Category: social change

Book Review: How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future by Vaclav Smil

In How the World Really Works: A Scientist’s Guide to Our Past, Present and Future, Vaclav Smil explores seven fundamental areas that govern human survival and prosperity, covering topics  such as food production, energy and globalisation. While Smil’s…

Book Review: Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation by Carolyn Pedwell

In Revolutionary Routines: The Habits of Social Transformation, Carolyn Pedwell examines how social change can be enacted through everyday habits and routinised practices, arguing that such ‘minor’ gestures may be just as transformative as major events…

Book Review: Research Justice: Methodologies for Social Change

In the collection Research Justice: Methodologies for Social Change, edited by Andrew J. Jolivette in collaboration with the US non-profit organisation DataCenter: Research for Justice, a number of authors consider how researchers can contribute to the struggle for social justice through their research methodologies. While Helen Kara would have welcomed more reflection on the possible limitations of methodologies designed to […]

Book Review: Popular Representations of Development: Insights from novels, films, television and social media.

This collection sees development as something that can be understood through studying literature, films, and other non-conventional forms of representation. Chapters focus on development issues on blogs and social media, Band Aid and populist humanitarianism, and teaching international studies with novels. Eleftheria Lekakis finds this a great read for scholars of development studies, media and communications, sociology, anthropology and geography at all levels. This […]