The World and U.S. Social Forums A Better World is Possible and Necessary

by Blau, Judith; Karides, Marina; Blau, Judith; Bond, Patrick; Conway, Janet M.; Frezzo, Mark; Guerrero, Michael Leon; Hausmann, Christopher; Hewitt, Lindi; Katz-Fishman, Walda; Kutz-Flamenbaum, Rachel V.; Osterweil, Michal; Ponniah, Thomas; Sable, Eunice N.

• ISBN13: 9780739136898
• ISBN10: 0739136895
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-05-16
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

Since its first meeting in 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the World Social Forum/U.S. Social Forum has worked towards imagining and implementing alternatives to the world-as-we-know-it by creating opportunities for its participants to build social networks, mobilize resources, voice their experiences of oppression, exchange ideas, and express their desire for a more equitable and reciprocal world. The WSF/USSF is dedicated to advancing the rights of all peoples, including women, indigenous groups, and minorities, and it subscribes to the ideals of participatory democracy, social and cultural pluralism, and the end of market tyranny. In this edited volume, Blau and Karides bring together a plurality of voices to offer a fresh perspective on the WSF/USSF as both an organization and as a force for social and political change. It is a useful resource for those familiar with the organization and an essential guide for those who wish to participate.

Author Biography

Judith Blau is professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chaple Hill. Marina Karides is associate professor of sociology at Florida Atlantic University.

Table of Contents

Preface: Why Write about the World Social Forum	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
Social Forum Process: The USSF and Its Relation to the WSF
In Defense of World Social Forum VII	p. 7
The US Social Forum: Building from the Bottom Up	p. 21
New Politics Emerging at the US Social Forum	p. 41
Another United States Is Happening: Building Today's Movement from the Bottom Up. The United States Social Forum and Beyond	p. 57
A Different (Kind of) Politics Is Possible: Conflict and Problem(s) at the USSF	p. 71
Debates and Social Thought: Highlighting the World Social Forum
Reading Nairobi: Place, Space, and Difference at the 2007 World Social Forum	p. 93
Is the World Social Forum the Privileged Space for Reinventing Labor as a Global Social Movement?	p. 117
Is the World Social Forum a Democratic Global Civil Society?	p. 131
Social Forums - Challenges and New Perspectives	p. 149
Bridging Activism and Academics
Reformist Reforms, Non-Reformist Reforms and Global Justice: Activist, NGO and Intellectual Challenges in the World Social Forum	p. 157
Feminists and the Forum: Is It Worth the Effort?	p. 173
Sociology, Human Rights, and the World Social Forum	p. 191
Another Structure of Knowledge Is Possible: The Social Forum Process and Academia	p. 205
World Social Forum: Re-imaging Development and the Global South beyond the Neo-colonial Gaze	p. 223
Notes on Contributors	p. 239
Index	p. 245
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