Public, Social, & Behavioral Sciences Resource Guide

A deeply personal exploration of the generational impact of guns on the Black experience in America A few years ago, Trymaine Lee, though fit and only 38, nearly died of a heart attack. When his then five-year-old daughter, Nola, asked her daddy why, he realized that to answer her honestly, he had to confront what almost killed him--the weight of being a Black man in America; of bearing witness, as a journalist, to relentless Black death; and of a family history scarred by enslavement, lynching, the Great Migration, the also insidious racism of the North, and gun violence that stole the lives of two great-uncles, a grandfather, a stepbrother, and two cousins. In this powerful narrative, Lee weaves together three strands: the long and bloody history of African Americans and guns; his work as a chronicler of gun violence, tallying the costs and riches generated by both the legal and illegal gun industries; and his own life story. With unflinching honesty he takes readers on a journey, from almost being caught up in gun violence as a young man, to tracing the legacy of the Middle Passage in Ghana through his ancestors' footsteps, to confronting the challenges of representing his people in an overwhelmingly white and often hostile media world, and most importantly, to celebrating the enduring strength of his family and community. In A Thousand Ways to Die, Lee answers Nola and all who seek a more just America. He shares the hard truths and complexities of the Black experience, but he also celebrates the beauty and resilience that is Nola's legacy.

For readers inspired by Margaret Busby's New Daughters of Africa, Juliet Cutler presents a stunning testament to a group of Maasai women who are claiming their voices and shaping a future of lasting change. In this inspiring collection of interviews and portraits, over twenty Maasai women share the ways education has transformed their lives by giving them the tools to overcome poverty and empowering them to make profound differences in their communities.  Through their stories, the women featured in Lessons in Hope lay bare the overwhelming challenges many Maasai women and girls continue to face. For some, hunger hovers nearby, only one bad drought away. Many must raise children without running water or electricity. Most struggle to gain a basic education, see a doctor, or earn an income. And too many Maasai girls still endure female genital mutilation, early forced marriages, and other forms of violence.  Yet these remarkable women have overcome the odds. As graduates of the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa, these thriving leaders now hold positions in education, health care, nonprofits, government, and business. Their stories reveal a cadre of Maasai women working toward positive change within their own culture and offering a compelling, optimistic vision for the future.  Proceeds from the sale of this book support education for Maasai girls. 

How 1,000 years of global history show why technological and economic progress is often followed by stagnation and even collapse In How Progress Ends, Carl Benedikt Frey challenges the conventional belief that economic and technological progress is inevitable. For most of human history, stagnation was the norm, and even today progress and prosperity in the world's largest, most advanced economies--the United States and China--have fallen short of expectations. To appreciate why we cannot depend on any AI-fueled great leap forward, Frey offers a remarkable and fascinating journey across the globe, spanning the past 1,000 years, to explain why some societies flourish and others fail in the wake of rapid technological change. By examining key historical moments--from the rise of the steam engine to the dawn of AI--Frey shows why technological shifts have shaped, and sometimes destabilized, entire civilizations. He explores why some leading technological powers of the past--such as Song China, the Dutch Republic, and Victorian Britain--ultimately lost their innovative edge, why some modern nations such as Japan had periods of rapid growth followed by stagnation, and why planned economies like the Soviet Union collapsed after brief surges of progress. Frey uncovers a recurring tension in history: while decentralization fosters the exploration of new technologies, bureaucracy is crucial for scaling them. When institutions fail to adapt to technological change, stagnation inevitably follows. Only by carefully balancing decentralization and bureaucracy can nations innovate and grow over the long term--findings that have worrying implications for the United States, Europe, China, and other economies today. Through a rich narrative that weaves together history, economics, and technology, How Progress Ends reveals that managing the future requires us to draw the right lessons from the past.

A moving exploration of the 2022 women-led protests in Iran, as told through the interwoven stories of two Iranian journalists In September 2022, a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jîna Amini, died after being beaten by police officers who arrested her for not adhering to the Islamic Republic's dress code. Her death galvanized thousands of Iranians--mostly women--who took to the streets in one of the country's largest uprisings in decades: the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Despite the threat of imprisonment or death for her work as a journalist covering political unrest, state repression, and grassroots activism in Iran--which has led to multiple interrogation sessions and arrests--Fatemeh Jamalpour joined the throngs of people fighting to topple Iran's religious extremist regime. And across the globe, Nilo Tabrizy, who emigrated from Iran with her family as a child, covered the protests and state violence, knowing that spotlighting the women on the front lines and the systemic injustice of the Iranian government meant she would not be able to safely return to Iran in the future. Though they had met only once in person, Nilo and Fatemeh corresponded constantly, often through encrypted platforms to protect Fatemeh. As the protests continued to unfold, the sense of sisterhood they shared led them to embark on an effort to document the spirit and legacy of the movement, and the history, geopolitics, and influences that led to this point. At once deeply personal and assiduously reported, For the Sun After Long Nights offers two perspectives on what it means to cover the stories that are closest to one's heart--both in the forefront and from afar.

In this illustrated biography collection, meet over twenty people with Down syndrome who have accomplished amazing things in their lives. Excelling in film, sports, business, photography, and more, these people are changing hearts and minds about their disability. Read about Chris Nikic, the first person with Down syndrome to complete an Ironman Triathlon, and Isabella Springmuhl Tejada, the first designer with Down syndrome invited to showcase her work at London Fashion Week. Learn about the Special Olympics, Best Buddies, and other organizations who support the Down syndrome community. Each of these stories will educate and inspire young readers, both kids with Down syndrome and their family members, friends, classmates, and teammates! Included in this book: AC Heigel Alex Bourne Alex Lee Allison Fogarty Chris Nikic Christine Lau Geoffrey Mikol Grace Key Grace Strobel Isabella Springmuhdi Tejada Jamie Brewer Jared Kozak John Cronin John Tucker Karen Gaffney Kayla McKeon Madison Trevlin Meg Ohsada Michael Holton Nick Doyle Ronnie Brown Sofia Sanchez Tommy Jessop Yulissa Arescurenaga Zack Gottsagen Special Olympics Best Buddies National Down Syndrome Society The Buddy Walk

This resource provides a wide-ranging survey of the past, present, and future of youth activism in the USA and around the world. The work places a special focus on prominent youth activists, their organizations, and the causes to which they are determined to make change, including civil rights, environmental issues such as climate change, gender and LGBTQ+ rights, and US military actions and financial investments to which they are opposed. How has youth activism changed over the decades? What are the keys to fostering civic engagement among young people? What tools do young people use now to advance political causes important to them? What impact are they having on political and legal struggles over climate change, immigration, and civil rights? This all-in-one resource answers all those questions and more.

How diversity initiatives harm employees of color by turning them into workplace commodities.   Diversity programs are under attack. Should those interested in racial justice fight to keep them, or might there be another way forward? Who Pays for Diversity? reveals the costs that employees of color pay under current programs by having their racial identities commodified to benefit white people and institutions. Oneya Fennell Okuwobi proposes fresh and thoughtful ways to reorient these initiatives, move beyond tokenism, and authentically center marginalized employees.   Drawing on accounts of employees from across the workplace spectrum, from corporations to churches to universities, Who Pays for Diversity? details how the optics of diversity programs undermine employees' competence while diminishing their well-being and workplace productivity. Okuwobi argues that diversity programs have been a costly detour on the path to racial justice, and getting back on track requires solutions that provide equity, dignity, and agency to all employees, instead of defending the status quo. 

In Vibrant Mosaic, John B. Christiansen examines a variety of topics that are relevant to deaf and hard of hearing people through the lens of a deaf sociologist. The book explores the arts and sports, the intersections of various cultures within Deaf communities, work and rehabilitation, advocacy, telecommunications and technology, and the Deaf President Now protest. Written in a conversational tone, each chapter is thoughtfully framed by a narrative vignette, illustrating the lived experiences of individuals and serving as a gateway to a broader discussion. Christiansen invites readers to engage with the rich history and contributions of deaf and hard of hearing people and shows how they have shaped their communities and transformed broader societal structures. Vibrant Mosaic is a celebration of a dynamic, multifaceted mosaic and its enduring impact on the human experience.

An essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South--and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole. This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life. Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other. With uncommon insight and breathtaking clarity, South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.

American football was a violent sport from its beginning as a college game in the 1870s and 1880s, in part because learning how to deal with the pain and violence, to take it, made men out of college boys. Michael Oriard, former NFL linebacker and professor emeritus of English, shows us that this fundamental belief persisted for more than a century, until signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) were found in Pittsburgh Steelers' center Mike Webster's brain. Suddenly, the cost of taking it could mean long-term damage not just to the body but also to the brain. Without anyone knowing it, that risk had soared since the 1950s and 1960s, when the hardshell plastic helmet became the primary weapon for blocking and tackling, as taught by a new generation of college coaches, led by the University of Alabama's Bear Bryant. In this cultural history of football at nearly all levels--high school, college, and pro--Oriard traces the perennial tension between health and culture regarding football as reflected in what the public read in newspapers, magazines, and online. Through examining how we once felt and how we now feel about the game, Oriard challenges us to grapple with the possibility that football might be too violent, in an intolerable way.

In this highly readable book, Doyle McCarthy covers some of the main ways that emotions have become important in our global societies. She explains that emotional culture is important for understanding today's world, its markets, its politics and its mass media. To live today is to be emotionally intelligent in our relations and in our workplaces. In the modern age, global capitalism and mass media have shaped our emotions and made us more emotional. Public life has become a place where we search out emotional happenings: at shopping malls, concerts, sports events, memorials to death and disaster and in the pursuit of sports.

Learn about how we organize our society in The Sociology Book. Part of the fascinating Big Ideas series, this book tackles tricky topics and themes in a simple and easy to follow format. Learn about Sociology in this overview guide to the subject, great for beginners looking to learn and experts wishing to refresh their knowledge alike! The Sociology Book brings a fresh and vibrant take on the topic through eye-catching graphics and diagrams to immerse yourself in.  This captivating book will broaden your understanding of Sociology, with: - More than 80 ideas from the world's most renowned sociologists - Packed with facts, charts, timelines and graphs to help explain core concepts - A visual approach to big subjects with striking illustrations and graphics throughout - Easy to follow text makes topics accessible for people at any level of understanding The Sociology Book is the perfect introduction to a range of societal issues, ranging from government and gender identity to inequalities and globalization, aimed at adults with an interest in the subject and students wanting to gain more of an overview. Here you'll find biographies of key sociologists and social activists that give a historical context to each idea.  Your Sociology Questions, Simply Explained This book explores the similar issues that affect us all; the tension between the needs of the individual and society, the changing workplace, and the role of everything from government to mass culture in our lives. If you thought it was difficult to learn about social theory, The Sociology Book presents key information in a clear layout. Learn about issues of equality, diversity, identity, and human rights; the role of institutions; and the rise of urban living in modern society, with fantastic mind maps and step-by-step summaries.  The Big Ideas Series With millions of copies sold worldwide, The Sociology Book is part of the award-winning Big Ideas series from DK. The series uses striking graphics along with engaging writing, making big topics easy to understand.