The Marginalized Self questions the century-old perception of the Musahar community as rat-eating, pig-rearing, habitually drunk, lazy and unmotivated; a perception fostered by the dominant discourse of development, and the historically prevalent hierarchical social system. This collection of essays argues that these victims of the dominant model of development acquire a different kind of power and critical consciousness due to their marginality, which helps them to examine the processes, practices, and institutions that give rise to and justify poverty, displacement, corruption, greed, competition, and violence in the name of development. Ethnographic studies focussing on the Musahars have demonstrated that the people of this community are capable of offering resistance to the might of the development regime in terms of a comparative critique of modern civilization. They can assert the value of their own worldview and epistemology, and in doing so, they subvert the superiority that is generally assigned to the logical and formal schema in understanding the world, and which often speaks in contradictory, evasive, ambiguous, and metaphorical terms. The book offers insights into marginality, culture, and development in India, and will be of interest to students, scholars, practitioners and policy-makers associated with the disciplines of development studies, social work, social anthropology, critical social psychology, history, and public policy.

ìIt is a great honorÖto write the foreword to such an important book edited by E.J.R. David, filled with contributions from leading and emerging psychological scholars on internalized oppression. One of the best features of the book, in my opinion, is that the chapter authorsÖare allowed to share their own personal experiences and that such experiences are regarded to be just as valid and legitimate as the ëtheoriesí and ëempirical studiesí that they review.î -Eduardo Duran, PhD 7th Direction Therapy, Assessment, and Consulting Author of Healing the Soul Wound and Co-Author of Native American Postcolonial Psychology The oppression of various groups has taken place throughout human history. People are stereotyped, discriminated against, and treated unjustly simply because of their social group membership. But what does it look like when the oppression that people face from the outside gets under their skin? Long overdue, this is the first book to highlight the universality of internalized oppression across marginalized groups in the United States from a mental health perspective. It focuses on the psychological manifestations and mental health implications of internalized oppression for a variety of groups. The book provides insight into the ways in which internalized oppression influences the thoughts, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors of the oppressed toward themselves, other members of their group, and members of the dominant group. It also considers promising clinical and community programs that are currently addressing internalized oppression among specific groups. The book describes the implications and unique manifestations of internalized oppression among African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska natives, women, people with disabilities, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. For each group, the text considers its demographic profile, history of oppression, contemporary oppression, common manifestations and mental and behavioral health implications, clinical and community programs, and future directions. Chapters are written by leading and emerging scholars, who share their personal experiences to provide a real-world point of view. Additionally, each chapter is coauthored by a member of a particular community group, who helps to bring academic concepts to life. Key Features: Addresses the universality of internalized oppression across marginalized groups in the U.S. and its corresponding mental health and psychological manifestations Considers how specific groups exhibit internalized oppression in their own unique ways Provides insight into how internalized oppression influences the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and behaviors of the oppressed Highlights promising clinical and community programs

“This book is a daring intervention to get us back in the game—and a witty, delightfully personal meditation on collective power.” —Naomi Klein The energy on the left has never been higher. But because there are so many issues to tackle, each one more urgent and divisive than the next, some say progressives will once again fail to seize the moment and gain real power. But what if we’re getting the story all wrong? In The Marginalized Majority, Onnesha Roychoudhuri makes the galvanizing case that our plurality of identities is not only our greatest strength, but is also at the indisputable core of successful progressive change throughout history. From the civil rights movement to the Women’s March, mainstream media to Saturday Night Live, Roychoudhuri illuminates how historical narratives are written and, by holding the myths about our disenfranchisement up to the light, reveals we have far more power than we’re often led to believe. With both clear-eyed hope and electrifying power, she examines our ideas about what’s possible, and what’s necessary—opening up space for action, new realities, and, ultimately, survival. Now, Roychoudhuri urges us, is the time to fight like the majority we already are.

This is a groundbreaking application of contemporary philosophy to human rights law that proposes significant innovations for the progressive development of human rights. Drawing on the works of prominent 'philosophers of the Other' including Emmanuel Levinas, Gayatri Chakravorti Spivak, Judith Butler and, most centrally, the Argentine philosopher of liberation Enrique Dussel, this book develops an ethics based on concrete face-to-face relationships with the Marginalized Other. It proposes that this should inspire a human rights law that is grounded in transcendental justice and framed from the perspective of marginalized groups. This would continuously deconstruct the original violence found in all human rights treaties and tribunals and promote preferential treatment for the marginalized. It would be especially attentive to such issues as access to justice, voice, representation, agency and responsibility. This differs markedly from more conventional theories that prioritize the autonomy of the ego, state sovereignty, democracy and/or equality.

This volume explores how men in precarious positions in different countries and social contexts understand and experience their masculinities, focusing on men who are viewed as being marginal in a range of fields in society including the family, work, the media, and school. It provides a range of stakeholders including students, academics, researchers, and policy makers with an informed understanding of what it means to experience marginalization.

The first-century Judaic understanding of the identity and nature of the Messiah has been a much-debated topic among biblical scholars and preachers alike. So too has the messianic identity and nature of Jesus himself. Bekele Deboch informs these debates with fresh evidence outside the traditional scriptural references to miracles, and supernatural identifications by demons and God himself, as well as earthly identification by human beings. With thorough narrative criticism and analysis of contemporaneous literature, this book brings insightful new conclusions that transform our understanding of the biblical messianic identity revealed in the person of Jesus. Jesus not only self-identified with the marginalized and liminal but also experienced extreme marginality himself, to the point of shameful death on a tree. Jesus’ church around the world has the responsibility to herald his messianic identity and salvation to the marginalized of today. Bekele Deboch has followed Christ’s example of walking with the marginalized and makes here a powerful case for the church to do the same.

India's over 200 million Dalits, once called "untouchables," have been mobilized by social movements and political parties, but the outcomes of this mobilization are puzzling. Dalits' ethnic parties have performed poorly in elections in states where movements demanding social equality have been strong while they have succeeded in states where such movements have been entirely absent or weak. In Mobilizing the Marginalized, Amit Ahuja demonstrates that the collective action of marginalized groups--those that are historically stigmatized and disproportionately poor ED is distinct. Drawing on extensive original research conducted across four of India's largest states, he shows, for the marginalized, social mobilization undermines the bloc voting their ethnic parties' rely on for electoral triumph and increases multi-ethnic political parties' competition for marginalized votes. He presents evidence showing that a marginalized group gains more from participating in a social movement and dividing support among parties than from voting as a bloc for an ethnic party.