"I Feel Happy that I Can be Useful to Others": Preliminary Study of East African Women and Their Remittance Behavior

Individuals and their families often migrate for various reasons (e.g., economic wellbeing, civic unrest, medical reasons). Yet often times economic strain can cause families to migrate at different times. This separation within the family units has created the development of transnational family interactions where immigrant families remain emotionally and financially connected across international borders. Remittances, the back and forth exchange of goods and resources between people in the host nation and their counterparts in the country of origin, can often play a vital role in these interactions. Black African immigrants, Black people from the continent of Africa, are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US and also one of the highest financial remitters. Women are consistent remitters, yet little is known about the financial contributions of women from this continent to their families in their countries of origin. The current study looked at a segment of this population by exploring the remittance experiences of seven immigrant women from the East African countries of Rwanda and Kenya. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted and our thematic analysis revealed five themes: (1) Women felt their families made financial sacrifices for them, (2) Women took on family financial responsibilities, (3) Women felt their families in the country of origin had skewed financial expectations of them, (4) Women felt guilty about their limited finances and inability to send more to their families, and lastly (5) Women invested or had plans to invest in their country of origin.     

"Hunnish scenes" and a "Virgin birth": a 1920s case of sexual and bodily ignorance

When, in June 1921, a clairvoyant informed Christabel Russell, to her great surprise, that she was pregnant, her husband denied paternity and petitioned for divorce on grounds of adultery. The Hon. John Russell claimed that on the very few occasions that they had slept in the same bed in their two and half years of marriage, his method of birth control (which she referred to disapprovingly as "Hunnish scenes") had made pregnancy impossible. What added to the sensational nature of the case was the revelation that whilst pregnant, Christabel's hymen was unbroken – hence the claims of a "virgin birth." Two divorce trials and two appeals followed. The first trial ended inconclusively, the second trial was won for John Russell by the eminent barrister Sir Edward Marshall-Hall, but on the second appeal, in the House of Lords, it was ruled that evidence questioning the legitimacy of a child born in wedlock was inadmissible. The decree nisi was rescinded and the baby was legitimized.     

The theoretical underpinnings of Chicago sociology in the 1920s and 30s

This paper looks at the work of the Chicago School in the 1920s and 1930s from the standpoint of the debate between positivism and its critics within the discipline of sociology. It is argued that, despite appearances to the contrary, Chicago sociology at this time is based on a rejection of the principles of positivism. It is an attempt to apply the principles of interpretative understanding to the practical problems of empirical research.     

The inclusion of the non‐European world in international society, 1870s–1920s: evidence from global networks

Abstract This article is envisaged as a contribution to the historical sociology of globalization. In it I investigate the idea that from the 1870s peoples beyond Europe were increasingly included into international society. The discussion explores theoretical issues around intercultural engagement, arguing against those who see inclusion in terms of simple co‐option into Western modernity, and in favour of a more subtle co‐production of modern processes and forms of difference. Attention then moves on to examine historical evidence drawn from some knowledge networks involving Africa and India. Inclusion is seen in terms of a very complex and shifting set of engagements, conflicts and modes of cooperation, circumscribed by both racial and elite forms of discourse under the shadow of the growing political instability of empire. The methodology of interpersonal network analysis is also commended as a way of opening up debates about the long‐term history of the dynamics and limits to the emergence of global public spheres.     

Transnational women’s activism in Japan and Korea:the unresolved issue of military sexual slavery

This article is about the transnational links formed between the Korean and Japanese women‘s movements in their campaign on behalf of the victims of ‘military sexual slavery’ during the Second World War. There is a growing literature that examines such networks. Yet, a deeper understanding of the emergence and activities of transnational advocacy networks is needed, particularly in the context of political opportunity structures. Social scientists who have developed the concept of political opportunity structures have, however, not provided a gender‐specific analysis of these. Of particular interest is the exploration of the role played by gender in an international human rights discourse as a political opportunity structure for women’s groups in Korea and Japan. This article, thus, explores the ways in which the feminist movements in Korea and Japan have made use of transnational legal means in politicizing and popularizing the issue of ‘military sexual slavery’ at both regional and global scales.     

Transnational sexual and gendered violence: an application of border sexual conquest at a Mexico—US border

Drawing on transnational and postcolonial feminism, we discuss the phenomenon of border sexual conquest to highlight structural sexual and gendered violence that is exacerbated by the subjugation of local place and by the global political economy. While we have gained important insights from the literature on gender and transnationalism, the processes of sexual violence and gendered violence are underdeveloped. We focus our analysis on the Mexico—US border cities of Cuidad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, USA. We argue that what we call border sexual conquest confronts the feminicides in Juárez and the female proletariats on both sides of the border. Moreover, while structural violence approaches under theorize struggles over power, the perspective of border sexual conquest highlights how processes of conquest intertwine with women's resistance.     

“80后”“90后”青年对社会主义核心价值观的认同——基于代际和阶层比较

代际性和阶层性是当代青年文化的基本特征,"80后""90后"青年对社会主义核心价值观的认同存在代际差异和阶层差异。"80后""90后"青年对国家层面价值观最认同富强,对社会层面价值观最追求自由,对个人层面价值观最注重诚信。在代际差异上,"90后"更向往自由等后物质主义价值观,"80后"更看重富强和法治,并且"90后"的内部异质性大于"80后"。在阶层差异上,富裕家庭青年最认同文明、自由和法治,中产阶层家庭青年最认同民主,城市贫困家庭青年最认同平等和公正,外来务工青年最认同富强、文明和和谐,体现出不同阶层青年在物质和精神追求上存在较大差异。