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.
Rob Kitchin and Alistair Fraser, authors of 'Slow Computing', look at how our use of digital devices leaves many of us feeling rushed and stressed, and discuss ways we can take back control of our use of tech and how it is used in relation to us. …Read more
Gordon Pearson, author of 'Remaking the Real Economy', explains how political economic decisions need to be based on real knowledge and understanding of how the three different layers of the economy work, to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.…Read more
Gemma Carney and Paul Nash, authors of 'Critical Questions for Ageing Societies', discuss the role of ageism in explaining death tolls during the pandemic and how we can start to address age discrimination in health and social care.…Read more
Rebecca Tomlinson, our Commissioning Editor for Criminology, recommends books from our Criminology list on gendered violence and sex work.…Read more
Thomas Swann, author of 'Anarchist Cybernetics', discusses what social media used to be like for activists, how that has changed and why we need to take back control of our technology.…Read more
Keith Dowding talks through the arguments in his book, It's the Government, Stupid, including looking at individualism, choice, and how governments have passed blame and responsibility onto citizens during COVID-19.…Read more
Sarah Jane Brubaker and Brittany Keegan discuss the parallels between the causes of sexual harassment and other forms of oppression, such as racism and discrimination, and how recommendations for how to address these issues can be more widely applied.…Read more
Danny Singh, author of 'Investigating Corruption in the Afghan Police Force', discusses police corruption and how its setting in a war-torn environment, such as Afghanistan, is often complex.…Read more
Alison Shaw, Chief Executive of Bristol University Press, reflects on the selection of the Press as a finalist for the University Press Redux Sustainability Award and how the UN Sustainable Development Goals resonate with our mission and organisational goals as a publisher.…Read more
Leigh Gardner and Tirthankar Roy, authors of 'The Economic History of Colonialism', examine the relationship between colonialism and economic development, and challenge the assumption that the way colonial governments worked, and the effects that they left behind, had more to do with the aims and capacities of European states than with the regions they ruled over.…Read more