Power, Resistance, and Place in Appalachia

This essay is an analysis of the power and resistance dynamics at work in West Virginia. Because identity constructs are often place-based, place and the meaning of place in Appalachia inform identity construction and are a powerful tool to harness for resistance. With extensive outmigration pulling Appalachians from home and local communities, the facets of identity tied to place become even more complex. Loss impacts the salience of the “idea” of home for many Appalachians. Identity that is place-based can offer a framework for building a deeper understanding of a region. At the same time, to comprehend resistance, it must have a specific context and location. Places are made up of many different identities that make creating solidarity extremely difficult. Resistance must be place-based but in order for movements to be effective, it must not rely solely on place. Appalachia has a strong history of resistance and resilience. The role of power in resistance provides context to explore West Virginia’s rich history of protest.

A construção da identidade da mulher num acórdão sobre violência doméstica

In this paper we propose to demonstrate the analytical and critical potential of Discourse Studies for understanding identity constructs in a judicial decision on domestic violence.Taking as reference the concept of ideology in the sociocognitive framework (Van Dijk, 1995), that allows linking ideology and discourse, and using enunciative-pragmatic analytical categories, we will analyse certain aspects of a judicial decision, which demonstrate how the discourse structures favour a stigmatising and blaming representation of the woman victim of domestic violence and the consequent excuse and legitimisation of violence against her.The object of analysis will be a decision of the Court of Appeal of Porto, Portugal, issued on October 11, 2017, concerning a domestic violence lawsuit, in which the adultery of the assaulted woman is an argument for excusing the violence exerted by the aggressors.To implement our study, we will detach and analyse the linguistic means used to represent the actors involved; the predications attributed to them and the verbal processes in which they participate (Reisigl & Wodak, 2009). We will also detach and analyse instances of doxainvocation and evidentiality, occurrences of strong evaluative modality and mechanisms of illocutionary reinforcement, as strategies for argumentation and legitimisation.

Narrative Identity Constructs and Effects on the Performance in Sport Field

The exposure to the numerous and challenging changes and pressures in the contemporary society (new technologies, socio-demographic processes, financial and economic crisis, organisational reshaping, societal values changes, etc.) significantly affects the way to live of individuals, who need to completely rethink and reshape their way to behave for being able to face all the new difficulties in their everyday life. Individuals face many difficulties, especially in terms to express themselves, keeping their own identity also with respect of their societal and cultural values. It is not easy to keep and express our own identity into contemporary society characterised by high pluralism and multiculturalism, where, especially the new generations need to feel accepted by the world and don’t often follow their real way to be and behave. In the sport setting the debate on this issue is still open with an increasing focus on the effects of narrative identity constructs on the athletes’ performance. This conceptual study with its explorative nature aims to investigate this issue of narrative identity as a possible effective way for individuals to face the numerous challenges in their everyday life, trying to keep their strong values and their real way to be and behave. The purpose is to analyze the identity issue though the narrative identity constructs with direct and indirect connection to the sport setting, mostly athletes’ performance. Specifically, our purpose is to investigate the relationship between these topics for athletes involved in sport competitions evidencing their way to tell about them.

Cultural Affiliation and Identity Constructs Under the British Mandate for Palestine

In her conclusion, van Kessel reflects on the nature of cultural diplomacy, its success and failures in Palestine. She considers the different actors’ approaches to cultural diplomacy and the impact of those approaches on processes of identity formation. She also considers the shifting frameworks on cultural diplomacy arguing that both scholars and practitioners have blurred the lines between more orthodox readings that cultural relations were produced by private initiatives, while cultural diplomacy was the domain of government initiatives. She then compares the cases presented in this volume within a broader range of Mediterranean geography to consider the ways in which some of the actors behaved in other contexts. She concludes that the nature of cultural diplomacy in Palestine created overlaps, and sometimes conflicts, between confessional allegiances and nationalism for Christian Palestinians.

Introduction

The concept of madness as a challenge to communities lies at the core of legal sources. This book considers how communal networks, ranging from the locale to the realm, responded to people who were considered mad. The madness of individuals played a role in engaging communities with legal mechanisms and proto-national identity constructs, as petitioners sought the king’s mercy as an alternative to local justice. The resulting narratives about the mentally ill in late medieval France constructed madness as an inability to live according to communal rules. Although such texts defined madness through acts that threatened social bonds, those ties were reaffirmed through the medium of the remission letter. The composers of the letters presented madness as a communal concern, situating the mad within the household, where care could be provided. These mad were usually not expelled but integrated, often through pilgrimage, surveillance, or chains, into their kin and communal relationships.

Medieval Communities and the Mad

The concept of madness as a challenge to communities lies at the core of legal sources. Medieval Communities and the Mad: Narratives of Crime and Mental Illness in Late Medieval France considers how communal networks, ranging from the locale to the realm, responded to people who were considered mad. The madness of individuals played a role in engaging communities with legal mechanisms and proto-national identity constructs, as petitioners sought the king’s mercy as an alternative to local justice. The resulting narratives about the mentally ill in late medieval France constructed madness as an inability to live according to communal rules. Although such texts defined madness through acts that threatened social bonds, those ties were reaffirmed through the medium of the remission letter. The composers of the letters presented madness as a communal concern, situating the mad within the household, where care could be provided. Those considered mad were usually not expelled but integrated, often through pilgrimage, surveillance, or chains, into their kin and communal relationships.

LANGUAGE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTS AMONGST ETHNIC BRUNEI MALAY TEENS IN MEMBAKUT, SABAH

This study aims to analyze the language identity constructs preferred by Brunei Malay ethnic teens based on one language identity model. This study was conducted at SMK Membakut (2) Beaufort, Sabah. The sample consisted of 56 Brunei Malay ethnic teens age 15 years. The survey method was conducted using a structured questionnaire consisting of 17 language identity constructs. In addition to frequency tables and Likert scales, descriptive statistics are used to calculate percentages, mean and standard deviation of each language identity construct. The language identity constructs consist of a sense of belonging, attitude toward the pronunciation, language and social status, use or exposure of B1, language knowledge, and script or alphabet. The results showed their sense of belonging to the standard Malay was stronger than the Brunei Malay language. But the pronunciation pattern which they desired tends to be the Brunei Malay language. Usage or exposure of the Brunei Malay language as L1 by the Brunei community in the district of Membakut, Sabah was still up-to-the-minute. Thus, the participants chose to get more knowledge of the Malay Brunei language, not the standard Malay. However, in everyday life, teens associated social status with standard Malay which was more prestigious. Therefore, they chose to use standard Malay script or alphabet when sending text messages and e-mail. The pervasive use of Brunei Malay in low variety domains able them to maintain their identity and the continuity of Brunei culture despite government recommendations to assimilate and acculturation.