Freedom Roots

To tell the history of the Caribbean is to tell the history of the world," write Laurent Dubois and Richard Lee Turits. In this powerful and expansive story of the vast archipelago, Dubois and Turits chronicle how the Caribbean has been at the heart of modern contests between slavery and freedom, racism and equality, and empire and independence. From the emergence of racial slavery and European colonialism in the early sixteenth century to U.S. annexations and military occupations in the twentieth, systems of exploitation and imperial control have haunted the region. Yet the Caribbean is also where empires have been overthrown, slavery was first defeated, and the most dramatic revolutions triumphed. Caribbean peoples have never stopped imagining and pursuing new forms of liberty. Dubois and Turits reveal how the region's most vital transformations have been ignited in the conflicts over competing visions of land. While the powerful sought a Caribbean awash in plantations for the benefit of the few, countless others anchored their quest for freedom in small-farming and counter-plantation economies, at times succeeding against all odds. Caribbean realities to this day are rooted in this long and illuminating history of struggle.

"For centuries, the Caribbean has been centered in the crosscurrents of global transformations. From the emergence of racial slavery and plantation agriculture to foreign military occupation and radical interventions, the Atlantic world has been deeply shaped by European and U.S. imperialism. But the Caribbean is also a place where people--through contestation, innovation, global migration, and some of history's most dramatic revolutions--have created alternatives to those imposed by their rulers"--

Roots of Freedom is a primer on the thinkers and ideas that, over many centuries, have laid the foundations of free societies. Concepts such as the rule of law, independent judiciary, limited government, free markets, and individual autonomy are traced in the writings of (among others) Luther, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Hume, Adam Smith, the American founders, Alexis de Tocqueville, and John Stuart Mill.

Jimmy Santiago Baca, one of the foremost poets in America today, collaborates with two literacy professionals to present a teaching tool that includes curricular activities and probing questions crafted to help students heal through writing. Each exercise reinforces the theme that self-esteem borne from unique expression will improve student enjoyment and academic achievement.. Book Features: Draws on the extraordinary life and career of Jimmy Santiago Baca, who came to write poetry in prison and now has 28 works in print, ranging from a feature movie Blood In Blood Out to his bestselling memoir A Place to Stand.Based on the authors’ combined experience of facilitating hundreds of writing workshops.Offers field-tested recommendations to help educators inspire and fortify students suffering from doubt or damaged self-esteem.Includes detailed descriptions, exercises, and sample poetry to assist teachers and students in the writing process. “Kym and Denise provide tremendous support for the type of writing Jimmy teaches in his workshops. As you become comfortable and more familiar with the material, I encourage you to be creative and take advantage of the events that come up in the lives of your students.” —From the Afterword by Diane Torres-Velásquez, University of New Mexico “What a remarkable gift this book is! The authors have created an invaluable resource for educators who hope to connect students to the profound themes of social justice, personal journey, and the resilience of the human spirit.” —Deborah Appleman, Carleton College, author of Critical Encounters in High School English, Third Edition

A comparison of French and American approaches to freedom of expression, with reference to the historical, social and philosophical contexts.

In Love and Freedom, Jorge Ferrer proposes a paradigm shift in how romantic relationships are conceptualized, a step forward in the evolution of modern relationships. In the same way that the transgender movement surmounted the gender binary, Ferrer defines how a parallel step can—and should—be taken with the relational style binary. This book offers the first systematic discussion of relationship modes beyond monogamy and polyamory, as well as introduces the notion of “relational freedom” as the capability to choose one’s relational style free from biological, psychological, and sociocultural conditionings. To achieve these goals, Ferrer first discusses a number of critical categories—specifically, monopride/polyphobia, and polypride/monophobia—that mediate the contemporary “mono–poly wars,” that is, the predicament of mutual competition among monogamists and polyamorists. The ideological nature of these “mono–poly wars” is demonstrated through a review of available empirical literature on the psychological health and relationship quality of monogamous and polyamorous individuals and couples. Then, after showing how monogamy and polyamory ultimately reinforce each other, Ferrer articulates three relational pathways to living in-between, through, and beyond the mono/poly binary: fluidity, hybridity, and transcendence. Moving beyond that binary opens a fuzzy, liminal, and multivocal relational space that Ferrer calls novogamy. In this groundbreaking book, readers will learn practical tools to not only transform jealousy, but also enhance their relational freedom while being aware of key issues of diversity and social justice. They will also learn novel criteria to evaluate the success of their intimate relationships, and be introduced to a transformed vision of romantic love beyond both monocentrism and emerging polynormativities.