As mentioned above, many of the topics focused on “Ethical Fashion,” a term that denotes an increasing focus by clothing manufacturers on the ethical dimensions and ramifications of their own production methods and products. Many of the presentations focused on the ways in which companies are succeeding or failing in their attempts to make “fashionable” that which is “ethical.” One problem, mentioned frequently in the STI publication Fashion and Identity: A Multidisciplinary Approach, is that modern fashion is synonymous with fluidity and that the ever-changing world of fashion often proves resistant to the kind of stable identity formation required for the making and sustaining of moral commitments. As a result, a prominent conference theme was whether or not “ethical fashion” amounts to a contradiction of terms. This criticism, however, was not meant to indict the fashion world per se, but rather was aimed at the peculiar nature of moral commitments, which require a thoughtful and often resistant engagement with transient personal and cultural circumstances. Since fashion is so marked by an accommodation to change, it might be a questionable vehicle for shaping or expressing our moral commitments.
Ethical Fashion Conference in Milan
Corporate Social Responsibility Conference
The Social Trends Institute and Warwick Business School cosponsored an Experts Meeting, Responsible Corporation in a Global Economy, on March 21-23, 2009 at Warwick Business School in Coventry, England. The meeting brought together renowned Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) advocates, critics, academics and practitioners.
In theory most people agree that CSR activities are based on decent intentions. Controversy arises when considering situations in which that activity interferes with profit-making. Topics discussed included proper ways of approaching CSR, Western approaches to the developing world, whether or not CSR activities, which often find themselves outside of core business aims, are appropriate for a dynamic economy, and in what ways CSR can be implemented so that core business needs and CSR goals are satisfied. In addition, the meeting attempted to discuss and answer such questions as: Can CSR be regarded as an important contributor to public policy? What issues are raised by CSR for international organizations and corporations? Can the term “corporate citizenship” be correctly applied to CSR activities?
A publication of the conference proceedings will follow in 2010.
Special thanks go to Prof. Colin Crouch, the meeting’s academic director, and to Warwick Business School coordinator, Camilla Maclean.
Gender Identities in a Globalized World
Please check out the latest publication of the Social Trends Institute entitled, “Gender Identities in a Globalized World.” Edited by Ana Marta Gonzalez (University of Navarra) and Victor J. Seidler (University of London- Goldsmiths), it was just released in December 2008 with Prometheus Books and can be purchased here.
The publication brings together a very diverse set of international scholars to discuss the relationship between gender identity and globalization— a relationship that has often been under-discussed in gender identity discourses. This publication, then, is meant to be a focused reflection on the ways in which the process of globalization helps shape and direct personal identity.
Please see below for the table of contents. For more information on this publication, or to receive a review copy, please contact info@socialtrendsinstitute.org.
Chapter 1: Gender Identities in a Globalized World
Ana Marta Gonzalez (University of Navarra)
Chapter 2: Women’s Human Rights as Equality through Difference
Carol C. Gould (Temple University)
Chapter 3: Who Pays for Gender De-institutionalization?
Shelley Wilcox (Temple University)
Chapter 4: Personal Identity and Gender: A Revised Aristotelian Approach
Melissa Moschella (Princeton University)
Chapter 5: Bodies between Genders: In Search of New Forms of Identity
Lucia Ruggerone (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore)
Chapter 6: Transforming Masculinities: Globalization, Dislocations, and Insecurities; Masculinities/Modernities
Victor J. Seidler (University of London- Goldsmiths)
Chapter 7: Re-thinking Hegemonic Masculinity in a Globalizing World
Chris Beasley (University of Adelaide)
Chapter 8: Globalization and Its Mal(e)contents: The Gendered Moral and Political Economy of the Extreme Right
Michael S. Kimmel (SUNY-Stony Brook)
STI Partners with Africa World Press
The Social Trends Institute is pleased to announce that Africa World Press has agreed to publish the proceedings of the latest Expert Meeting held by STI’s Culture & Lifestyles branch. The March 2008 meeting was entitled “Globalization and Family Change in Africa” and was led by Professor Ana Marta Gonzalez of the University of Navarra, who serves as the research director of the Culture & Lifestyles branch. This particular meeting is part of a larger ongoing research project being conducted by the Social Trends Institute on the nature and effects of globalization.
The forthcoming publication is tentatively titled “Family Structures and Globalization in Africa” and its editors are Laurie DeRose (University of Maryland), Ana Marta Gonzalez (University of Navarra), and Florence Oloo (Strathmore University).
For more information on this publication, or to reserve a copy, please contact info@socialtrendsinstitute.org.
Welcome to the STI Blog
Welcome to the Social Trends Institute’s blog! In future posts, we hope to keep you up to date on the various research projects sponsored by STI and provide you with information about upcoming or recent publications. From time to time, we will post articles by some of our distinguished fellows and affiliates on a topic of current interest in one of the four main research branches of the Social Trends Institute— Family, Bioethics, Culture & Lifestyles and Corporate Governance.
It is our hope that this blog can both keep visitors abreast of our various research projects and provide them with access to a diverse set of viewpoints on topics of contemporary interest. To learn more about the mission and aims of the Social Trends Institute please click here. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us via email at info@socialtrendsinstitute.org. Thank you for visiting!