Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Amélie Le Renard ◽  
Neha Vora ◽  
Ahmed Kanna

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the exoticizing and exceptionalist discourses about the Arabian Peninsula. This exceptionalism came to the fore in media and academic coverage of the “crisis” in the Gulf region. In general, the Gulf crisis was framed as a “diplomatic spat,” a spectacle marked by tropes of exceptionalism and Orientalism that diminished the importance of the Gulf region, its rulers, and, especially, the people who live there. These exceptionalist representations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Qatar evacuate society of the social while rendering “culture” as fixed in timeless ideas of bedouins, Islam, indentured labor, and gender repression. This kind of history, politics, and culture writing erases the long and complex histories of class, anticolonial, and nationalist struggles that have marked the region as much as any other postcolonial context, and removes the agency and complex role of both citizens and noncitizens in forming the fabric of Gulf societies. This book then studies Gulf exceptionalism, assessing what it means to conduct ethnography in supposedly exceptional spaces.

Author(s):  
Joseph John Hobbs

This paper examines how the architectural, social, and cultural heritage of the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries may contribute to better development of this region’s lived environment. Modern urbanism has largely neglected heritage in architectural design and in social and private spaces, creating inauthentic places that foster a hunger for belongingness in the UAE’s built environment. The paper reviews recent urban developments in the UAE and the Gulf Region, and identifies elements of local heritage that can be incorporated into contemporary planning and design. It proposes that adapting vernacular architectural heritage to the modern built environment should not be the principal goal for heritage-informed design. Instead we may examine the social processes underlying the traditional lived environment, and aim for social sustainability based on the lifeways and preferences of local peoples, especially in kinship and Islamic values. Among the most promising precedents for modern social sustainability are social and spatial features at the scale of the neighborhood in traditional Islamic settlements. Interviews with local Emiratis will also recommend elements of traditional knowledge to modern settings. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 89-90 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 102-115
Author(s):  
Natalia Evstafyeva ◽  
◽  
Irina Wagner ◽  
Yulia Grishaeva ◽  
◽  
...  

The article deals with methodological aspects of the development of ecological culture of schoolchildren in a multicultural educational environment. The authors identify two acute problems in modern society – multiculturalism and ecology. The Russian Federation is a multicultural country. Multicultural education is aimed at preserving the diversity of Russian society, carries the potential and tool for protecting ethnic and national communities in a multi-ethnic Russia, promotes the integration of all territorial-economic, political and national-cultural communities into a single Russian nation, allows a person to adapt to a multicultural world, helps a person understand himself and the people around him and promote the social role of a cultural person in society. The authors consider the relationship between multiculturalism and ethnopedagogy, identify the main pedagogical approaches and principles of development of multicultural education. The article notes the importance of integration of two significant areas in education and in the world - ethnology and ecology. Together they make an ethno-cultural module and an eco-cultural module which form the values for the society sustainable development. The possibility of using the technology of project activity through the implementation of ethno-ecological projects of students is considered. The authors note that ethnoecological projects on the dominant activity of students can be of different directions: research, educational, creative or practical ones. The most effective way to work on projects is through the implementation of a system of eco-oriented multicultural project weeks. Authors pay an important attention to the projects aimed at studying the ethnoecological traditions of the native land, the peculiarities of its geography, climate, natural landscape, flora and fauna, reflected in folklore, folk crafts, cults, rituals, holidays, legends, myths, etc.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dade Prat Untarti

ABSTRAK: Permasalahan pokok dalam penelitian ini adalah: (1) Apa latar belakang terbentuknya Desa Talaga Besar Kecamatan Talaga Raya Kabupaten Buton Tengah? (2) Bagaimana berkembangan Desa Talaga Besar Kecamatan Talaga Raya Kabupaten Buton Tengah Tahun 1977-2017? Metode sejarah tersebut adalah: (a) Pemilihan topik (b) Heuristik (Pengumpulan Data) (c) Verifikasi (Kritik Sejarah) (d) Interpretasi (e) Historiografi (kritik sejarah). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa: (1) Desa Talaga Besar awalnya hanya dijadikan tempat untuk berkebun atau bercocok tanam, misalnya menanam jagung dan ubi kayu sebagai makanan pokok masyarakat setempat dan pada umumnya masyarakat Buton. Karena seiring berjalannya waktu dan peradaban serta jumlah penduduk semakin bertambah banyak. Pemerintah daerah berinisiatif memekarkan desa Talaga Besar menjadi desa definitif. Faktor-faktor yang mendukung terbentuknya Desa Talaga Besar ini ialah: (a) Adanya peranan pemimpin yang selalu memberikan motivasi kepada warga untuk aktif dalam setiap kegiatan yang sifatnya membangun. (b) Faktor pendukung diantaranya faktor geografis (wilayah), faktor demografi (penduduk), dan faktor ekonomi. (2) Perkembangan Desa Talaga Besar dalam bidang ekonomi, sebagian besar masyarakat Talaga Besar menggantungkan hidupnya di bidang pertanian dan perdagangan yang telah dilakukan dan dikembangkan secara turun temurun. Di bidang sosial, hubungan sosial kemasyarakatan antara warga Desa Talaga Besar cukup harmonis. Di bidang pendidikan, perkembangan pendidikan di Desa Talaga Besar pada khususnya dan Kecamatan Talaga Raya pada umumnya mengalami perkembangan pendidikan yang boleh dikatakan sudah cukup baik dan infrastruktur lebih baik bila dibandingkan dengan keadaan sebelumnya. Kata Kunci: Sejarah, Desa, Talaga BesarABSTRACT: The main problems in this study are: (1) What is the background of the formation of Talaga Besar Village, Talaga Raya District, Buton Tengah Regency? (2) How did the development of Talaga Besar Village, Talaga Raya District, Buton Tengah Regecy Year 1977-2017? The historical methods are: (a) Selection of topics (b) Heuristics (Data Collection) (c) Verification (Historical Criticism) (d) Interpretation (e) Historiography (historical criticism). The results of this study indicate that: (1) Talaga Besar Village was originally only used as a place for gardening or farming, for example planting corn and cassava as a staple food for the local community and in general the Buton people. Because over time and civilization as well as the population increases. The regional government took the initiative to split the village of Talaga Besar into a definitive village. The factors that support the formation of the Talaga Besar Village are: (a) There is a role of leaders who always motivate citizens to be active in any constructive activity. (b) Supporting factors include geographical factors (region), demographic factors (population), and economic factors. (2) The development of Talaga Besar Village in the economic field, most of the Talaga Besar people depend their lives on agriculture and trade which have been carried out and developed for generations. In the social field, social relations between the people of Talaga Besar Village are quite harmonious. In the field of education, the development of education in the village of Talaga Besar in particular and the Talaga Raya sub-district in general experienced a development of education which was arguably quite good and the infrastructure was better when compared to the previous situation. Keywords: History, Village, Great Talaga


Author(s):  
Mohamad Seddigh Mohamadi ◽  
Hasan Babaee ◽  
Mohamad Khaledian

The present paper aims to explain crime by investigating various theoretical approaches and to show that from the classic era to the recent postmodern theories, a slow but steady cycle of discourse concerning crime has been occurring. In the classic times, the criminal is assumed to be a sane person with sound will who commits crime with an individualistic choice and due to incorrect decisions; In the positivism approach, the theorists' concern is directed at recognizing criminals and clarifying more fundamental biological aspects and psychological performance and they seek to explain the phenomenon of crime by dividing the people of the society into normal and abnormal people; In the modern theories the social factors causing the appearance of crime are at the focal point while critical theories greatly emphasize on the role of the society in the criminal phenomenon and its definition, finally postmodern theories consider crime totally as constructed by mindset, language and power and question its existential reality.


2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Wang

AbstractNW by Zadie Smith opens with a multicultural and multiracial scene and revolves around the crises in the lives of four people with longstanding connection to Northwest London. The Northwest London in NW is a besieged city, and the people therein could not see any possibility of getting out because the gate has been latched with the concept of social class. In NW, the social class is materialized as space, economic position and race. Geographically NW features the main areas of London, and considers the role of that city in shaping the consciousness of the major characters, a partly spatial configuring of identity. In addition, the major characters in NW also suffer from occupational exclusion and economic exploitation, which then lead to their lower-class position since social class is constructed in such a way that agents are distributed according to their positions in the statistical distribution based on the economic and cultural capital. Finally the racial discrimination encountered by the characters in NW shows that class relations shape the form that racial oppression takes. The racialization of class issues becomes a politically effective tool for the wealthy to divide and rule the lower classes. In NW, Smith thus has adopted a more political attitude than in her previous books, so the relatively new perspective of her fiction might be the attention she draws to the persistent obstacles to class crossing and the acknowledgment of the rigid lines that still define the social classes.


2020 ◽  
pp. 114-150
Author(s):  
Mona Sue Weissmark

This chapter outlines key issues in scientific literature concerning how evolutionary processes have shaped the human mind. To that end, psychologists have drawn on Charles Darwin’s sexual selection hypothesis, or how males compete for reproduction and the role of female choice in the process. Darwin argued that evolution hinged on the diversity resulting from sexual reproduction. Evolutionary psychologists posit that heterosexual men and women evolved powerful, highly patterned, and universal desires for particular characteristics in a mate. Critics, however, contend that Darwin’s theory of sexual selection was erroneous, in part because his ideas about sexual identity and gender were influenced by the social mores of his elite Victorian upper class. Despite this critique, some researchers argue similarly to Darwin that love is part of human biological makeup. According to their hypotheses, cooperation is the centerpiece of human daily life and social relations. This makes the emotion of love, both romantic and maternal love, a requirement not just for cooperation, but also for the preservation and perpetuation of the species. That said, researchers speculate that encounters with unfamiliar people, coincident with activated neural mechanisms associated with negative judgments, likely inspire avoidance behavior and contribute to emotional barriers. This suggests the need to further study the social, psychological, and clinical consequences of the link between positive and negative emotions.


Author(s):  
Chris Gilleard ◽  
Paul Higgs

This chapter begins by considering the distinction between sex and gender. The latter constitutes the source of the social division between men and women considered as social beings. It serves as both a reflection of division and inequality and a source of difference and identity. The chapter then explores the framing of this division in terms of patriarchy and the inequalities that are organised by and structured within the relations of work and of social reproduction. It focuses next upon the consequences of such a division, first in terms of both financial assets and resources and then in terms of social relational capital, drawing upon Putnam’s distinction between bridging and bonding capital. It then considers other sources of difference that become more salient in later life, in terms of health illness and longevity. The chapter ends with the role of gender in representing later life, and the role of later life in representing gender. It concludes by distinguishing between gender as a structure shaping third age culture, and gender as a constituent in the social imaginary of the fourth age.


2019 ◽  
pp. 46-73
Author(s):  
Amy Austin Holmes

This chapter analyzes the first wave of the revolution against Hosni Mubarak. Refuting arguments that focus on the role of the social media, or divisions among the elite, and the alleged neutrality of the Egyptian military, the chapter illustrates that it was a revolutionary coalition of the middle and lower classes that created a breaking point for the regime. Key features of this mass mobilization included the refusal of protesters to be cowed by state violence, the creation of “liberated zones” occupied by the people, “popular security” organizations that replaced the repressive security apparatus of the state, and strikes that crippled the economy in the final days of the Mubarak era. Key moments during the 18 days are described with ethnographic detail, including the unfiltered reactions of protesters to the deployment of soldiers on January 28. The revolutionary nature of the uprising is that people demanded more than just the ouster of Mubarak—they wanted to topple “the regime” by naming the names of a slew of Mubarak’s cronies to remove them from power.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth Weisbrode

AbstractThomas Niles served as a United States foreign service officer from 1962 to 1998. His service included three terms as ambassador: to Canada, the European Community, and Greece. He reflects here on the continuities in the diplomatic profession, and, in particular, on embassies, during a period of notable historic change. While many of the protocols and responsibilities of embassies remained more or less the same as they had been for over a century, there were hints that those, too, were about to change in unforeseen ways, even calling into question the central role of embassies as representing and serving the nation-state, as the other articles in this issue discuss. Nevertheless, to this ambassador, at least, even dramatic changes in technology, politics, and culture rarely happen all at once; and the institutions and the people adapting to them may be more cautious or durable than they sometimes appear in retrospect.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document