Community
Civic life
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Bureaucracy and other civic bullshit can be good for us
No one enjoys waiting in stuffy buildings or on congested roadways, but there’s an upside to our fellowship of frustration
by Joel Cox
Community
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Take a seat: the long table is an antidote to loneliness
While some consider the long, shared dining table outdated or inconvenient, it is actually a powerful social tool
by Antone Martinho-Truswell
Community
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Does embracing local customs help immigrants feel at home?
Moving from Belgrade to Toronto, learning the social ‘rules’ fostered my sense of belonging. But there’s an important caveat
by Ljiljana Radenović
Mental health across cultures
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Why a Sufi approach to healing mental illness is so powerful
In Sufi shrines, rituals offer sufferers a path beyond the fear and isolation of their mental distress
by Bhrigupati Singh
Stigma and taboo
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The families of people who commit sex crimes need care and support
While they deal with a kind of grief, the relatives of those who harm others sexually are subject to blame and judgment
by Azadeh Nematy
Poetry
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Why spoken word poetry is so much more than a poetry reading
As poetry returns to its roots as a performance art, it’s providing many with a powerful source of healing and community
by Erica Fletcher
Disability
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Blindness transformed my social world, and I changed with it
One of the biggest challenges in becoming blind late in life has been overcoming sighted people’s negative assumptions
by Jeffry Ricker
Cultural diversity
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Cultural differences are far more nuanced than East vs West
It’s simply not the case that ‘Eastern’ cultures are relationally-minded, while ‘Western’ societies are individualistic
by Matt Huston
Cooperation and collaboration
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Defining social trust is a first step toward nurturing it
Researchers agree that social trust causes many positive social outcomes. But they differ on its definition and causes
by Kevin Vallier
Play
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A game is not a game without a special kind of conflict
From 5,000-year-old boardgames to last year’s video-game blockbusters, all games feature a kind of collaborative conflict
by Eric Zimmerman
Mental health
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How a feeling that you belong could protect your mental health
Research on young adults at a time of social transition highlights the significance of feeling that you belong to a group
by Janine M Dutcher & Amber Quinn
Civic life
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Can political persuasion be something more than manipulation?
Kant argued that persuasion was a product of manipulation and deception. But it can also be a force for good in civic life
by James Kastely