Hate speech and abusive behaviour on social media: A cross-cultural perspective

Luiz Valério P. Trindade, IPIE – International Panel on the Information Environment, Switzerland

ISBN: 979-8-8819-0024-3
Availability: Forthcoming
$53 £42 €49

The adverse societal impacts of social media platforms constitute a subject of global concern, given the fact that they have become a breeding ground for the construction and dissemination of hate speech and a myriad of manifestations of bigotry (e.g., xenophobia, racism, homophobia, misogyny, religious intolerance, and so forth). Yet, most studies exploring this subject matter have predominantly addressed anglophone social contexts (notably, the US and the UK). So, the present work examines the societal impacts of social media, however, adopting an innovative cross-cultural perspective. To this end, the book analyses a sample of 108 scholarly papers published in three languages (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) and encompassing 11 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, and Spain). Therefore, this book reveals that in most circumstances, worrisome social phenomena such as hate speech, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, religious intolerance, homophobia, etc. are intertwined. Besides, social media plays the dual role of catalyst and vehicle for these intolerance manifestations. Consequently, they bring a series of negative impacts upon individuals, vulnerable social groups, society, and democracy. Ultimately, social media platforms allow offenders the capability to unleash and disseminate aggressive and discriminatory ideologies, attracting numerous like-minded people to subvert and disregard any social convention constraints and norms of conviviality. Thus, one of the most significant adverse impacts of social media is the undermining of social cohesion. The present book is of interest to students, established scholars, and researchers in various disciplines, including sociology, criminology, social anthropology, media and communication studies, and digital humanities, among others. Moreover, it is also recommended reading for policymakers, leaders of non-governmental organisations, educators, journalists, and anyone interested in learning more about the impacts of social media on people’s lives.

Ser libre era bueno: Dos narrativas de esclavos del caribe angloparlante

Una traducción

Carmen J. Jiménez, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

May 2024 / ISBN: 978-1-64889-917-1
Availability: In stock
288pp. ¦ $83 £67 €78

"Ser libre era bueno: Dos narrativas de esclavos del caribe angloparlante: Una traducción" (Bilingual version English- Spanish) brings to life the stories of Mary Prince and Ashton Warner, two enslaved people from the Caribbean who dictated their narratives to British author Susan Strickland. Prince was the first enslaved woman from the Caribbean to undertake such an endeavor. This bilingual text, with an introduction in Spanish, is not only a valuable resource for researchers and literature students but is also accessible and engaging for other adults, adolescents, and young adults. It offers a unique perspective on the experiences of enslaved people in the Caribbean and their fight for freedom. "Ser libre era bueno: Dos narrativas de esclavos del caribe angloparlante: Una traducción" (Versión bilingüe inglés-español) da vida a las historias de Mary Prince y Ashton Warner, dos esclavos del Caribe que dictaron sus narrativas a la autora británica Susan Strickland. Prince fue la primera mujer esclavizada del Caribe en emprender tal esfuerzo. Este texto bilingüe, con una introducción en español, no sólo es un recurso valioso para investigadores y estudiantes de literatura, sino que también es accesible y atractivo para otros adultos, adolescentes y jóvenes. Ofrece una perspectiva única sobre las experiencias de los pueblos esclavizados en el Caribe y su lucha por la libertad.

Teoría de las maravillas: Evolución, cerebro y la naturaleza radical de la ciencia

Gonzalo Munévar, Lawrence Technological University

ISBN: 978-1-64889-820-4
Availability: Available 4 weeks
210pp. [Color] ¦ $73 £53 €60

'Teoría de las Maravillas: Evolución, cerebro y la naturaleza radical de la ciencia' aspira a determinar la mejor manera en la que la ciencia puede satisfacer nuestros sentidos de maravillarnos a través de la exploración del mundo. El empirismo establece que la ciencia tiene éxito porque sigue el método científico: La observación basa su juicio en la Teoría, apoyándola o rechazándola. Se ha dado mucho crédito al inventor de este método, Galileo, pero cuando los filósofos historicistas de la ciencia, como Kuhn y Feyerabend, llaman nuestra atención sobre lo que Galileo investigó y escribió realmente, nos quedamos en shock al descubrir que lo que hizo fue clavar una daga en el corazón del Empirismo. Derogó la distinción entre teoría y observación. Hechos simples, como la caída en vertical de una piedra, descartaron el movimiento terrestre. Y con esto concluir que, si la piedra cae en vertical, sin embargo, tenemos que asumir que la tierra no se mueve. Si se moviera entonces la piedra solo daría la sensación de caer en vertical. Galileo, de esta manera, reemplazó los “hechos” sobre el movimiento de la tierra con “hechos” que incluían este movimiento. Este proceso es típico de las revoluciones científicas. Una buena estrategia para la ciencia es la elaboración de alternos radicales. De esta manera, y sobre su tesis, se reconsidera lo que cuenta como evidencia. A Feyerabend se le llamó irracional por esta sugerencia. Pero, si miramos la practica de la ciencia desde la perspectiva de la evolución y de la neurociencia, esta nos muestra que la sugerencia, de hecho, es bastante racional y que, además, ofrece una explicación sobre el por qué la ciencia funciona mejor como forma radical de conocimiento. También nos conduce a una forma biológica sensitiva de verdad relativa, con borradores preliminares que llevan a interesantes debates con otros investigadores de la filosofía de la ciencia. Este libro será de gran interés para estudiantes universitarios, profesores e investigadores en el ámbito de la historia o de la filosofía de la ciencia, así como a cualquiera con un interés general en la naturaleza de la ciencia.

Dialoguing with Critical Race Theory: Constitutional and Christian Links

Mark Ellingsen, Interdenominational Theological Center

ISBN: 978-1-64889-896-9
Availability: Available 4 weeks
112pp. ¦ $54 £43 €50

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is certainly a hot topic. No longer just the legal theory it was originally designed to be, it has become an icon for determining which side you are on concerning racism. Most of the loudest voices, especially in the debate about CRT in our schools, seem not to have actually studied the theory. This is a book to get you into the heart of CRT’s actual analysis and prescriptions. It’s a book to get Americans to stop all the shouting and really find out what CRT teaches. It might also contribute to getting more civility into our public discourse. Ellingsen demonstrates how in fact what Critical Race Theory teaches is in line with our Constitutional system’s realism about political solutions, suspicions of our selfishness, and the majority’s tendency to run roughshod over minorities. He also demonstrates that these commitments are consistent with Christianity’s understanding of original sin and the quest for social justice. Consequently, if critics do not want CRT taught in our schools or to be part of our public discourse, we had better stop teaching the Constitution and Christian values in our schools, to rule these commitments as out of order in our search for common values! Get ready for a stimulating, controversial, well-documented read.

Thomas Jefferson on American Indians

M. Andrew Holowchak

ISBN: 978-1-64889-105-2
Availability: Forthcoming
$77 £62 €72

Jefferson’s views on Indians were characterized by ambivalence. Jefferson both loved and hated Native Americans, because he loved Native Americans. Jefferson was, through his father Peter, exposed early on and directly, though likely infrequently, to mysterious but congenial Indigenes, and he came to respect profoundly their courage, physical endurance, artistry, integrity, and most importantly, their large love of liberty, even if they were “uncivilized.” So impressed by Indians culture was Jefferson that he made their nature and culture objects of study in his ‘Notes on Virginia.’ Though uncivilized, Indians showed marked signs of being readily civilizable. Thus, Jefferson, qua politician and philosopher, hoped that they would mix their blood with Whites and become part of what he saw as a great American “empire for liberty.” Miscegenation meant integration, willful or by force, into American culture and abandonment of Aboriginal ways and their radically different way of seeing the land upon which they lived, which Natives could only grudgingly accept. Was Jefferson’s Indian policy, though guided by true concern for their wellbeing, genocidal? This book ultimately aims to answer that question.