The Construction and Destruction of Clay’s “Ideal Self” in Dutchman

Amiri Baraka’s play Dutchman tells the tragic story of Clay, a black man who is seduced, insulted and killed by a white woman Lula on the subway. In order to fit into mainstream American society, Clay always constructs his “ideal self” and plays the role of a fake white man. Lacan’s mirror stage theory can explain the cause of the construction and destruction of Clay’s ideal-self.

Evaluating the Authenticity of Naxi Music in Three Stages from the Perspective of Naxi Musicians: An Application of Lacan’s Mirror Stage Theory

How do people evaluate the transformation of a local music scene under tourism? Using Jacques Lacan’s mirror stage theory, Manuel Castells’ identity theory and Erik Cohen’s authentication theory, we build a framework to judge the authenticity of Naxi music in Lijiang, China, based on interviews, literature analysis and performance analysis. The conclusions are as follows. First, there are significant differences in authenticity among the three stages of Naxi music, as defined by Lacan’s theory. Second, we modify Erik Cohen’s authentication concept from the perspective of Lacan and read the spirit of persistence and innovation as “hot” authentication in the postmirror stage. Naxi musicians have clear project identity, as defined by Manuel Castells. Project identity means that they do not follow the mirror image of tourists blindly and pay attention to music and their own development. This research contributes to the sustainable development of intangible cultural heritage in tourism.

Being First, Being Right, and Being Credible Since 2002: A Systematic Review of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) Research

The crisis and emergency risk communication (CERC) model is a five-stage theory that merges established public health practices with principles of crisis communication. Although CERC has been regularly applied on the ground, it has been criticized as lacking the coherence and unity necessary to serve as a framework for research. To determine the extent and type of research CERC has generated since its original presentation to the academic community 15 years ago, we conducted a systematic review of research using CERC as a theoretical lens. A total of 4,471 articles in 20 languages were screened, 400 full texts examined, and 19 articles included in the research and theory analysis, of which one tested tenets of the CERC model. We conclude that CERC has rarely been theoretically tested, and we argue that reformulation of the propositions is necessary for empirical support of the model to proceed.

History, Knowledge, and Sustainable Economic Development: The Contribution of John Stuart Mill’s Grand Stage Theory

The aim of this paper is to sketch out the idea for a grand theory in development studies as the necessary research field for fruitful historical interdisciplinary, arguing that Mill’s stage theory provides such a powerful theoretical framework able to contextualize, develop, and integrate the multiple, diverse, and middle-range contemporary strands in development studies. Second, an attempt is made to reconstitute Mill’s stages theory of economic development placing it at the center of his political economy. We claim that Mill’s theory of economic development implies that the dialectical relation between knowledge/innovation (human capital) and nature (natural capital) accelerates the course of economic change. In Mill’s analysis, the dialectical relation between knowledge and nature penetrates through culture, which is regarded by Mill as a structural element of each stage of economic development. By highlighting the importance of knowledge in the transition between different stages of economic development, and by proposing a reassessed interpretation of Mill’s stages theory of economic development, we propose that in Mill’s political economy both innovation and nature play a pivotal role in accessing sustainable economic development.