Global social challenges
There are multiple interlocking crises currently gripping the planet. Significant threats and dangers lie ahead of us, but so do opportunities, as new ways of being, thinking, and doing emerge.
This stream of Transforming Society is a space for exploring the complexities of the global social challenges across disciplines and fields. It seeks to build and share the knowledge needed to shape a fairer world, across and for the global south and north, hoping to foster dialogue between academics, practitioners, policy makers and the wider public.
Sukhmani Khorana, author of 'Mediated Emotions of Migration', shows how migrants are routinely dehumanied by politicians and highlights how mainstream media outlets, including the ideologically left-wing, must do better in showing refugees as thinking, feeling subjects with agency.…Read more
Katharina Burger and Martin Parker look at how Bristol has localised the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how they can be leveraged to facilitate strategic change towards sustainability in a city environment. …Read more
As COP27 climate negotiations come to an end, Ulrich Frey and Jazmin Burgess examine if these global events lead to climate action or if reform is often stalled due to socioeconomic and geopolitical constraints. …Read more
Katie Tucker and Úna Barr examine the pervasive nature of violence against women at the hands of patriarchal state powers. They highlight how this failure to protect women reveals the importance of feminist activism in fighting injustice.…Read more
Gordon Pearson looks at the challenges facing Rishi Sunak and suggests that the emphasis his cabinet places on measuring growth by GDP neglects the moral and environmental realities in society and could lead to various humanitarian failures.…Read more
Chris Ogden, author of 'The Authoritarian Century', speaks to Becky Taylor about China's rise and whether this signals the demise of Western democracy.…Read more
Richard Humphries addresses the current failures of the adult social care system in the United Kingdom. The government's focus on social and economic progress and its unwillingness to invest in social care reform has resulted in policy neglect, unmanageable waiting lists, and a crisis within the care system. …Read more
Ahmed Badawi Mustapha examines the area of 'digital poverty' in Sub-Saharan Africa and the impact this has on productivity and social wellbeing. COVID-19 has further exposed the problem and led to an increase in social problems. …Read more
For this year’s Open Access week, we have created a reading list of Open Access books and journal articles that explore different areas of climate change with the aim of furthering important conversations. …Read more
The general consensus that climate change is the consequence of capitalism often ignores the history of colonialism that underpins our society. While important conversations surrounding the relationship between colonialism and climate change are starting to take place, a deeper understanding is required if we hope to address the complexities of climate change in the context of colonial histories.…Read more