Bøger af Mariana Valverde

As citizens of liberal democratic countries, we think that we live under the rule of law. Governments make the rules, we live by them, and the police enforce them. "The Force of Law" critically examines these assumptions. Criminologist Mariana Valverde makes clear that while the law is usually regarded as the civilized, nonviolent way to deal with harms and conflicts, violence is integral to it. Police are authorized to handcuff, tase, and even kill people; courts of law confine people to prison and, in some countries, the state can put people to death. "The Force of Law" stimulates readers to become more informed about law and law enforcement and more active in efforts to make policing accountable to the public.

If knowledge is power, then the power of law can be studied through the lens of knowledge. This book opens up a substantive new area of legal research--knowledge production--and presents a series of case studies showing that the hybridity and eclecticism of legal knowledge processes make it unfruitful to ask questions such as, "e;Is law becoming more dominated by science?"e; Mariana Valverde argues that legal decision making cannot be understood if one counterposes science and technology, on the one hand, to common knowledge and common sense on the other. The case studies of law's flexible collage of knowledges range from determinations of drunkenness made by liquor licensing inspectors and by police, through police testimony in "e;indecency"e; cases, to how judges define the "e;truth"e; of sexuality and the harm that obscenity poses to communities. Valverde emphasizes that the types of knowledge that circulate in such legal arenas consist of "e;facts,"e; values, and codes from numerous incompatible sources that combine to produce interesting hybrids with wide-ranging legal and social effects. Drawing on Foucaultian and other analytical tools, she cogently demonstrates that different modes of knowledge, and hence various forms of power, coexist happily. Law's Dream of a Common Knowledge underlines the importance of analyzing dynamically how knowledge formation works. And it helps us to better understand the workings of power and resistance in a variety of contemporary contexts. It will interest scholars and students from disciplines including law, sociology, anthropology, history, and science-and-technology studies as well as those concerned with the particular issues raised by the case studies.

Toronto prides itself on being the world's most diverse city, and its officials seek to support this diversity through programs and policies designed to promote social inclusion. The author brings to light the often unexpected ways that the development and implementation of policies shape everyday urban life.

These essays represent an exciting breakthrough in women's studies, expanding the borders of the discipline while breaking down barriers between mainstream and women's history.

This study uncovers a little known dimension of Canadian social history and shows that moral reform was not the project of a marginal puritanical group but was central to the race, class, and gender organization of modern English Canada.