In the early twentieth century, Black American theatre pioneers like Paul Laurence Dunbar and Will Marion Cook sought to redefine the stereotypical minstrel figure for white audiences. Their efforts gave rise to the ‘coon’ character, a complex representation of Black urban life that challenged traditional norms while perpetuating some harmful stereotypes. This figure played a significant role in global modernism and shaped discussions about race, appearing in works by Eugene O’Neill and Jean Genet. By the 1960s, Black American artists felt the need to reimagine the ‘coon’ character to align with a more radical political agenda, reflecting the evolving social and cultural landscape that included the advent of Black radical politics and postcolonial thought. The new figure that emerged directly challenged political disenfranchisement and cultural appropriation, creating a theatre that was far more confrontational in its exploration of race.

This chapter begins with Wu Jijue’s early years and upbringing, including his family and his education, with an eye toward the strategies that capital elites like the Wu family used to protect their status. It then turns to his long – nearly half a century – career in the capital and the provinces. As the sovereign’s man, Wu Jijue – like all merit nobles – performed a wide variety of tasks, and this chapter offers a series of snapshots to give a sense of the range of his duties, including (1) ritual officiant, (2) envoy to princely courts, (3) regional commander, and (4) participant in imperial reviews. The following chapter traces Wu Jijue’s service as a senior administrator in key military institutions with special attention to the light it sheds on the dynasty’s regularized assessment and reward of administrative performance.

1. What are your standout social work strengths? 2. In your own work or life, when could a strength also be a weakness? 3. What might you feel was a ‘significant encounter’ during the last week? Why was it significant for you and others involved? 4. What do you feel are some of the most important things that help, or get in the way of, meaningful relationship-based social work? 5. In what ways have you become aware of epistemic injustice in your work and life?

1. What parenting ideals and what moral discourses on parenthood have you encountered in the contexts of your life? 2. In your experience, what are differences between parenting ideals across different groups of parents, for example depending on gender, class, or culture? 3. In your view, how can knowledge about parenting ideals and moral discourses on parenthood be useful in social work with children and families?

This chapter is organized into four sections. First, using Wu Shixing as a focal point, it examines the role of merit nobles as envoys of the throne in missions to provincial courts and in offerings to the souls of the imperial house’s deceased members. Second, it briefly reviews the heightened prominence of military affairs during the reign of Zhengde (1505–21), including important changes to the organization of the Capital Garrisons, which was where Wu Shixing and other merit nobles held posts. Third, it considers the military laborscape of the early sixteenth century, with particular attention to how the Ming court addressed issues of ability and difference in the suppression of a series of large-scale rebellions. Fourth, this chapter returns to debates at the Ming court surrounding the education and training of merit nobles like Wu Shixing.

Chapter 7 details the retrenchment of German housing programs during the country's structural economic crisis in the 2000s. Unlike American policymakers who expanded housing programs during the 2008-2009 crisis, German leaders cut housing programs to reduce fiscal deficits and reallocate funds to education, research, and technology. Following reunification, Germany experienced a brief housing boom in the 1990s, driven by demand-side housing stimulus programs, including a mortgage interest deduction, to spur growth in eastern Germany. However, this boom soon turned into a construction bust, leaving the country with one million vacant homes and reinforcing mass unemployment and capital misallocations in the economy. For German policymakers, housing programs became structural economic problems detrimental to the manufacturing-based, export-oriented economy. In 2006, Chancellor Angela Merkel's grand coalition sacrificed major social housing and homeownership programs, despite their popularity, in the name of reviving the German export-oriented economy.