Expression Of Social Status Research Articles

Social structures in Late Iron Age Transylvania. Archaeological evidence of social competition and hierarchy

The scope of this article is to discuss the main components of the social structures which characterized the “Celtic” and the “Dacian” cultural and chronological horizons, and to identify, on the basis of the available archaeological evidence, the means and practices through which social hierarchy and competition was expressed within the communities of each horizon. The rural society specific to the “Celtic” horizon was largely heterarchic, whereas the “Dacian” horizon was characterized by a hierarchic social organization. The differences between these two horizons can be observed in the funerary practices, the organization of the landscape, and the range of visual symbols used in the expression of social status and power by the local elites.

Žmogus prieš gamtą: reljefo transformavimas įrengiant XIII–XIV a. Kernavės pilį ir jo sukelti eroziniai procesai

Piliakalnių įtvirtinimai aprėpia ne tik gynybinę, bet ir socialinio statuso išraiškos funkciją, todėl jų įrengimo darbai, jų mastas galėtų būti svarbus požymis bandant išskirti galios centrus gyvenviečių sistemoje. Vadovaujantis šiuo požiūriu, straipsnyje analizuojami XIII–XIV a. Kernavės pilies, susidedančios iš keturių atskirų piliakalnių, įtvirtinimai bei juos įrengiant atlikti reljefo transformavimo darbai. Remiamasi specialiai šiuo tikslu 2018–2019 m. atliktais tyrimais – gręžiniais, georadaro profiliais, šurfais, taip pat ankstesnių metų kasinėjimais. Plačioje teritorijoje surinkti duomenys apie vietovės stratigrafiją leido ne tik rekonstruoti iki piliakalnių įrengimo buvusį paleoreljefą bei atliktas jo modifikacijas, bet ir atskleidė žmonių atliktų reljefo transformavimo darbų ir gamtinių geodinaminių procesų ryšį. Tyrimai parodė, kad piliakalnių įrengimas sukėlė didelio masto erozinius procesus, turėjusius lemiamą įtaką tiek pilies, tiek aplink ją įsikūrusio miesto raidai. Straipsnyje keliama hipotezė, kad Kernavės pilies ir miesto administracinės reikšmės praradimą XIV a. pabaigoje galėjo nulemti būtent žmonių veiklos sukelti eroziniai procesai.

Cross-space Consumption among Undocumented Chinese Immigrants in the United States

We consider cross-space consumption as a form of transnational practice among international migrants. In this paper, we develop the idea of the social value of consumption and use it to explain this particular form of transnationalism. We consider the act of consumption to have not only functional value that satisfies material needs but also a set of nonfunctional values, social value included, that confer symbolic meanings and social status. We argue that cross-space consumption enables international migrants to take advantage of differences in economic development, currency exchange rates, and social structures between countries of destination and origin to maximize their expression of social status and to perform or regain social status. Drawing on a multisited ethnographic study of consumption patterns in migrant hometowns in Fuzhou, China, and in-depth interviews with undocumented Chinese immigrants in New York and their left-behind family members, we find that, despite the vulnerabilities and precarious circumstances associated with the lack of citizenship rights in the host society, undocumented immigrants manage to realize the social value of consumption across national borders and do so through conspicuous consumption, reciprocal consumption, and vicarious consumption in their hometowns even without being physically present there. We conclude that, while cross-space consumption benefits individual migrants, left-behind families, and their hometowns, it serves to revive tradition in ways that fuel extravagant rituals, drive up costs of living, reinforce existing social inequality, and create pressure for continual emigration.

Translating homosexuality into Chinese: a case study of Pan Guangdan’s translation of Havelock Ellis’ Psychology of Sex: A Manual for Students (1933)

Before the translation of modern Western works on sexology, China had created its own lexicon for sexuality, which was seen as either a temporary and changeable obsession or an expression of social status and taste, rather than an identity. This understanding was challenged when Western biologically based sexology was introduced. Centred on a case study of Pan Guangdan’s (1946) translation of Havelock Ellis’ Psychology of Sex: A Manual for Students (1933), in particular Chapter Five “Homosexuality” and Appendices, this paper investigates how Western sexological discourse was translated and deployed in Republican China’s quest for social and cultural modernity. It analyses the strategies that Pan adopted to translate terms and concepts related to homosexuality into Chinese and the evidential approach that he applied to trace and write a history of Chinese homosexual culture in the paratexts of his translation. In addition to shedding new light on global histories of sexuality, it also illustrates the role of translators in the development and interaction of different knowledge and knowledge systems across languages and cultures.

The Effect of Distance, Expenditure and Culture on the Expression of Social Status Through Tourism

Tourists view tourism not only as an opportunity for recreation, relaxation and a way to visit other places, but also as a means of expressing their social status, using their travel as a pathway to reconfirm their social positioning to friends, relatives and colleagues. A stratified sample of tourists from three different nationalities was used in this research. The study examines the factors of distance, trip cost and origin versus destination, similarities in culture and human behaviour, and tourists' expression of perceived social status, whilst it also evaluates the influence of nationality, age and level of education on the examined factors. Findings reveal that distance is the fundamental factor expressing social status, followed by expenditure and culture. These factors also present an almost equal moderating effect upon each other. The article proposes an explanatory model for tourism dealing with the expression of social status through distance, expenditure and culture.

Ivory Craftsmanship, Trade and Social Significance in the Southern Iberian Copper Age: The Evidence from the PP4-Montelirio Sector of Valencina de la Concepción (Seville, Spain)

Because of its great potential to provide data on contacts and overseas trade, ivory has aroused a great deal of interest since the very start of research into Iberian late prehistory. Research recently undertaken by the German Archaeological Institute in Madrid in collaboration with a number of other institutions has provided valuable contributions to the study of ivory in the Iberian Copper Age and Early Bronze Age. One of the archaeological sites that is contributing the most data for analysing ivory from the Copper Age in southern Iberia is Valencina de la Concepción (Seville), which is currently the focus of several debates on the development of social complexity. This article contributes to this line of research by providing new, unpublished evidence and by examining the significance of ivory craftsmanship in commercial, social, and ideological terms. It also assesses in greater detail the prominent part played by luxury ivory items as an expression of social status and power.

Late-medieval houses as an expression of social status*

Houses are one of the glories of late medieval England. Several hundred of them survive, extending from complete residences to interesting remnants subsumed in later homes. They are a reflection of the social and political aspirations of their owners and can give an indication of the scale and form of their households. This article considers how these were translated into building programmes through courtyard expansion, the trappings of defence and the development of private suites, as well as by new domestic forms such as lodging ranges and residential tower-houses.

Use and function of genital contacts among female bonobos

Female bonobos, Pan paniscus, show a mounting behaviour that differs physically from that in other primate species. They embrace each other ventroventrally and rub their genital swellings against each other. We investigated five hypotheses on the function of ventroventral mounting (genital contacts) that derive from previous studies of both primate and nonprimate species: (1) reconciliation; (2) mate attraction; (3) tension regulation; (4) expression of social status; and (5) social bonding. We collected data in six field seasons (1993–1998) from members of a habituated, unprovisioned community of wild bonobos at Lomako, Democratic Republic of Congo. No single hypothesis could account for the use of genital contacts, which appeared to be multifunctional. We found support for hypotheses 1 and 3. Rates of postconflict genital contacts exceeded preconflict rates suggesting that the display is used in the context of reconciliation. Rates of genital contacts were high when food could be monopolized and tension was high. However, genital contacts also occurred independently of agonistic encounters. Our study shows rank-related asymmetries in initiation and performance of genital contacts supporting the social status hypothesis: low-ranking females solicited genital contacts more often than high-ranking females while the latter were more often mounter than mountee. Although subordinates took more initiative to achieve genital contact, dominants mostly responded to the solicitation (ventral presentation) with mounting, indicating that the performance benefits both individuals. We suggest that genital contacts can be used to investigate both quality and dynamics of dyadic social relationships among female bonobos.