Cultural Milieu Research Articles

Intersectional Discrimination: Gender and Caste

Patriarchy subordinates and subdues the fair sex on the basis of gender, a social and cultural construct to divide the two sexes (biological construct). The caste system is the hidden apartheid of ancient India which continues even in contemporary times. Apart from these, several other markers of identity like religion, class, economic position and geographical location also play an important role in discrimination. These interact with each other to give a unique experience of discrimination rather than a conglomeration of oppressions. The intersections of gender and caste in India echo issues of violence, coercion and infringement of basic human rights which can be explained through intersectionality theory. Cultural studies have facilitated the documentation of the petit narrative, thus bringing the subaltern to the mainstream. Literature thus portrays such marginalization, which sometimes challenges the status quo or at times negotiates its way around it. This article intends to analyse the English translations of Pawade’s Antahsphot (1981), Kamble’s Jina Amucha (1985), Sivakami’s Pazhaiyana Kazhithalum (1989) and Limbale’s Akkarmashi (1991) through the lens of intersectionality in the cultural milieu.

Dušan Karpatský a česko-chorvatské literární vztahy

This paper deals with the contribution of Dušan Karpatský (1935—2017) to the reception of Croatian literature in the Czech Republic, and Czech literature in Croatia since the 1960s until the present day. In his numerous translations, Karpatský worked tirelessly to introduce Czech readers to the achievements of Croatian (and Yugoslav) literature, and vice versa. By selecting texts for his translations that were as current as possible, and by meeting high aesthetic criteria, made him influential in both cultural milieus where he played the role of an intermediary. His work in lexicography, bibliography, history of literature and non-fiction is also of great importance. His research has made Croatian culture permanently indebted to him because he discovered and translated into Croatian the Prague Papers, written in Czech by the Croatian politician Stjepan Radić, and because he discovered a seven-language dictionary written by the Prague Benedictine monk Peter Loderecker, which was based on a five-language dictionary written by Faust Vrančić. Owing to all of the above, and much more, Karpatský is considered a key figure in literary and cultural communication between Croatia and the Czech Republic in the last six decades.

LGBQ+ in Ghana

This article offers an original analysis of the sociocultural and political situation of same-sex (LGB) and queer (Q) people in Ghana, especially in the context of political repression. There is a lack of literature on Ghana’s LGBQ politics in various edited collections on African sexualities, so this article fills the gap from anthropological and sociological perspectives, emphasising the cultural-sociolinguistic nuances of gender and sex as well as the politics of same-sex and the contradictions in them. Drawing on personal biographies and media reports of power dynamics in local and (post)colonial frames of reference to LGBQ rights, I argue that regardless of the cultural and moral antics in local politics that bedevil the LGBQ community, LGBQ rights cannot achieve any enduring success if discourse continues to be spearheaded by the West since the devil is in the details. Therefore, the need to reconsider the role of the West in local discourse about LGBQ rights and to promote narratives that highlight indigenous cultural and character strengths (e.g., neighbourliness, love, work ethic, hard work, philanthropy, and honesty) in celebrating diversity and individual expression has never been more imperative. This could be a critical mass to revolutionise Ghanaian queerness and related West African homophobic and xenophobic behaviour. At the same time, the queer and LGB communities should be sensitive to the cultural milieu in which they operate and rethink ways of organising because culture and the moral community can be agentic depending upon knowledge pathways and continued resistance may lead to backlash.

TV Cloning as Transcultural Adaptation: The Reformatting of the Medea Myth via Doctor Foster

Abstract This special issue asks the question of what new digital technologies bring to the re-telling of old stories. In our contribution, we discuss how the practice of TV cloning on transnational digital streaming platforms has affected almost a decade of remixing and reformatting the Medea myth. In 2015, British playwright Mike Bartlett, best known for his work in theatre, adapted Medea to British television. The resulting BBC production Doctor Foster was a hit and spawned a second series in 2017. Subsequently Doctor Foster became a global phenomenon as it was remade in a variety of surprisingly diverse cultural milieus. The localized adaptations of Doctor Foster are cases of franchise diversification and expansion that gave new traction to the tradition of ‘programme adaptation’ (Keane/Moran) and has been dubbed ‘TV formatting’ (Moran/Malbon, Miller) or ‘TV cloning’ (Fung/Zhang). They are not a new phenomenon, as early 21st century precursors predate the world of television streaming or what Amanda Lotz has called ‘internet-distributed television’, but the diversified world of platform TV seems ideally suited to the practice of TV cloning. According to Michael Keane and Albert Moran (6) the format is ‘the total package of information and know-how that increases the adaptability of a program in another place and time’. Possession of the format enables producers to grant licenses and enforce copyright. The context for this study that seeks to address both the emerging textualities and practices of these digitally transformed TV industries is the fluid redistribution of television consumption zones across the planet.

Architectural Interpretations of Qur’anic and Hadith Influences in Traditional Indonesian Mosques During the Walisanga Era

This research investigates the reception of the Qur’ān within the realm of mosque architecture, traditionally assessed through the study of text integrated into mosque ornamentation. This article introduces a reception studies to Walisanga mosques architecture, encompassing considerations of spatial design, essence, illumination, and interior ambiance. Notably, this study diverges from conventional methods by abstaining from the inclusion of Qur’anic or hadith text. The primary objectives of this article are twofold: a) to elucidate the relationship between the architecture of traditional Indonesian mosques and the Qur’an and Hadith, and b) to unveil how architectural elements within traditional mosques visually interpret QS. 24:35 and the Hadith of Gabriel. In order to achieve a comprehensive analysis, this study employs both semantic and hermeneutic methodologies. The semantic approach is applied to dissect the atomistic structure of QS. 24:35 and the Hadith of Gabriel, with the intent of identifying foundational components that underpin the concept of tajug tumpang in traditional Indonesian mosque architecture. Subsequently, a hermeneutic approach is adopted to explore the interconnection between the verse QS. 24:35, the Hadith of Gabriel, and their architectural manifestations within the context of traditional Indonesian mosque construction.The result of the analysis culminates in the identification of two primary forms of architectural reception of QS. 24:35 and the Hadith of Gabriel within traditional Indonesian mosques. Firstly, instances wherein the textual meanings are directly translatable are actualized through elements such as light, lanterns, trees, and niches, all tailored to the Indonesian cultural milieu. Secondly, fundamental concepts derived from the Qur’an and Hadith, which resist tangible representation, are reinterpreted and incorporated into facets of spatial arrangement, lighting schemes, colour selections, ornamental details, and the harmonization of additional components, all resonating harmoniously with the Indonesian cultural identity.

Disrupting Cisheteropatriarchy in Society and the Workplace: The Role of HRD Education

In recent years, there has been a surge of anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the United States. These laws undoubtedly reinforce cisheteropatriarchal ideologies that heterosexuality and gender conformity are the only acceptable ways of being, while other forms of sexuality and gender identity are unnatural, immoral, and deserve punishment. Given that the workplace, mirroring the broader society, exhibits the prejudices and preconceptions that are ingrained in our cultural milieu, it is incumbent upon human resource development (HRD) education to expose students to the ways in which cisheteropatriarchy structures workplaces so, as HRD practitioners, they can work towards disrupting it.

Social and environmental determinants influencing injection drug use and HIV risk among two sister cities on the US–Mexico border: a comparative cross-sectional study, 2016–2018

The economic, social, cultural and political milieus that influence injection drug-related HIV risk behaviors along the US–Mexico border in the previous decade have been studied comparing cities on an East–West axis. In an effort to inform interventions targeting factors beyond the individual level, we used a cross-sectional study design comparing people who inject drugs during 2016–2018, living on a North–South axis, in two cities—Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, USA—situated at the midpoint of the 2000 US–Mexico borderland stretch. We conceptualize injection drug use and its antecedents and consequences as influenced by factors operating at various levels of influence. Results of analysis comparing samples recruited from each border city indicated significant differences in demographic, socioeconomic, micro- and macro-level factors that affect risk. Similarities emerged in individual-level risk behaviors and some dynamics of risk at the drug use site most frequented to use drugs. In addition, analyses testing associations across samples indicated that different contextual factors such as characteristics of the drug use sites influenced syringe sharing. In this article, we reflect on the potential tailored interventions needed to target the context of HIV transmission risk among people who use drugs and reside in binational environment.

The Poetics of ‘Sensuous Knowledge’ in Mariama Bâ’s So Long a Letter

Through a focus on Mariam Bâ’s So Long a Letter, this paper argues for the importance of indigenous feminist theories in interpreting the work of African women writers. I argue that western systems of knowledge create binary categories, disregarding perspectives that do not conform to hegemonic frameworks; yet the radical indigenous feminism of Bâ’s text cannot be satisfactorily analysed within such a worldview. Instead, I approach So Long a Letter using Minna Salami’s Sensuous Knowledge (2020), which focuses upon the emotional and spiritual needs of African women within their specific cultural milieu. Salami’s study posits emotion as a legitimate tool in the fight against sexism and racism; a valid way of knowing that can co-exist with reason rather than becoming its abject. This sheds light on Bâ’s feminist politics, as indigenous feminist structures reveal her heroine Ramatoulaye in all her complexity as an empowered Senegalese woman.

Seeger Lecture, Society for Ethnomusicology Virtual Meeting 2021

Seeger Lecture, Society for Ethnomusicology Virtual Meeting 2021

CHALLENGING OBJECTIFICATION THROUGH ALTERNATIVE BEAUTY CONCEPTS IN THE FILM I FEEL PRETTY (2018)

Beauty ideals that primarily focus on physical attributes play the role of a cultural milieu in which women are vulnerable to objectification. Such a cultural force gives rise to the importance of investigations on literature, such as films, as a cultural product as well as a cultural shaper in which women are portrayed and represented through their narrative, characters, and more. This study is a qualitative descriptive study on the film I Feel Pretty that applies the feminist theory of objectification. It aims to explore the portrayal of Renee Bennett, the main character, in dealing with objectifying beauty ideals and how such phenomena are challenged in the film. The results found that Renee Bennett experiences objectification by others, self-objectification, and objectifying others under the context of appearance-focused beauty concepts. However, the film challenges such objectifying beauty concepts by introducing alternatives that focus on internal qualities or non-physical attributes, such as self-confidence, intelligence, and health. Thus, the film is a critique towards the existing beauty ideals that glamorize the physique, and it encourages a shift of focus from external to internal qualities that support women’s mobility and well-being.

La diffusione del mesmerismo nell’ambiente culturale napoletano

The spread of mesmerism in the Neapolitan cultural milieu Federigo Verdinois’ Racconti inverisimili (1886)
 Federigo Verdinois (1844-1927) was an Italian journalist, translator and writer, one of the most influent intellectuals of the Neapolitan milieu in the post-unification years. He published a collection of short stories in 1886 entitled Racconti inverisimili di Picche, in which emerges his interest in spiritism and, particularly, mesmerism. Mesmerism, a therapeutic practice based on magnetism and theorized at the end of the 18th century by the German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815), enjoyed considerable success in Italy in the 1870s and 1880s. In this paper, I analyse the particular forms that Mesmerism took in the Neapolitan milieu, focusing on Verdinois’ Racconti inverisimili.

A Socio-Semantic Etymological Analysis of Selected Nicknames Within the Zambian Senga Social and Cultural Onomastics Cosmology

This study examined the social-semantic meaning of selected Zambian Senga nicknames within the Senga social and cultural milieu. It unveiled the social- semantic significance of selected Senga nicknames in relation to their social and cultural setting. It also established the etymology of the names as well as the social cultural significance of meanings expressed in the nicknames. This study adopted a qualitative approach. A purposive sampling technique was employed through which fourteen persons, who were considered sufficiently knowledgeable in the Senga language, provided an accurate explanation of the data. The participants were drawn from Chama District of the Eastern Province of Zambia. Data was collected through an interview guide, which was administered to the selected research participants. Data was analysed using Social Semiotic Theory. In line with social semiotics, nicknames express both connotative and denotative meanings. In addition, Senga nicknames have social and cultural significance in that they warn witches, discourage selfishness, provide wisdom, encourage, demonstrate endurance, reprimand, teach self-reliance, show ownership, discourage laziness, expose promiscuous behaviour, hard work and traditional beliefs. Lastly, it is recommended that other aspects of Senga anthroponyms may be researched on. These might include personal names, their etymology and semantic value.

The Wandering Minstrel in Contemporary Nigerian Literature: A Study of Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo and Ezenwa-Ohaeto’s Poetry

The art of minstrelsy is very prevalent in traditional African society. Minstrels abound in these societies and they are mostly regarded as singers, musicians or reciters of poems. They are notable for their itinerant nature which makes them familiar with the goings on in their immediate societies. Even with the transition of most African societies from oral to written culture as a result of colonialism which introduced the Western system of education in Africa, the activities of these minstrels have not ebbed. Instead, it has found renewed expression on the pages of the collection(s) of poetry of contemporary Nigerian and by extension, African poets. This paper studied two collections of poetry of the poets under study; Akachi-Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Heart Songs and Waiting for Dawn and Ezenwa- Ohaeto’s The Voice of the Night Masquerade and The Chants of a Minstrel. It employed Formalism (New Criticism) theory in the analysis of these works. This paper showed that Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo writes from the angle of a wandering minstrel which affords her the opportunity to permeate different segments of her society. Ezenwa-Ohaeto on the other hand employed, not only the masquerade minstrel personae in his collection of poetry, The Voice of the Night Masquerade but equally structured the work on the circular movement associated with the entrance and exit of the Night masquerade. Also, he equally writes The Chants of a Minstrel from the angle of the mad man and itinerant minstrel persona. The research concludes on the note that these contemporary Nigerian poets studied have succeeded in continuing the art of minstrelsy prevalent in their cultural milieu even as they incorporate their wandering/itinerant nature in their works.

The Role of Wonder in Creating Identity

Although the Bahāʾī Faith was born in a Shīʿī Islamic cultural milieu it has clearly gone beyond the “gravitational pull” of Islām and assumed a distinctive social, scriptural, and religious identity. Bahāʾīs revere Islām as “the source and background of their Faith” and consider the Qurʾān the only authentic, uncorrupted scripture apart from their own. However, Bahāʾī teachings insist that this new religious movement is more than a sectarian development. It represents a distinctive—if you will “autonomous”—religious dispensation along the lines of the development of Christianity out of its original Jewish setting. This assertion and trajectory is clear in the very earliest scriptures of the new religion revealed by the Bāb and runs through subsequent Bahāʾī writings. A key term, badīʿ, used dozens of times by the Bāb in his annunciatory composition, the Qayyūm al-Asmāʾ, denotes this sense of the “wondrously new”, something that is simultaneously ancient and unprecedented. It is suggested here that this term is a central and pivotal idea in the Bāb’s vision and that it had a major role in generating the imaginative and kerygmatic cultural energy that would eventually result in the above-mentioned escape from an Islamic orbit. The word badīʿ eventually acquires a life of its own in Bahāʾī thought and practice. It is the word used to designate the new calendar whose current year is 180 B.E., “Bahāʾī Era” or “Badīʿ Era”. It is used in the title of one of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s major books, the Kitāb-i Badīʿ. It is given as a name for one of the young heroes of the Bahāʾī Faith who was tortured and killed because he dared to attempt to communicate directly with the Shah of Iran to testify to the truth of Bahāʾuʾllāh’s mission. It is a word encountered frequently throughout the Bahāʾī writings and translated various ways. It functions as an emblem and symbol of the Bahāʾī ethos and message. The main focus here is the Qayyūm al-Asmāʾ, the Bāb’s proclamatory summons, disguised as a Qurʾān commentary, in which he claimed to be in immediate and intimate contact with the hidden Imām and, therefore, the centre of all authority (walāya) whether political or spiritual. The clarion message of the Qayyūm al-Asmāʾ, in which the much repeated Arabic word badīʿ is a powerful and vibrant symbol of “the new”, is that a profound and radical covenantal renewal—as distinct from “revivification/tajdīd”—is at hand, a renewal that would evolve into a distinctive Bahāʾī communal identity that is simultaneously–and therefore wondrously–new and primordial.

Moderasi Beragama Muhammadiyah dalam Risalah Islam Berkemajuan Perspektif Sosiologi Pengetahuan Karl Mannheim

The significance of moderation remains paramount in contemporary discourse, persisting as an ongoing subject of discussion. Muhammadiyah, among the prominent proponents of this ethos, has recently inaugurated Risalah Islam Berkemajuan, a publication dedicated to advancing ideas on religious moderation. This article scrutinizes Muhammadiyah’s approach to religious moderation as delineated in Risalah Islam Berkemajuan. Employing Karl Mannheim’s sociological framework of knowledge, this research aims to elucidate Muhammadiyah’s stance on moderation. The methodology employed entails qualitative analysis of both primary and secondary data sources. Data collection techniques encompass library and online research, enabling a comprehensive exploration of pertinent sources. Subsequently, the gathered data undergoes qualitative analysis. The findings underscore how Karl Mannheim’s perspective on the sociology of knowledge illuminates Muhammadiyah’s conception of moderation as articulated in Risalah Islam Berkemajuan, shedding light on the organization’s role in shaping moderate discourse within the societal and cultural milieu.

Marianne Sághy and Robert G. Ousterhout, eds. Piroska and the Pantokrator: Dynastic Memory, Healing, and Salvation in Komnenian Constantinople

Marianne Sághy and Robert G. Ousterhout, eds. <i>Piroska and the Pantokrator: Dynastic Memory, Healing, and Salvation in Komnenian Constantinople</i>

‘A very sensitive Rwandan woman’: sexual violence, history, and gendered narratives in the trial of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko at the international criminal tribunal for Rwanda, 2001-2011

ABSTRACT In 2011, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former Rwandan Minister of Family and Women’s Development, became the first woman convicted of genocide in an international criminal trial, and the first convicted of rape as a crime against humanity. Nyiramasuhuko’s case complicates portrayals of Rwandan women as peace-loving victims of violence, a representation often used to explain women’s post-genocide socio-political gains. Drawing on archival records from her trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, this article explores how African history and legal-historical perspectives are necessary to understand this landmark trial and judgment, in particular the gendered narratives that permeate the case and its coverage. Situating Nyiramasuhuko’s case within an historical moment when gendered violence was emerging as an object of international concern, and within the Rwandan social, historical, and cultural milieu, it argues that Nyiramasuhuko’s self-presentation, as well as witness testimonies, are suffused with gendered narratives. Nyiramasuhuko rendered herself as a wife and mother, claiming that these roles precluded her participation in sexualised violence. Her detractors, in contrast, emphasised her cruelty and ambition, drawing on historical tropes about powerful women. Historicising the case in local and international perspectives is essential for understanding how gender is mobilised in accounts of genocidal sexual violence.

Beyond Spectacle

Since the turn of the Millennium immersive theatres have converged across the cultural milieu, from the operatic to the escape room. Some immersive performances lend themselves to a sense of excess, of grand staging and extreme scenic detail, with the audience finding themselves in a state of total immersion. Nonetheless what about the moments that settle on something as mundane as a cup of tea and a slice of toast? This paper addresses an often-overlooked aspect of immersive theatres – where mundaneness intercedes into the performative world of staged intimacy, whether on purpose or by accident. It looks at how ordinariness and the commonplace can offer insight, feeling and a familiar texture within the immersive encounter. In this way, a positive framing of the mundane emerges as a crucial part of the sought-after ‘experience’, sometimes through juxtaposition with the spectacle or spectacular, by their very mundanity. Considering a cross-spectrum of performance work, from the small to large scale, one-to-one to collective audience experience, analysis of everyday objects and moments occurring in the immersive performance world are examined. Referring to the work of all things considered, Darkfield, Punchdrunk and Secret Cinema, the paper frames the relative opportunities for the presence of mundane activity and spaces within immersive performance focusing on specific performance examples from each company – Pram Talks (2016), Double (2020), The Burnt City (2022) and Dirty Dancing (2022) respectively. It is through analysis of the performances that the paper contextualizes the importance of the audience experience, value and labour when mundanity is placed within an immersive theatrical frame.

Work values and cultural background: a comparative analysis of work values of Chinese and British engineers in the UK.

In literature of work-related values and attitudes, it is often argued that different work attitudes could be attributed to different ethnic origins and cultural backgrounds. This perspective article argues that we should avoid a deterministic argument of cultural essentialism and explore how ethnic differences in work values were formed in specifical socioeconomic and cultural contexts. To support this argument, this research conducted in-depth interviews to explore the mechanisms underlying the formation of British and Chinese immigrant engineers' work values in three dimensions: intrinsic-extrinsic, masculine-feminine, uncertainty avoidance-entrepreneurial risk. The main finding in this paper is that the different social and cultural milieus where both ethnic groups grew up to a large extent contributed to their different work habitus, which further resulted in their different work values. To conclude, this paper contributes to the literature by rejecting the cultural essentialism, which links individual work attitudes with their ethnic/cultural backgrounds in a "deterministic" way.

Metacontingency Terminology, Philosophical Assumptions, and the Scientific Dialogue: A Response to Ardila-Sánchez and Hayes (2023).

Ardila-Sánchez and Hayes (2023, this issue) discuss how differing philosophical assumptions might reflect on differing metacontingency terminology and debate some of the arguments presented by Sampaio and Haydu (2023). We respond by restating the urgent need to clarify the definition of cultural milieu, which is illustrated by an argument about discriminative stimuli as components of the cultural milieu. We clarify that the differences in metacontingency terminology that we did not emphasize were related to interlocking behavioral contingencies (IBCs) and cultural consequences, and not to cultural milieu and group-rule generation. We question any rigid separations of "Skinnerian" and "Kantorian views" of cultural phenomena, insisting that we focus on a unified culturo-behavior science. We elucidate that verbal responses and stimuli may participate in IBCs, cultural antecendents, or selecting environment variables; answer some questions about the latter two concepts; and clarify that the we presented a COVID-19 psychological support project not to empirically validate the concept, but to illustrate and test the conceptual coherence of the terms and theory.