Yoruba-Chinese Ethical Intersectionality: Towards a Community of Shared Future in Afro-Asian Diasporic Spaces

Diasporic communities, as geographies of national cultures abroad, are central to cultural hybridity as new cultures emerge when migrants intersect with their host communities. They have also been construed by national governments as informal trajectories for continuities of economic and diplomatic relations. This study examines the cultural intersectionality of the Yoruba and Chinese diasporic communities by situating the points of convergence for normative ethics within the Yoruba – Chinese sociocultural experiences as cross-cultural templates for diasporic spaces serving to consolidate official national partnerships. The study explores case studies from performances of the Chinese Ru tradition, founded on three basic virtues of ren, yi and li, and juxtaposes them with Yoruba ethical equivalents of ṣ’ènìyàn (humaneness), òdodo (righteousness) and ìwà-ètọ́ ̣(propriety) as prerequisites for qualifying as omo ̣ lúàbí ̣ . The study contends that these ethical codes, retained in diasporic communities through family traditions, music and theatre, are viable templates for smooth Nigeria-China relations in building the proposed community of shared future within the context of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Toyin Falola and Akintunde Akinyemi (Eds). Encyclopedia of the Yoruba. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2016. 371pp.

Encyclopedia of the Yoruba is a single-volume encyclopedia that is comprised of 285 entries of short essays written by 188 authors who are predominantly scholars and academic researchers from Africa, Europe and North America. The different word-ranges of the essays vary from 1000 words (for 78 entries) to 750 words (for 88 entries) and 500 words (for 119 entries). Across these entries, the encyclopedia gives a complex, yet detailed, presentation of the Yorùbá, a dominant ethnic group in West Africa and the most prominent African cultural population, identity and presence in the African diaspora including North America, the Caribbean and South America. It presents the Yorùbá with respect to their involvements in, and interactions with, different sociocultural experiences, practices and expressions by “emphasizing the peculiarities, features, and commonalities of the people” (xi). Following an alphabetical ordering, each entry in the encyclopedia is complete on its own as it examines and discusses a subject, subject matter, concept or topic that shares an affiliation with the Yorùbá world in time (the traditional past in all its distant and intricate temporal dimensions and the modern present in all its complex interrelations) and/or space (Yoruba homes across West Africa and the African diaspora. Such concentrations of the entry include persons/personalities, demographics, worldviews and cosmological values and elements, and several material and non-material aspects of the Yorùbá culture and folklore, and their corresponding affiliates. It is important to add that the completeness of the entries is considerably informed by the suitability of the word-ranges used. It is commendable that 358 Ibrahim A. Odugbemi the editors are able to determine the word-range that fits the discourse of every entry and the authors are also able to conform. By writing across the various word-limits, the authors have been able to give adequate information about their subjects of discussion. Each word-limit is moderate enough to convey the basic information on the subject or topic of every entry.

Communicative Functions in Children Raised in Three Different Social Contexts in Colombia: The Key Issue of Joint Attention

Children’s sociocultural experiences vary around the world. Colombia is a South American country where the differences between socioeconomic statuses (SES) are huge. In this study, through the ECSP-E Scale, translated to Spanish and validated for linguistic and cultural equivalence, the development of three communicative functions was evaluated through an interactive sociopragmatic approach. The participants comprised 36 24-month-old children, raised in three different social contexts in Colombia, with the goal of comparing them across groups of SES. The lowest SES group sample subjects were representative of extreme poverty and members of an ethnic group, the Wayuú. Results for the communicative functions, namely social interaction (SI), joint attention (JA), and behavior regulation (BR), showed that the only function with no significant differences across SES was joint attention. This supports the hypothesis that the development of this function may be universal, in light of the fact that the Wayuú not only differed from other subjects in terms of their socioeconomic status but also in their culture. Higher SES was related to better social interaction, while Low SES was associated with better behavior regulation than their High SES peers. Consequently, results are discussed considering socioeconomic and cultural differences in the development of communication and social interactions, leading us to reexamine the paradigms, theories, and practices that are used when observing children raised in very poor environments.

Understanding the intersectionality of urban Indian women's leisure experience.

This chapter explores the conflictual location of leisure in Indian women's lives that religion, caste, class, formal education, and financial independence affect deeply. Autoethnography is applied as a methodology to analyse research data gathered from five college-educated, urban, upper-caste Indian women including the author herself. Autoethnography allows for the interrogation of broader processes of inequalities that shape lived experiences, particularly the interpretation of sociocultural contexts of life. The participants perceived leisure time embedded in socializing, religious and cultural gatherings, and family and community events. These collectively form the place, space, and events of women's leisure. Without assigning leisure a defined personal time, their leisure experiences carried layered meanings. It was a location of conformity, resistance, negotiations, desire, conflict, and transformation. Outside the realm of traditional sociocultural experiences, the women were becoming conscious of choice and decision-making capacity in their personal leisure. Their narratives provide insights into the experience of leisure with the nuances of strategies and agency.

A taste of nostalgia: Memory, culture and the senses in Joanne Harris’s Blackberry Wine (2000)

When it comes to food as a cultural entity, its importance as part of our communities of interaction goes well beyond its function as mere physical nourishment. It seems virtually impossible to talk about food and memory without talking about taste and smell. The connection between food, memory and the senses relies on the understanding that particular elements of the past are embedded in our identities and sense of self. Closely related to their food counterparts, drinks have also been at the centre of ongoing scholarly attention. Wine, in particular, has been the focus of debates surrounding notions of taste, provenance, storytelling, branding, habit and memory. As far as both food and drink are concerned, however, the remembrance of the senses – and the sociocultural experiences connected to them – is often shrouded in a layer of nostalgia, which inevitably complicates how we perceive experiences, as either authentic or (re-)constructed. Taking this idea as a point of departure, this article focuses on the connections between the sensorial experience of food and drink and the construction of memories in Joanne Harris’s novel Blackberry Wine (2000). Specifically, the article explores how Harris portrays the experience of wine-drinking – with a focus on taste, smell and the notion of terroir – as interdependent upon both cultural knowledge and familiar sensorial experiences. The discussion also exposes how these are eventually tacitly (and perhaps inadvertently) connected in the novel to the problem of consumerist exploitation, and how nostalgia is channelled in order to render products desirable to prospective customers.

Identifying and overcoming barriers to healthier lives

Understanding the key determinants of health from a community perspective is essential to address and improve the health and wellbeing of its members. This qualitative study aimed to explore and better understand New Zealand-based Pasifika communities’ sociocultural experiences and knowledge of health and wellbeing. Fifty-seven participants were involved in six separate focus groups. Community coordinators co-facilitated and transcribed the discussions and conducted thematic analysis. The findings suggested two overarching themes: (1) ‘Pasifika experiences on poor health and well-being’: were based on sub-themes: (i) ‘recognisable issues’ (e.g., poor diet and lifestyle behaviours); (ii) ‘systemic issues’ that support the perpetual health issues (e.g., lack of knowledge and education) and; (iii) ‘profound issues’ that are often unspoken of and create long-term barriers (e.g., cultural lifestyle and responsibilities). (2) ‘Hopes and dreams’ to improve health and well-being requires: (i) a family-centric approach to health; (ii) tackling systemic barriers; and (iii) addressing community social justice issues. This study provides deepened insights on Pasifika communities’ understanding healthier living in the context of their cultural environment and family responsibilities. If we are to develop effective, sustainable programmes that prioritises health and well-being based on the needs of Pasifika communities, the findings from this study highlight their needs as step forward in overcoming barriers to healthier lives.

Identifying and overcoming barriers to healthier lives

Understanding the key determinants of health from a community perspective is essential to address and improve the health and wellbeing of its members. This qualitative study aimed to explore and better understand New Zealand-based Pasifika communities’ sociocultural experiences and knowledge of health and wellbeing. Fifty-seven participants were involved in six separate focus groups. Community coordinators co-facilitated and transcribed the discussions and conducted thematic analysis. The findings suggested two overarching themes: (1) ‘Pasifika experiences on poor health and well-being’: were based on sub-themes: (i) ‘recognisable issues’ (e.g., poor diet and lifestyle behaviours); (ii) ‘systemic issues’ that support the perpetual health issues (e.g., lack of knowledge and education) and; (iii) ‘profound issues’ that are often unspoken of and create long-term barriers (e.g., cultural lifestyle and responsibilities). (2) ‘Hopes and dreams’ to improve health and well-being requires: (i) a family-centric approach to health; (ii) tackling systemic barriers; and (iii) addressing community social justice issues. This study provides deepened insights on Pasifika communities’ understanding healthier living in the context of their cultural environment and family responsibilities. If we are to develop effective, sustainable programmes that prioritises health and well-being based on the needs of Pasifika communities, the findings from this study highlight their needs as step forward in overcoming barriers to healthier lives.

Sociocultural Factors That Impact the Health Status, Quality of Life, and Academic Achievement of International Graduate Students

This literature review explores the sociocultural experiences of international graduate students in universities in the United States. In addition to the typical challenges faced by students going to universities in America, international graduate students undergo extra stress. Research has shown that students face issues such as negotiating the U.S. health care system, the pressures of competency in American English, balancing financial concerns, social connectivity, and anxiety due to isolation from family and friends. These factors place students at risk for developing health problems. Significant findings have indicated that institutions and students’ age play important roles in impacting students’ successful adjusting experiences even though the struggle for acculturation is a personal task. We organized our analysis and discussion around how to help graduate students to obtain sociocultural support and concluded with some suggestions on ways to address inadequacies within the institutional systems to make the schools welcoming for international students.