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.
In this episode, Jess Miles speaks with Natasha Lindstaedt, author of 'Democratic Decay and Authoritarian Resurgence', about what has caused this breakdown of democracy, the impact COVID-19 is likely to have on a global scale and ways we can try and curb the threats to remaining democratic systems.…Read more
Launching their new book ‘Sex and Diversity in Later Life’, Paul Simpson, Paul Reynolds and Trish Hafford-Letchfield reject the dominant notions of ageing that portray it as an experience of loss, and the denial that those over 50 are valid sexual beings. …Read more
Acclaimed activist and scholar Gill Hague talks with Jess Miles about the inspiring and powerful story of the women’s liberation movement and the domestic violence movement in particular, as told in her book, 'History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We’ve Come Further Than You Think'.…Read more
In this impact case study we show how Kalwant Bhopal, author of White Privilege: The Myth of a Post-Racial Society has become a key contributor to the international debate on racism. …Read more
Leland Harper, contributor to the new issue of Global Discourse on the politics of fear, charts the marked differences in the effects of COVID-19 on Black and White America and explains why it’s essential to use race-based data in developing policy responses to the pandemic. …Read more
How can we create a thriving life for us all that doesn’t come at the price of ecological destruction? Drawing on science and ancient Greek philosophy, Orsolya Lelkes details how we can cultivate our skills for enjoying life without harming ourselves or others, and live autonomous, creative and connected lives.…Read more
Heather Whiteside, Stephen McBride and Bryan Evans, authors of 'Varieties of Austerity', consider the austerity measures adopted in response to the global financial crisis and the knock-on effect these have had on the COVID-19 situation.…Read more
Ruth Lupton and Debra Hayes, authors of 'Great Mistakes in Education Policy', outline the five wrong turns that have hardwired inequitable outcomes into education policy. They identify crucial policy alternatives that would make education better and fairer.…Read more
Natalie Armitage, Anita Duda and Yvonne Field launch The Ubele Initiative’s Booska Paper, an exposure of structural racism in the third sector and the impact of COVID-19 on funding attitudes in the UK.…Read more
Mel Steer, Simin Davoudi, Mark Shucksmith and Liz Todd, editors of 'Hope Under Neoliberal Austerity', outline the lessons we can learn from recent examples of collaboration between university academics and civic organisations. …Read more