In the midst of current debates about the accessibility of public spaces, resurfacing as a result of highly visible demonstrations and occupations, this book illuminates an overlooked domain of civic participation: the office, workshop, or building where activist groups meet to organize and plan acts of political dissent and collective participation. Author Nandini Bagchee examines three re-purposed buildings on the Lower East Side that have been used by activists to launch actions over the past forty years. The Peace Pentagon was the headquarters of the anti-war movement, El Bohio was a metaphoric “hut” that envisioned the Puerto Rican Community as a steward of the environment, and ABC No Rio, appropriated from a storefront sign with missing letters, was a catchy punk name that appealed to the anarchistic sensibility of the artists that ran a storefront gallery in a run-down tenement. In a captivating discussion of buildings and urban settings as important components of progressive struggles in New York City over more than a century, Bagchee reveals how these collectively organized spaces have provided a venue for political participation while existing as a vital part of the city’s civic infrastructure. The “counter institution” explored in this book represents both a conceptual and a literal struggle to create a space for civic action in a city that is built upon real estate speculation. The author reveals the fascinating tension between the impermanence of the insurgent activist practices and the permanent but maintenance heavy aspects of architecture. The actors she vividly describes—the war resisters, the Puerto Rican organizers, the housing activists, the punks and artists—all seized the opportunity to create what are seen as “activist estates,” at a time and in a place where urban life itself was under attack. And now, when many such self-organized “activist” buildings are imperiled by the finance-driven real estate market that is New York City, this book takes stock and provides visibility to these under recognized citizens’ initiatives. Counter Institution is an innovative work that intersects architecture, urban design practices, and geography (cartography) on the one hand, with history, politics, and sociology on the other. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of activism in New York City and how the city can inspire and encourage political engagement. Through its beautifully illustrated pages—where drawings, maps, timelines, and photographs underline the connections between people, politics, and space—readers will discover new ways to imagine buildings as a critical part of the civic infrastructure and a vital resource for the future.

This is an account of Jacques Derrida's involvement in debates about the university. Derrida has long argued that philosophy simultaneously belongs and does not belong to the university. This book asks whether a broader tension between 'belonging' and 'not belonging' also forms the basis of Derrida's political thinking and activism.

Counter Institution is a history of three re-purposed buildings in the Lower East Side--Peace Pentagon, ABC No Rio, and El Bohio--that have been used by activists as their headquarters to launch various actions over the past forty years.

Psychiatry is a medical field concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental health conditions. Routledge Library Editions: Psychiatry (24 Volume set) brings together titles, originally published between 1958 and 1997. The set demonstrates the varied nature of mental health and how we as a society deal with it. Covering a number of areas including child and adolescent psychiatry, alternatives to psychiatry, the history of mental health and psychiatric epidemiology.

If today’s cities are full of injustices, what would a 'Just City' look like? Contributors to this volume including David Harvey, Peter Marcuse and Susan Fainstein define the concept, examining it from multiple angles in addition to questioning it and suggesting alternatives.

In September 1969, Ted Clark, Dennis Jaffe, and Yvonne Durchfort (now Yvonne Jaffe) started "Number Nine", a crisis telephone line. Initially this was an attempt to discover from young people themselves exactly what the needs of young people were, in order that a program relevant to those needs might be developed. The crisis line program, in itself, proved useful and meaningful to young people as they began calling in increasing numbers. Since many community agencies – through their insistence that young people cooperate with a value system that does not engender trust – alienated themselves from these young people, it became increasingly imperative that the crisis line expand its resources to include counseling, a crash pad, a residential program, and a drop-in center. As an alternative to those agencies who insist on viewing drug use as a problem per se and who do not focus their attentions on family, school, and personal relationships in general, "Number Nine" offered realistic and reachable solutions. Originally published in 1973, Toward a Radical Therapy is a collection of essays concerning numerous issues which the authors encountered during the development of an alternative service – an organization which reflects the values and experiences of young people (the counter-culture), rather than the values of the established social order, as a necessary step toward helping people cope with their problems. The ideas expounded in these working papers are the outcome of experiences and experiments in attempting to effect personal and organizational changes basic to creating an alternative culture. Concurrent with the writing of this book, the authors discovered numerous conflicts occurring at all levels of program and institutional development, as well as within themselves. Personal changes become necessarily interrelated with social change and organizational structuring. Counseling had to be redefined as existing theories and methodologies were limited in their ability to comprehend the constant changes that youth were undergoing at the time.

Sociology of Discourse takes the perspective that collective actors like social movements are capable of creating social change from below by creating new institutions through alternative discourses. Institutionalization becomes a process of moving away from existing institutions towards creating new ones. While discourses entail openness and enable the questioning of what is instituted, institutions offer continuity and stability to social mobilizations. This dual movement of openness and stabilization explains how social struggles ensure their continuity, without completely assuming the logic of the dominant order. The book proposes an analytical model of social change, which is unfolded through three intertwined areas: discourse, communication, and institution. Collective experiences of social change, from the anti-globalization movement to Occupy, illustrate the main theoretical points and concepts. Through the example of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages, the book concludes by analyzing how social change from below is possible.