British Diplomacy on Demonstrations of March and April 1981 in Yugoslavia (Kosovo)

Great Britain since the late 19th and early 20th centuries had increased its interest for the developments in the Balkan region. Since the Berlin Congress in June 1878, the Conference of Ambassadors in London, December 1912-May 1913, then during WWI and WWII. Her interest continued also during the Cold War. Tito's Yugoslavia as a conglomerate of peoples had special diplomatic treatment from UK because of political, economic and military interests of the latter. Mostly after 1948 the UK built good relations with Yugoslavia. Her interest was Yugoslavia to remain stable as it was the west "protected" area from any Soviet Union threat. From this perspective the predictions were that the British could approve of any kind of internal behavior towards other ethnic minority communities. Thus in 1981 riots broke out in the province of Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and they escalated widely all over Kosovo. The UK closely followed all developments through its embassy in Belgrade and reported continuously to the FCO in London. This research will be exclusively based on these Telegrams. The declassified diplomatic reports testify more to a diplomatic and political correctness since then, from the fact that they clearly write about the discrimination that has been done to Kosovo in the Yugoslav legal and political system.

A SHORT ARGUMENT FOR BELIEF IN PROGRESS

The notion of social progress is not much in favour in these sophisticated times of scepticism, cynicism, relativism and political correctness; at least in the West. Most people might admit that some indubitable advances have occurred, primarily in terms of this or that useful technological innovation. But any wider claim about ‘social progress’ is often met by overwhelming doubt and suspicion, if not outright derision. I provide a short argument for belief in progress.

Liberal Education and Politics

St. John’s College tutor emeritus David Bolotin claims that political correctness, with its power to enforce consequences on those who challenge its orthodoxies, has suppressed the reasoned examination of society’s deepest moral convictions.

The dynamics of political correctness, inclusive language and freedom of speech

The study aims to research the historical dynamics of the notions political correctness, inclusive language and freedom of speech, as well as to reveal the mechanisms and new tendencies of their realization in public discourse. The sources of practical material are represented by: a) 126 journal and Internet articles; b) 12 speeches of famous US and British politicians, scholars and celebrities reflecting the notions under study. The leading methods include critical discourse analysis, definition and contextual analyses. The research indicates that during its long and contradictory history, the term political correctness had both positive and negative connotations. When the negative attitude started to prevail, it was replaced by the notions inclusion and inclusive language based on similar mechanisms: ban on the use of offensive terms denoting different aspects of peoples identity; avoidance of stereotypes and false semantic associations; abundant use of euphemisms, etc. The paper reveals the new trends in the English language (non-binary expression of gender; changes in the conceptualization of race, age and disability) and social practices meeting the requirements of inclusive communication. Whereas political correctness and inclusive language aim to protect vulnerable social groups and improve the social climate, they produce certain undesirable tendencies: breach between social groups caused by inefficient communication; reverse racism; complex relationship of political correctness with science, literature and education; its speculative use; and restrictions on freedom of speech. The study also sheds light on the problems of politically correct intercultural communication caused by the non-stop language change, differences in social norms, values, grammatical structures, semantics, and cultural associations.

Modernity through syncretism and eclecticism: Wu Guanzhong's artistic practice in the cultural and political environment of the PRC (1949-1989)

<p>This thesis examines Wu Guanzhong’s 吴冠中 (1919-2010) art and art theory in the context of socialist and post-socialist China. Wu’s art came to maturation through a sophisticated syncretism of Chinese and Western painting styles and techniques. Aesthetic considerations notwithstanding, each of Wu’s artistic breakthroughs was also a direct response to the cultural policies of the Chinese Communist Party or to the larger cultural and political currents at important junctures of twentieth-century China. Mirroring the syncretistic style and political nature of his artwork, Wu’s art theory is characterised by an eclecticism that mediates between Chinese and Western artistic concepts and walks a thin line between creative agency and political correctness. By identifying the particular qualities of Wu’s art practice that captured the spirit of the 1980s and contributed to his phenomenal success during the ‘Culture Fever’ at the time, this thesis seeks to demonstrate how Wu’s unique blend of syncretism may exemplify an alternative path of Chinese artistic modernity, one that is forged by ‘official artists’ working within the system and shaped by the artists’ strategies of cultural politics as much as their aesthetic choices.</p>

Modernity through syncretism and eclecticism: Wu Guanzhong's artistic practice in the cultural and political environment of the PRC (1949-1989)

<p>This thesis examines Wu Guanzhong’s 吴冠中 (1919-2010) art and art theory in the context of socialist and post-socialist China. Wu’s art came to maturation through a sophisticated syncretism of Chinese and Western painting styles and techniques. Aesthetic considerations notwithstanding, each of Wu’s artistic breakthroughs was also a direct response to the cultural policies of the Chinese Communist Party or to the larger cultural and political currents at important junctures of twentieth-century China. Mirroring the syncretistic style and political nature of his artwork, Wu’s art theory is characterised by an eclecticism that mediates between Chinese and Western artistic concepts and walks a thin line between creative agency and political correctness. By identifying the particular qualities of Wu’s art practice that captured the spirit of the 1980s and contributed to his phenomenal success during the ‘Culture Fever’ at the time, this thesis seeks to demonstrate how Wu’s unique blend of syncretism may exemplify an alternative path of Chinese artistic modernity, one that is forged by ‘official artists’ working within the system and shaped by the artists’ strategies of cultural politics as much as their aesthetic choices.</p>

Invoking the “Yolocaust”?

The present study understands comedy in relation to the Holocaust as an attempt by Germany’s third and fourth generations to create alternative forms of commemoration. Analyzing the country’s history of coming to terms with the Shoah, it highlights that recent forms of subversive satire are reacting to a crystallization in official memory politics through counter-discourse to political correctness and the defenders of moralism. The article finds that it is possible to combine comedy and Holocaust memory if Jewish victimhood is not spoofed and the limitations of official memory politics are debunked. Finally, it contends that not every historical assessment based on a local/national context can serve as a global blueprint. The recognition of national historical guilt and the establishment of distinct collective memories are still crucial for understanding specific pasts. Accordingly, German popular culture referring to the Nazi past differs from u.s. comedy dealing with the Holocaust.

Gender-Neutral Language in English and French Linguo-Cultures

Gender linguistics studies the gender-neutral aspect in detail that is usually manifested in a language. One of its provisions tells us that language not only possesses such qualities as anthropocentrism (human orientations) is, but it also implies androcentrism, that is, that it presents a picture of the world based on a masculine viewpoint, in the form of a man (as a personality). The manifestation of such gender asymmetry in the language leads to unequal representation of persons of different sexes and is considered to be intolerant, especially among the members of a foreign language culture.In our paper we deal with the peculiarities of gender-neutral language in English and French linguo-cultures, determine the similarities - the differences between gender-neutral lexis and try to show the cases in which they occur in the process of language interaction. It should be noted that the requirements of political correctness, which are due to non-linguistic reasons, play an important role in the language policy of any country.In conclusion, it should be admitted that in English and French linguistics, the priority to the designation of women in the professional field is given in different ways. Neutral forms are more common (and therefore more widespread) in English whereas in French, however, the forms with inflectional changes or analytical structures of generating nouns are more preferable. Anyway, in European society, language policy and the use of gender-neutral language are greatly influenced by political correctness requirements due to extralinguistic reasons.

Urteilen und Werten

Erzählen ist ursächlich mit Stellungnahme und Wertung verknüpft. Das Spektrum dieser axiologischen Implikationen reicht von der möglichst sachlichen bis hin zu einer stark attribuierenden oder urteilenden Darstellung, die (un-)merklich in die Manipulation abgleiten kann. Das (Be-)Werten und (Be-)Urteilen hat trotz der enormen Tragweite für Gesellschaft und (Geistes-)Wissenschaft bisher jedoch kaum theoretische Reflexion erfahren. Die Beiträger*innen des interdisziplinären Bandes setzen genau hier an, wobei die Mechanismen der Urteilsimplikationen in Kunst, Literatur, Fotografie, Videogames, Karikaturen, aber auch in Journalismus und Soziologie im Blickfeld stehen. Angesichts von political correctness, der me tooon ("i")off ("i")# ist diese theoretische Reflexion des Wertens und Urteilens unerlässlich und hochaktuell.

Political Correctness: The Effects of Gaming in the Society and the Social Dimension

In this study my approach is the dispute and the structure of political correctness in terms of sociological questions, as follows. 1. Why this apparently centered in creative output on achieving social change through the gaming industry? 2. How are we to comprehend the association among the chaos of inequality in the gaming industry and putting character disfigurement (gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation)? 3. How do we connect globalization - political correctness to video games? The study conclude with a discussion and tactics for contesting critiques.