scholarly journals Ethnicity, belonging and identity among the Eastern Gurage of Ethiopia

Ethnicities ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zerihun Abebe Woldeselassie
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Boundary Formation

In this paper, I will analyse a case of ethnic transformation in post-1991 Ethiopia based on an ethnographic study of the Eastern Gurage. The case represents an ethnic setting where the conventional conceptualization of ethnicity in terms of a notion of origin undermines the diversities expressed in various forms of category and boundary formations. The ethnic setting does not also fall into, but combines, the commonplace dichotomization of primordialist versus constructivist notion of ethnicity. Not only by taking Barth’s (1969) formalist anthropological conception of ethnicity as boundary formation, but also suggesting my own analytical distinction, I will attempt to account for the various forms of ethnicities particularly those based on clanship, locality, Islam and state’s categorization. In this regard, I have introduced a distinction between the concepts of identity and belonging in order to explain the different forms of social and political classifications, ideologies and power relationships that are often treated as implying a single phenomenon, i.e. identity formation.

scholarly journals Literacy, power, and affective (dis)encounter: An ethnographic study on a low-income community in Spain

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252782
Author(s):  
Elena Guichot-Muñoz ◽  
María Jesús Balbás-Ortega ◽  
Eduardo García-Jiménez
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
New Literacy ◽  
New Literacy Studies ◽  
Literacy Process ◽  
Teaching Learning

In areas of social exclusion, there are greater risks of facing discrimination at school. The teaching-learning processes may contribute toward the perpetuation of this inequality. This research analyzes a literacy event that takes place in a low-income school in Southern Spain. The new literacy studies have come to examine how power relationships and affective bonds work in such literacy practices. An ethnographic method was followed to facilitate a deeper understanding of multimodal literacy. Further, a social semiotics multimodal approach was adopted to analyze the meaning-making social process that takes place in the classroom. The participants comprised two teachers and 17 children, whose ages range from 5 to 7 years. Data were collected in the form of reports, audio recordings, video recordings, and photographs over a two-years period. The results obtained have revealed that the children have been taught writing and reading through a dominant orthodox model that fails to consider the community’s and families’ cultural capitals. They also show that the literacy process does not grant any affective quality. Neither is there an authentic dialogic space created between the school and the community. This lack of dialogue generates an inequality in the actual acquisition of comprehensive reading and writing skills at school, with instances of groups exclusion, owing to the anti-hegemonic practices of knowledge acquisition.

scholarly journals “There’s A Little Bit of That Magic Where I’m Becoming Something Else”: LGBT+ Furry Identity Formation and Belonging Online

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Mary Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Normative Identity ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Published Research

Active and open identi cation with animals and the creation of anthropomorphic (or zoomorphic) fursonas have become infamous on the internet, yet published research on the subculture is lacking. This ethnographic study explores this under-examined subculture by considering how individuals who identify as LGBT+ and as furry nd and experience community online in ways that contribute to feelings of belonging, inclusion, and overall well-being. Through a series of semi-structured interviews, it was found that participating LGBT+ furries experienced an increase in self-reported emotional well-being when allowed to engage with online furry fandom. Given that furry identity is inherently non-normative, the fandom becomes an accepting space for other non-normative identities, like LGBT+ identities. By creating accepting online communities, those without access to supportive communities in their o -line lives can learn about and explore non-normative identity without judgement. These spaces may allow for the accumulation of multiple non-normative identities, all of which are in relative harmony within online furry fandom, which serves as a “catch-all” identity. Existing within this space had positive a ects on the well-being of the participants.

Cultures of Curriculum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Bolotin Joseph
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Cultural Perspective ◽  
School Cultures ◽  
School Structures ◽  
Curriculum Inquiry ◽  
Curriculum Framework ◽  
Curriculum Transformation

The concept of cultures of curriculum is an iteration of the classification system known as curricular orientations. Intended as a framework for curriculum development and a heuristic for curriculum inquiry, a culture of curriculum is a philosophy-based curricular orientation supported by coherent practices. A curricular culture is characterized by a shared and unifying vision that guides articulation of goals, inspires consensus, and stimulates the desire for change. Diverse cultures of curriculum have existed historically and are enacted in contemporary schools and universities; they are not static. Societal change, scholarly discoveries, and political or ethical discourse influence educators’ knowledge and public beliefs about education. Essentially, this conceptual model involves perceiving curriculum through a cultural perspective, as a series of interwoven dynamics and not merely as explicit content. Curriculum theorized as culture attends to continuing dialogue, values, metaphors, the environment in which education takes place, power relationships, and the norms that affect educators’ and stakeholders’ convictions about right or appropriate education. Subsequently, the cultures of curriculum framework for curriculum inquiry comprises both analysis of beliefs and ethnographic study of lived curriculum. This conceptual model also casts light on curriculum transformation, viewed through the cultural lens as reculturing curriculum. The process begins with inquiry through the cultures of curriculum framework to investigate the extant curriculum in classrooms and schools. Such examination may result in awareness of ad hoc curriculum featuring a multitude of contradictory purposes and activities or the realization that authorized curriculum work conflicts with educators’ philosophies and moral purposes. Concurrently, the study of curricular cultures may stimulate curriculum leadership as educators imagine ways to change their own curriculum work, initiate conversations with colleagues and stakeholders, and eventually commit energies and resources to reculturing curriculum. Rather than making partial modifications to school structures or trying out the latest instructional methods, curriculum transformation informed by the concept of curricular cultures embodies profound change to values, norms, and practices, as well as to classroom and school cultures.

Issues Arising from an Ethnographic Investigation of the Religious Identity Formation of Young People in Mixed-faith Families

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-31
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Arweck ◽  
Eleanor Nesbitt
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Research Experiences

This article documents and discusses issues arising from an ethnographic study of the religious identity formation of young people growing up in mixed-faith families. It reports and reflects on challenges to the design of our project, possible explanations for these challenges and the ways in which we addressed them. The areas where we encountered difficulties relate, firstly, to the combination of traditional ethnography with cyber-ethnography and, secondly, to sampling, interviewing and participant observation. There are implications for our project and for future empirical studies of families, especially those with particular focus on religion, culture and identity. The intention of this article is thus twofold: to make a contribution to debates regarding methodsand ethical aspects of ethnography and, through the reflections on our research experiences, to inform researchers who may face similar challenges.

Inscribing indigeneity: Ethnolinguistic authority in the linguistic landscape of Amazonian Ecuador

Multilingua ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-168
Author(s):  
Michael Wroblewski
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
State Power ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Linguistic Landscape ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Vitality ◽  
Spanish Hospital ◽  
Amazonian Ecuador ◽  
Anthropological Approach

AbstractThis article takes a linguistic anthropological approach to analyzing multilingualism in the linguistic landscape of the Amazonian city of Tena, Ecuador, a key locus of indigenous Kichwa language revitalization, identity formation, and politics. Following recent scholarly reconsiderations of multilingual linguistic landscapes as sites of ideological contestation and performative display, I seek to expand on the foundational concept of ethnolinguistic vitality. Building on an analysis of shifting materiality and semiotics of bilingual Kichwa-Spanish hospital signs, I argue for the use of longitudinal and deep ethnographic study of public sign-making in progress to identify oppositional struggles over ethnolinguistic authority, or control of authorship in displays of ethnolinguistic presence. In Tena, Kichwa-language signage represents a new venue for the decolonization of politics, the performance of indigeneity, and the centralization of state power, which are expressed through competing visions by agents with distinct ideological orientations toward language. I submit ethnolinguistic authority as a critical concern for the ethnographic study of public inscriptions of minority languages, which reflect contrasting ideologies of language, notions of group identity, and claims to representational sovereignty.

scholarly journals An ethnographic study on managing diversity in two Protestant theological colleges

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Institutional Culture ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Christian Higher Education ◽  
Structure Alignment ◽  
Religious Leaders ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Relationship Of

For many reasons Christian higher education institutions struggle to embrace diversity. Diversity is a relationship of mutuality, where differences are engaged and respected. This study aimed to understand diversity management via the institutional culture to understand how these interactions of dealing with diversity form and prepare future religious leaders. These issues are highlighted through two case studies conducted in the main-line Protestant tradition. Diversity was represented in issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexual orientation, which have an interlocking nature. Findings suggest a colour-blind theology in one institution, perpetuating surface change, and a lack of structure, alignment and capacity in diversity in the other institution. In both institutions diversity was not linked positively to ministerial identity formation to make a significant difference. This study highlights the lack of consciousness of the way in which institutions are organised, which then holds direct consequences for students, identity and transformation.

scholarly journals English Learners’ Identity Formation as Low and High Investors in their Learning Process

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-178
Author(s):  
Maritza Collazos Moná ◽  
Luis Fernando Gómez Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
English Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Language Classroom

This article reports the fndings of a descriptive case study that analyzed how unfair social relationships established in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) classroom influenced a group of adolescent English language learners’ academic investment and identity construction at a school in Bogotá, Colombia. Data associated with students’ social behaviors and identities were collected through feld notes, a questionnaire, and an interview. Norton’s theory of identity and investment served as the basis to analyze the data from a social perspective. Three main fndings emerged from the data: First, EFL learners identifed themselves as high investors and low investors in their learning, depending on their own opinions about the usefulness of English in their lives. Second, power relationships based on domination and oppression reduced productive investment in the classroom. Third, some high investors resisted unfair relationships of power by investing through collaborative learning. Consequently, participants created diverse English learners’ identities (dominant, submissive, resistant, and productive), which influenced their academic investment negatively or positively.

Jacqueline Lindenfeld, The French in the United States: An ethnographic study. Westport, Conn.: Bergin & Garvey, 2000. Pp. xiv + 184. Hb $55.00.

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 146-149
Author(s):  
Josée Makropoulos
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Italian Americans ◽  
The Us ◽  
Subject Positioning

The French in the United States offers valuable insight on processes of identity formation among French-born individuals living permanently in the US. The book's title foreshadows the ambiguity of how the French in America are defined in objective terms, as well as their subject positioning as members of an ethnic group. For instance, Lindenfeld cautions against relying on the criterion of ancestry used in census-based rankings to study the French presence in the United States, since census identification includes people of various national origins and does not distinguish the number of intervening generations since departure from France. The limitations of the native use of the French language as a valid indicator of direct French origin neglects the fact that native speakers of French who reside in the US often possess Canadian or Caribbean lineage. Although Lindenfeld does not say so directly, relying on native use of French to identify direct immigrants from France would equally exclude the possibility of identifying French citizens who do not speak French as their first language, as well as those who were raised speaking two or more languages. Another concern raised in the book is the broad significance of the label “French American,” traditionally used to identify Americans of French ancestry, such as Cajuns in Louisiana. The designation currently enjoys a certain popularity among French immigrants because it offers a direct parallel with other immigrant groups, such as Italian Americans.

8. Fragmented Dwellings: Undocumented Youth Activism in Higher Education Spaces in an Era of the Anthropocene

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-186
Author(s):  
SOPHIA RODRIGUEZ
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Youth Activism ◽  
Risk Society ◽  
Undocumented Immigrant ◽  
Undocumented Youth ◽  
Southern State ◽  
The Social ◽  
A Current

This essay engages with the notion of Anthropocene as both context and concept, and how it might be useful as a tool of inquiry in the study of higher education, specifically with populations that I argue are deemed by society as less than human/nonhuman, that is, the undocumented alien bodies dwelling in higher education spaces. The concept of the Anthropocene demands a shift in our thinking about the social world, specifically notions of agency and identity in relation to culture. This primarily conceptual argument connects the Anthropocene as context and concept to the experiences of undocumented youth activists in higher education settings. The essay experiments with thinking about the Anthropocene as context, connecting its features to that of a risk society that impacts the identity formation and fragmented experiences of undocumented youth activists, and as a concept, utilizing the example and data from a current critical qualitative and ethnographic study of undocumented immigrant youth in a university in a southern state. Data suggests that the concept of the Anthropocene renders visible the fragmented dwellings of undocumented youth activists and to read such fragmentation as productive, democratic, and transformative.

scholarly journals To Be or Not to Be a Chechen? The Second Generation of Chechens in Europe and Their Choices of Identity

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marat Iliyasov
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Identity Negotiation ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Home Education ◽  
Social Differences ◽  
Negotiation Processes ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Chechen Wars

Approximately a quarter of Chechnya's population left the republic due to the Russo-Chechen wars and the brutality of the regime established after them. Many of the Chechen migrants settled in Europe where cultural, religious, and social differences compelled them to go through the daunting process of identity negotiation. Although most of the first-generation Chechen migrants managed to preserve their original identity, this was not always the case for their children. This article aims to identify the factors that determine the identity preferences of second-generation Chechens in Europe. The paper presents three cases which illustrate very different outcomes of the identity formation and negotiation processes. This ethnographic study concludes that home education impacted the identity choices of the migrants' children the most.

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