Fernwood Publishing – förlag

“This is modern poetry: its eye always open for the telling image, ear cocked to an internal music, and tongue ready to taste the tartness of irony…. These poems are not only thoughtful in an intellectual sense but in a compassionate one as well.

Peggy’s poems delve into the human condition and reach out to the animate world around us. In all, there is praise for the passing moment and a catching at it with the gossamer mesh of imagination.”

–Harry Thurston, poet and journalist, author of Against Darkness and Storm: Lighthouse, his latest book

It has been suggested that my work is not about feminist pedagogy. I have decided that I will not argue this point. Rather, I would like to share with you why I chose this title. I know that I could not have produced this book without the help of scholars learning to work from theoretical perspective and teaching practices defined as feminist. Moreover, it was not accidental that I learned to feel safe enough to confront my experiences of abuse in an environment where scholars offered a universal and coherent analysis of, and alternative to, male-organized educational and social practices. I know that I could not have written my thesis without this analysis. Thus, I use the term feminist pedagogy to refer to the practices which enabled me to write this text. My aim is to illustrate why I think feminist practices are key for many, if not most, students.

This book analyzes different aspects of the administration of justice from the perspective of three emerging critical traditions of inquiry: Marxist political economy, feminist inquiry and discourse analysis.

“The Marshall Commission Report does not deserve accolades. While it acknowledges errors, negligence and mismanagement, it did not make the connections necessary to begin the process of developing a dialogue about a justice system that Aboriginal people can respect, or which respects Aboriginal people.” - M.E. Turpel, Dalhousie Law School

The book originated in a theoretical critique of the androcentric bias in leisure theory. The notion of ‘family leisure’ is particularly problematic as it suggests that all family members enjoy leisure together. An alternative suggestion is that ‘family leisure’ is in reality ‘women’s work’. The empirical study focuses on family celebrations of Christmas, using informal discussions with women and interviews with women in Alberta, Canada. From observations of other women it was seen that in spite of the fact that all forms of unhappiness are magnified at Christmas, women feel compelled to struggle to produce and reproduce a successful festive season. The phrase ‘the Christmas imperative’ is used to capture this compulsion to reproduce Christmas. The concepts of family and gender as structured by familist ideology, of reproduction and reproductive labour, and of care and relationships form the foundation for understanding the issue. On this basis is built a discussion of the significance of rituals in families, of women’s sense of obligation to perform those rituals, and of the overriding concern with relationship that guides the design and carrying out of these rituals.

This study of nuclear coverage in four dailies in Ontario and New Brunswick finds that it is the promoters, not the opponents, of nuclear energy that overwhelmingly dominate news coverage.

Among the issues posed for feminism by the politics of difference are ones of voice and representation; who is authorised to speak for whom? Increasingly, “western: feminism is being challenged to confront the multiple characters of dominations and exploitation, usually conceived of as gender, class, race and ethnicity. This innovative and timely collection reveals exciting contemporary theorising raising and exploring the problems posed by identity politics and the possibilities for non-exclusive cultural and gendered positions. Feminism and the politics of difference includes feminist theorists from several disciplines from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

In this book authors from backgrounds as diverse as engineering to public relations are brought together to create a holistic picture of what happened at Westray. From an analysis of the geology of the underlying coal seam to an assessment of the difficulties of pinning legal responsibility on the company, the government or any of the managers, this book constitutes one of the few case studies of corporate crime in Canada. The contributors offer the reader challenging new ways to think about workplace disasters and occupational injuries. Each contributor brings their special expertise to bear in a way that makes complicated issues transparent to the most general reader. At the same time, footnotes and references guide the reader who desires more extensive information.

How well has Canada measured up to its obligations under the two agreements it signed during the UN Decade of Women? The authors of this book detail the terms of the conventions (the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women by the Year 2000) and have painstakingly chronicled the progress the provincial, territorial, and federal governments have made towards fulfilling their legal obligations in areas such as women’s participation in decision-making, childcare, violence against women and so on. All levels of governments are found wanting. As an assessment of progress on women’s equality in Canada, it is fascinating reading and a thorough resource.

This book also has a second purpose. It is a how-to manual for women in Canada and elsewhere who wish to assess the progress made by their governments in implementing women’s equality obligations incurred by the signing of the two international agreements. The authors explain what these agreements entail and show how readers can select their own priority issues, gather information from official and popular sources, and work with women;s organizations to analyze how their governments have complied with, ignored, or violated these commitments. The book includes step-by-step examples of each stage of the process, and suggests some educational, lobbying and other activities groups might wish to undertake. Each chapter contains a brief list of Canadian and international references with suggestions for obtaining further resources.

The papers in this collection address the changing context of child and family policies which have been ushered in by the Liberal government’s Social Security Review (SSR). The contributions analyze the implications of government policy shifts showing how they are particularly devastating for children of low income, welfare, first nations and single parent families. They suggest policy options and some directions that advocacy groups might take in developing a politics of influence.

"The articles that appear in this book originate in the shadows-those marginal spaces that black people have been forced to inhabit ever since the first slaves reached the shores of North America.” Ruggles tells us that “Black is more than just a racial category, it’s a way of viewing the world.” It is out of this set of eyes that Clifton Ruggles writes a column in the Montreal Gazette. This book is a collection of those columns and of Ruggles’ photographs, which visually illustrate the “Black” experience. He tells stories of Black people’s everyday lives, provides non-stereotypical role models, details their contributions to culture, politics and so on-stories which are often either ignored or underplayed. Among the photographs are two photo essays, one autobiographical and one entitled Shadowlands.

The book also includes an article by Olivia Rovinescu entitled “Deconstructing Racism.”

This book provides an alternate version of political science for students who want to make space for themselves and for the political activities they want to study. Vickers presents a framework which builds bridges between political science and feminism, allowing for a women-centred analysis of both formal and informal politics. It incorporates radical redefinitions of politics which can open up space to study identity politics, oppression, exploitation and the struggles against sexism, racism, ablism and homophobia, as well as women’s attempts to influence state decision-making by conventional means. A survival guide for women and other students trying to reinvent political science on their own.

This new edition is reorganized to make it a more usable text and updated to include the Liberal government’s pursuit of neo-liberal policies. William K. Carroll, Sociology, University of Victoria, said of the first edition: “All the aspects of the neo-conservative policy matrix-privatization, deregulation, NAFTA, the obsession with deficits, attacks on collective bargaining, the cutbacks to social programs, the weakening of federal powers-are carefully analyzed as elements of a political project that will have disastrous consequences for most Canadians and for Canada as a nation. This book is truly essential reading for those who care about Canada’s future.”

“This book tells the story of how residential schooling for Indian children has been administered in Prince Albert for more than a century. In some ways, our experience of residential schooling has been similar to that of other Aboriginal peoples throughout Canada and other countries. In other ways, however, our story is quite different. At a time when Indian residential schools were closing elsewhere in Canada, the people of the Prince Albert Grant Council saw a need to take over and completely remake an institution that had previously been used to direct and control our people. Recognizing the positive role that a completely different kind of Indian-controlled child education centre might play, we have created and pursued our own vision of how to care for and educate those of our children who require special treatment. The courage and commitment that our leaders and staff have shown in working to make this vision a reality deserves to be celebrated. The tactics that federal officials have employed to frustrate and undermine our efforts also need to be recorded.” -Grand Chief Alphonse Bird

Challenge and Change offers an innovative perspective on Dalhousie University School of Nursing’s first four decades of growth and transition. This book draws on rich archival sources and oral interviews to critically examine the school. Its analysis is highly relevant to contemporary debates within the history of nursing and the education of nurse practitioners. Most importantly, this book situates university nursing schools within their many and varied contexts of community, health care and university. Co-published with Dalhousie

Recipes for Success is a review and celebration of the unfolding story of the food security movement in Canada. Food banks and the growth in food security initiatives are a community-based response to a growing food crisis in our country. This book is a place to take stock of the breadth and depth of food security activity in Canada and to recognize the role we all play in responding to social needs.