In the complex world of conservation and poverty alleviation, ambient noises can be deafening.  Listening to the right people, in the right context with a non-biased mindset not only demonstrates respect but saves precious time and resources as you craft solutions to global problems.   Jamie demonstrates – in a lively romp through jungles, villages, oceans and boardrooms – how our environment and its inhabitants present constant clues for solutions if we are present enough to tune-out the ambient noise and tune in to the message: today matters.

Bringing her unique perspective from working as a marine biologist, environmental lawyer, and chief executive officer, Jamie shares with her audience the crucial role that listening plays in fostering solutions in the natural and human worlds. Perhaps most importantly, Jamie’s experiences provide a powerful and inspirational voice for a new way to drive global change by engaging the people whose voices too often go unheard: women.

Jenny Norton Research Cluster – During the upcoming academic year, the research cluster will continue to focus on theories of intersectionality and feminist knowledge within a global and transnational framework as well as those that acknowledge the continuing importance of the nation-state in the construction of identities, desires, and culture.  In this way, we intend to rigorously theorize the politics of knowledge that we research and teach beyond a primarily US-centered analysis of the relationships of women and communities of color to the nation-state but see these phenomenon as also constructing of and at times constructed by an increasingly globalizing and transnationalizing world.  Feminist intersectionality is important and useful in exploring the tensions of the US and other nation-states maintaining ideological borders in the face of transnational economies and other processes; these tensions further require the development of a set of feminist theoretical tools that emerge from the global realities of our contemporary societies and our university itself.  Questions that we will continue to ask and address in our works include: What are the possibilities and limits of intersectionality’s utility within a global context?  How do feminists engage notions of citizenship, the nation, nationalism, postcoloniality, globalization, transnationalism, and thus theorize specifically situated men and women’s relationships to postcolonial landscapes, neoliberal, and newly colonized geographies? How can we theorize the relationship between First World and Third/Second World women within this notion? Also, what does it mean for indigenous peoples globally who are both racially categorized and politically organized as neither fully sovereign nations nor fully citizens within the nation state? How do we explain the contradictions of democratic governance and the unfulfilled promises of citizenship within a global economy and increasing globalized culture? What theories can provide a path for coalition building across real differences and national borders?

This Research Cluster is sponsored by the Norton Fund. The Reverend Jenny Norton has provided funding to support an annual Research Cluster at the IHR. The Norton fund is designed to stimulate research on women in any field and on any topic. The Jenny Norton Research Cluster receives an award up to $1,750 to support their activities and may include partial or full support for a visiting scholar.

How do we find just solutions to complex social problems?

We are an innovative interdisciplinary unit that places social justice at the center of our scholarship and teaching. For more than 25 years, we have been the intellectual hub for the study of justice at ASU and beyond by producing cross-disciplinary knowledge and educating generations of social change agents and justice studies scholars.

We REVEAL intersecting forms of injustice
Inquiry into the sources and manifestations of inequality is the starting point for much of our scholarship. Inequalities are built into our social life and public policies. Intersecting forms of injustice based on race, gender, class, sexual orientation and legal status, among other factors, are further shaped by political realignments, economic globalization and technological and cultural change.

We ENGAGE multiple visions of justice
Local and global processes hinder as well as engender visions for a just society. Visions of justice might focus on short-term management of problems or the long-term restructuring of entrenched inequalities and empowerment of communities. Justice and Social Inquiry faculty and students engage with practitioners, decision makers and other social change agents to identify sustainable solutions to difficult social problems.

We TRANSFORM pathways to justice
People organize for justice in a variety of ways. Vulnerable, exploited or marginalized communities draw on local and global resources to resist inequality and create resilient and thriving communities. Multi-disciplinary social inquiry allows scholars and community leaders to translate lessons learned during one historical moment or location to solutions appropriate for emerging social justice concerns.

“Arizonans owe much to those who came first”, by Richard DeUriarte

https://ramseyexecutive.asu.edu/

Norton and Ramsey Sustainability Scholarship

The Norton and Ramsey Sustainability Scholarship is a $1,000 scholarship awarded each year to a School of Sustainability undergraduate major (sophomore level or higher). This student is interested in pursuing studies about how populations facing poverty and social justice issues may be more likely to benefit from sustainability practices and/or may have ideas worthy of documenting and sharing to help society at large.  Established in 2009 with a gift from the Rev. Jenny Norton and Bob Ramsey to advance the new School of Sustainability, this was the first endowed scholarship for undergraduate students. Norton and Ramsey are deeply committed to the environment and to related causes such as building LEED homes for Habitat for Humanity. As a former legislator, Norton was instrumental in many environmental initiatives in Arizona, including the Central Arizona Project and the use of alternative fuels.  Eligibility: Must be a full-time undergraduate Sustainability major (sophomore level or higher) interested in issues of poverty and social justice. Must have a minimum cumulative ASU GPA of 3.00.  An essay of approximately 500 words is required for this scholarship and should focus on how the topic is 1) related to the field of sustainability with a focus on “lessons learned for, and also by, the less fortunate,” and 2) inclusive of individuals and communities who are living in poverty or near poverty in our society.

Jenny and Bob are collaborating with Arizona State University, the City of Tempe, Habitat for Humanity, Habitat para la Humanidad Guatemala, and New Course on a mission for Mother Earth that will create entire neighborhoods of healthy, sustainable, affordable houses in Victory Acres, Tempe, as well as in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Santa Lucia Milpas Altas, and Santa Lucia Utatlán in Guatemala.