Browsing by Author "Schnitzer, Marcy H."
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- Actually Existing Democracy and Energy Justice: The Case of the Coalfields Delegation to the United Nations Commission for Sustainable DevelopmentSchnitzer, Marcy H. (Virginia Tech, 2010-11-09)This dissertation explores the concept of Actually Existing Democracy in the transnational public sphere through the experiences of the Coalfields Delegation to the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UNCSD). In particular, this research examines the differential impacts of energy extraction on local communities, and what the term justice might usefully mean in the context of transnational energy politics. I provide an account of justice that engages with the theories of Nancy Fraser and Pierre Bourdieu and mines their insights to provide a novel intervention in debates about justice and the public sphere. I start by defining justice as a transnational construct using theories of the nation-state and then discuss the nature and roles of counterpublics, specifically the Coalfields Delegation, in transnational justice. I then explore Fraser's constructs of redistribution, recognition, and representation, viewing each through Bourdieu's theories of habitus and field. I show that the process through which counterpublics seek justice is mediated through the operations of power in the economic, cultural, and political fields (adopting Fraser's definition of culture over Bourdieu's). To achieve justice, it is insufficient to suggest that movement in a field proceeds directionally; rather, Fraser and Bourdieu are in accord in suggesting that these fields need to be deconstructed (Fraser's term) by counterpublics adopting heterodox practices to challenge the established ordering of the field. Energy injustice, in the particular form of mountaintop removal coal mining, occurs locally, yet is inherently global in its implications through the processes of international trade and consumption. Therefore, the appropriate level at which to examine these seemingly "local" concerns is that of the transnational. In the case of the Coalfields Delegation, appeals have been made at the local, state, and national levels, to no avail. The group pursued several interlinked strategies at the UN. To the extent that their plight is one of economic disparity, the Coalfields Delegation has sought to redefine economic power in a manner different from global capitalism. Where cultural marginalization has been used as a basis for justifying disparate impacts on mining communities, the Delegation decidedly used its own formulation of "culture" as a strategic publicity mechanism. In pursuing representation at the UNCSD, the Delegation began defining its concerns in global terms, suggesting human rights violations, and placing coal mining within the context of global sustainability and climate change. However, in so doing, members of the Delegation started to reconceive themselves in solidarity with other similarly affected groups represented at the UNCSD. Their quest for global redress has not been one of straightforward acts of agency, but rather should be viewed as an oscillation between agency and structure. Fields exert counter-pressure, however, as the Delegation members grew in experience and sophistication, their habitus changed accordingly. My research explores the dynamic play of these social forces by linking the ideas of public sphere and field, counterpublic and habitus, to develop a new way in which researchers might both describe and trace advocacy group efforts to secure justice in the transnational public sphere.
- Biopolitical and Disciplinary Peacebuilding: Sport, Reforming Bodies and Rebuilding SocietiesZanotti, Laura; Stephenson, Max O. Jr.; Schnitzer, Marcy H. (Taylor & Francis, 2015-03-25)The peacebuilding political rationality established in the first years of the current century broadened the target of such efforts from state institutions to populations and adopted an array of disciplinary and biopolitical techniques aimed at changing individuals and the ways they live together. This article explores international organization discourses on sport and peacebuilding and argues that the broad consensus on sport as a peacebuilding strategy is most fruitfully explored in light of the intensification of the biopolitical and disciplinary trajectories of the liberal peace.
- Gays Going Global: Institutional Scripting and Inclusion of Homonationalist Student Identities in Study AbroadNanney, Megan Paige (Virginia Tech, 2015-06-16)Previous research has discussed the extension of social, economic, and political rights, including same-sex marriage, to the lesbian, gay, and bisexual communities. Yet, as Duggan (2002, 2003) and other argue, these sexual rights are extended only to individuals on the condition that they conform to the pre-existing heteronormative framework. Puar (2007) argues that this new normativity, called homonormativity, is part of a larger nationalist project that constructs and defines the terms of national belonging by extending sexual citizenship to the "good gay citizen." One way that individuals can work towards their inclusion is through consuming homonationalist "prepackaged experiences" that spread American ideals through travel. One example of this includes study abroad programs, where students serve as representatives of the home nation by spreading skills, culture, and ideologies to the international real through subtle actions. Preparatory orientation programs serve as a sight where students are instructed on how to be responsible representative citizens of the their nation (Virginia Tech Global Education Office 2014). Utilizing analysis of a study abroad website, participant observation of an orientation program, and eight interviews with study abroad staff and lesbian, bay, and bisexual identified students, this study examines how study abroad perpetuates homonationalist motives and ideals through the construction and inclusion of the "good representative student." I find that by privatizing and excluding sexuality from the study abroad experience as a "non-factor"--claiming that is it a matter of what students do, not who they are--homonationalism can be considered a consequence of current orientation practices.
- LGBTQ Climate Survey ReportSchnitzer, Marcy H.; Fang, Fang (Virginia Tech, 2015)This report is based upon findings from the 2014 LGBTQ Climate Survey sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Department of Human Resources and the former Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. The survey was the direct outcome of a 2012 report, Considerations for Assessment of the Campus Climate for LBGTQ Faculty and Staff at Virginia Tech, which addressed concerns about whether Virginia Tech’s diversity strategic planning process was fully inclusive of all constituency groups, particularly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Faculty and Staff.
- Radical Pluralism, Homo Sacer and the Subaltern: Representing the (un)RepresentableSchnitzer, Marcy H. (Virginia Tech Publishing, 2011-04-01)
- Rockbridge 4-H: The Case of BoxerwoodHastings, Jessica (Virginia Tech, 2012-05)I conducted an in-depth exploration of the partnership building process between Boxerwood and Rockbridge 4-H and identified specific partnership characteristics found within this collaborative relationship. Boxerwood Education Association is a nonprofit 501© organization whose mission is, “to educate and inspire people of all ages toward becoming successful and environmentally responsible stewards of the Earth,” (www.boxerwood.org). The Rockbridge county 4-H program prepares young people to step up to the challenges in their community and their world. Rockbridge youth participate in the hands-on, real world experience necessary for them to become leaders through the delivery of research-based, positive youth development programs. This topic is significant because the Boxerwood and Rockbridge 4-H partnership illustrates how a simple idea and conversation can build an alliance in achieving goals of mutual interest. In March 2011, a memorandum of understanding between Rockbridge 4-H and Boxerwood was formed. As a partner and primary representative of 4-H, I feel it is of great importance to share the Boxerwood and Rockbridge 4-H collaborative partnership process so that other community-based organizations to see the benefits of a collaborative partnership and to view the collaborative partnership as a potential solution for additional program and organizational support.