Current Sociology, Ahead of Print.
This article advances sociological debates which, since the 1990s, have proliferated over the nature of ‘risk’ and ‘insecurity’ in modern societies. Central here is Ulrich Beck’s work, dealing with questions regarding which expert systems and institutions possess the ability to define what constitutes a risk or not. For Beck, hegemonic relations of definitions are central in the identification and construction of risk. However, risks are contested by wider publics, sub-political groups and movements. Notwithstanding, existing literature predominantly explores these contestations through techno-scientific contexts. Through a case-study of European men’s football (1985–2023), this article extends Beck’s work into the field of sport, by examining how supporter movements have contested expert claims on risk, insecurity and its management in leisure and sporting cultures. The article argues that reflexive cultures of contestation have matured and enabled a small section of ‘recognized’ supporters to become ‘counter-experts’, thereby blurring the expert/public distinction within Beck’s theories. It thus contributes to sociological debates on risk and citizen-expert contestations in contemporary social contexts.
Category Archives: Arts and Health
Leaving Kyiv
As The Warming Comes
Solving puzzles, playing games: The potential and pitfalls of entertainment education in teaching about sexuality
Sexualities, Ahead of Print.
This paper explores the potential of entertainment education (EE) in teaching about sexuality, especially in terms of (1) addressing gaps and instigating an approach that is more (2) youth-centred and (3) norm-critical than conventional sex education. Based on the analysis of five projects in the Netherlands (escape room, educational theatre performance, interactive website, offline game, VR production), we argue that these methods attend to often-overlooked themes. Moreover, they allow for higher levels of student activity and student responsibility: elements of a youth-centred approach. Yet, EE-initiatives are not by themselves more norm-critical, and we observed inequality practices such as heteronormativity and victim-blaming. In our conclusion, we define crucial conditions for realising the potential of EE in teaching about sexuality.
This paper explores the potential of entertainment education (EE) in teaching about sexuality, especially in terms of (1) addressing gaps and instigating an approach that is more (2) youth-centred and (3) norm-critical than conventional sex education. Based on the analysis of five projects in the Netherlands (escape room, educational theatre performance, interactive website, offline game, VR production), we argue that these methods attend to often-overlooked themes. Moreover, they allow for higher levels of student activity and student responsibility: elements of a youth-centred approach. Yet, EE-initiatives are not by themselves more norm-critical, and we observed inequality practices such as heteronormativity and victim-blaming. In our conclusion, we define crucial conditions for realising the potential of EE in teaching about sexuality.
Idaho Falls: “They’re not replacing the light bulbs – they’re all burned out.”
We are queer and the struggle is here! Visibility at the intersection of LGBT+ rights, post-coloniality, and development cooperation in Uganda
Sexualities, Ahead of Print.
This article unpacks different meanings of visibility and adds to a more complex and nuanced understanding of visibility and its role in LGBT + activism in Uganda, a widely discussed case of political homophobia. Public visibility has a central, although contested, role here. The study aims to explore how visibility is understood and navigated by local LGBT + activists, unaffiliated people with same-sex desires, as well as international development partners. Interviews conducted in Kampala from December 2021–January 2022 reveal different and complex narratives surrounding visibility. Local unaffiliated individuals and activists agreed on the importance of making the LGBT + rights struggle more visible. This, however, did not translate into a wish to “come out” themselves. International development actors expressed a need for caution regarding their own visibility, mindful that explicit and visual support may generate accusations of neo-imperialism.
This article unpacks different meanings of visibility and adds to a more complex and nuanced understanding of visibility and its role in LGBT + activism in Uganda, a widely discussed case of political homophobia. Public visibility has a central, although contested, role here. The study aims to explore how visibility is understood and navigated by local LGBT + activists, unaffiliated people with same-sex desires, as well as international development partners. Interviews conducted in Kampala from December 2021–January 2022 reveal different and complex narratives surrounding visibility. Local unaffiliated individuals and activists agreed on the importance of making the LGBT + rights struggle more visible. This, however, did not translate into a wish to “come out” themselves. International development actors expressed a need for caution regarding their own visibility, mindful that explicit and visual support may generate accusations of neo-imperialism.
Society in sight: foundations, methods and current developments of visual social science
Reading Sartre’s Second Ethics: Morality, History and Integral Humanity
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Non-Hegemonic Imperialism within the Capitalist World-System: A Rwandan Case Study
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