This chapter introduces our collaborative project, born from workshops that brought Danish and Brazilian researchers together in Belo Horizonte (2015) and in Copenhagen (2017). It has evolved further through years of dialogic exchanges and shared theoretical exploration of research on learning from the perspective of the learners and from marginalized positions and communities. As the chapters of the book took shape, they created the scope of the book project focused on urban life and struggles concerning marginality, conflicts, and inequalities. We chose to work together in part to explore how our national, theoretical, and methodological traditions both inspire and limit the research we do, as we seek answers to questions about “what learning is for” in struggles for social change and social justice. The introduction highlights how the collaborative process itself became a form of learning, shaping our theoretical development in dialogue with each other and with the ethnographic studies.

Craftwork in the late Antique period is distinct and its overlooked artisans deserving of study. This chapter begins with an overview of the general problem of anonymity in art history, focusing on late Antique craftworkers (fourth to eighth centuries CE) and the environments in which they worked. As is the guiding insight of this book, unnamed does not mean unknowable – much is revealed when the many fragments of evidence are analysed and placed into perspective. From artefacts such as the shipbuilding scene on a fourth-century CE gold-glass roundel, in aggregate it is possible to start to see a picture emerge with increasing clarity, including hierarchic interactions among skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled assistants. Anonymity in the art of craft production was and is not a singular phenomenon. In the late Roman world, the economic and social dynamics of craft production were complex, containing basic patterns and elements that continue to this day.

This impassioned address in early 1976 is a call to Lebanon’s intellectuals, academics and moral leaders to awaken and act in response to the country’s worsening crisis at the beginning of the long civil war. It criticizes the inaction and withdrawal of Lebanon’s thinkers and visionaries as the nation suffers under deep political, economic and social distress. Musa Sadr urges these leaders to rise from complacency, stop their retreat into private or foreign safe havens and fulfill their responsibilities to the homeland.

Lebanon is portrayed as a unique, divinely endowed nation, rich in history and human potential, yet torn by division, corruption and despair. The text warns against sectarianism, political factionalism and superficial reforms, which only deepen fear and dysfunction. It calls instead for a radical, unified vision to rebuild Lebanon on principles of equality, justice and shared citizenship.

A new Lebanon must emerge – one that embraces diversity, champions the Palestinian cause, utilizes its natural and human resources wisely and reclaims its role as a center for interfaith dialogue and civilizational harmony. The address ends by urging the nation’s moral and intellectual stewards to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to heal divisions, bring in the marginalized and restore dignity, hope and purpose to all Lebanese.

The topic of chapter 6 is unequal representation with particular emphasis on intersecting identities, voice and agency. The chapter digs deeper into the issue of policy priorities with a view to uncover who — and to some extent also what issues — female parliamentarians in the region represent as well as the reasoning behind their choices, not based on voting patterns as has traditionally been the case in such analyses, but anchored in personal narratives. The chapter accordingly explores the quality of representation (symbolic, descriptive and substantive) and helps us gain an understanding of which women and policy areas are represented, and which are underrepresented in politics at the national level, something which has very significant implications for not only climate change mitigation, but also adaptation and impacts. As the analysis progresses, it becomes clear that the female parliamentarians in the MENA tend to represent ‘people like me’, a reality which poses a serious problem for the quality of women’s representation, because the majority of women are simply not represented in earnest.

Chapter Six delves into the intricate dynamics of the “second transformation” of the Safavid Empire, which was characterized by the deliberate erosion of the authority of the Qizilbash elite within the Safavid state apparatus. The chapter outlines how the gradual sidelining of Qizilbash notables from prominent positions in the Safavid political landscape had far-reaching consequences, not only for the Safavid Empire itself but also for its relationship with the Ottoman Qizilbash. By the 1650s, Safavid attempts to exert influence within Ottoman territories had significantly waned. Concurrently, Qizilbash subjects residing within the Ottoman Empire transitioned from being active participants in interimperial politics to becoming an increasingly isolated and marginalized community. This transformation in both Safavid Iran and the Ottoman Empire carried profound implications for the broader geopolitical landscape of the region, reshaping power dynamics and contributing to a more stable regional order for more than a century.

This chapter discusses the employment of poor and labouring women between the mid-nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth. In this period, they suffered first a loss of their independent occupations in manual manufacturing and then exclusion from mechanized large-scale industry. This marks the beginning of a persistent and long-term pattern of low female workforce participation in India. The discussion is organized around multiple themes of marginalization, quantitative and qualitative: first, the question of numerical decrease in household industry, craft production and the small-workshop sector; second, the ideological exclusion from mills and mines, which were emerging as preserves of adult men earning family wages; third, resistance to women’s long-distance employment on contracts in plantations, which was perceived as a challenge to familial control over their labour; fourth, commercialization of women’s reproductive work in sectors such as midwifery, domestic work and sex work, providing increasing employment but under stigmatized conditions. These themes are linked to questions of regulation by family, caste, community and the state.

This chapter explores the journey from principles to the practical implementation of sustainable development and subsequently the codified global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It begins by examining the foundational principles of international law that guide sustainable development efforts by reviewing in detail the history and motivation behind adopting a global set of goals to achieve holistic and measurable sustainable development by 2030. Then, the chapter focuses on the intersection between Indigenous peoples and the SDGs, acknowledging the historical disparities faced by these communities and how treaties have the potential to foster or frustrate the achievement of these goals. It then delves into guidelines for sustainable resource management and Indigenous development within the SDG framework, emphasizing inclusive approaches and participatory decision-making. By bridging principles with practical strategies, this chapter underscores the importance of integrating Indigenous knowledge, fostering partnerships, and implementing the SDGs to achieve sustainable development while respecting Indigenous rights and aspirations.

This introduction presents the historical and social context of Argentina in the nineteenth century, as it relates to the local Afro-descendant population. It explains the building-nation conceived by the dominant groups toward the end of the century. The project sought to create a national imaginary founded on the notion of a culturally and racially homogeneous country of white European descent. This project necessarily entailed the disappearance of the population of African (and Indigenous) descent as part of the nation. The strategies used to achieve this project (census, cultural appropriation, official history) are mentioned. In this sense, it is proposed that the construction and recurrent use of visual stereotypes throughout the nineteenth century (concentrated in specific iconographic nuclei) was one of the strategies used in the process of invisibilization of the descendants of enslaved Africans in Argentina. It also explains the state of the art on the subject, the theoretical framework, and the methodology used in the research.

Chapter 1, the introductory chapter, outlines the development of psychotraumatology or traumatic stress studies, in which the author was also partly involved. It traces how it came about that the author Brave Heart and others have been presenting concepts on historical trauma since the early 2000s. An operationalized definition with two basic criteria and five consecutive criteria is presented. The following eight contexts from all parts of the world are presented and their selection justified. The first four are typical configurations of historical trauma because they fulfil all the criteria without exception. The last four historical traumas fulfil only some of the criteria, but are each particularly revealing, for example when it comes to the minimization of the victim narrative for political reasons. The method of the coupled scoping review for the book is explained and the target groups of readership are described.

1. In what way can we develop stories while working in conflict-ridden, unpredictable, and violent environments? 2. What are the human rights issues in this story? 3. What role does poverty play in relation to human rights? 4. What issues of security and safeguarding arise from this story?

This narrative is a reflection of the turning points, the dilemmas and disappointments, the cultural nuances and sensitivities, and all that comes with being a developmental scientist working on issues of adversity and resilience, inequity, and social policy. It’s a journey with a focus on promoting greater visibility for the Asian region in professional societies; capacity-building and mentoring initiatives for young scholars in Asia, Africa, and Latin America; and facilitating regional collaborations and opportunities for resource sharing. The way forward for young scholars from LMICs [Low-Middle-Income-Countries] is to break barriers, disseminate work widely, and have authentic conversations with colleagues across and within the country that lead to innovative research collaborations. As developmental scientists we need to engage with policy makers by mapping culturally sensitive, evidence-based solutions to societal problems and form advocacy groups to bring societal issues to life and network with the right people to drive change in these areas.

While most scholars of criminalized governance in Rio de Janeiro attribute its origins to the prison-based factions which formed during the military dictatorship (1964–85), this chapter argues that these arrangements emerged before, in the homes and on the streets and alleyways of the city’s favelas and housing projects. This chapter investigates these origins by focusing on the first embryonic gangs in Complexo da Maré in the 1970s. Combining archival research with oral histories of longtime residents, the chapter documents the emergence of Maré’s gangs after a variety of other non-state actors that had previously provided governance were increasingly marginalized during Brazil’s military dictatorship and as the abusive practices of police became more widespread. Maré’s incipient gang networks quickly began to compete over valuable drug-selling turf and, as the more successful ones consolidated territorial control, they expanded their organizations and governance activities. The chapter concludes with a description of the history of Rio’s prison-based factions and the marriage between these two organizational forms as the favela-based gangs integrated into these citywide networks.