The Role of the Family in the Restoration and Preservation of Yoruba Cultural Heritage

Yoruba people have a unique cultural heritage which engulfs every aspect of their lives; hence, guides them in their daily activities. It was borne in their heart, incise in their offspring, and pass from one generation to another. Unfortunately, this cultural heritage is almost lost today, as civilization has denigrated almost all these cherished cultural values in Yoruba communities. Undoubtedly, the family where the whole cultural decadence started from has great roles to play in restoring and preserving these cultural values. This is the thrust of this work. The essay is therefore approached from historical and ethical perspectives with phenomenological methodology to examine the cherished Yoruba cultural heritage. The findings of the work show that moral training through informal education; means of identity; communal responsibilities; ascribed roles; etc., are missing among the youths today. The paper adopts Mary Jo Hatch’s theory of cultural dynamics to examine the changes in Yoruba cultural heritage, the causes of decadence of this heritage; and the role of the family in enthroning Yoruba cultural heritage among the youths today. The essay recommends that family needs to rise for the restoration and 70 Awofeko Oyebanjo, and Shogunle preservation of these cultural heritages to combat the socio-cultural threat confronting the society.

A Constitution for the Anthropocene Body Politic Environment, Culture, and the Humanities in the Twenty-First Century

The following article is a slightly revised version of Serenella Iovino’s Keynote Address at the 2021 European Conference for the Humanities, jointly organised in Lisbon (5-7 May) by the UNESCO Social and Human Sciences Programme, the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH), and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The theme of the Conference Section inaugurated by this lecture was “The Humanities in the Twenty-First Century”. By acknowledging the official approval of the BRIDGES Project on education for sustainability as a partner of the UNESCO Management of Social Transformation Program, Iovino evaluated the role of the Environmental Humanities in the agenda of the so-called ‘New Humanities’, paying special attention to their relevance during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this framework, Venice emerged both as a symbol and as a very concrete object of care, proving to be “a thinking machine” for contemporary natural-cultural dynamics, as Salvatore Settis has defined it. The lecture ended with the invitation to turn the current crisis into a constitutive moment for the ‘Anthropocene body politic’, namely, the earthly collective of agents and of processes, both human and nonhuman, natural and technological.

THE SOCIAL REALITY OF THE WOMAN CHARACTER IN THE SHORT STORY “KA-MANAKAH TERBANGNYA SI BURONG SENJA” FROM THE LENS OF TAKLIF

This paper will highlight the creative work ‘Ka-mana Terbangnya Si Burong Senja’ by A. Samad Said which features the issue of moral collapse. The short story of the study is seen as a human rights discourse that can provide awareness to society regarding human rights in the formation of social and cultural dynamics through the display of character and characterization of a fully significant immoral society. The work of A. Samad Said needs to be appreciated in terms of its inner meaning. The Taklif framework will be used to discuss the findings of the study because, in the Islamic view, in principle, the universe belongs to the One True God. By using a text analysis approach, the study will turn inward and bring the reader to be more open-minded in reading the author's message from the lens of Islam, which is back to the creator in the process of personality formation.

No Appetite for Change: Culture, Liberalism, and Other Acts of Depoliticization in the Australian Obesity Debate

There is wealth of evidence that points to the pernicious ways in which inequities in food, bodies, and health are disproportionally borne. Equally, there is a wealth of evidence that critiques the role of neoliberal imperatives for individuals to take responsibility for their health, and how this tenet reproduces inequity. However, health interventions and public policy remain immune to addressing social determinants of health and ignore the cultural dynamics of power in food systems, interventions, and policy. Drawing from ethnographic research in an Australian community that has high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and obesity, and the Australian Government’s response to the ‘obesity epidemic’, this article examines the processes and tactics of depoliticization that are used to elide political and sociocultural phenomenon. I leverage the work of Brown and Povinelli to argue that liberalism’s hold on universalisms, autonomy, and individual liberty in obesity discourses subjugates a comprehension of political relations, positioning liberal principles and culture as mutually antagonistic. It is precisely this acultural positioning of liberalism that makes it possible to remove recognition of the power that produces and contours the ‘metabolic rift’ between food systems, public health, and equity priorities. In conclusion, I consider how obesity policy might be different if we paid attention to this culturalization of politics.

Cultural Dynamics of Women Population as Inheritable Property in Anambra Traditional Society in South-Eastern Nigeria: Implications for Women’s Health

The study examined the practice of women as inheritable property among the Anambra Igbo. This was with a view to analysing how this practice has impacted on women’s population health and ascertain whether there have been changes in this practice. Feminism theory was employed to explain the inferior social status, subordination and exclusion of women population from partaking in the societal resources such as family property. This paper argued that women’s lack of access to inheritable property is the cause of women’s poverty and their poor health in Igboland. The study indicated that women are seen and treated as property and that women are inherited by their husbands’ kinsmen at the death of their husbands. The study also revealed neglect in the welfare of the widow and her children for her refusal to observe certain cultural but inhumane practice. The study also revealed that some communities practice widow cleansing in which the village deity priest must have sex with the widow after the burial of her husband so that she should be allowed to stay in that community. The study recommended that women as inheritable property have economic and health implications for all women in Igboland whether they are widowed, married or single. The study concluded that the concept of women as inheritable property impoverishes women and constitutes a barrier to women’s attainment of their full potentials in Igboland, and it has serious implications for their health.

Socio-cultural dynamics in gender and military contexts: Seeking and understanding change

LAY SUMMARY Today, changing the culture of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is a high priority, so that all members feel respected and included and do not experience discrimination, harassment, or any form of sexual misconduct. This article looks back at the CAF experience with gender integration to see what it shows about what should be done today. Over 20 years ago, many believed the job was done, that the CAF had fully integrated women and welcomed all members, regardless of who they were. Women have served in the Canadian military for several decades; they make important contributions, and there are no formal limitations on how they contribute and what they can achieve. Although policies and practices have changed, too often, some women and men continue to experience discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault. Based on past experience, this article suggests that thinking about different ways of understanding culture in the CAF is important in paving the way for a more inclusive experience for all members.

NONET AND SELZNICK’S RESPONSIVE LAW CONCEPT IN A HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHY PERSPECTIVE

The responsive laws of Nonet and Selznick's thinking became one of the results of conceptual ideas about the laws that are elaborated periodically. The development of responsive law may be less comprehensive when it has not been found the historical fundamental aspects on which it is focused. It is thus important to study the concept of Nonet and Selznick's responsive legal philosophically. The method in this research is the philosophical method. The results of this study include: first, the development of law in Nonet and Selznick's view is divided into three periods of repressive law, autonomous law, and responsive law. Second, Nonet and Selznick's responsive law when reviewed in historical perspective gained an understanding that responsive law exists from a constantly creative legal subject by looking at legal issues and realities in an increasingly complex society, and responsive law is a law that has always served as part of cultural dynamics.

Women in Southern African History

Women have played complex roles in the history of Southern Africa, a vast region that comprises diverse local histories as well as social and cultural forms. The diversity of the region has been both integrated and fragmented through historical connections, which have centered on South Africa as a subimperial power. Prior to colonial conquest and the impact of Christian missions and European trade, gender relations varied, partly due to an array of social and kinship systems. Overall, however, the position of women in southern African societies deteriorated after colonization. Economic, political, and cultural dynamics impacted on gender relations through the interaction of European and indigenous patriarchy, colonial rule, and capitalist modes of production, which reinforced and transformed one another, evolving into new structures and forms of domination. The paradox of similarities due to settler colonialism and differences in respect of timing and pathways to decolonization impacted upon the trajectories of postcolonial gender politics and the representation of women in the postcolonial political structures of southern Africa. Despite initial differences regarding legal gender equality, everywhere that liberation movements in power established themselves in the region, discourses of “African culture and tradition” became pertinent. Colonial customary laws and powers given to traditional leaders remain at the heart of contemporary battles over gender equality and social justice.

Middle Stone Age Bifacial Technology and Pressure Flaking at the MIS 3 Site of Toumboura III, Eastern Senegal

Over the past decade, the increasing wealth of new archaeological data on the Middle Stone Age (MSA) in Senegal and Mali has broadened our understanding of West Africa’s contributions to cultural developments. Within the West African sequence, the phase of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, ca. 59-24 ka) yielded so far the best known and extensive archaeological information. The site of Toumboura III encompasses an occupation dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to between 40 ± 3 ka and 30 ± 3 ka. It provides the largest, well-dated, and stratified lithic assemblage in West Africa for the MSA and sheds light on an unprecedented cultural expression for this period, adding to the notable diversity of the late MSA in this region. We conducted a technological analysis of the lithic components following the chaîne opératoire approach. The lithic assemblage features a prevalence of bifacial technology and the exploitation of flakes as blanks for tool production. The craftspeople manufactured distinct types of bifacial tools, including small bifacial points shaped by pressure technique. The new data from Toumboura III demonstrate behavioral patterns that are entirely new in the region. By revealing behavioral innovations and technological particularities, these results on the techno-cultural dynamics during the MIS 3 phase of the MSA enhance our understanding of the complex Pleistocene population history in this part of Africa.