Cultural Marginalization Research Articles

Sacralizing the Playful Secular: The Deity of Karuta-Gambling at the Nose Kannon Hall in Sannohe, Aomori

In a faraway apple orchard in Sannohe, a small town in Japan’s Aomori Prefecture, a zushi miniature wooden shrine at the Nose Kannon Hall caught the media’s attention with its unique adornment—the karuta playing cards with European-inspired abstract designs in bold red and black colors that were used during the early modern period for pastime and gambling. Because of this decoration, the Nose Kannon Hall is known by locals as the Karuta Hall, and the zushi that enshrines the Buddhist deity Bodhisattva Shō-Kanzeon is also believed to be the home of bakuchi no kamisama “the kami deity of gambling”. Little is known about the nature of devotion to this bakuchi no kamisama or how the playing cards that were used for frivolous games came to be sacralized as items worthy to be used as decoration of a Buddhist shrine. This article considers the slippage between prayer and play in the regional Buddhist devotion by focusing on the Nose Kannon Hall, which presided at a key intersection along the northern trade route where the local community and outside visitors, such as pilgrims and traders, converged, especially during the Edo period (1603–1868). Marshaling historical records, televised interviews, and images provided by the town officials and guardian family of Nose Kannon Hall, I argue that the use of karuta playing cards on the miniature shrine at Nose Kannon Hall epitomizes a kind of localized early modern Shinto–Buddhist syncretism at the margins of the urban culture that is simultaneously devotional and tongue-in-cheek sacrilegious in a quintessentially Edo-esque way.

Shades of Cultural Marginalization: Cultural Survival and Autonomy Processes

The recent rise in extremism, authoritarianism, displacement and isolationism signals troubled times for the most marginalized groups in societies. In this article, our primary emphasis is on a specific aspect of marginalization within organizational theory – referred to as cultural marginalization. We argue that the existing literature lacks an adequate theoretical understanding to address this phenomenon. To theorize cultural marginalization and uncover how marginalized groups may cope with such circumstances, we build on and problematize the culture-as-toolkit perspective. We integrate this perspective with other cultural theories that consider power structures more prominently. Drawing on this theoretical base, we develop a typology of four dynamics of cultural marginalization and conceptualize the specific cultural survival and cultural autonomy processes marginalized groups may undertake to safeguard their culture. In doing so, we contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding the toolkit perspective by providing novel insights into how marginalized groups utilize their socio-culturally constrained cultural resources in distinct ways, compared with more resourceful actors and groups. Our theoretical contributions pave the way for new avenues of research to deepen our understanding of the general process of cultural marginalization and to direct further inquiry into the survival strategies of marginalized groups and how they might (re)gain autonomy.

Academia’s Royal Orphan

The term “critical thinking” is barely a century old; and it is controversial, fraught with ambiguity, and often treated as an academic orphan, condemned to the margins of scholarly culture. Despite its “royal” ancestry, as the embodiment of rationality inherited from Ancient Greece, it has come to represent an isolated and sectarian field of inquiry. But philosophers would be wise to take due credit for their offspring rather than shun or disavow critical thinking; and other scholars should recognize it as their shared legacy from philosophy, and the embodiment of intellectual rigor.

Cultural Exchange vs. Marginality: A Project for an Islamic Culture House in Genoa, Italy

Social marginalization at the urban scale can stem from an ingrained fear within opposing societal blocs that their identity is inevitably destined to be undermined, or even lost, due to cultural conflicts. This article argues that the design of projects that juxtapose different cultural traditions and practices and encourage an openness to the exchange of knowledge and learning can both promote the reinforcement of identity, and set the stage for the willing and mutual acceptance of difference. With this perspective as a starting point, this article explores an unrealized project for an Islamic Culture House in Genoa, Italy, intended to be a place in which Islamic culture can be shared with the Christian and non-Christian residents of the city. This unrealized project, which received the European Muslim League’s support in 2012, proposes the transformation of an old building located in the Darsena area, the dockyards of Genoa, into a centre of Islamic culture.

EXPLANATORY POTENTIAL OF THE POSTCOLONIAL APPROACH FOR UNDERSTANDING THE RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR

The escalation of the Russia–Ukraine confrontation into a fullscale war in 2022 einforced questions about the deficiencies of the mainstream IR theoretical paradigms in exploring and explaining the development in Eastern Europe. In this article, we examine the explanatory potential that the postcolonial approach in IR can contribute to elucidating Russia’s aggressive behaviour and, no less importantly, Ukraine’s desperate resistance to the invasion. This includes examining the coloniser–colonised dichotomy within the historical context of Russia–Ukraine relations, the Russian neocolonial agenda in independent Ukraine, and the applicability of the concepts of the Other and Subaltern to Russian perceptions of Ukrainians. We offer substantiation of the premise that, although the status of Ukrainians within the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union differed from the experiences of overseas colonies, there are still common features — such as predatory exploitation of human and natural resources, enslavement and forced relocations, and cultural suppression and marginalization of indigenous people — that support the application of a postcolonial approach. The perspective highlighted with the help of the postcolonial lens fills in the gaps inherent in other theoretical approaches, addressing the coloniser’s tendency to use power to retain hegemony and revealing how Russian hybrid perception of Ukrainians as the people similar to Russians, but subaltern, shaped Ukrainian culture of resistance to oppression.

Vulnerability and Vulnerance: Marginalization of Women in 1 Timothy 2:12-15

Did 1 Timothy 2:12-15 serve to marginalize women? From a feminist and vulnerability standpoint, we suggest reinterpreting the text with using Leo G. Perdue Biblical Theology concept. In terms of vulnerance, Paul restricts the role of women for the sake of the salvation of the Christian community in Ephesus under the shepherding of Timothy. From a perspective of vulnerability, women's restriction can be attributed to the issue of inequality, the hierarchical structure of control and subjugation by the wealthy during that era, and the susceptibility of women to be misled by heretical beliefs at the time. The passage 1 Timothy 2:12-15 provides insight into the cultural marginalization of women during that era. Therefore, the present-day Christian community must actively advocate for gender equality by addressing the underlying factors that contribute to the marginalization of women.

Sociology of the Contrapuntal: The Holocaust and the Rhetoric of Evil

The essay dwells on the construction of a sociology of the contrapuntal that revolves around the social and symbolic patterns concerning the representation of mass human annihilation, as in the case of the Holocaust. In this view, Roger Silverstone’s metaphor of media contrapuntuality – inspired by the analysis of some narrative masterpieces focused on imperialistic and colonial exploitation – may support the development of a sociological pathway supporting the analysis of the “rhetoric of evil” historically permeating the reflection on the refusal and the oppression of Otherness. Contrapuntuality deals with communication, memory and identity, since the rhetoric patterns of media discourse are shaped not only by the negative issues, but also by good deeds and intentions that rarely are attractive to journalists. The proposal of such a sociology of the contrapuntal, inspired by the counterbalance of good and evil in the public sphere, complies with the increasing complexity of our mediascapes, in which mass massacres and identity annihilation, including the Holocaust, are constantly media represented, in line with the need to contrast cultural marginalization and existential displacement.

Scorsese'nin Silence Filmi Üzerinden Sessizliğe Yaklaşımlar: Batı ve Doğu Perspektifleri Arasında Bir Karşılaştırma

Silence, the film, revolves around Christian missionaries who traveled to Japan in the 17th century to propagate Christianity and explores their interactions with the local population. The film portrays silence by strongly associating it with martyrdom and alludes to the suffering of Jesus Christ. This glorification of silence reveals findings related to Western perspectives and an Orientalist attitude. These findings will be analyzed according to Orientalist theory, a theory that investigates Western culture's tendency to exoticize and dominate Eastern cultures, in order to examine how the Western missionaries in the film observed and represented Japanese culture. The analysis will employ content analysis methodology to delve into the themes, symbols, and representations in the film. Additionally, it will draw upon Edward Said's theory of Orientalism and the concept of self-Orientalism. The film identifies instances where the Western representation associates silence with martyrdom and belittles Eastern culture. Examples such as the claim that the Japanese people do not understand Christianity, the depiction of Japan as a barren land, the presentation of Japanese characters as stereotypical figures, and the relegation of Eastern spiritual traditions to a lower status all demonstrate the denigration and marginalization of Eastern culture by the Western perspective. Furthermore, the fact that the film is based on a novel written by a Japanese author necessitates an examination of self-Orientalism.

How do higher degree research students and supervisors navigate ethics‐in‐practice for educational research in sensitive or ‘fragile’ contexts?

AbstractThe past decade has seen increased attention paid to the ethical complexities of educational research undertaken in sensitive or ‘fragile’ settings, where trauma, marginalisation and socio‐political precarity are prevalent. Yet, despite increased awareness of micro‐ethical issues encountered in the field, there is limited research that engages with these issues from the perspective of higher degree research (HDR) students, and few studies that focus on supervisory practices to promote micro‐ethical reflexivity. Here, we draw on interviews with HDR students and supervisors researching in the fragile context of forced migration and related settings of conflict and crisis, exploring issues of gendered violence, sexuality, cultural and linguistic marginalisation, and mental and physical well‐being, to explore their experiences with micro‐ethical complexities in fieldwork. We consider student and supervisor sense of preparedness to engage reflexively with micro‐ethical challenges and identify key supports for navigating ethics‐related dilemmas. Importantly, in exploring gaps in extant supports, we consider issues of individual, collective and institutional responsibility regarding HDR student and supervisor engagement with micro‐ethics, posing key questions about duty of care for novice researchers working in fragile or sensitive contexts.

The community function of schools in rural areas: normalising dominant cultural relations through the curriculum silencing local knowledge

ABSTRACT Schools in rural places in European societies generally teach the same content and perform as well as other national schools do on national tests and international comparison assessments such as PISA. However, by doing this they may also marginalise local rural knowledge and expose rural populations to a (for them) culturally insensitive curriculum. Using a meta-ethnographic analysis this article identifies how rural educational ethnographic researchers working in Sweden have depicted this situation and the social and cultural interests in which it operates. It identifies how research articles often describe rural schools as fulfiling a local community function, but it also questions exactly what kind of function this is and whether we can really talk about rural schools operating in local community interests generally or even at all. Instead, it is rather more the case that schools in rural places contribute to some individual educational interests and possibilities along with a general cultural domination and marginalisation of rural consciousness and interests.

Феномен дауншифтинга: способы изучения в социальной философии

This study, based on the results of a number of scientific works on the study of sociocultural, socio-historical, socio-psychological and philosophical foundations of the historical genesis of the downshifting phenomenon, examines a number of methodological and analytical approaches that are at different stages of their substan-tive conceptualization and methodological design. Particular attention is paid to the genesis of the process of emergence and development of the foundations of alternative forms of socio-cultural existence of individuals, as well as the culturally and historically substantiated features of their understanding on the part of the social majority, often complicated by a more or less pronounced negative emotional attitude on the part of this majori-ty to manifestations of cultural and social marginality. Based on the results of the study, historically and socio-culturally mediated forms of historically early forms of individual and collective rejection of the massively pro-moted values of society for the sake of those values and goals of individual development that are recognized by the downshifter’s personality as a priority, and sometimes even subjectively perceived as the only true ones.

Confucianism in multicultural China: ‘official knowledge’ vs marginalised views

ABSTRACT In this study, we discuss the Confucian tradition in today’s multicultural China from two perspectives: that of the mandatory school curriculum, which represents ‘official knowledge’, and that of students from ethnic minority and/or religious backgrounds who are located on the cultural margins in China. The analysis draws on curricular narratives of the Confucian tradition for six major school subjects and semi-structured interviews with a group of university students from non-Han ethnic minority and/or religious backgrounds, whose lived experiences are rarely included in the national curriculum narrative. The analysis suggests that the interpretation of the Confucian tradition is a monopolising and dominant discourse that reinforces the cultural hierarchy between different cultural groups. However, the students appear to regard the Confucian tradition as only one culture and worldview in China, which can benefit from the critical reflexivity of other cultures.

How the notion of epistemic injustice can mitigate polarization in a conversation about cultural, ethnic, and racial categorizations

ABSTRACT It is a common contention that education done uncritically and unreflectively may serve to sustain and justify the status quo, in terms of mechanisms of cultural or racial privileging and marginalization. This article explores an argument made from within anti-oppressive education theory and advocated by theorist Kevin Kumashiro, namely that transformative education must entail altering harmful citational practices. I see two shortcomings in relation to this argument: first, its focus on discursive practice entails a prerequisite of high discursive literacy. Second, it may lead to a failure to give credit to people’s intentions, risking a conflation of honest mistakes and wilful ignorance, and depriving us of theoretical nuance. While a well-argued and important call, I argue in this article that both shortcomings lead to the risk of a polarized conversation. Focusing on cultural, ethnic, and racial categorization, and using social studies as an illustration, it is suggested that applying notions from the theoretical concept of epistemic injustice may open up a space for granting nuanced credit to people’s intentions, thereby mitigating the risk of polarization. Rather than viewing attention to outcome and attention to intention as oppositional to one another, it is argued that both theoretical perspectives may benefit from the insights of the other. By applying needed context-specificity and nuance to categorizations of dominance and marginalization in individual discursive exchange, this can be done without granting priority to the experience of dominantly situated knowers.

Reassessing the Marginalization of Astrology in the Early Modern World

AbstractThe marginalization of astrology – the protracted process by which a rich scholarly field and a highly skilled trade migrated into the margins of European culture – is coming to be recognized as one of the most fundamental transformations in the transition from the pre-modern to the modern world. Long assumed to be a casualty of the ‘scientific revolution’ and ‘Enlightenment’, since the 1970s historians have questioned the power of intellectual developments to carry the weight of this major shift, and have constructed alternative social, political, and cultural narratives. However, in the last fifteen years, the field has been making a (re-)turn to intellectual history, albeit in innovative ways. This critical historiographical review accumulates and digests this large body of new work, showing how these historiographical about-turns leave us with broader questions about the role of ideas in cultural transformations, as well as – on a smaller scale – the processes by which individuals change their minds. I close the review by contending that after decades of neglect, it is an opportune time to bring intellectual history back into our studies of the ‘disenchantment of the world’.

Educator Identity Development for International Graduate Teaching Assistants

The purpose of this design case was to document rigorously the process and decisions made during the development of a five-day, pre-semester virtual orientation for International Graduation Teaching Assistants (IGTAs) and their domestic counterparts, teaching in an English as a Second Language Composition (ESLC) Program of a large land-grant university. The design was grounded in a front-end analysis as well as a theoretical framework comprising Crenshaw’s (1989) Intersectionality and Wenger’s (1998) Virtual Community of Practice (VCoP) theory. These theories were leveraged to focus the design on IGTAs’ educator identity development and their linguistic and cultural marginalization. VCoP theory provided a practical architecture for the virtual learning environment with its three modes of belonging (i.e., engagement, imagination, and alignment) as well as several enabling structures (i.e., support, sponsorship, and recognition). The design intended to purposefully engage IGTAs in social practices and dialogue that would support their sense of belonging and educator identity. While significance can be extracted from the pre-planned, explicit alignment of certain design elements with the modes of belonging, precedent can also be derived from elements that emerged during the design process.

Dhanyang dan Prewangan: Kuasa Roh Halus dalam Dunia Mistik Orang Jawa Perantau di Dataran Tinggi Gayo

The purpose of this study is to investigate how members of disadvantaged communities imagine "other lives," and how such perceptions influence their own lives. This study will explore how society defines things that are unseen but are believed to exist and may impact human existence by having a look at the overseas Javanese population in the Gayo highlands in Aceh. The findings of this study will be used to illustrate how society views these creatures. This study, in contrast to the majority of other studies of overseas Javanese, is interested in how the construction efforts of danyang and prewangan are and how they communicate with each other. Other studies of overseas Javanese focus on topics such as cultural assimilation, conflict, and resilience. The information needed for this study was gleaned through participant observation and in-depth interviews with local Javanese residents of Aceh's Bener Meriah District. Because of the economic and cultural marginalization they face when interacting with the dominant ethnic groups of Gayo and Aceh, which persuades them to seek alternative protection, this article demonstrates that the concepts of danyang and prewangan are part of the identity that was brought from Javanese culture.

Displacement and Marginalisation of Haitian Immigrants

Displacement is the forced or voluntary migration of people. Colonialism and Imperialism are the significant factors that lead to the displacement and dislocation of people. Economic poverty and natural calamities add to the physical movement of people from one country to another. The migrants suffer physically and psychologically in the host countries. The fear of non-acceptance leads to their marginalisation in society. Marginalisation is a social phenomenon in which ethnic minorities or sub-groups are excluded from mainstream society. When an individual migrates, he aspires to acceptance in the host country. The natives do not find any semblance to the migrants and do not accept them; they treat them indifferently, demean them, and use derogatory terms for them. The immigrants find it difficult to adapt and feel secluded and marginalised. Edwidge Danticat writes about the immigration of Haitians and the problems they faced after immigration. The immigrants are displaced in the host country and feel alienated when they do not find any help or solace. They face social, economic, political, cultural and psychological marginalisation. The marginalised are always at the receiving end, and their needs are ignored. These marginalised people may develop low self-confidence and self-esteem.

Difficulties and Suggestions in TCM Translation based on Acculturation Theory

This study analyzes the main problems and obstacles in TCM translation, including cultural and linguistic barriers, shortage of professional translators, and lack of unified standards. To clear these obstacles, based on the theory of acculturation, this study analyzes the corresponding methods of TCM translation from four aspects: cultural separation, cultural marginalization, cultural integration, and cultural assimilation, starting from the target language group's identity and tendency toward its original culture and the mainstream culture (TCM). In doing so, the differences between Chinese and Western cultures may be balanced by TCM translation and the international spread of TCM culture may be promoted.

The Expectations and Development of Trans-musical and Bi-temporal Competence for Musician-teachers: An Autoethnographic Perspective

This autoethnographic article begins with a brief survey of some cross-cultural perspective based on diverse but collaborative authorial backgrounds in musical education from Africa and the United States, respectively. They describe their music teaching experiences and the changes they have made in their knowledge, skills, and preferences in music cultures and teaching methodology to succeed in their respective teaching positions. Their paper argues for keeping children at the heart of debates linked to their development. Towards this end, they contend that, instead of students adapting automatically to their teachers’ music culture, music educators expand their knowledge, skills and preferences to include the enculturative music preference of their students. Such an approach avoids enculturational discontinuity, particularly disrupting the cultural continuity of lifelong learning in music, as in case of the effects of colonialism and cultural marginalisation have had on educational curricula. In addition, we adjusted our teaching methodology to include more student-centred, participatory, collaborative instruction. This article, therefore, advocates for providing students with opportunities for contributing to research development, gaining experience with issues involving cultural policies and for reinterpreting and recirculating examples of contemporary global forms of music in addition to creating and expanding music-making in their music culture. The article, therefore, recommends for the preparation and certification of trans-musical and bi-temporal music educators.

Disability, Human Rights and Vulnerability in Linda McLean’s Any Given Day

Linda McLean’s Any Given Day (2010) delineates the act of violence inflicted on the characters with learning disability by touching on its physical, emotional, and psychological impacts. The violence directed at disabled characters is motivated by social alienation, which renders disabled characters vulnerable and fragile, as well as a lack of responsibility and care. The incidence of violence reveals the complex facets of the relationship between the abled and the disabled in a particular cultural arena where preconceived notions of the body operate to determine their social interactions, their experiences of their bodily impairment, and the distribution of health care and justice. This essay, therefore, aims to analyze McLean’s play in the context of debates concerning disability violence, human rights, and vulnerability, and what abuses of disability rights speak about the social and cultural margins that place disabled individuals in a vulnerable and powerless position. Furthermore, it examines the ways violations of disability rights reveal the insufficiency of care and lack of social responsibility which hugely affect how disabled characters experience an embodied life.