Knowledge for Nonviolent Social Change

Our featured article for the coming 2 weeks is titled “Transcendent Pluralism: A Middle-Range Theory of Nonviolent Social Transformation Through Human and Ecological Dignity” by Donna J. Perry, PhD, RN.  Dr. Perry identifies transcendent pluralism as a framework for advancing human dignity.  She further explains:

The social problems impacting health cannot adequately be addressed within the health care encounter or within traditional health care settings. Problems such as racism, social injustice and violence are rooted in the social structure and underlying culture. They must also be addressed at these levels. Nursing as a discipline has a critical role to play in the transformation of society. But to move in this direction we need to advance knowledge in domains such as peace building, social justice, human rights and environmental sustainability. Recently the United Nations released an important document, “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This document includes 17 goals for sustainable development on our plant including health, peace and equality. Nursing has a critical role to play in this transformation. But to do so we must expand the horizons of disciplinary knowledge development. The article in this journal on transcendent pluralism provides one approach toward using knowledge for social change.

This article is available for free download on the ANS website while it is featured.  I invite you to read the article and return here to share your comments.