Passin' for Black: Race, Identity, and Bone Memory in Postracial America

2010 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Signithia Fordham
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Interracial Relationships ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Race Identity ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Black Person

Signithia Fordham challenges the notion that we are living in a "postracial" society where race is no longer a major social category, as indicated by the rising incidence of interracial relationships and the popularity of biracial identities. On the contrary,she contends, a powerful fusion of historical memory and inclusive kinship compels Americans whose ancestors were enslaved to embrace a Black identity even when they have White as well as African ancestors. Fordham identifies this socially constructed racial identity as "passin' for Black." She argues that virtually every socially defined Black person connected to enslavement—regardless of skin color, hair texture, facial features, or paternity—must perform Blackness. Using narratives obtained from a recent ethnographic study of female competition and aggression in a racially "integrated"suburban high school, Fordham's essay documents how the complex, charged matter of racial identity—concurrently biological and social—inflames the lives of adolescents and impairs their ability to navigate the school environment.

scholarly journals Sociolinguistic Markers of Friendship Among Persons With Dementia in Long-Term Care

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 575-575
Author(s):  
Pamela Saunders
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Pronominal Reference ◽  
Field Notes

Abstract Sociolinguistics and discourse analysis provide tools through which to examine how friendship is socially constructed through language and communication. Research on social isolation and loneliness reveals the importance of social interaction on the psychological and physical health of older adults. Given that linguistic, communicative, and functional abilities decline as dementia progresses, it is challenging to identify markers of friendship. The Friendship Project is an ethnographic study of social interaction among persons with dementia living in a long-term care setting. The data are from transcripts and field-notes of social interactions among residents with a range of cognitive impairments over a six-month time period. Results reveal that persons with dementia employ specific linguistic features such as narrative, evaluation, evidentials, and pronominal reference to make meaning and create relationships over time. Practical implications will be discussed.

The Discourse of Drama

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 90-106
Author(s):  
Bergljót Thrastardóttir ◽  
Steinunn Helga Lárusdóttir ◽  
Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
Staff Member ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Inclusive School

In this article, we consider how girls are positioned in school by what we have chosen to call the discourse of drama. The widely held notion that Nordic girls have it all along with this drama discourse are seen to be the key narratives that reinforce a hegemonic form of girlhood. This ethnographic study focuses on the relations of students between the ages of 13 and 15 in the light of uninformed school staff-member practices. Our findings suggest that girls, despite living in what is seen to be a country that upholds gender equality, are silenced through this discourse of drama. We suggest that teacher education should lead to the facilitation of a gender-inclusive school environment free of stereotypical ideas of gender as a fixed binary.

Pluralistic Tendencies in Healing Abantu Illness in the Contemporary South Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 986-1005
Author(s):  
Kholekile Hazel Ngqila
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Traditional Healers ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Biomedical Practitioners ◽  
Social Causes

Ukuhanjwa illness was used as an example to understanding abantu illnesses. With attributional theory ukuhanjwa illness is attributed to spiritual and social causes rather than biomedical causes, whereby causal link is socially constructed between ukuhanjwa illness and entry into the body by familiars. Issues explored included conceptualisation of ukuhanjwa illness. The focus of the chapter is on the reasons for continued pluralistic tendencies in healing regardless of the expectation by the West that people should be focusing on the use of the fast evolving biomedical healing methods. The ethnographic study took place among the Southern Nguni people of OR Tambo District Municipality (ORTDM) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Data was collected using qualitative and ethnographic research methods amongst a sample group of 50 participants. The sample was composed of traditional healers, mothers of children who have experienced ukuhanjwa illness, elderly people (male and female), biomedical practitioners and nurses.

Fumbling in relationships across difference: the potential spiraling effects of a single racial identity reference at work

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra E. Cha ◽  
Stephanie J. Creary ◽  
Laura Morgan Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Black People ◽  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Black Person ◽  
Common Precursor ◽  
Single Identity ◽  
Organizational Scholarship

PurposeBlack people, as members of a historically underrepresented and marginalized racial identity group in the workplace, are often confronted with identity references – face-to-face encounters in which their race is referenced by a White colleague in a comment, question or joke. Identity references can be interpreted by a Black colleague in a variety of ways (e.g. as hostile and insulting or well-intentioned, even flattering). Identity references can derail the building of relationships across difference, but under certain conditions may open the door for deeper understanding and connection. The conceptual framework in this article delineates conditions under which an identity reference may elicit an initial negative reaction, yet, when engaged directly, may lead to generative experiences and promote higher connection and learning in relationships across difference.Design/methodology/approachThis article builds theory on identity references by incorporating relevant research on race, identity, diversity, attribution and interpersonal relationships at work.FindingsThe framework identifies a common precursor to identity references and three factors that are likely to influence the attribution a Black person makes for a White colleague's identity reference. It then describes how, based on that attribution, a Black person is likely to respond to the White referencer, and how that response is likely to affect their interpersonal relationship over time.Originality/valueBy explicating how a single identity reference can have significant implications for relationships across difference, the framework deepens understanding of how race affects the development of interpersonal relationships between Black and White colleagues at work. In doing so, this article advances research on race, diversity, workplace relationships and positive organizational scholarship.

Cycles of Psychological Nigrescence

1989 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Parham
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Early Adulthood ◽  
Middle Adulthood ◽  
Late Adulthood ◽  
Cross Model ◽  
Black Person ◽  
Racial Identity Attitudes ◽  
Identity Attitudes ◽  
Life Cycle Process

This article is an attempt to expand the descriptive characteristics of the Cross model by discussing a theory of psychological Nigrescence that hypothesizes the changes in racial identity that a Black person can experience at various points in the life-cycle process. In this discussion, I will attempt to describe how various stages of racial identity are manifest at three periods of life: late adolescence/early adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood. I will conclude with a discussion of the implications for counseling Blacks who display varying degrees of racial identity attitudes.

The Sonic Surrounds of an Elementary School

2007 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chee-Hoo Lum ◽  
Patricia Shehan Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Private Spaces ◽  
And Function ◽  
Social Signaling ◽  
The Way

In this ethnographic study, we examined the musicking behaviors of schoolchildren at one American elementary school. The aim was to gain an understanding of the nature and context of rhythmic and melodic expressions made and heard by children, emanating from other children, as well as adults within the school environment. Time, place, and function figured as contextual considerations in the investigation of the sonic surrounds of the school; knowing when, where, and why the music occurred added meaningful dimensions to the description of children's soundscapes. The open-ended sociability of music and its pervasiveness at play and in learning were reminders of music's role in serving human functions, finding its way into private spaces, and webbing within social interactions. Also intriguing were the variety of forms of children's expressions, ranging from rhythmic play and melodic utterances to familiar songs and their parodies, and the way teachers used music for social signaling and facilitating learning.

scholarly journals The influence of spatial attributes on users’ information behaviour in academic libraries: a case study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Ilako ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Makerere University ◽  
Information Behaviour ◽  
Empirically Supported ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Social ◽  
Library Users ◽  
Spatial Attributes

Introduction. Information practices manifest differently among diverse library users, because space influences the different activities that library users engage in. Lefebvre’s spatial triad theory was used to illustrate how library spaces influence spatial activities and hence affect information behaviour of users. Method. A qualitative, ethnographic study method was applied. Participant observations and interviews with library users were conducted from May to December 2019 within Makerere University. Analysis. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Information behaviour appears as the central activity within the library spaces, within those spaces and academic and non-academic behaviour manifest as a result of user engagement within the different spaces. It was thus revealed that different attributes support users’ activities such as reading, discussionsamong users and therefore sharping their space preference. Conclusion. Space is both a physical and social object that has a direct influence on its inhabitants’ spatial activities, perceptions and experiences. The concept that space is socially constructed is empirically supported through the social relations that users create as they engage in different activities. The availability of space attributes such as enclosed spaces, noise levels, lighting and space attachment influence the spatial activities and experience of users in a positive or negative way.

scholarly journals Health, Identification and Pleasure: An Ethnographic Study on the Self-Management and Construction of Taijiquan Park Culture Space

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 8860
Author(s):  
Xiujie Ma ◽  
Jing Xie ◽  
George Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Operation Mechanism ◽  
The Public ◽  
Material Space

The public space of a park is one of the most important carriers of social interaction and cultural practice in urban areas. Taking an ethnography of Taijiquan in Chengdu (China) as a case study, this article explores the production of Taijiquan’s “park culture space” (PCS). Our analysis revealed that the development of PCS not only transformed “public space” in the park to a “private space” through Taijiquan practice and exchange but also transformed “material space” in the park into “social space” with identification. We found that working on the process of self-managing Taijiquan’s “park culture space” included the democratic operation mechanism of communication and consultation, the cooperative operation mechanism of mutual benefit, and the incentive operation mechanism of balancing interests. Taijiquan’s “park culture space” was the reproduction of public space that was not only bonded with Taijiquan practice but was also reconstructed and expanded by Taijiquan practitioners. Furthermore, it involved the return of Taijiquan practitioners’ historical memory and collective life experience alongside the construction of Taijiquan practitioners’ group identity and the development of self-organization.

race

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Eileen McCoskey
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Skin Color ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Distinct Group ◽  
Reception Studies ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Ethnographic Writing ◽  
Classical Studies ◽  
Racial Thought

Contrary to the assumptions of previous eras, since the late 20th century, race has been widely regarded as a form of identity based in social construction rather than biology. The concept of race has experienced a corresponding return to classical studies, although this approach gives it significant overlap with terminology like ethnicity and cultural identity. The ancient Greeks and Romans did not consider human biology or skin color the source of racial identity, although the belief that human variation was determined by the environment or climate persisted throughout antiquity. Ancient ethnographic writing provides insight into ancient racial thought and stereotypes in both the Greek and Roman periods. Race in the Greek world centered in large part around the emergence of the category of Greek alongside that of barbarian, but there were other important racial frameworks in operation, including a form of racialized citizenship in Athens. Modes for expressing racial identity changed in the aftermath of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, a figure whose own racial identity has been the subject of debate. In the Roman period, Roman citizenship became a major factor in determining one’s identity, but racial thought nonetheless persisted. Ideas about race were closely correlated with the Roman practice of empire, and representations of diverse racial groups are especially prominent in conquest narratives. Hellenistic and Roman Egypt provide an opportunity for looking at race in everyday life in antiquity, while Greek and Roman attitudes towards Jews suggest that they were perceived as a distinct group. Reception studies play a critical role in analyzing the continuing connections between race and classics.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document