scholarly journals Cultural identity and democracy standards: Integration processes in Serbia

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 149-165
Author(s):  
Jelena Djuric

This text is aimed at showing that particularity of different cultural identities is compatible with the generality of standards - the differences can be organically included in the whole which gives them the meaning. Global meaning of the identity transformation is in the need for freedom and real democracy, that means overcoming mechanisms of instrumental reasoning and power usurpation. The process of cultural transformations requires deliberate choices which provide us identity and value to our humane standards.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-90
Author(s):  
Lilian J. Shin ◽  
Seth M. Margolis ◽  
Lisa C. Walsh ◽  
Sylvia Y. C. L. Kwok ◽  
Xiaodong Yue ◽  
...  

AbstractRecent theory suggests that members of interdependent (collectivist) cultures prioritize in-group happiness, whereas members of independent (individualist) cultures prioritize personal happiness (Uchida et al. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5(3), 223–239 Uchida et al., 2004). Thus, the well-being of friends and family may contribute more to the emotional experience of individuals with collectivist rather than individualist identities. We tested this hypothesis by asking participants to recall a kind act they had done to benefit either close others (e.g., family members) or distant others (e.g., strangers). Study 1 primed collectivist and individualist cultural identities by asking bicultural undergraduates (N = 357) from Hong Kong to recall kindnesses towards close versus distant others in both English and Chinese, while Study 2 compared university students in the USA (n = 106) and Hong Kong (n = 93). In Study 1, after being primed with the Chinese language (but not after being primed with English), participants reported significantly improved affect valence after recalling kind acts towards friends and family than after recalling kind acts towards strangers. Extending this result, in Study 2, respondents from Hong Kong (but not the USA) who recalled kind acts towards friends and family showed higher positive affect than those who recalled kind acts towards strangers. These findings suggest that people with collectivist cultural identities may have relatively more positive and less negative emotional experiences when they focus on prosocial interactions with close rather than weak ties.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon John-Stewart

Abstract Universal human rights and particular cultural identities, which are relativistic by nature, seem to stand in conflict with each other. It is commonly suggested that the relativistic natures of cultural identities undermine universal human rights and that human rights might compromise particular cultural identities in a globalised world. This article examines this supposed clash and suggests that it is possible to frame a human rights approach in such a way that it becomes the starting point and constraining framework for all non-deficient cultural identities. In other words, it is possible to depict human rights in a culturally sensitive way so that universal human rights can meet the demands of a moderate version of meta-ethical relativism which acknowledges a small universal core of objectively true or false moral statements and avers that, beyond that small core, all other moral statements are neither objectively true nor false.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alia Afiyati ◽  
Divya Widyastuti ◽  
Yoga Pratama

In a literary work, two characters can be narrated as the attention center that contains the cultural identity from certain generation. Meanwhile, a symbol actually can cause an interaction within characters. This research discusses about cultural identity and symbolic interactionism reflected in a novel. There is a novel entitled “Recipe for a Perfect Wife” by Karma Brown that tells about two female characters that are represented as a housewife from different generation. This research uses descriptive qualitative as the research methodology and content  analysis as the method in analyzing the object of the research, a novel entitled “Recipe for a Perfect Wife”. This research also uses the intrinsic approach to analyze the characterization, plot, and setting. This research reveals two kinds of a housewife. They are a housewife and working woman, and a full-housewife. This research finds five cultural identities in the past and present time that is related with a housewife reflected by two female characters in the novel by using cultural identity theory by Stuart Hall. This research also reveals the symbol and memory even three concepts of symbolic interactionism that is mind, self, and society based on symbolic interactionism theory by George Herbert Mead.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 424-441
Author(s):  
Shuang Liu ◽  
Sharon Dane ◽  
Cindy Gallois ◽  
Catherine Haslam ◽  
Tran Le Nghi Tran

This study explores different acculturation pathways that older immigrants follow, and the social/cultural identities they claim (or do not claim), as they live and age in Australia. Data were collected from 29 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with older immigrants (65+ years) from nine cultural backgrounds. We used participants’ self-defined cultural identity to explore how these cultural identities were enacted in different contexts. Mapping self-defined cultural identity with narratives about what participants do in relation to ethnic and host cultures, we found three dynamic acculturation pathways: (a) identifying with the ethnic culture while embracing aspects of Australian culture, (b) identifying with Australian culture while participating in the ethnic culture, and (c) identifying with both cultures while maintaining the way of life of the ethnic culture. These pathways show that acculturation strategies are not necessarily consistent with self-defined identity, within the same individual or over time. Rather, the participants’ narratives suggest that their life in the settlement country involves ongoing negotiation across people, culture, and relationships. The findings highlight the importance for acculturation research to be situated in the context in which immigrants find themselves, to capture the nuances of these dynamic acculturation experiences.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Maria Dias ◽  
Jennifer Paff Ogle ◽  
Sonali Diddi

Abstract With this interpretive study, we sought to understand how weaving as an activity contributed to constructing women handloom weavers’ cultural identity in the region of Ri-Bhoi, a district in Meghalaya, India, by exploring weavers’ experiences through changing tides of modernization in the handloom industry of the region. We adopted a lens of symbolic interaction to consider the ways in which interactions within the Ri-Bhoi cultural context contributed to meanings about the women’s weaving activities and their cultural identities. An ethnographic approach was implemented using participant observation, field notes/journaling, and informal and formal interviews to collect relevant data. Analyses revealed four themes representing the value that Ri-Bhoi women weavers attached to various aspects of their weaving tradition, which in turn, supported their cultural identities: (a) maintaining the tradition of weaving through acquisition and exchange of knowledge, (b) securing social support from family and community, (c) maintaining the tradition of weaving through creation of textiles that symbolize tribe and culture, and (d) achieving a sense of fulfillment (i.e., joy, happiness, and pride). Further exploration revealed that the modernization of the Ri-Bhoi handloom industry increased engagement of women in weaving and their passion to preserve their tradition, which further strengthened their connection to weaving. Implications and future research directions are discussed.


Author(s):  
Leslie L. Marsh

This chapter presents a historiography of a select group of Brazilian women's independent, alternative film and video production during the 1980s, which contributed to new definitions of citizenship during the last years of the dictatorship and the transition toward democracy. Concomitant to the goal to define new political and cultural identities, Brazilian women's alternative media at the time sought to reclaim and expand citizenship rights by intervening in understandings of brasilidade (Brazilian cultural identity) and shaping debates surrounding issues such as abortion and women's access to healthcare. The chapter then examines works by film and video maker Eunice Gutman, the Lilith Video Collective—a group of three women who dedicated themselves to bringing greater awareness to women's issues as the Brazilian constitution was being rewritten, and the feminist nongovernmental organization SOS-Corpo.


Author(s):  
Susanne Günthner

AbstractThis paper examines “insulting remarks” and “stylized category animations” as communicative practices in interactions among young men with a migrant background living in Germany. On the basis of a detailed investigation of informal interactions among young men in various German youth centers, I will show how the participants make use of these communicative practices as interactional resources to contextualize “belonging”/“association” versus “otherness” in transmigrational contexts. As part of their communicative household, these practices are closely connected to the construction of a cultural identity among these young men. I will argue that focusing on the development and dynamics of communicative practices can provide new insight into the workings of social and cultural identities as well as into linguistic diversity in modern societies.


Author(s):  
Ellen F Arnold

This paper uses the work of Late Antique (4th-6th century) Latin poets to demonstrate the ways that pre-modern sources can be a part of scholarly discussions of the development of environmental imaginations and can usefully contribute to the development of the environmental humanities. The three poets (Ausonius, Sidonius Apollinaris, and Venantius Fortunatus) have many works that explore and describe nature; one theme that emerges is that they closely connected the rivers of Gaul to their concerns over political and cultural identity. Rivers, including the Rhone and the Mosel, were intricately woven into the daily life and cultural identities of 4th-6th century Gaul, and were both tangible and fluid political boundaries. These poems use rivers to confirm cultural identities, validate the Christian cultural experience, and express broader cultural and political concerns about cultural integration and hybridity. Resumen En este ensayo se utilizan textos de poetas latinos de la antigüedad tardía (siglos IV y VI) para demostrar cómo algunos recursos pre-modernos pueden formar parte de discusiones académicas sobre el desarrollo de la imaginación ambiental y contribuir al desarrollo de las humanidades ambientales. Los tres poetas que se discuten aquí—Ausonio, Sidonio Apolinar y Venancio Fortunato—tienen obras que exploran y describen la naturaleza. Uno de los temas que surgen es que ellos conectan los ríos de la Galia con su  preocupación por la identidad política y cultural.  Algunos ríos, entre ellos el Ródano y el Mosela, eran fronteras políticas fluidas y tangibles que estaban intrincadamente relacionadas con la vida diaria y las identidades culturales de la Galia durante los siglos IV y VI. Estos poemas usan los ríos para confirmar las identidades culturales, validar la experiencia cultural cristiana, y expresar profundas inquietudes culturales y políticas sobre la integración cultural y la hibridez.  


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