Papers by Shawn Cassiman
Journal of Women Politics & Policy, 2008
ABSTRACT. This focus group study examined the impact of income transfer programs such as Suppleme... more ABSTRACT. This focus group study examined the impact of income transfer programs such as Supplemental Security Income and the Wisconsin Caretaker Supplement from the perspective of low‐income mothers with disabilities who are recipients of these programs. Participants reported that these programs were inadequate to meet their basic day to day needs in raising their children. Problems related to policy implementation identified by the women included inconsistently applied program rules, inadequate benefit levels, and ...
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This paper seeks to reinvigorate/reimagine our conceptualization of ‘the commons’, ... more ""Abstract
This paper seeks to reinvigorate/reimagine our conceptualization of ‘the commons’, by drawing attention to globalization, consumption, and waste production. In this paper I draw upon Bauman’s (2004) discussion of wasted humans, discussions of redundancy and Schram (2013) and Standing’s (2011) discussion of Precarity to argue that ‘the commons’ must be enlarged to include not only the natural environment, but must also include the human beings (commoners) that inhabit the natural world. In other words, I seek to draw attention to the relationship between the consumption and waste of ‘the commons’ and ‘commoners’ in the process of neoliberal globalization.
"
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This chapter examines the discursive constructions of debt, deficits and austerity in service to ... more This chapter examines the discursive constructions of debt, deficits and austerity in service to neoliberal globalization. Drawing in particular upon the relatively recent turn toward austerity in Europe as enforced by the “troika” of the European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank, and the continuing “deficit crisis” in the United States, I argue that indeed, there is a crisis, but that the crisis is a continuation of the “there is no alternative” to capitalism discourse, or a crisis of imagination. I argue for the potential of the Occupy Wall Street movement’s debt refusal campaign to provide a much-needed alternative to the neoliberal austerity discourse.
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Abstract
Activists and academics have been sounding the alarms for years: climate change, global... more Abstract
Activists and academics have been sounding the alarms for years: climate change, globalization, capitalism, human rights abuses, and more. The alarms appeared to fall upon the deaf ears of the slumbering ‘multitude’. The Arab Spring, European movements, global and local attacks upon labor, and the Occupy Wall Street movement have awakened us from a slumber reliant upon vacuous media, consumption, alienation and isolationism. In shattering this spell, Occupy Wall Street has called us into the streets in record numbers, opening space for a new opportunity to imagine. Some scholars argue, “…we need Marxism to understand the structure of society and anarchism to prefigure or anticipate a new society” (Lynd and Grubacic 2008:xiii). We agree. In this article, we employ a local Occupy case study to briefly discuss 1) the historical contributions to Occupy Wall Street, 2) and to argue that it is precisely the opportunity to imagine, to anticipate, to challenge the ‘real’ that holds the most promise for the development, and future, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Keywords
Anarchism, alterglobalization, imagination, globalization, neoliberalism, Occupy Wall Street Movement.
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This chapter draws upon original research with single-mothers with impairments living in poverty ... more This chapter draws upon original research with single-mothers with impairments living in poverty that details their resistance to social constructions of “bad” or “unfit” mothers, welfare recipients and disabled mothers. Their resistance strategies highlight how policy boundaries and the margins of motherhood are constructed and deconstructed through interactions with agency workers, medical professionals and the general public and perceptions of themselves as suspect mothers and welfare recipients. The interview data and corresponding analysis indicates that these women straddle many borders and in the process are constructed/construct themselves as both heroic resistors and victims of oppression. They occupy policy borderlands, qualifying for disability benefits, but requiring additional support for their children available through “welfare”. Welfare receipt in the United States carries with it a particular stigma of bad or lazy mothers. They occupy the borders of motherhood and resist social constructions of themselves as “bad” mothers by demonstrating and arguing their commitment to their children. Their everyday resistance emphasizes the limited policy support for mothers in the United States following welfare reform, the impact and stigma associated with disability, and the self-less dedication demanded of all women that choose to mother in such an environment.
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UMI, ProQuest ® Dissertations & Theses. The world's most comprehensive c... more UMI, ProQuest ® Dissertations & Theses. The world's most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses. Learn more... ProQuest, Everyday resistance among poor disabled single mothers. by Cassiman, Shawn A., Ph ...
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Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that income inequality within a nation influences health... more Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that income inequality within a nation influences health outcomes net of the effect of any given household’s absolute income. We tested the hypothesis that state-level income inequality in the United States is associated with increased family burden for care and health-related expenditures for low-income families of children with special health care needs. We analyzed the 2005-06 wave of the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, a probability sample of approximately 750 children with special health care needs in each state and the District of Columbia in the U.S. Our measure of state-level income inequality was the Gini coefficient. Dependent measures of family caregiving burden included whether the parent received help arranging or coordinating the child’s care and whether the parent stopped working due to the child’s health. Dependent measures of family financial burden included absolute burden (spending in past 12 months for child’s health care needs) and relative burden (spending as a proportion of total family income). After controlling for a host of child, family, and state factors, including family income and measures of the severity of a child’s impairments, state-level income inequality has a significant and independent association with family burden related to the health care of their children with special health care needs. Families of children with special health care needs living in states with greater levels of income inequality report higher rates of absolute and relative financial burden.
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"The goals of this paper are to explore the utility of a narrative
policy analysis, to locate th... more "The goals of this paper are to explore the utility of a narrative
policy analysis, to locate the origins of the dependency narrative in
poverty policy, examine social work’s contribution to the narrative, and to
discuss the potential for advancing a strong counter-narrative, organized
within a trauma paradigm. This paper incorporates a historical review of
the development of the dependency narrative and the construction of the
deviant “welfare queen.” The conclusion offers an example of a compelling
counter-narrative integrating economic/structural violence (poverty)
and the trauma paradigm and offers a framework for reconceptualizing
social welfare policy."
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Sociology Compass, Jan 1, 2009
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This focus group study examined the impact of income
transfer programs such as Supplemental Secur... more This focus group study examined the impact of income
transfer programs such as Supplemental Security Income and the
Wisconsin Caretaker Supplement from the perspective of low-income
mothers with disabilities who are recipients of these programs.
Participants reported that these programs were inadequate to meet
their basic day to day needs in raising their children. Problems related
to policy implementation identified by the women included inconsistently
applied program rules, inadequate benefit levels, and
confusion over work requirements as they affect benefits. Policy
implications and recommendations for improving the quality of life
for this population are discussed.
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"This article describes the impact of both neo-liberal and conservative discourse
upon poverty p... more "This article describes the impact of both neo-liberal and conservative discourse
upon poverty policy and welfare reform. In it, I summarize the discursive construction
of welfare queens and deadbeat dads and the influence upon welfare
reform while incorporating globalization in the discursive critique. This paper
also describes the resistance to the discourse evidenced by those most affected by
the poverty or welfare reform discourse. I suggest ways of critically examining
our own discourse as well as the welfare reform discourse and our participation
in it or resistance to it. The conclusion questions assumptions about dependency,
welfare receipt and justice."
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This article reports on a focus-group study that examined the experiences and perspectives of
low... more This article reports on a focus-group study that examined the experiences and perspectives of
low-income mothers with disabilities who were receiving disability income transfers. The
women faced severe deprivation and multilayered hardships. Their impairments were not their
central problem, but they intersected with the challenges associated with the women’s poverty
and single-parent status. The women coped with or resisted their hardships by serving as advocates
for their and their children’s needs, accessing resources from safety-net services and their
families, and relying on their religious beliefs. The women’s aspirations included setting a
moral example for their children, securing a better life for their children, and wanting to work.
Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
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This paper posits that specialization within disciplines
has enabled a fragmentation of knowledge... more This paper posits that specialization within disciplines
has enabled a fragmentation of knowledge in poverty research, which results
in individualistic explanations for poverty that arise naturally from
disconnects inherent in isolating frameworks. It proposes that the use of
a traumatological framework provides nuances of argument missing
from previous discussions, which may allow us to more critically examine
the ‘culture of poverty’ thesis. Such an examination may lead us to
consider an alternative explanation. Rather than inherent cultural attributes,
descriptors of poverty populations may be manifestations of the
symptoms produced by the violence of poverty and other life experiences,
and the resultant trauma.
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The Social Policy Journal, Jan 1, 2006
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Media Contributions by Shawn Cassiman
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Papers by Shawn Cassiman
This paper seeks to reinvigorate/reimagine our conceptualization of ‘the commons’, by drawing attention to globalization, consumption, and waste production. In this paper I draw upon Bauman’s (2004) discussion of wasted humans, discussions of redundancy and Schram (2013) and Standing’s (2011) discussion of Precarity to argue that ‘the commons’ must be enlarged to include not only the natural environment, but must also include the human beings (commoners) that inhabit the natural world. In other words, I seek to draw attention to the relationship between the consumption and waste of ‘the commons’ and ‘commoners’ in the process of neoliberal globalization.
"
Activists and academics have been sounding the alarms for years: climate change, globalization, capitalism, human rights abuses, and more. The alarms appeared to fall upon the deaf ears of the slumbering ‘multitude’. The Arab Spring, European movements, global and local attacks upon labor, and the Occupy Wall Street movement have awakened us from a slumber reliant upon vacuous media, consumption, alienation and isolationism. In shattering this spell, Occupy Wall Street has called us into the streets in record numbers, opening space for a new opportunity to imagine. Some scholars argue, “…we need Marxism to understand the structure of society and anarchism to prefigure or anticipate a new society” (Lynd and Grubacic 2008:xiii). We agree. In this article, we employ a local Occupy case study to briefly discuss 1) the historical contributions to Occupy Wall Street, 2) and to argue that it is precisely the opportunity to imagine, to anticipate, to challenge the ‘real’ that holds the most promise for the development, and future, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Keywords
Anarchism, alterglobalization, imagination, globalization, neoliberalism, Occupy Wall Street Movement.
policy analysis, to locate the origins of the dependency narrative in
poverty policy, examine social work’s contribution to the narrative, and to
discuss the potential for advancing a strong counter-narrative, organized
within a trauma paradigm. This paper incorporates a historical review of
the development of the dependency narrative and the construction of the
deviant “welfare queen.” The conclusion offers an example of a compelling
counter-narrative integrating economic/structural violence (poverty)
and the trauma paradigm and offers a framework for reconceptualizing
social welfare policy."
transfer programs such as Supplemental Security Income and the
Wisconsin Caretaker Supplement from the perspective of low-income
mothers with disabilities who are recipients of these programs.
Participants reported that these programs were inadequate to meet
their basic day to day needs in raising their children. Problems related
to policy implementation identified by the women included inconsistently
applied program rules, inadequate benefit levels, and
confusion over work requirements as they affect benefits. Policy
implications and recommendations for improving the quality of life
for this population are discussed.
upon poverty policy and welfare reform. In it, I summarize the discursive construction
of welfare queens and deadbeat dads and the influence upon welfare
reform while incorporating globalization in the discursive critique. This paper
also describes the resistance to the discourse evidenced by those most affected by
the poverty or welfare reform discourse. I suggest ways of critically examining
our own discourse as well as the welfare reform discourse and our participation
in it or resistance to it. The conclusion questions assumptions about dependency,
welfare receipt and justice."
low-income mothers with disabilities who were receiving disability income transfers. The
women faced severe deprivation and multilayered hardships. Their impairments were not their
central problem, but they intersected with the challenges associated with the women’s poverty
and single-parent status. The women coped with or resisted their hardships by serving as advocates
for their and their children’s needs, accessing resources from safety-net services and their
families, and relying on their religious beliefs. The women’s aspirations included setting a
moral example for their children, securing a better life for their children, and wanting to work.
Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
has enabled a fragmentation of knowledge in poverty research, which results
in individualistic explanations for poverty that arise naturally from
disconnects inherent in isolating frameworks. It proposes that the use of
a traumatological framework provides nuances of argument missing
from previous discussions, which may allow us to more critically examine
the ‘culture of poverty’ thesis. Such an examination may lead us to
consider an alternative explanation. Rather than inherent cultural attributes,
descriptors of poverty populations may be manifestations of the
symptoms produced by the violence of poverty and other life experiences,
and the resultant trauma.
Media Contributions by Shawn Cassiman
This paper seeks to reinvigorate/reimagine our conceptualization of ‘the commons’, by drawing attention to globalization, consumption, and waste production. In this paper I draw upon Bauman’s (2004) discussion of wasted humans, discussions of redundancy and Schram (2013) and Standing’s (2011) discussion of Precarity to argue that ‘the commons’ must be enlarged to include not only the natural environment, but must also include the human beings (commoners) that inhabit the natural world. In other words, I seek to draw attention to the relationship between the consumption and waste of ‘the commons’ and ‘commoners’ in the process of neoliberal globalization.
"
Activists and academics have been sounding the alarms for years: climate change, globalization, capitalism, human rights abuses, and more. The alarms appeared to fall upon the deaf ears of the slumbering ‘multitude’. The Arab Spring, European movements, global and local attacks upon labor, and the Occupy Wall Street movement have awakened us from a slumber reliant upon vacuous media, consumption, alienation and isolationism. In shattering this spell, Occupy Wall Street has called us into the streets in record numbers, opening space for a new opportunity to imagine. Some scholars argue, “…we need Marxism to understand the structure of society and anarchism to prefigure or anticipate a new society” (Lynd and Grubacic 2008:xiii). We agree. In this article, we employ a local Occupy case study to briefly discuss 1) the historical contributions to Occupy Wall Street, 2) and to argue that it is precisely the opportunity to imagine, to anticipate, to challenge the ‘real’ that holds the most promise for the development, and future, of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Keywords
Anarchism, alterglobalization, imagination, globalization, neoliberalism, Occupy Wall Street Movement.
policy analysis, to locate the origins of the dependency narrative in
poverty policy, examine social work’s contribution to the narrative, and to
discuss the potential for advancing a strong counter-narrative, organized
within a trauma paradigm. This paper incorporates a historical review of
the development of the dependency narrative and the construction of the
deviant “welfare queen.” The conclusion offers an example of a compelling
counter-narrative integrating economic/structural violence (poverty)
and the trauma paradigm and offers a framework for reconceptualizing
social welfare policy."
transfer programs such as Supplemental Security Income and the
Wisconsin Caretaker Supplement from the perspective of low-income
mothers with disabilities who are recipients of these programs.
Participants reported that these programs were inadequate to meet
their basic day to day needs in raising their children. Problems related
to policy implementation identified by the women included inconsistently
applied program rules, inadequate benefit levels, and
confusion over work requirements as they affect benefits. Policy
implications and recommendations for improving the quality of life
for this population are discussed.
upon poverty policy and welfare reform. In it, I summarize the discursive construction
of welfare queens and deadbeat dads and the influence upon welfare
reform while incorporating globalization in the discursive critique. This paper
also describes the resistance to the discourse evidenced by those most affected by
the poverty or welfare reform discourse. I suggest ways of critically examining
our own discourse as well as the welfare reform discourse and our participation
in it or resistance to it. The conclusion questions assumptions about dependency,
welfare receipt and justice."
low-income mothers with disabilities who were receiving disability income transfers. The
women faced severe deprivation and multilayered hardships. Their impairments were not their
central problem, but they intersected with the challenges associated with the women’s poverty
and single-parent status. The women coped with or resisted their hardships by serving as advocates
for their and their children’s needs, accessing resources from safety-net services and their
families, and relying on their religious beliefs. The women’s aspirations included setting a
moral example for their children, securing a better life for their children, and wanting to work.
Implications for policy and practice are discussed.
has enabled a fragmentation of knowledge in poverty research, which results
in individualistic explanations for poverty that arise naturally from
disconnects inherent in isolating frameworks. It proposes that the use of
a traumatological framework provides nuances of argument missing
from previous discussions, which may allow us to more critically examine
the ‘culture of poverty’ thesis. Such an examination may lead us to
consider an alternative explanation. Rather than inherent cultural attributes,
descriptors of poverty populations may be manifestations of the
symptoms produced by the violence of poverty and other life experiences,
and the resultant trauma.