Social Change, Resistance and Social Practices

This collection of works by critical sociologists of various nationalities focuses on cutting-edge approaches to conflict-driven social change. By emphasizing the role played by contemporary social movements such as environmentalists, migrant organizations, world social forum activists and others, these studies grapple with diverse forms of organized resistance in the 21st Century. From homeless peoples displaced by Hurricane Katrina to young Muslim women refusing to shun their veils in French schools, the logic of a new generation of protest is deciphered with an eye to learning from as well as informing new social forces demanding progressive change. The result is an affirmation of the continuing relevance of critical sociology in analyzing key social contradictions in the United States, Mexico, and beyond.

Richard “Ricardo” A. Dello Buono, Ph.D. (Boston College, 1986) in Social Economy, is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Manhattan College. His research areas include comparative social problems and Latin American/Caribbean Studies. Recent works include Latin America after the Neoliberal Debacle, with Ximena de la Barra (Rowman and Littlefield, 2009), and Imperialism, Neoliberalism and Social Struggles in Latin America, with Jose Bell Lara (Brill, 2007).

David Fasenfest, PhD (University of Michigan, 1984) in Sociology, is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wayne State University, and Editor of the journal Critical Sociology. He has published widely on community development, income inequality and critical sociology. Most recently, he edited Engaging Social Justice: Critical Studies of 21st Century Social Transformation (Brill, 2009).