The multi-dimensional analysis of social exclusion

The purpose of this project was to review existing sources on multi-dimensional disadvantage or severe forms of social exclusion characterised as ‘deep exclusion’; to recommend possibilities for secondary analysis of existing data sets to explore the dynamics of ‘deep exclusion’; to identify any relevant gaps in the knowledge base; and to recommend research strategies for filling such gaps

The government has misrepresented research findings on 'troubled families', blaming the poor, not coalition policies, for rising poverty levels

The government’s use of multiple deprivation as a proxy for anti-social behaviour implies that poorer people are all potential criminals. Ruth Levitas argues that the government’s policies either illustrate a statistical incompetency or conceal rising levels of poverty spilling from government policy

In eine bess’re Welt entrückt: Reflections on Music and Utopia

ABSTRACT Schubert’s lied An die musik celebrates music’s capacity to transport the listener or performer into a better world. That capacity renders music utopian for it is this better world and the experience of its prefiguration that is the defining character of utopianism. This article explores the ways in which music may be distinctive in its utopian force, and thus suggests several approaches to researching the underdeveloped area of music and utopia. It draws particularly on Ernst Bloch’s analysis and on work by Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said to argue that there are two distinct aspects to the ‘special case’ for music: abstraction or unutterability, and performance. Neither of these elements is straightforward, since neither is peculiar to music, although they are arguably present in music in distinct ways, rendering it qualitatively different from other forms of utopian expression.</jats:p