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In recent years, scholars have taken increased interest in the existential dimensions of human im/mobility largely to trace how growing numbers of persons across the globe are pressed to navigate increasingly restrictive mobility regimes. The focus on restrictive contexts has, however, deterred researchers from considering experiences of well-being in precarious conditions. This paper shows how a place-based approach to the study of im/mobility can address this gap by directing scholarly attention to supportive places that promote the well-being of various groups facing limited social conditions. Drawing upon phenomenological healthcare studies, I theorize existential well-being as a dialectic of dwelling-mobility, and study how an increasingly visible supportive place on college campuses in California—namely, the Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC)—impacts the existential experiences of undocumented students involved in its operations. I theorize 'place' from a sociocultural psychological perspective, viewing USRCs as dynamic, psycho-social-material realities produced by USRC staff and students involved in distinct meaning-making practices. I then discuss research conducted with an USRC in Northern California to show how its distinct socio-material design and psychosocial practices contributed to the development of existential well-being in undocumented students. I conclude that a place-based approach to the study of existential im/mobility can shed light on well-being experiences that are not dependent on the eradication of restrictive mobility regimes and (as such) can contribute to social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current debates about cultural change question how and how often change in personal culture happens. Is personal culture stable, or under constant revision through interaction with the environment? While recent empirical work finds attitudes are remarkably stable, this paper argues that typifications—how material tokens are classified as a particular mental type by individuals—are more open to transformation as a result of the fundamentally fuzzy nature of classifying. Specifically, this paper investigates the social conditions that lead people to reclassify. How do we move people to see the same thing differently over time? Paying attention to type–token dynamics provides mechanisms for why and under what circumstances personal culture may change. To assess reclassification, the paper analyzes an online survey experiment that asked people to classify refrigerators as owned by "Trump" or "Biden" voters. Those participants who received definitive feedback about the correct answer were more likely to reclassify than are those receiving normative feedback about how "most people" classified the images. Implications for cultural change and persuasion are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking cue from Abdelahad Sebti's study of the social history of the zaṭāṭ (زطَا طَ) (the escort who in precolonial Morocco was hired to protect travellers from highway robbers and thieves), this paper attempts, in the words of Edward Said (1996. Representations of the Intellectual: The 1993 Reith Lectures. New York: Vintage Books, XV), a 'coherent description' of the vocation of the Moroccan intellectual in a public sphere characterised by a crisis in hegemony and public distrust of institutional politics. I argue that the Moroccan intellectual tends to avoid engagement with radical politics that aim to create social disorder (al-siba) or unrest (fitna), and embraces instead hybrid approaches that alternate resilience and resistance, dissent and compromise, critique of the a'mma (the general public) and state politics, and advocacy for endogenous 'reforms from within' over drastic social change. In this, the intellectual emulates the role of the zaṭāṭ in that they see their function as a road architect, social navigation engineer, and a link in a plural and contesting social and political organisation. The paper uses the hirak movement in northern Morocco as a case study to illustrate the role of the intellectual as a mediator of social contention. While there are different ways to 'speak the truth to power', confrontation has been the least favoured style of the Moroccan intellectual who has generally conceived of their role as a facilitator of social peace rather than an instigator of revolt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In 2006, the United Nations agreed the Convention On the Rights Of Persons With Disabilities. Article 19, 'Living independently and being included in the community' sets out the 'equal rights of all persons with disabilities to live in the community, with choices equal to others...' A generation earlier, a small group of activists had come together at the invitation of the King's Fund—a major United Kingdom charity—to produce (in February 1980) the first pamphlet in an extensive series of contributions to improving the lives of people with learning disabilities. This became the An Ordinary Life initiative. I choose the generic word 'initiative'. This was not a government policy change—in England we had to wait until 2001 for the White Paper Valuing People to catch up with progressive practice. It was not a project as usually understood, although it inspired many local projects across the country. Rather this first pamphlet became the common currency for the emergence of a social movement aspiring to end the institutionalisation of disabled people (in 1980 there were still more than 50,000 people with learning disabilities living their lives in British institutions and many more at risk of this when no longer able to rely on parental support) and ensure their right to live like others in the community. The Narrative: My narrative here, writing as a participant, focuses on the period 1980–2001. It tells the story of how these activists—energised by scandal, international innovation and most importantly by personal experience—created a compelling vision of this better future, communicated this vision and helped to mobilise widespread action to deliver progress. It describes how good people were inventive in finding better ways of listening to people with learning disabilities and arranging ordinary housing and support to meet their aspirations. It considers how regional and national agencies created mutually‐reinforcing elements in the infrastructure necessary to strengthen the local capacities required for success. Lessons: My account also offers an interpretive commentary on how transformative change was achieved. There was no grand plan. Emerging leaders, who appreciated the urgent need for change, inspired and learned from each other in ever‐expanding networks. Serendipity often played a part, strategy developed through experience and change proceeded by what has been called 'scaling across'. Effectively the King's Fund and its allies created a system for continuous learning to support vision‐driven innovation. There are lessons here for meeting the unfinished business of achieving An Ordinary Life in the 2020s. Accessible summary: When this Journal started 50 years ago, very many people still lived in large and isolated places called institutions. My sister was one of these people.In 1980, a major British charity said that everyone has the right to live An Ordinary Life.This article tells the story of how this idea made a big difference in many people's lives.The story suggests lessons for how more people can get the lives they want in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]