scholarly journals (Re)Viewing the Other: Gender Subversions in IndoFijian Performances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vicky Shandil
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Studies ◽  
Cultural Performances ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Oral History Interviews

<p>Cultural performances are more than forms of entertainment and vehicles for conveying social and religious traditions. These acts are political acts that can exceed their role of promulgating hegemonic formations and instead be used to subvert and deconstruct existing social realities. This doctoral research focuses on performances that subvert IndoFijian heteronormative gender(s), namely: performances by female singers of qawwali, a genre of competitive singing historically exclusive to males; and lahanga naach, dances by cross-dressed males in Fiji and in the IndoFijian diaspora in New Zealand. Situated within the interdisciplinary field of Pacific Studies, this research draws upon cultural and gender studies as well as materials and knowledge from and about Pacific and Indian cultures to examine these cultural performances. Concepts such as Butler’s theory of performativity and Hall’s theory of articulation are employed to argue that cultural performances are performative in the sense that they not only depict what already exists, but initiate and materialise what can be. This argument is discussed and illustrated through both ethnographic and historical engagement and research methods, interweaving transcriptions of performances with relevant academic literature and oral history interviews of performers as well as cultural experts represented by community leaders, academics and gender activists.  This dissertation begins by discussing the idea of a liminal other in relation to ethnic and gender identities and establishes the liminal other’s position in the overarching argument of this research. This is followed by detailed descriptions and analysis of qawwali and lahanga naach, respectively, in accordance with an additional research objective of documenting and creating archival records for these two performance genres. The latter part of the dissertation returns to themes of gender subversion, hegemony and performativity, discussing examples of the real-life implications of embodying liminal identities.  The dissertation concludes by emphasising the need for more research on performance cultures in the Pacific and draws attention to how individual agency can promote social change and impact meaning-making mechanisms of social groups through the means of cultural performance. Importantly, this research presents an alternative outlook on the gendered understandings of IndoFijians by including the voices of the disadvantaged who occupy liminal spaces in society.</p>

scholarly journals (Re)Viewing the Other: Gender Subversions in IndoFijian Performances

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vicky Shandil
Keyword(s):  
Meaning Making ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pacific Studies ◽  
Cultural Performances ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Oral History Interviews

<p>Cultural performances are more than forms of entertainment and vehicles for conveying social and religious traditions. These acts are political acts that can exceed their role of promulgating hegemonic formations and instead be used to subvert and deconstruct existing social realities. This doctoral research focuses on performances that subvert IndoFijian heteronormative gender(s), namely: performances by female singers of qawwali, a genre of competitive singing historically exclusive to males; and lahanga naach, dances by cross-dressed males in Fiji and in the IndoFijian diaspora in New Zealand. Situated within the interdisciplinary field of Pacific Studies, this research draws upon cultural and gender studies as well as materials and knowledge from and about Pacific and Indian cultures to examine these cultural performances. Concepts such as Butler’s theory of performativity and Hall’s theory of articulation are employed to argue that cultural performances are performative in the sense that they not only depict what already exists, but initiate and materialise what can be. This argument is discussed and illustrated through both ethnographic and historical engagement and research methods, interweaving transcriptions of performances with relevant academic literature and oral history interviews of performers as well as cultural experts represented by community leaders, academics and gender activists.  This dissertation begins by discussing the idea of a liminal other in relation to ethnic and gender identities and establishes the liminal other’s position in the overarching argument of this research. This is followed by detailed descriptions and analysis of qawwali and lahanga naach, respectively, in accordance with an additional research objective of documenting and creating archival records for these two performance genres. The latter part of the dissertation returns to themes of gender subversion, hegemony and performativity, discussing examples of the real-life implications of embodying liminal identities.  The dissertation concludes by emphasising the need for more research on performance cultures in the Pacific and draws attention to how individual agency can promote social change and impact meaning-making mechanisms of social groups through the means of cultural performance. Importantly, this research presents an alternative outlook on the gendered understandings of IndoFijians by including the voices of the disadvantaged who occupy liminal spaces in society.</p>

The Normative Power of Images: Religion, Gender, Visuality

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Knauss ◽  
Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati
Keyword(s):  
Visual Culture ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
The Other ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Introductory Article ◽  
The Common ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The One

In this introductory article to the special issue of Religion and Gender on gender, normativity and visuality, we establish the theoretical framework to discuss the influence of visual culture on gender norms. This introduction also provides a reflection on how these norms are communicated, reaffirmed and contested in religious contexts. We introduce the notion of visuality as individual and collective signifying practices, with a particular focus on how this regards gender norms. Two main ways in which religion, gender and normativity are negotiated in visual meaning making processes are outlined: on the one hand, the religious legitimation of gender norms and their communication and confirmation through visual material, and on the other hand, the challenge of these norms through the participation in visual culture by means of seeing and creating. These introductory reflections highlight the common concerns of the articles collected in this issue: the connection between the visualisation of gender roles within religious traditions and the influence of religious gender norms in other fields of (visual) culture.

News on the Right

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Rhetorical Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Fox News ◽  
National Review ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
The Right

This volume seeks to initiate a new interdisciplinary field of scholarly research focused on the study of right-wing media and conservative news. To date, the study of conservative or right-wing media has proceeded unevenly, cross-cutting several traditional disciplines and subfields, with little continuity or citational overlap. This book posits a new multifaceted object of analysis—conservative news cultures—designed to promote concerted interdisciplinary investigation into the consistent practices or patterns of meaning making that emerge between and among the sites of production, circulation, and consumption of conservative news. With contributors from the fields of journalism studies, media and communication studies, cultural studies, history, political science, and sociology, the book models the capacious field it seeks to promote. Its contributors draw upon a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods—from archival analysis to regression analysis of survey data to rhetorical analysis—to elucidate case studies focused on conservative news cultures in the United States and the United Kingdom. From the National Review to Fox News, from the National Rifle Association to Brexit, from media policy to liberal media bias, this book is designed as an introduction to right-wing media and an opening salvo in the interdisciplinary field of conservative news studies.

scholarly journals Crafting New Narratives of Diasporic Resistance with Indo-Caribbean Women and Gender-Expansive People across Generations

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
Arita Balaram
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Digital Archive ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Women And Gender ◽  
Digital Archiving ◽  
Caribbean Women ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Oral History Interviews

This study used participatory oral history and digital archiving to explore two interrelated questions: How do Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations experience processes of storytelling? What are the challenges and possibilities of oral history and digital archiving for constructing alternative histories and genealogies of resistance? In the first phase of the study, twelve Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people across generations participated in an oral history workshop where they were introduced to oral history methods, co-created an interview guide, conducted oral history interviews of one another, and engaged in collective reflection about processes of storytelling. In the second phase, four co-authors of a community-owned digital archive participated in semi-structured interviews about their work to craft new narratives of diasporic resistance rooted in the everyday stories of Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people. In this paper, I analyze how Indo-Caribbean women and gender-expansive people practice resistance by breaking silences in their communities around gender-based oppression, shift norms through producing analyses of their own stories, and reshape community narratives. Furthermore, I explore how oral history participants and co-authors of a digital archive understand the risks associated with sharing stories, raising the ethical dilemmas associated with conceptualizing storytelling as purely liberatory.

scholarly journals A Feminist Future for the Pacific

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Cliffe
Keyword(s):  
Sexual And Gender Minorities ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Gender Minorities ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Marginalised Groups ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
And Gender

The COVID–19 pandemic continues to devastate the lives and wellbeing of millions of people around the world; women and girls, people with disabilities, youth, older people, and sexual and gender minorities are most at risk of ‘being left behind’. While confirmed cases of COVID–19 are low in the Pacific compared with other regions, the threat of the virus remains and the wider social and economic impacts are already evident. Pacific Island countries grappling with pervasive inequality, sustainable development challenges and climate change now must consider their response to the COVID–19 pandemic. This paper envisions an inclusive and transformative feminist response focused on four key outcomes: preserving access to healthcare and essential services; promoting women’s economic empowerment; protecting women and girls from gender–based violence; and supporting vulnerable and marginalised groups to express their voice and claim their rights amid the pandemic.

scholarly journals ISLAM PROGRESIF INDONESIA

ALQALAM ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (01) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
A. ILYAS ISMAIL
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Individual Freedom ◽  
Progressive Movement ◽  
Islamic Thought ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
A Priority ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The One ◽  
Traditional Islam

Theofogicaffy, Islam is one and absolutely correct. However, historicaffy, after being understood and translated into the real life, Islam is not single, but various or plural that manifests at feast in three schools of thoughts: Traditional Islam, Revivalist Islam (fundamentalism), and Liberal Islam (Progressive). The group of Jaringan Islam Liberal (JIL) represents the fast school of thoughts. Even though it is stiff young (ten years), JIL becomes populer because it frequentfy proposes the new thoughts that often evoke controversions in the community. The reformation of thoughts proposed by JIL covers four areas: first, reformation in politics. In this context, JIL gives a priority to the idea of secularism; Second, reformation in socio-religion. Dealing with this, JIL proposes the concept of pluralism; Third, reformation in individual freedom. In this case, JIL gives a priority to the idea of liberalism both in thoughts and actions;fourth, reformation in women. Regarding this, JIL proposes the idea of gender equaliry. This reformation thought of JIL receives pro and con in the community. On the one hand,some of them panne and fulminate it; on the other hand, the other ones support and give appreciation. In such situation, JIL grows as a thought and Islamic progressive movement in Indonesia. Key Words: Islamic Thought, JIL, Secularism, Pluralism, Liberalism, and Gender Equality.

scholarly journals Lethal Violence: A Global View on Homicide

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich Oberwittler
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern Period ◽  
World Health ◽  
Homicide Rates ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
Lethal Violence ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Other World ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Health Organization

As the most serious crime, homicide is both relevant and suitable for cross-national comparisons. The global homicide rate of ca. 6 per 100,000 people is an average of hugely diverging national rates ranging from 0.25 in Singapore to ca. 100 in El Salvador. The validity of global homicide statistics suffers from various differences in definitions as well as reporting and registration processes. Both criminal justice and causes of death statistics are used by the World Health Organization to construct rates, yet these are available only for a minority of countries. An overview on homicide in history and non-state societies shows that violence levels were considerably higher compared to those in today’s developed world and have dropped dramatically in Europe and North America during the early modern period. The rates first increased and then declined between ca.1960 and today in most developed nations in a synchronized manner, hinting at common influences. In recent years, homicide trends have shown a polarizing pattern, with increasing rates in Latin America and decreasing rates in most other world regions, especially East Asia and the Pacific, where rates have fallen below the European average concurrent with rising scores on the Human Development Index. Except in Eastern Europe, the frequency of homicide is strongly linked to the use of firearms, which account for 44% of homicide cases worldwide. Longitudinal studies have produced robust evidence for the pivotal role of deprivation and inequality in fostering lethal violence and of social welfare policies in reducing it. Although the transition to democratic political systems seems to increase homicide rates temporarily, the legitimacy of state institutions and the suppression of corruption are connected to lower homicide rates. Because of conceptual and methodological problems, questions concerning the generalizability of effects across space and time remain. Nevertheless, the research findings are sufficiently robust to draw important conclusions for violence prevention: reductions in poverty and income inequality, investments in welfare policies and gender equality, and improvements in the legitimacy of state institutions will help to bring homicide rates down.

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