, and the Social Logic of Personal Discovery,” a version of the 2008 Conflict, Social Action, and Change Division's Graduate Student Paper Award, will be published in Sociological Forum in September 2010. Tom joined the sociology department at Hunter College, CUNY as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2009. Kriesberg, Louis. 2009. “Waging Conflicts Constructively,” pp. 157-169 in Handbook of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Sean Byrne,  Dennis Sandole, Ingrid Staroste-Sandole and Jessica Senehi, Eds.,  London and New York: Routledge,. Kriesberg, Louis. 2009. “The Evolution of Conflict Resolution,” Sage Handbook of Conflict Resolution, Jacob Bercovitch, Victor Kremenyuk, and I. William Zartman, Eds., London: Sage, 2009, pp. 15-32 Rayburn, Rachel L. and James D. Wright. 2010. “Sobering Up on the Streets: Homeless Men in Alcoholics Anonymous,” Society. March/April. Research Centers: The first center dedicated to green criminology was created in 2009. The goal of the "Center for Criminology and Security Studies" is to advance the field of green criminology and security through interdisciplinary collaborative research, practice, and scholarship. The Center publishes an online, peer-reviewed journal twice a year and is currently soliciting proposals for its 2010 Green Criminology and Security Studies Book Series. For more information visit: http://greencriminologyandsecurity.wordpress.com/ Unveiling of "Anarchist Studies Initiative" (ASI), the first interdisciplinary scholarly center in higher education dedicated to expanding the field of anarchist studies. The ASI is a project of the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies at SUNY Cortland. ASI .For more information visit: http://www2.cortland.edu/centers/CGIS/asi/index.dot Call for Proposals: Announcing a New Book Series Solving Social Problems Series Editor: Bonnie Berry Director of the Social Problems Research Group, USA www.ashgate.com/sociology Solving Social Problems provides a forum for the description and measurement of social problems, with a keen focus on the concrete remedies proposed for their solution. The series provides an international perspective and explores social problems in various parts of the world, with the central concern being solution focused. Contributions are welcome on subjects as diverse as environmental damage, terrorism, economic disparities and economic devastation, poverty, inequalities, domestic assaults and sexual abuse, health care, natural disasters, labour inequality, animal abuse, crime, and mental illness and treatments. In addition to recommending solutions to social problems, the books in this series are theoretically sophisticated, exploring previous discussions of the issues in question, examining other attempts to resolve them, and adopting and discussing methodologies that are commonly used to measure social problems. Proposed solutions may be framed as changes in policy or practice, or more broadly as social change and social movement. Solutions may be reflective of ideology, but are always pragmatic, detailed, and process oriented. If you would like to submit a proposal for this series, please email: Series Editor, Bonnie Berry: solving@socialproblems.org OR Commissioning Editor, Neil Jordan: njoran@ashgatepublishing.com [END]