We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
This paper focuses on the concept of feminism with a stress on the novelistic trends of feminist fiction in the Middle East. We will discuss representative feminist literary works during the contemporary feminist movement. Feminist literature is considered to be creative work because it advocates for women’s causes and because they defend their freedom and rights. We will focus on the idea that critical feminist works impacted societies throughout history and helped women get their freedom and independence, even though feminist literature is considered to be focused on the different shapes of sexuality. We analyze the Feminist Movement of the Middle East through Muslim culture influenced by the West. They consider that the Arab world is experiencing a global crisis with a series of underlying structural problems extending to cultural conflict. The condition and position of women in the Islamic world are one of the most controversial and studied issues in the last decades.
More...
The text aims to draw attention to the language policy involved in the processes of constructing the cultural identity of minorities. Discussion focuses on the two basic dichotomies of assimilationism-isolationism and empowerment-objectification and indicates selected aspects of language policy and educational practices in France, China and Israel.
More...
Rusyns. They claim they are not Ukrainian, but a distinct nation. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, there has been a revival of the Rusyn people in several countries, where they managed to be recognized as a distinct minority. As a consequence, this raised the question of their true identity, but so far there are relatively few studies dealing with this topic, and they are generally presenting either a pro-Ukrainian point of view, or a pro-Rusyn point of view. This paper presents an overview of the most relevant arguments taken into consideration, when discussing the origin and the historical path of the Rusyn people, as well as a few aspects in terms of ethnic features. The paper is part of a more extensive study regarding the Rusyn community, in the context of presenting the status and condition of the Ukrainian national minority in Romania.
More...
The present paper seeks to present the life and works of the famous composer of Armenian nationality – but often mentioned as a Soviet composer – Aram Khachaturian (1903–1978). Starting from this duality, from this interesting parallelism, the article investigates in part – next to the life and works of the composer – the historical motives and issues of this “double identity” and the presence of Armenian national elements in the compositions of Aram Khachaturian. In order to understand this dilemma, and the entire creation of the composer, we must be aware of the fact that since the beginning of the twentieth century, more precisely since 1920, when the Russian army occupied the territory of Armenia and the country became a member of the Soviet Union, Armenian culture was deeply influenced by its cultural policy. The article therefore deals with the life of the composer, his musical career, as well as the historical context of the period, while analysing the way in which Aram Khachaturian’s work is perceived in the history of music, as a result of which this remarkable personality is considered an Armenian and Soviet composer, European and Oriental at the same time.
More...
Without a proper culture we cannot understand what is going on around us and we are willing to repeat many mistakes of the past and to be easily influenced in our decisions of populist, demagogic discourses that are trying to create a society with no personality, a society whose identity is dictated by well-established patterns. Such things are possible even if the identity represents something that people do not choose, but recognize and accept it as a personal good. But in this context, identity discourse appears, a discourse that is unknown to the community, a discourse of political leaders, elites and others who are involved in a process of building, negotiating, manipulating certain collective images, to create identities. This leads to a question "who are we?"
More...
The article’s goal is to reflect on the history of the regional identity of the Upper Silesian region of Poland. Although historical, political, and cultural aspects are considered, the focus is on the linguistic dimension, since language is one of the most important elements of collective identity. The article opens with a short historical overview, starting with the period of the Industrial Revolution, which was the crucial moment for the formation of the so-called Upper Silesian mixed code which is the subject of reflection in this article. Next, we analyse the status of the Silesian ethnolect and the possibility of raising it to the rank of a regional language. The investigation is conducted from the point of view of Polish linguistics, but based on a wider perspective of European minority language politics.
More...
The consequence of establishing new Polish state borders after the Second World War was the mass resettlement of citizens of the pre-war Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita) from the so-called Kresy – now newly established Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian republics of the Soviet Union – to the Polish People’s Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa). The 240,000 Poles, who left the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic as part of the post-war resettlement, were only part of a group of over 1.4 million people resettled to ‘new Poland’. With extraordinary strength, they revived the 19th century myth of the Polish Kresy – one of the most important Polish national myths – which soon became an inseparable part of the Polish national discourse and the main element of Polish identity policy towards Poles who stayed in Kresy. This article is an attempt to answer the following question: What is the meaning of and role played by Kresy myth/discourse in constructing the identity of contemporary Poles living in South-eastern Lithuania – on the territory of these mythical Polish Kresy? The article is based on a series of interviews with Poles from Lithuania and representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations operating for the Kresy, as well as an analysis of the content of these organisations websites with a project offer addressed to Poles in Lithuania.
More...
The growth of global environmental problems and the strengthening of environmental rhetoric in the world have led to the awareness of the environmental issues among ordinary citizens. In many societies, the growing interest in environmental issues coincided with the reincarnation of nationally charged discourses. This led to the emergence of such a political hybrid as green nationalism. Green nationalism is understood as a movement focused on environmental demands related to the advancement of national or subnational interests, as well as the protection of minority interests. It is based on rhetoric that addresses national attributes such as territorial identity and cultural cohesion, as well as environmental issues. Its development can take place according to different scenarios: “from the top down” due to the efforts of political elites to form civic nationalism based on ideas about the nation’s contribution to solving global environmental problems, or “from the bottom up” through the actualization and protection of the interests of the minority. However, the study of the phenomenon of green nationalism entails the need to comprehend several important paradoxes. The first paradox is based on the clash of global and local interests. On the one hand, environmentalism is a global movement focused on solving such global environmental problems as climate change, pollution of seas and oceans, and deforestation. On the other hand, environmental issues create opportunities for strengthening national or local identity. The second paradox is determined by the influence of the political regime on the importance of environmental concerns for societies. Traditionally, it is believed that environmental values are successfully formed and maintained in societies with a democratic regime. However, environmental issues are also discussed under hybrid or authoritarian political regimes. In the situation where open political protest is impossible, subnational movements for political autonomy and national independence can take the form of environmental protests. The third paradox is associated with the peculiarities of the perception of natural resources in states that are dependent on their extraction. On the one hand, natural resources are the basis of economic well-being in such societies, which legitimizes the consumer logic of dealing with nature. On the other hand, in such states, the importance of nature as a national treasure is emphasized, which contributes to the development of environmental activities. Our article provides answers to the following research questions: How does the global environmental agenda lead to an intensification of nationalist discourses? Why does green nationalism emerge and successfully develop in a resource-based state? Why is environmentalism, usually oriented toward democratic values, in demand in authoritarian states? These issues will be considered in the article on the examples of environmental conflicts and protests in Russian regions, which are closely related to the maintenance of national or subnational identity. The main cases for the analysis were protests against the development of the Shikhan Kushtau in Bashkiria (2020) and conflicts of the Indigenous peoples of the North with the oil company in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (2017). The research was carried out on the basis of qualitative methodology. The main research methods were semistructured interviews with protesters. The results of the study show that environmental issues are becoming a serious tool for mobilizing society as they entwine with issues of national/subnational identity, as well as ideas about social justice.
More...
The progressive heterogenization and fragmentation of the identity problem with the same meaning of the same made downright surprising that in his book written in 2018 Francis Fukuyama placed in focus the identity problem so directly and unequivocally. From a purely theoretical-historical point of view, this attempt was late, the far-reaching differentiation of identities transcended the former earlier stage for which this approach would have been adequate. Fukuyama's understandable mistake, however, was not fundamental theoretical matter, it was also a belated political step, the intense and ever more widespread dissatisfaction of the individual States and Societies, Practical US International Politics in its logic, i.e. the intellectuals behind it to understand apparatus. For this reason we must consider this approach as one that is characteristic of the 2020s.
More...
The Ethnographic Park of Kujawy and Dobrzyń Land in Kłóbka confirms the importance of regional museums in building social bonds in small localities. Talking about the contribution of museology to social and economic development of the country, we usually think about big urban centres and huge projects. However, thanks to cultural investments, in the “provinces” there have been deep changes in the mindset of people, which result in building new deep identity which empowered those small local communities.
More...
Identity has a wide range of concepts, from the product identity of the companies to the post-colonial identity, from personal identities to ethnic, religious, sexual, and social identities. Especially in the modern age, the identity problem is not only decisive at the level of national identity but also at the level of different identities in cultural life. Therefore, the definition of identity and the discussions about identity have always been the focus of cinema. In this article, concepts such as identity, the other, and the subaltern are first defined to discuss identity in cinema. Later, I tried to analyze the discussions about these concepts based on Akın's films. Akın, in his films, explained different identities in the social-political world; groups with cultural, religious, linguistic, and racial differences can live together peacefully if desired. It is also shown that people living together can respect all kinds of identities and that it is not a problem for a person to have more than one identity. In this respect, films such as Short and Painless (1998), In July (2000), Solino (2002), Against the Wall (2004), On the Edge of Life (2007), The Cut (2014), and Shattered (2017); The concepts such as migration, identity, the other, and cultural change were analyzed with the "sociological method" and "discourse analysis" methods. Thus, the theoretical definitions of identity were tried to be embodied in Akın's films.
More...
Throughout the long history of British theatre, the image of Turk has frequently emerged in the works of famous playwrights. Since the beginning of the Crusades, Western perceptions of Turks have centred upon stereotypical images. These negative stereotypes generated by English literature are still present. However, with the acclaimed playwright Richard Bean, a new and positive Turkish image has emerged in British theatre since the turn of the twenty-first century. In his 2007 play, In the Club, Richard Bean explores the relationship between Turkey and the European Union and draws attention to the great power of Turkish culture. The play discusses Turkey’s accession process to the European Club, stressing its benefits while addressing stereotypes and biases against Turks. In this context, In the Club emphasizes that Turkey will strengthen the European Union as a model state with its culture and traditions, with its geographical location and secular structure, and by reminding members that Turks are people who work hard to improve their country. This study aims to examine the new Turkish image in Richard Bean's In the Club.
More...
The aim of this article is to present the determinants of the limited presence of senior men in cultural institutions in Poland. The text characterises the context in which older men undertake institutional cultural activity and identifies the main reasons why the scale of their cultural participation is low. The fundamental factors that differentiate the nature of cultural participation are gender, the resulting behavioural patterns and individual adaptation strategies. These themes are analysed in the context of the barriers and problems experienced by male seniors, and the risks of social exclusion within this group are highlighted.
More...
Jedna od neuralgičnih tema našega vremena jest pitanje identiteta. Ne samo pojedinci, nego čitavi kolektivi spore se i bore se oko toga tko su i što čini bit njih samih, njihov identitet. Identitet se posvaja i asimilira ili negira i obezvrjeđuje ili reinterpretira i revidira, čak mijenja. Opće mišljenje je da identitet jest jednako osoba, kolektiv, da identitet iscrpljuje onoga na koga se odnosi.
More...
At the foundation of this research paper lays the notion of “identity” which comes to show how postmodernism and digimodernism can, in fact, coexist in a post-postmodern world where the problem of sex education is more actual than ever. The objective of this paper is to show how in this context full of dualities, a narrow topic such as sex education can reinforce the construction and representation of an identity. In this way, this paper analyzes how the Romanian media outlet Republica tackles this topic and how, when covering it, it manages to construct the Romanian group identity. The main hypothesis of this paper is that this media outlet relies a lot on religious principles when covering this topic. Moreover, a subsidiary hypothesis is that this publication correlates sex education with politics, since the politicians are the ones who take important decisions for this country. For the methodology, this paper uses the qualitative and quantitative content analysis. Discussing about some of the main results, it can be said that the analysis highlighted how sex education is correlated massively with politics and religion, but also with the issue of gender identity. Consequently, the Romanian identity is defined by some strong dichotomies present in the society (men versus women, science versus religion, parents versus authorities), showing many of the vulnerabilities to which different social categories are exposed.
More...
Strong and persistent gender identification combined with proven persistence of gender discomfort may occur in children and adolescents. Public and professional views on transgenderism have evolved from the belief in the 1960s that the phenomenon is a rare psychopathology to the current belief that it is an understandable form of human biology that is not uncommon. Many people suffer discrimination when choosing to fulfill roles that do not conform to social stereotypes about male and female roles. The rules on gender discrimination do not cover discrimination based on gender stereotypes. Transgender people face societal challenges such as stigma, blatant discrimination and harassment, and often find it difficult to reconcile their identities with the norms of their families and communities. In addition, they are exposed to the challenges of marginalization in a way that could have a negative impact on their health. The aim of the article is to characterize the practices applied to transgender children and adolescents.
More...
Review of: Gavin Brockett, Ne Mutlu Türk’üm Diyene: Türk-Müslüman Kimliğinin Müzakeresi, çev. Özgür Balkılıç, İstanbul, 2022
More...
In recent years, the factor structure of the teacher efficacy scale for in-service teachers has been validated and the significant impacts of the teacher efficacy on both teachers' outcomes (organizational commitment and job satisfaction) and students' outcomes (academic achievement and motivation) have been documented in different contexts of education. However, the present literature shows that there has been relatively little research on this field in the system of Vietnamese education. Therefore, the current study investigates the factor structure of the 24-item Vietnamese translation of the teachers’ sense of efficacy scale (TSES) for 397 in-service high school teachers. Factorial analysis revealed an adequate fit for the original TSES's three-factor structure, which included efficacy for instructional techniques, efficacy for classroom management and efficacy for student involvement. Cronbach's alpha coefficients showed good internal consistency for the overall scale and three subscales. The findings support the use of the TSES to measure teachers' efficacy in the context of Vietnam's educational system. Future research on teacher efficacy with subject expertise in Vietnamese schools should include teachers from primary, secondary and even tertiary universities.
More...
Urban identity, or the genius loci of a town is a concept that has evolved throughout history and is determined by various aspects of the city and its architecture. On the example of the city walls in Levoča, this study discusses how city walls contribute to the creation and preservation of a distinctive urban identity of a historic town. The discussion consists primarily of three aspects – the function of city walls, their representation in visual sources and their conservation and reconstruction. On the example of the Košice Gate in Levoča, it will be argued that by conserving city fortifications, we are able to preserve the unique character and the identity of the town. Overall it will be argued that the Levoča fortification system, although not completely preserved, has contributed to the creation and preservation of the town’s unique identity.
More...