American Racism

The problem is that the same level of outrage shown by the NYPD for the murder of two of its officers was not shown for the killing of Mr. Garner. That hypocrisy is not lost on minority communities.

The Emancipated Autism Project

From: Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.
Subject: The Emancipated Autism Project
Date: August 19, 2013

For immediate release

The social-and-economic-development (SED) project, which was previously known as United Against Neurelitism, is now The Emancipated Autism Project.

Although the project will continue to focus on neurelitism (neurological elitism), the change in title reflects our broader interest in spiritual emancipation from Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through unity.

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Doug Hagmann Compares the President to a Dog without Papers

One of my hobbies, as an Autistic activist, is to monitor right-wing hate and race-baiting websites.

Today, on the Hagmann and Hagmann Show, Doug Hagmann compared President Barack Obama to a dog without papers:

The Hagmann and Hagmann Show (August 7, 2013)

Please publicize.

Hagmann is a regular guest on another show, and I have already informed the host.

A Short History of the Autism Diagnosis

The following is from one of my books:

Psychiatry and abnormal psychology are relatively new fields. In many traditional societies, children and adults with cognitive or behavioral differences were treated as demon possessed, not as the patients of clinical practitioners. Although I was, fortunately, spared an exorcism, the electrical convulsive therapies I received were, metaphorically or poetically, close. Before the rise of the pro-eugenics, yet comparatively humane, mental (or social) hygiene movement, which gave birth to psychiatry and abnormal psychology, conditions like Autism would, indeed, have been literally treated as cases of demonic possession.

According to Dr. D.K. Shute, Benjamin Rush (1746-1813), one of the signatories to the Declaration of Independence, began reforming the treatment of “the insane”:

It will do no harm to recall the fact that an American, Benjamin Rush [1746-1813], started [a] … reform in treating the insane, not as demon-possessed individuals who should be chained and locked in cells, but people, simply, who had a disease of the brain.

Dr. D.K. Shute, “American Medico-Psychological Association: Proceedings of the Sixty-third Annual Meeting.” May 5, 1907. The American Journal of Insanity. Volume LXIV. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins Press. 1907-1908. Page 162.

The American Psychiatric Association (1921) was founded in Philadelphia as the Association of Medical Superintendents of the American Institutions for the Insane (1844). It was later renamed the American Medico-Psychological Association (1892). The organization published a diagnosic manual in ten editions between 1918 and 1942. It was chronologically titled: Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for the Insane (1918), Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for Mental Diseases (1920), Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for Mental Defectives (1941), and Statistical Manual for the Use of Hospitals for Mental Diseases (1942).

The 1918 release of the first edition, Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for the Insane, was announced on page 288 of The American Journal of Insanity (later changed to The American Journal of Psychiatry) and is included in this volume. According to that first edition, Autism is a characteristic of dementia praecox (New Latin, dēmentia praecox, madness premature), the original term for schizophrenia:

15. Dementia Praecox

This group cannot be satisfactorily defined at the present time as there as there are still too many points at issue as to what constitute the essential clinical features of dementia praecox….

… The term “schizophrenia” is now used by many writers instead of dementia praecox….

Appearance of autistic thinking and dream-like ideas, peculiar feelings of being forced, of interference with the mind, of physical or mystical influences, but with retention of clearness in other fields (orientation, memory, etc.).

Committee on Statistics of the American Medico-Psychological Association (now the American Psychiatric Association) in collaboration with the Bureau of Statistics of the National Committee for Mental Hygiene (developed into the National Association for Mental Health and, later, the Mental Health Association), Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for the Insane. New York. 1918. Page 24.

Through the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association, my own diagnosis has changed, in both name and description, several times over my life:

1. The first version of the DSM (1952), which was initially used to diagnose me, was a revision of the previous manual (1918-1942). In the DSM, dementia praecox was changed into a schizophrenic spectrum. Autistic children could be diagnozed with either schizophrenic reaction, childhood type (my original diagnosis and, I believe, the diagnosis of most Autistic children) or schizoid personality. On the other hand, Autistic adults could be diagnosed with either schizophrenic reaction, paranoid type or schizoid personality. At the time, Autism was commonly regarded as a reaction to living with a refrigerator mother.
2. In the DSM-II (1968), two out of the three designations changed slightly: schizophrenia, childhood type (my own diagnosis), schizophrenia, paranoid type, and schizoid personality.
3. Using the DSM-III (1980), my guess is that I would have had childhood onset pervasive developmental disorder. Schizoid disorder of childhood or adolescence is also, I suppose, a possibility. However, I was not diagnosed with schizoid personality under the DSM-I and DSM-II. Infantile autism appears a bit too extreme.
4. Based upon the DSM-III-R (1984), my diagnosis might have been either autistic disorder or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS). The DSM-III-R eliminated schizoid disorder of childhood or adolescence. Its symptoms were reinterpreted as indistinguishable from a pervasive developmental disorder. Since singling out a pervasive developmental disorder based upon age of onset was determined to be invalid, childhood onset pervasive developmental disorder was merged with infantile autism, also from the DSM-III, to create autistic disorder in the DSM-III-R.
5. The DSM-IV (1994) and, subsequently, the DSM-IV-TR (2000), continued using autistic disorder and divided PDDNOS into multiple types, including Asperger’s disorder and the new PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified). I was diagnosed by my new psychiatrist with either high-functioning “Autistic disorder” or Asperger’s disorder. He regarded those two categories as functionally identical for an adult.
6. Finally, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the new classification used in the DSM-5 (2013). That term, with its three levels (1, 2, and 3), has replaced all of the previous types of Autism, as well as pervasive developmental disorder. Presumably, I was at level 2 as a child. For the first time, with the DSM-5, developmental criteria can be considered when diagnosing an Autistic adult. The DSM-5 authors also recommended that anyone with a prior diagnosis of autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and PDD-NOS now be given a diagnosis of ASD.

http://autism.bahaifaith.info/

Mindfulness and Heartfulness

I certainly respect the various branches of Buddhism.

However, the fact that Buddhism seems, on face validity, to be so popular among Autists is, IMO, precisely why it may not be a wise choice. As I see it, Autists need heartfulness, not mindfulness.

Gender and Autism

Because of gender-based differences, women are less likely to be diagnosed as Autistic.

Whether that means that there are fewer Autistic females than males depends on one’s definition of Autism. Using current definitions, men are more likely to be diagnosed.

Until Autism and other conditions can be diagnosed neurologically, not just psychotherapeutically, there will really be no way to be certain about the gendered nature of many disorders.

Neurotypical

I have never cared for the term neurotypical – unless it is used, broadly, as a replacement for normal.

However, calling everyone who is not Autistic neurotypical makes no sense to me. Are any of the disorders in the DSM neurotypical?

Lying

Lying is actually a social skill (though not a particularly good one). There are two issues, I think:

First, when Autists lie, it is often obvious. We generally make lousy liars. Now, like anything else, social skills, including lying, can be learned. Social skills are challenges, not impossibilities.

Second, Autists are frequently honest to a fault. I had to learn how to be tactful. It did not come naturally.

Subculture

It is possible that an Autistic subculture may emerge. However, I think it may be too soon to say. What I mostly see is division – Autists attacking other Autists over just about everything.

Autists are a very socially fragmented pre-subculture. There are several major ideological divisions in the online Autism community.

The biggest issue is whether Autism should be “cured” (either partially or entirely). I used to be in the anti-cure camp. Since I changed my mind, the anti-cure people have removed me from their email lists.

There are other differences, as well. A small minority, but highly vocal, segment of Autists believe that Autism represents some kind of “super race.”

In order for subcultures to be stable, certain traits will distinguish them from the rest of the culture. There needs to be a shared identity.

I don’t think that the “subculture issue” will be clear for several years. Some of the factors which now divide Autists would need to be resolved on some level.

If a fixed subculture does emerge, in the libertarian direction I see it, many Autists (including me) will likely drift away.

The Cosmic Envelope

One of my observations is that many (maybe most) people in the online Autistic community are libertarians. While libertarianism may be the path of least resistance for Autists, I think it is a harmful choice.

Autists, perhaps more than anyone, need to move beyond individualism/libertarianism to what philosopher Roy Bhaskar calls the cosmic envelope – that is, to unity.

Sustainable development, focusing on the needs of others and of generations to follow, is, to me, a practical application of the cosmic envelope.

Autism Spectrum Disorder Level 1

Level : ‘Requiring support’

Social Communication: Without supports in place, deficits in social communication cause noticeable impairments.  Has difficulty initiating social interactions and demonstrates clear examples of atypical or unsuccessful responses to social overtures of others.  May appear to have decreased interest in social interactions.

Restricted interests & repetitive behaviors: Rituals and repetitive behaviors (RRB’s) cause significant interference with functioning in one or more contexts.  Resists attempts by others to interrupt RRB’s or to be redirected from fixated interest.

Problems with the term “high functioning”

From a linguistic perspective, the term “high functioning” is offensive to some people. If there are high-functioning Autists, there must be low-functioning Autists, as well.

All Autists, no matter where we fall on the spectrum, can function well in some areas and not in others.

Autism and Social Movements

As a sociologist (a college professor) and an Autist, I have looked into the Autistic community quite a bit.

In a sense, there are two communities: The Autistic community (Autists) and the Autism community (the infamous Autism Speaks and similar organizations). They have little to do with one another.

However, the issue is really even more complicated. There is not just one Autistic movement. There are several. For instance, without naming names, some groups of Autists oppose cures. Some favor them (at least in some cases). Others are interested in providing supports. They avoid taking a position on the issue of cures.

Exactly five years ago, after being re-diagnosed (correctly diagnosed) on the Autism spectrum, I joined the anti-cure movement. These days, I am more interested in support issues. I also hope that it will, someday, be possible to cure certain Autistic problems (like social difficulties) while leaving the more positive traits intact.

Autists are also disproportionately poor. There is such a thing as “other people’s money.” Monetary systems are arbitrary or conventional arrangements. There is nothing innate about private property.

The Unity Model of Disability

The Unity Model of Disability

For Immediate Release [first published on October 7, 2011]

This unity, or essence, of humanity is not, to my understanding, merely an abstract concept. As we discover and acquire the magnetic attributes of human unity, that unity can be practiced in our daily lives. Decisions will be made consultatively or selflessly. Diversity, on the other hand, is a given. Each of us is an individual soul. We have particular capacities which can be developed throughout our lives. However, diversity by itself, like Autistic identity politics, can easily become a trap. If we focus upon the diversity, and neglect the unitying essence, societies, communities, and hearts may begin to fall apart.

Identity politics is rooted in various Marxist perspectives, especially critical social theory. The focus of many of these critical perspectives is upon conscious raising or conscientization, which is the process of developing an awareness of oppression. The idea originated with Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. After recognizing oppression, people join together with others facing similar problems. Together, they struggle for freedom. Therefore, in identity politics, there is some unity, but it is limited in scope, not universal. Inevitably, people will divide into camps of “us” versus “them.”

The online community of Autists and the mental health community have been relatively disconnected. This unfortunate separation has mostly been a result of the neurodiversity movement and its focus upon creating a unique Autistic identity. There are, however, movements related to Autism and to mental health, which, to some extent, run parallel to one another. Descriptions of a number of them are provided on my Brief Outlines of Liberation Movements page. Bridging the gap between these two disability communities, United Against Neurelitism  has developed a Unity Model of Disability™.

The Unity Model, while similar to the Empowerment Model, changes the focus from the individual to “humanity.” In both models, however, a medical client  is expected not to be merely a passive recipient of health care services. The attitude, “We know what is best for you,” would be unacceptable. Not only could she choose, or refuse, a particular health care provider. She has the right to reject any  treatment. An example of the Empowerment Model is the recovery movement. It was influenced by the similarly American twelve-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous® and the Civil Rights Movement.

As far as I know, there is no specific  recovery group for Autists. While I differ with many of the assumptions commonly made within the recovery movement, such as the claim that powerlessness  is related to an absence of will power, this popular self-help philosophy can be interesting to study. Essentially, it has medicalized the diversity of human experience, including procrastination. As a caricature of the Empowerment Model, the movement has turned ordinary human struggles into fictional pathologies. Personal life stories then become the novels of recovery from nonscientific diseases.

The Unity Model also borrows from the Social Model of Disability. In the Social Model, the term, “disability” refers to social oppression or discrimination based upon social disadvantages. Disability is not the same as simple human differences. In other words, once the oppression is removed, the disability is eliminated. In Five Kingdoms, disability is also defined as oppression. However, the medical oppression which results from having a number of usually undesirable neurological traits, especially the difficulties with processing empathy, is incorporated, as well.

As a practical application of social justice, the Unity Model is not utopian. Simply, each of us should, working together, advocate for one other, not only for ourselves. The development of unified communities and societies is the heart of the model. Identity politics, or movements supporting the partisan interests of individuals with particular disabilities, are discarded. They are replaced with an awareness of the unity of humanity. If we share, together, the physical attributes, the qualities, of the essence of humanity, we are literally, not just figuratively or metaphorically, related to one another.

For example, our global community might, working in unity, develop better treatments, perhaps even targeted cures, for Autism. With a dear Autistic father, I should always  have known, better than most people, the importance of discovering scientific medical cures. Second, we Autists, as uncommonly odd individuals, are often bullied. Due to a lack of social skills, we also have much higher-than-average unemployment rates. Cooperatively protecting Autists from all forms of oppression and discrimination, is, I feel, crucial. Every human being has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Unity, in diversity, is, as I see it, always  preferable over division. In my opinion, the unity of humanity is a reality. We are not cats or dogs or cattle. We are members of the same biological species, homo sapiens, and members of the same subspecies, homo sapiens sapiens. Classifying us by race, ethnicity, and nationality is a human invention. Defining us through our skin color makes no more scientific sense than distinguishing between us based upon hair or eye color. Each of these three traits were evolutionary adaptations. Through natural selection, they developed from variations in climate.

Similarly, separating Autists into types, such as classic Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome  (Asperger’s Disorder in the United States), has been used by some individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome, or “aspies,” to distinguish themselves from other Autists. Thank God, the label, Asperger’s Syndrome, will, most likely, be officially eliminated from the new diagnostic manuals. According to the proposal, Asperger’s Syndrome will become Autism Spectrum Disorder, Level 1. The psychiatric community has recognized that we are all Autists, and that the similarities between us outweigh any differences.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.

Servant,

United Against Neurelitism

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Name Changes

For Immediate Release [first published on September 6, 2011]

As is obvious from the header of the page, I have changed the name of this website once again. Perhaps I will eventually get it right.

I made the name change for three reasons: First, calling it a Sufi order, when I am not a Muslim, is obviously confusing. My own heart opened after I began studying Sufism, so I immediately wanted to have my own Sufi path. Still, no mater what name I use, I can express the same ideas. Second, I felt as though I was minimizing the significance of “Neurelitism” by not including it in the title. Third, The Asma Path, my other former Sufi order, is now called, Unities.

Here is the logic: The unity, or essence, of humanity is not, to me, merely an abstract concept. As we discover and acquire the attributes of human unity, that unity can be practiced in our daily lives. Decisions will be made consultatively.

Diversity, on the other hand, is a given. Each of us is an individual soul. We have particular capacities which can be developed throughout our lives. However, diversity by itself, like Autistic identity politics, can easily become a trap. If we focus upon the diversity, and neglect the unitying essence, societies, communities, and hearts may begin to fall apart.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.

Servant of United Against Neurelitism

Internet Learning Resources Media

I have created a blogging and podcasting portal, Internet Learning Resources Media™. This blog, two others, and my podcasts are linked from it:

www.ILRM.info

Mark A. Foster

Emancipatory Constructionism

The following is an introduction to my theoretical framework:

The explicit objective of the  transdisciplinary new critical theory used by The Institute for Emancipatory Constructionism™, designated as Emancipatory Constructionism™, is emancipatory structurization. In present usage, a structurization may be regarded as any social structure (set of rules), group, or culture. Expressly, social constructions, whether emancipatory or dominative, are the naming, classifying, or categorizing of tropes (the attributes of individual actors) into structurizations. Whereas social constructions are the generative processes, structurizations are their byproducts. The Institute for Emancipatory Constructionism advocates a radical inclusion – defined as the incorporation of individuals who are frequently “othered” (marginalized or excluded).

Furthermore, Emancipatory Constructionism, which begins with an examination of the conditions of domination, is intentionally value laden, not value free. Its methodology is a conscious engagement in praxis, a public sociology perhaps, in transforming dominative structurizations into emancipatory ones. Although, situationally, dominative structurizations may be accepted, with or without utility, from oppressors, through concerted action, as a radical praxis (emancipatory action) and a critical pedagogy (emancipatory education), they can, at times, be deconstructed (that is to say, denamed), revealing their dialectical contradictions, and reconstructed (renamed) into emancipatory structurizations.

This neo-Marxian paradigm draws from three nominalist-cum-particularist rubrics. First, out of medieval nominalism comes a discourse on universals as names. Second, Marxian with Lockean, trope, and other modern nominalisms are employed. Finally, social constructionism with cultural sociology, postmodernism, poststructuralism, critical pragmatism, and other postisms are utilized to express an incredulity toward, and to oppose the dominations of, essentialisms, foundationalisms, and metanarratives.

My Meltdown

I am presently coming out of a meltdown. During these periods, which have at times lasted a few years, I discontinue most activities which are not directly related to my academic position. The meltdowns seem to occur when I am over-extended. In any event, this situation explains why I have not posted in about three months. Just, because I likely appear fairly neurotypical to the majority of people does not mean I do not have my share of difficulties. As I have gotten older, I have merely become more proficient at positioning my mask.

On the other hand, as a child, the meltdowns were usually unbearable. I was almost constantly surrounded by people. Try as I might to escape in a corner from perceptual overload, someone always came by to say something or another. As an adult, however, I have lived alone. Except for my job, I can choose to shut out the world at will. No one, based on their misunderstandings of my needs, attempts to supposedly “rescue” me. Perhaps that explains why, despite the awful prognosis delivered by my child psychiatrist, that I would spend my life on disability, I have shown him to be wrong.

Name Changes

For Immediate Release [first published on September 7, 2009]

Effective immediately, The League to Fight Neurelitism is The Collective to Fight Neurelitism. Additionally, the founding director of The League to Fight Neurelitism becomes the founding organizer of The Collective to Fight Neurelitism. Considering that the web identity of this project has been established under its now previous designation, arriving at the decision to make our twin name changes was certainly not easy.

We have been The League to Fight Neurelitism since our inception more than two years ago. While this duration would be quite brief in many other contexts, on the Internet, considering its comparative newness as a communications medium, two years continues to be a relatively long period of time. Nonetheless, following careful reflection, it was determined that the noun collective more closely conveys our methods and our purposes than league.

From the date of this project’s conception, our grounding has been in a recently minted social scientific approach called new critical theory. Although Marxist in background, new critical theory adds, depending upon the particular social theorist, certain themes out of postmodernism, poststructuralism, critical pragmatism, social constructionism, and so on.

To be precise, our view is that normative constructions of “collective,” as in Marxist collectivization (and related usages), and of “organizer,” when used after the fashion of a union organizer, are considerably more in keeping with our Marxist sociological moorings than a “league” and a “director.” In any event, notwithstanding the reasons offered for these two modifications, we hope that they do not significantly inconvenience anyone.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.
Founding Organizer,
The Collective to Fight Neurelitism

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Position Statement on Critical Development

For Immediate Release [first published on July 29, 2009]

The League to Fight Neurelitism, a public sociology and an advocacy journalism project, actively promotes the consistent application of United Nations values on human rights and social justice to all persons on the Autistic spectrum.

While, on the one hand, the field of social and economic development has thus far been dominated by proponents of capitalist, or so-called free-market, practices, advocates of critical development propose, on the other, an assortment of anticapitalist, prosocialist perspectives on developmental issues. Notably, on each page of the Critical Development Studies Network website is inscribed one of the better-known maxims of Karl Marx, taken from his Theses on Feuerbach, “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point, however, is to change it.”

The League to Fight Neurelitism is strictly nonpartisan. We neither support any socialist or communist factions, nor do we oppose other political parties. Nonetheless, we hold firmly to the principle that struggles for Autistic emancipation, and for liberation more generally, can only be attained, comprehensively, once global capitalism and its corporatocracy, the framework of corporate governance, have been superseded by universal collectivization. Furthermore, although we reject the simplistic assertion that capitalism is the immediate or ultimate source of all agents of domination, we do contend that attempts to completely dismantle other oppressions will be thwarted, at every turn, by the contradictions within capitalist systems.

Given the considerably disproportionate rates of poverty in the Autistic community, the League has a vested interest in issues of development. Under capitalism, many Autists, when accounting for their difficulties in sufficiently producing according to expected neurotypical criteria, have remained economically marginalized. While public assistance, including disability benefits, can offer some relief and protection from disenfranchisement, it can also serve to reinforce the otherness of its recipients. Moreover, in addition to maintaining these Autists as second-class citizens, such “welfare,” used here broadly, promises none of the normative hope of advancement available to many others.

Collectivization, including the formations of such entities as cooperatives and credit unions, would replace industrial ownership by a bourgeoisie, or capitalist class, with common ownership by entire bodies of workers or consumers. While certain present-day corporations loudly proclaim the tokenism of their alleged profit-sharing, sometimes referring to their employees as associates, collectivization would altogether dispossess the bourgeoisie of class ownership and make them the equals among others. Finally, as everyone, Autists included, perform to their capacities, collective ownerships should serve as safeguards against significant marginalization.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.
Founding Director,
The League to Fight Neurelitism

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First published to: http://statements.neurelitism.com/criticaldevelopment.html

A Brief Note on Critical Pedagogy

In the morning, I will be flying off to the Autism Society of America (ASA) annual conference in suburban Chicago. I am both pleased and highly enthusiastic to be attending. It will be my first ASA conference.

Over this past week, I have initiated a process of transforming the website for my students into a critical pedagogy site. In other words, while continuing to focus on students, the website will be clearly framed around the rubric of critical pedagogy.

The fall semester is now just around the corner. As always, the summer vacation has gone by like a breeze. This fall, as during the past academic year, I will continue telling students I am an Autist. Likewise, I will, as before, use my own experiences as a member of an oppressed minority to examine the processes of domination and emancipation.

Methodology

This is the entire first part of my methodology paper:

A research methodology, as an instantiation of the scientific method, incorporates more than research techniques or “methods,” such as participant observation and content analysis. Broadly characterized, methodology, or the scientific method, is a specification of epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge, within the sciences.

A methodology must be carefully formulated in the context of a particular discipline or, to be precise, as a distinct undertaking within that discipline. So delineated, a methodology encompasses research techniques (either singly or in triangulation), a philosophy of science (as in pragmatism or empiricism), a theoretical (explanatory) perspective, the axiology (value system) of the researcher (whether made explicit or left unstated), and relevant modes of presentation or pedagogy.

The MarkFoster.NETwork™ project centers around the theory of emancipatory constructionism™, i.e., The Emancipatory Constructionist Paradigm™. That theory’s methodology, emancipatory research, can be defined by its attention to the empowerment and self-determination of the oppressed, not by its application of particular research techniques. In fact, a variety of investigative methods are utilized in this program.

This project’s emancipatory research methodology focuses on the construction, including the historical construction, of online lebenswelten (lifeworlds). It triangulates the following research technigues: contemporary radical history (historiography), narrative approaches, participant observation, reflexive sociology, content analysis, phenomenology, and existentialism. The project has been developed around the online universe of The MarkFoster.NETwork. The research implications of emancipatory constructionism, a new critical theory, include an examination of relevant processes of social construction.

The Internet will be regarded as a metasociety, analogous to the concept of virtual communities. It is, in other words, a digital society, operating beyond particular geopolitical units, and, in its bits and bytes (tropes or attributes), is socially constructed in the minds of its participants.

The project has two principal dimensions:

1. In its participant observational aspects, explorations of constructionist processes on the Internet, synchronous and asynchronous, will be explored through active engagement in, and utilization of, online communications media. Social construction, discussed below, is taken as heuristics and, in the social construction of online lifeworlds, as praxis. One set of behaviors to be explored is within the ongoing radical history project in mass media. Another is applied textual reasonings in situated settings.
2. As a reflexive sociology, the construction of The MarkFoster.NETwork™ is examined through active engagement with others – on email lists, in chat rooms, and on message boards. Given the cooperative character of this process, the production of the network more accurately reflects social constructionism, an approach within sociology, than constructivism, a psychological perspective.

Methodologically, the term, emancipatory research, was coined by Mike Oliver in 1992. The construct has been particularly influential upon the social model of disability. As a radical approach, it frames the basic epistemology of this project. Oliver, in addition to being both an author and a disability rights activist, is Emeritus Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Greenwich. Emancipatory methodologies tend to adopt a stance which is simultaneously critical of normative research methodologies and concerned with exploring the experiences of oppressed persons, such as the disabled, in their own voices.

This project’s own emancipatory methodology has been developed through trope nominalism. That is to say, our observations of entities are of their tropes (attributes). We are only categorizing, or naming, them. Universal essences are rejected, while, concerning the essences of particulars, should they even exist, we remain agnostic. To engage in discourse upon such unknown quiddities is speculative (or metaphysical) and a waste of good time.

Emancipatory research may be differentiated from lifeworld research. The latter is grounded in phenomenology and, as such, incorporates the usual Husserlian categories, such as epoché and intersubjectivity. The objective of the researcher is, through a bracketing of her intentionality, to enter into the lifeworlds of disabled persons. As a nominalist, phenomenological reduction impresses me as both metaphysical (speculative) and essentialist. Indeed, I question whether such phenomenological reduction is even possible or desirable. Nonetheless, I have tried to be sensitive to this mode of inquiry where suitable.

Critical to emancipatory research is empowerment. Much of the relevant literature I encountered looked at marginalized groups, as in the feminist consciousness raising of the 1970s. Some of it came out of community healthcare and community psychology. The interest, in those settings, was on examining the promotion of wellness as a patient’s responsibility. (Anecdotally, I may have experienced an implementation of this strategy: A hospital seminar I attended, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, incorporated many of the characteristics I came across in my reading.)

Here is a useful, if somewhat obvious, definition of empowerment:

Empowerment is a construct shared by many disciplines and arenas: community development, psychology, education, economics, and studies of social movements and organizations, among others. How empowerment is understood varies among these perspectives. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of the term empowerment is often assumed rather than explained or defined….

As a general definition, however, we suggest that empowerment is a multi-dimensional social process that helps people gain control over their own lives. It is a process that fosters power (that is, the capacity to implement) in people, for use in their own lives, their communities, and in their society, by acting on issues that they define as important.

We suggest that three components of our definition are basic to any understanding of empowerment. Empowerment is multi-dimensional, social, and a process. It is multi-dimensional in that it occurs within sociological, psychological, economic, and other dimensions. Empowerment also occurs at various levels, such as individual, group, and community. Empowerment, by definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship to others. Empowerment is a process that is similar to a path or journey, one that develops as we work through it. Other aspects of empowerment may vary according to the specific context and people involved, but these remain constant. In addition, one important implication of this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected.

Page, Nanette, and Czuba, Cheryl E., “Empowerment: What Is It?” Journal of Extension. October 1999. Volume 37. Number 5.

According to Milon Gupta, the manager of marketing and public relations for eHealhthonline.org:

The vision of the empowered patient is still lagging behind reality, but now e-health offers the opportunity for patient empowerment. Potential benefits include better health outcomes and higher cost-effectiveness. However, looking at the European situation, one realizes that a number of obstacles have to be overcome, before these benefits can be reaped.

The concept of patient empowerment emerged in the 1970s in the United States and Europe in the context of the civil rights movement. Patients and their organisations demanded a right to self-determination over decisions affecting their health.

In addition to political pressure for giving consumers and patients more rights, there were also factors in the healthcare sector itself, which supported this trend. Alternative medicine and the growing number of alternative treatments, especially for chronic diseases, increased the choice available to the patients. A growing sensitivity to environmental factors influencing health further fuelled the push towards patient empowerment.

Furthermore, regarding the dynamics of interpersonal discourse, their purpose or volition, as well as attributed truth content, are transitively situated in a designated function, not in any substantive content. Consequently, if a cultural narrative or truth system, one purposefully elucidated and enacted upon by a set of conscious elites, is realized in domination, its truth content has thereby been confirmed. This epistemological, or methodological, pragmatism, is accepted here. However, when pragmatism is schooled by the axiological principal that the sole value of social action is the achievement of ambition, with little or no regard for one’s defined adversary, the epiphenomena become Machiavellian or realpolitik.

Fortunately, there are, in addition to realpolitik and political realism, other present-day species of pragmatism. These include neopragmatism, a relatively conservative approach commonly identified with Richard Rorty, and incommensurability. The latter expresses Thomas Kuhn’s work on paradigms in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, or, as he preferred late in his life (though with little influence on the established lexicon), exemplars.

As a philosophy of science, this project utilizes a contemporary, and indeed an emancipatory, version of pragmatism. This perspective, which fuses pragmatism with critical social theory, has been generally referred to as critical pragmatism. As developed here, critical pragmatism retains the equasion of truth with instrumentality or agency. Nevertheless, the internalized, or reverse, Machiavellianism, such as characterizes Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, is thorougly repudiated.

The methodology also presumes a pragmatic conventionalism:

Unlike conventionalism, a philosophy of science that regards scientific laws and theories as freely chosen constructs that are simply devised by the scientist for the purpose of describing reality, Realism holds that laws and theories have determined and real counterparts in things.
— “Realism,” Encyclopedia Britannica

Critical social research must, in its conveyance, be praxical or pedagogical. In other words, it should address, not only the craftiness of domination, but the craft of emancipation. The pedagogy of this paradigm, whether in voice or text, is founded upon a nonessentialist (constructionist) version of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. Although similar to certain theologies of liberation, given Freire’s Marxian influences and his unabashed devotion to Roman Catholicism, its specific focus, inspired by his occupation as an educator, is upon conscientization, which is to say, a consciousness raising process among students regarding specific categories of oppression accompanied by the means to realize liberation.

Poll on Capitalist Oppression

Please respond to this poll on the relation between capitalism and oppression.

Official Proclamation of International Day of Cooperatives

For Immediate Release [first published on July 4, 2009]

The League to Fight Neurelitism, a nonpartisan public sociology and advocacy journalism project, supports the consistent application of United Nations values concerning human rights and social justice to all members of the Autistic community.

Today, July 4, 2009, is the International Day of Cooperatives. Given our unwavering support for universal collectivization, and staunch opposition to corporate capitalism in all its forms, The League to Fight Neurelitism enthusiastically joins with the United Nations in proclaiming today, and each subsequent first Saturday of July, as the International Day of Cooperatives.

In the present climate of pandemic economic crisis, unparalleled since the Great Depression of the previous century, we fervently hope that this Day of commemoration will inspire a solemn reflection on the broad-based expansion of cooperatives. The advancement and multiplication of these entities would, in our view, constitute a significant and salutary step toward the eventual realization of world socialism.

Furthermore, owing to the ubiquitous disproportionality of poverty in the Autistic community, the League has maintained, and will continue to maintain, an acute interest in the issues surrounding cooperatives and collectivization. Indeed, Autists are among the more socially and economically dominated, or oppressed, citizens of many industrialized nations.

From the standpoint of the League, the collectivization of labor and the elimination of the corporatocracy – that is to say, the grave predicament of de facto governance by transnational corporations – would promote the peace and well-being of the Autistic community. However, a transition to universal socialism would also be advantageous to the larger Fourth World, or global poor, and, over the long term, conducive to a more irenic social polity for humanity in general.

The following examples of activities by cooperatives celebrating the International Day of Cooperatives have been provided by the United Nations:

• The messages of the ICA [International Co-operative Alliance] and United Nations are translated into local languages and widely disseminated to co-operators, media, government officials at all level.
• Co-operatives use newspapers and radio programmes to create awareness on their movements and contributions.
• Co-operative Fairs, exhibits, contests, and campaigns are held.
• Meetings with government officials, United Nations agencies and other partner organisations are held.
• Co-operatives partner with community agencies to champion economic, environmental, social and health challenges (blood drives, tree planting, etc.)
• Cultural events are sponsored – theatre, concerts, etc.

Finally, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in a message dated July 4, 2009, wrote:

The first cooperatives were born more than two hundred years ago when rural entrepreneurs and farmers decided to pool resources and help one another to overcome their limited access to commercial opportunities. Subsequently, retail cooperatives emerged to help poor households escape the debt trap and provide access to better quality goods and services. Cooperatives have since developed in many areas, from manufacturing to financial services, spurred by the desire for a more equitable way of working and doing business.

At a time of global economic distress, this history deserves to be more widely known. The theme of this year’s observance of the International Day of Cooperatives – “Driving Global Recovery Through Cooperatives” – highlights the value of cooperative enterprise. Cooperatives can strengthen the resilience of the vulnerable. They can help to establish more balanced markets for small farmers and give small entrepreneurs access to financial services. They can create job opportunities and improve working conditions.

The economic model of cooperatives is based not on charity but on self-help and reciprocity. In countries hit by the financial crisis, the cooperative bank and credit union sector expanded lending when other financial institutions had to cut back, easing the impact of the credit freeze on the most vulnerable. This highlights the importance of strong alternative business models and institutional diversity for the resilience of the financial system. Cooperatives deserve greater support. I urge Governments to adopt policies that support the establishment and development of cooperatives. Consumers, too, can help by buying food produced by small- holder cooperatives that is traded in fair markets.

In the face of the current economic crisis, communities around the world are rediscovering the critical necessity to work for the common good. On this International Day, I encourage Governments and civil society everywhere to recognize the effectiveness of cooperatives and to engage with them as vital partners for global recovery and achieving internationally agreed development goals.

Even in these formidable times, let us attempt to remain optimistic of better seasons ahead.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.
Founding Director,
The League to Fight Neurelitism

Originally published to: http://statements.neurelitism.com/dayofcooperatives.html

-30-

A Tale of Two Neo-Marxists: Paulo Freire and Saul Alinksy

I have been reading afresh, and reflecting upon, the neo-Marxisms of Paulo Freire (1921-1997) and Saul Alinsky (1909-1972). For anyone who is unfamiliar with the ideas of these two writers, I strongly encourage you to read Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. Comparing the ideas presented in them has, for me, been a delightful experience.

First, I will provide short quotations from these two books. I will then briefly comment. To begin, here is Freire:

This book will present some aspects of what the writer has termed the ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’, a pedagogy which must be forged with, not for, the oppressed (be they individuals or whole peoples) in the incessant struggle to regain their humanity. This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. And in the struggle this pedagogy will be made and remade.

The central problem is this: How can the oppressed, as divided, unauthentic beings, participate in developing the pedagogy of their liberation? Only as they discover themselves to be ‘hosts’ of the oppressor can they contribute to the midwifery of their liberating pedagogy. As long as they live in the duality where to be is to be like, and to be like is to be like the oppressor, this contribution is impossible. The pedagogy of the oppressed is an instrument for their critical discovery that both they and their oppressors are manifestations of dehumanization.

Liberation is thus a child birth, and a painful one. The man who emerges is a new man, viable only as the oppressor-oppressed contradiction is superseded by the humanization of all men. Or to put it another way, the solution of this contradiction is born in the labour which brings this new man into the world: no longer oppressor or oppressed, but man in the process of achieving freedom.

This solution cannot be achieved in idealistic terms. In order for the oppressed to be able to wage the struggle for their liberation, they must perceive the reality of oppression, not as a closed world from which there is no exit, but as a limiting situation which they can transform. This perception is necessary, but not a sufficient condition by itself for liberation; it must become the motivating force for liberating action.

Paulo Freire, The Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Now, a quotation from Alinsky:

Tactics are those conscious deliberate acts by which human beings live with each other and deal with the world around them. In the world of give and take, tactics is the art of how to take and how to give. Here our concern is with the tactic of taking; how the Have-Nots can take power away from the Haves.

For an elementary illustration of tactics, take parts of your face as the point of reference; your eyes, your ears, and your nose. First the eyes; if you have organized a vast, mass-based people’s organization, you can parade it visibly before the enemy and openly show your power. Second the ears; if your organization is small in numbers, then…conceal the members in the dark but raise a din and clamor that will make the listener believe that your organization numbers many more than it does. Third, the nose; if your organization is too tiny even for noise, stink up the place.

Always remember the first rule of power tactics: Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.

Second: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear, and retreat.

Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy. Here you want to cause confusion, fear, and retreat.

The fourth rule is: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.

The fourth rule carries within it the fifth rule: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage.

Sixth rule: A good tactic is one that your people enjoy. If your people are not having a ball doing it, there is something very wrong with the tactic.

A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. Man can sustain militant interest in any issue for only a limited time, after which it becomes a ritualistic commitment.

Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.

The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.

The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside; this is based on the principle that every positive has its negative.

The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative. you cannot risk being trapped by the enemy in his suddenly agreeing with your demand and saying “You’re right – we don’t know what to do about this issue. Now you tell us.”

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.

In conflict tactics there are certain rules that the organizer should always regard as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and “frozen.” By this I mean that in a complex, interrelated, urban society, it becomes increasingly difficult to single out who is to blame for any particular evil. There is a constant, and somewhat legitimate, passing of the buck. The target is always trying to shift responsibility to get out of being the target.

One of the criteria in picking your target is the target’s vulnerability – where do you have the power to start? Furthermore, the target can always say, “Why do you center on me when there are others to blame as well?” When you “freeze the target,” you disregard these arguments and, for the moment, all others to blame.

Then, as you zero in and freeze your target and carry out your attack, all of the “others” come out of the woodwork very soon. They become visible by their support of the target.

The other important point in the choosing of a target is that it must be a personification, not something general and abstract such as a community’s segregated practices or a major corporation or City Hall. It is not possible to develop the necessary hostility against, say, City Hall, which after all is a concrete, physical, inanimate structure, or against a corporation, which has no soul or identity, or a public school administration, which again is an inanimate system.

Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals

Freire was an educator. Alinksy was a community organizer. Freire was a Roman Catholic who developed a system not terribly at variance from Latin American theologies of liberation. Alinsky was an atheist who demonstrated his willingness to work with various groups, including those in Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.

Now, a more subjective evaluation: In reading Freire, I could not help but feel his compassion for the poor and his overriding desire for them to recognize their dominated statuses and, through conscientization (critical consciousness or consciousness raising), to ultimately become emancipated.

Alinsky, on the other hand, was a political pragmatist – a proponent of realpolitik. To abuse an analogy, he turned Machiavelli upside down on his head. Even a superficial reading of Alinsky makes his position evident that dominated groups, in the course of their organizing, must utilize similar tactics and expediencies to “the prince.” By such means, he contended, will they accomplish their objectives over and against their oppressors.

As might be evident at this point, while I find Freire’s approach to be much to my own liking (and much like my own), I substantially reject Alinsky’s rules for radicals as exemplary of the sort of consequentialism often characterized as “the end justifies the means.”

Bluntly stated, internalizing the Machiavellianism of one’s oppressors, like other expressions of internalized dominance, implicitly legitimizes their actions. What is more, such practice of realpolitik by dominated individuals would demonstrate that the oppressor, her mentality and rules of operation, continues to reside within their hearts.

Finally, in my view, the ultimate revolution in human rights, whether pertaining to Autists or to other socially dominated populations, will come through an education into conscientization, not through the ruthless exercise of disparagement and dissimulation. The axiology, or value system, one cherishes while still dominated may be prescient of the world one wishes to construct.

Official Proclamation of United We Serve

For Immediate Release [first published on June 21, 2009]

The The League to Fight Neurelitism, a public sociology and an advocacy journalism project, supports a consistent application of United Nations values regarding human rights and social justice to all Autistics.

United States President Barak Obama has designated the period June 22 through September 11, 2009, as United We Serve. Administered by the Corporation for National Service, it is, in the president’s words, a “summer service initiative.”

As explained on the United We Serve website:

The national service movement will continue long after September 11, 2009. This summer, we are laying the foundation for a sustained, collaborative and focused effort to promote service as a way of life for all Americans. President Obama is asking us to make an initial service commitment from June 22 to September 11. After the culmination of our 81 days of service, we will renew our commitment and continue our work.

The League to Fight Neurelitism wholeheartedly endorses the president’s service initiative. We have also registered our own project:

Description: The League to Fight Neurelitism, a single-person initiative, is seeking Autistic self-advocates who would be interested in helping to develop the Fight Neurelitism Forum (through ning.com). The site is already set up. What is needed are people to promote it, make postings, and respond to questions.

Tasks for Volunteers: Aside from being on the Autistic spectrum, you should be a reasonably good writer.

You may, if you like, sign up for our project on this page of the United We Serve site. If not, we would encourage you to either volunteer for another project or develop your own. Several toolkits are provided to assist you in the developmental process.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark A. Foster, Ph.D.
Founding Director,
The League to Fight Neurelitism

-30-

Originally posted to http://statements.neurelitism.com/unitedweserve.html

Cultural Liberalism and Voluntary Religious Associations

I am a socialist, not a social liberal, but I have been a cultural liberal for as long as I can remember. Since my diagnosis as an Autistic and after, subsequently, achieving a degree of conscientization concerning my autobiographical status in the matrix of social domination, my commitment to cultural liberalism has been even more pronounced than before. That is to say, becoming aware of my own contexts of oppression has increased my sensitivity to the human rights struggles of other oppressed populations, particularly women, racial and ethnic minorities, and the LGBT community.

In terms of the latter, my dilemma, at one time, had been focused upon a reconciliation of the official positions of my religious community, which disallows Gay marriage, with my personal beliefs in support of it. Indeed, I would like to see marriage taken out of the hands of governments altogether.

In place of marriage, I would propose that any adults, of whatever number or gender, could receive a civil union license. It would then be left to those persons, or to the determinations of their religious organizations, as to whether to designate those unions as marriages (ceremonially or otherwise). Thus, marriage leaves the public sphere and becomes a private matter.

I have digressed a bit. As I said, my concern centered around being culturally liberal on sexual orientation when my religion was not. I resolved it, as a nominalist, by refusing to conflate my religion, as a voluntary association, with the secular arena to which sexual preference belongs.

In other words, I am able to acknowledge the requirements of my religion as covenantal obligations, binding only on believers, while simultaneously affiming my personal views, in support of Gay rights, as a private individual. Similarly, although I would like to see the elimination of gender categories, I accept them in within the framework of my voluntary religious association.

Miscellaneous Postings

Goldie Hawn and Buddhist Mindfulness

I saw the wonderful Goldie Hawn today on Hardball, an MSNBC program hosted by Chris Matthews. Hawn, a self-described Jewish Buddhist, discussed her Hawn Foundation which promotes an education in mindfulness, a Buddhist concept, to children. For one perspective on mindfulness, you can visit this website.

Although I am not personally a Buddhist, I was impressed by the site and by Hawn’s discussion, on Hardball, of the objectives of her foundation. Among the foundation’s claims is that, through its work with neuroscientists, children have decreased their levels of stress and anxiety, raised their self-confidence, and improved their scholastic performance. At the very least, the materials on the site, in my view, deserve to be examined.

New Critical Theory

Since first describing my theoretical perspective as a new critical theory, a neo-Marxian approach, I have sensed that I am moving in a useful direction. While social constructionism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, etc. have informed my orientation (generally the case with new critical social theories), as do other nominalist viewpoints, the neo-Marxist grounding of my approach, has, even going back to my days as a critical realist, completed the circle.

Although I have been a neo-Marxist of sorts, in one way or another, since I was around twelve years old and active in the New Left, I had come to feel as though, within the theory, the neo-Marxism was, perhaps, insufficiently obvious to most readers until now. I must say that I am pleased.

The Institute for Emancipatory Constructionism

The Structurization Institute is now The Institute for Emancipatory Constructionism. The new name more accurately conveys that the institute is based upon a postmodern, or new, critical theory. Building upon critical theory, including the Marxian Frankfurt school, the institute’s influences include postmodernism and poststructuralism (Michel Foucault and Jean-François Lyotard in particular), medieval nominalism (Roscelin and Ockham), and the social constructionisms.

Economic and Social Rights as Human Rights

Here is an interesting site which focuses on the economic and social rights as dimensions of human rights:

http://www.nesri.org/

Petition to Print in Passports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

I just signed the following petition, and I encourage others to do the same:

http://www.onedayforhumanrights.com/

Spiritual Orientation

For those who may be interested, my spiritual orientation, which contributes to my perspectives on issues of civil and other human rights, is on this page:

http://asma.bahaifaith.info

Two Public Sociologies

I think that there are really two different public sociologies. First, there was, of course, twentieth-century public sociology, as the term was coined by Herbert Gans in his ASA address:

http://www2.asanet.org/governance/PresidentialAddress1988.pdf

Then, there is twenty-first-century public sociology, as the term was redefined by Michael Burawoy in his ASA address:

http://burawoy.berkeley.edu/PS/ASA%20Presidential%20Address.pdf

Gans’ public sociology would be reflected in Contexts magazine:

http://contexts.org/

Burawoy’s public sociology is seen in Sociologists without Borders.

Sociologists without Borders

Sociologists without Borders is an excellent organization which focuses on public sociology (sociological activism). Other sociologists, particularly those with a leftist bent, are encouraged to join. I personally operate a MySpace group for Sociologists without Borders.

My Autobiographies

I would encourage anyone who has not done so to read my autobiography:

http://narrative.markfoster.name

A considerably shorter version, which I would only recommend to those who are easily bored [grin], is here:

http://story.markfoster.name

United Nations Enable

United Nations Enable has been at the forefront of efforts to address the discrimination and oppression of disabled populations throughout the world. In their own words:

The objectives of the Secretariat at DESA are: (i) to support the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in social life and development; (ii) to advance the rights and protect the dignity of persons with disabilities and; (iii) to promote equal access to employment, education, information, goods and services.

This agency of the UN, in my view, deserves the conscientious support of all members of the global community.

Human Rights and Socioeconomic Development

For an extensive listing of human rights and socioeconomic development groups, and a large collection of files, you may visit the links page of my Subtext site.

Initiatives of Change

I have, for many years, been drawn to Initiatives of Change, previously called Moral Re-Armament, the successor to Frank Buchman‘s Oxford group. The organization has a strong social justice orientation. The following, which is reminiscent of the Society of Friends or Quakerism, is from their website:

Initiatives of Change emphasizes that there is a real connection between the personal and the global: when people and relationships change, situations change. IofC founder, Frank Buchman, believed foremost in helping people unlock their potential. With this in mind, we emphasize:

• Inner reflection – listening to, and tapping, the deep inner wisdom, the voice of conscience or, for some, the spirit of God
• Commitment to the highest values of humanity – a ‘reality check’ revealing the truth about ourselves and inspiring a humble search for deeper integrity, and greater passion
• Forgiveness – letting go of hate, resentment, and judgements of ourselves and those who have wronged us, a process that can unlock a view of our own and other’s potential
• The big picture – daring to imagine a world where the needs of the whole human family are met, and to discover our unique part in bringing this vision into reality

Whenever anyone, prompted by compassion and conscience, faces reality about themselves and takes honest steps towards change, that action communicates to others. It inspires a growth in the human spirit that in turn kindles initiatives of change in families, communities and beyond. This integrity could be the engine which drives social transformation in the 21st Century – a growing momentum of people who become agents of change and reconciliation, forging relationships of trust across the world’s divides.

… A quiet time is a period set aside, preferably each day, to listen to the inner voice of conscience or, for some, the spirit of God – to consider changes in one’s own life and seek direction. It is often helpful to write down the thoughts that come during these times of quiet and, when appropriate, to share them with others.

This emphasis on inward guidance can also be seen in the Formation movement, started by Parker Palmer (a Quaker):

… exploring questions about the inner life and about “the inner teacher,” which are indeed personal questions but need not be entirely private, and are often best answered in and through community.

I have personally attended about a dozen Formation retreats.

Undocumented Immigrants or Illegal Aliens

We need a seachange in how we view issues of human rights and social justice. In my view, the United States and other wealthy countries, having failed to adequately redistribute their wealth and knowledge to poorer countries, have no right to deny entry to any fourth world persons (the global poor). Even the term “undocumented immigrants,” while preferable to “illegal aliens,” makes me cringe.

Fixing Racism

Each generation which I can recall seems to think it has fixed the ideology of racism. Many baby-boomers, like myself, believed we had remedied the problem in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, I find that a lot of my students, especially following the election of Barak Obama, hold to similar views. They are, in my view, confusing our greater tolerance and the lessening of certain prejudices with the racist ideology itself and with institutionalized racism. Any, even cursory, examination of, say, income levels or rates of incarceration would demonstrate that institutionalized racism is alive and well in 21st-century America.

Terrorism or What?

The broad social acceptance of a “war on terror” is an excellent example of Foucaultian construction, the social construction of reality by the maintainers of the panopticon, i.e., the ones in power. Most people never consider that there might be another way to untangle the net of international relations. The narrative of a war on terror, proclaimed from the bully pulpit of former president George W. Bush, has become ubiquitous.

Terrorism-speak is simply a convenient means by which global actors strive to distinguish, through the manipulation of public opinion, their own acts of militant nationalism or statism, as with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, from the militant nationalisms of other states or quasi-states, such as al-Qa’ída. The war on terror is, ultimately, a war of language games, where the winner of the conversational argument shapes, not only global discourse, but geopolitics.

Offensive Cartoon

I am, as an autistic and human rights activist, deeply offended by a cartoon which depicted the shooting of a chimpanzee by police officers. It was accompanied by the words, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The cartoon, an apparent dual reference to President Barak Obama’s stimulus package and the recent killing of a chimpanzee in Connecticut, was published this past Tuesday in the New York Post, one of the media properties of Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp, which also owns Fox News Channel. In solidarity with Rev. Al Sharpton, I stand against this blatant example of bigotry and call upon the publisher of the New York Post to offer an apology.

Another Excerpt from the Methodology Paper

Here, again, is an excerpt from my revised methodology paper. The following is taken from the opening section:

This project’s emancipatory research methodology, focusing on the construction of online lifeworlds, triangulates the following research technigues: contemporary history (historiography), narrative approaches, participant observation, reflexive sociology, content analysis, phenomenology, and existentialism. It has been developed around the online universe of The MarkFoster.NETwork. The research implications of emancipatory constructionism, a new critical theory, include an examination of relevant processes of social construction.

The Internet will be regarded as a metasociety, analogous to the concept of virtual communities. It is, in other words, a society beyond particular geopolitical units, and it is constructed entirely in the minds of its participants.

The project has two principal aspects:

1. In its participant observational aspects, explorations of constructionist processes on the Internet, synchronous and asynchronous, will be explored through active engagement in, and utilization of, online communications media. Social construction, discussed below, is taken as heuristics and, in the social construction of online lifeworlds, as praxis. For instance, one behavior to be explored is applied textual reasonings in situated settings.
2. As a reflexive sociology, the construction of The MarkFoster.NETwork™ is examined through active engagement with others – on email lists, in chat rooms, and on message boards –. Given the cooperative character of this process, the production of the network more accurately reflects social constructionism, an approach within sociology, than constructivism, a psychological perspective.

Methodologically, the term, emancipatory research, was coined by Mike Oliver in 1992. The construct has been particularly influential upon the social model of disability. As a radical approach, it frames the basic epistemology of this project. Oliver, in addition to being both an author and a disability rights activist, is Emeritus Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Greenwich. Emancipatory methodologies tend to adopt a stance which is simultaneously critical of normative research methodologies and concerned with exploring the experiences of oppressed persons, such as the disabled, in their own voices.

This project’s own emancipatory methodology has been developed through trope nominalism. That is to say, our observations of entities are of their tropes (attributes). We are only categorizing, or naming, them. Universal essences are rejected, while, concerning the essences of particulars, should they even exist, we remain agnostic. To engage in discourse upon such unknown quiddities is speculative (or metaphysical) and a waste of good time.

Emancipatory research may be distinguished from lifeworld research. The latter is grounded in phenomenology and, as such, incorporates the usual Husserlian categories, such as epoché and intersubjectivity. The objective of the researcher is, through a bracketing of her intentionality, to enter into the lifeworlds of disabled persons. As a nominalist, phenomenological reduction impresses me as both metaphysical (speculative) and essentialist. Indeed, I question whether such phenomenological reduction is even possible or desirable. Nonetheless, I have tried to be sensitive to this mode of inquiry where suitable.

Emancipatory research may also be differentiated from empowerment research. I have been unable to locate a consistent definition, but empowerment research appears to be associated with notions of wellness and personal responsibility. Most of the relevant literature I have found comes out of the fields of community healthcare and community psychology. Anecdotally, I may have experienced an implementation of this methodology. A hospital seminar I attended, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, had many of the characteristics I came across in my reading.

Pragmatically, the purpose or volition attributed to any dynamic of interpersonal discourse is transitively situated in its designated function, not in its substantive content. Thus, if a cultural narrative, described by a set of conscious elites, is realized in domination, its purpose may have been duly satisfied. Taken to an extreme, this sort of axiological pragmatism, in which the principal or sole value of social action is determined through the achievement of ambition, becomes Machiavellian or realpolitik.

However, as philosophy of science, the project utilizes a contemporary, and indeed an emancipatory, version of pragmatism called critical pragmatism, namely, a fusion of pragmatism with critical theory. Still, there are, in addition to realpolitik, other current species of pragmatism. These include neopragmatism, a relatively conservative approach commonly identified with Richard Rorty, and incommensurability, which expresses Thomas Kuhn’s work on paradigms or, as he later preferred, exemplars.

Critical social research must, in its conveyance, be praxical or pedagogical. In other words, it should address, not only the craftiness of domination, but the craft of emancipation. The pedagogy of this paradigm, whether in voice or text, is founded upon a version of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. Although similar to certain theologies of liberation, given Freire’s Marxian influences and his unabashed devotion to Roman Catholicism, its specific focus, inspired by his occupation as an educator, is upon conscientization, which is to say, a consciousness raising process among students regarding specific categories of oppression accompanied by the means to realize liberation.

Methodologies for the Study of the Disabled

I have been refining the methodology for my long-term critical sociology project. The following paragraphs, taken from my methodology paper, are particularly relevant in detailing some of the methodologies utilized in the study of disabilities, including Autism. See the full paper for more information, including extensive quotations.

The term, emancipatory research, was coined by Mike Oliver in 1992. The construct has been particularly influential upon the social model of disability. As a radical approach, it frames the basic methodology of this project. Oliver, in addition to being both an author and a disability rights activist, is Emeritus Professor of Disability Studies at the University of Greenwich. Emancipatory methodologies tend to adopt a stance which is simultaneously critical of normative research methodologies and concerned with exploring the experiences of oppressed persons, such as the disabled, in their own voices.

Emancipatory research may be distinguished from lifeworld research. The latter is grounded in phenomenology and, as such, incorporates the usual Husserlian categories, such as epoché and intersubjectivity. The objective of the researcher is, through a bracketing of her intentionality, to enter into the lifeworlds of disabled persons. As a nominalist, phenomenological reduction impresses me as both metaphysical (speculative) and essentialist. Indeed, I question whether such phenomenological reduction is even possible or desirable. Nonetheless, I have tried to be sensitive to this mode of inquiry where suitable.

Emancipatory research may also be differentiated from empowerment research. I have been unable to locate a consistent definition, but empowerment research appears to be associated with notions of wellness and personal responsibility. Most of the relevant literature I have found comes out of the fields of community healthcare and community psychology. Anecdotally, I may have experienced an implementation of this methodology. A hospital seminar I attended, after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, had many of the characteristics I came across in my reading.