Citizenship Practices Research Articles

ВЫХОД ИЗ ИМПЕРИИ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ И ВОСТОЧНОЙ ЕВРОПЕ : МАТЕРИАЛЫ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ КОНФЕРЕНЦИИ. ЗАГРЕБСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ, 23-24 СЕНТЯБРЯ 2020

Recent studies of Habsburg Monarchy after 1917/1918, as a focus of attention, offer reinterpretations of both the transition out of empire and also of specific Habsburg legacies and practices that remained influential in the region long after 1918. In an attempt to shed more light on both of these aspects, an international conference in Zagreb was organised. The aim is to present papers on all aspects of the transition out of empire, on continuities and breaks among social elites, state institutions, administrative practices, legal codes, forms of citizenship, gender regimes, and welfare practices covering the period until the late 1930s.

The Political Spirituality of Buddhist Volunteerism in Contemporary Vietnam

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of religion in global trends toward economic privatization by analyzing Buddhist volunteerism in Vietnam. Government officials in Vietnam propose that policy shifts toward privatization are part of a broader move toward “socialization” (xã hội hóa). Under socialization, the nation’s citizens have a responsibility to accumulate and use private wealth to support one another. Buddhist charities have subsequently become a popular means for citizens to channel private capital into non-state humanitarian aid and development programs. In this article, I trace how lay Buddhist charity organizers assert that socialization ultimately creates opportunities to advance Buddhist spiritual development. I use Michel Foucault’s concept of “political spirituality” to consider how volunteers employ practices of ethical citizenship encouraged by the state to cultivate a Buddhist moral “heart-mind” (tâm). My study thereby shows how local actors claim agency in national economic and political trends by overlaying their participation with religious significance.

Соціально-психологічні чинники громадянської компетентності майбутніх педагогів: бажане і реальне

Актуальність представленого у статті дослідження зумовлена запитом суспільства на визначення та активізацію детермінант розвитку громадянської компетентності молоді.
 Метою дослідження було визначення ієрархії компетентностей, які зумовлюють готовність студентської молоді до партиципації і здобуття суспільних благ ціною обмеження власної вигоди або й відмови від неї, та встановлення їх відповідності критеріям компетентного громадянства.
 Методи дослідження. Дослідницький інструментарій (методика семантичного диференціала) розроблено на основі авторської моделі соціально-психологічних чинників розвитку громадянської компетентності, виокремлених показників та індикаторів ціннісних, ставленнєвих, когнітивних, мотиваційних детермінант.
 За результатами дослідження визначено структуру та ієрархію здатностей які зумовлюють готовність молоді до партиципації (здатності до рефлексії, до відповідальної участі, до соціальної взаємодії; тактичні і стратегічні здатності; здатності до аналізу та оцінювання ситуації, до визначення і дотримання меж). З’ясовано, що готовність молоді до партиципації виявляється в ситуаціях, які передбачають отримання певної вигоди з мінімальним ризиком програшу. Переважна більшість респондентів не готова долучатися до громадських ініціатив, спрямованих на промоцію чи обстоювання ідеї. Виявлено, що понад третину майбутніх педагогів ще не визначилися щодо цінності солідарності і меж дозволеного для громадян; мотивації і практик громадянської участі; досвіду досягнення і раціонального оцінювання інформації.
 Зроблено висновки: а) про зумовленість розвитку громадянської компетентності молоді дискурсом громадянства і громадянськими практиками, які продукуються соціальним середовищем (родинним, освітнім, медійним, економічним, політичним тощо); б) про невідповідність практик і пропозицій молодіжного дискурсу громадянськості критеріям компетентного громадянства.
 Практична значущість отриманих результатів вбачається у можливості застосування їх для коригування впливів соціального середовища на розвиток громадянських компетентностей майбутніх педагогів.

The Ingenious Citizenship of The Paguyuban Ngesti Tunggal (PANGESTU) in Indonesia

This paper examines the practice of ingenious citizenship of an Indonesian spiritual group called Paguyuban Ngesti Tunggal (Pangestu), between their politics of religion (agama) and belief (kepercayaan). With the passing of the Constitutional Court Decision No. 97, 2017, the Indonesian government recognizes belief as another form of religious expression besides religion. Therefore, spiritual groups that are unable to be accommodated by religious or belief institutions have had difficulty accessing organizational rights, as they are considered ‘abject’ citizens. Even so, Pangestu has emerged as a spiritual group considered ‘abject citizens’ in the eyes of the state that has managed to survive. This paper will focus on two main questions: 1) How does the Indonesian government regulate citizens through the definition of religion and belief? 2) How does Pangestu respond to limited space for spiritual organizations between the recognition of religion and belief, by practicing ingenious citizenship? With these two formulations, this paper shows the relationship between the Indonesian government as an institution of control, and the spiritual organization of Pangestu as ingenious citizens. There will also be elaboration on strategies and unique tactics practiced by Pangestu to cope with the limited space given by the government.

Pre-Modern Citizenship. An Ancient Concept for the Modern World?

This article discusses the challenges and opportunities of turning to the pre-modern world to address contemporary problems. To do so it compares Maarten Prak’s approach to practical citizenship in Citizens without nations with Jurgen Habermas’s infamous evocation of the ‘bourgeois public sphere’. While different in important respects – not least in terms of the kind of historical citizenship they recover and the methods by which they do it – Prak and Habermas nevertheless share an important similarity. This is that both are quite idealistic, in an aspirational sense, about how their pre-modern forms of citizenship can benefit and improve the modern world. This sense of idealism can be contrasted with Max Weber’s preference for excavating ideal types that described, for better or worse, the normative values and behaviours of particular cultures in the past. This response then outlines the normative practices of Prak’s citizenship and asks whether they are really commensurate with modern life.

Current issues concerning education for democracy in Hungary

AbstractThe importance of preparation for citizenship has been recognized for millennia, while education for democracy has been central to pedagogical thinking in Europe and in Hungary for more than a quarter of a century (Crick Report, European Year of Citizenship through Education, EU key competences, modified version of the NCC). Educating a citizenry that is capable of thinking independently, is equipped with critical skills and can deliberate about matters appears in these documents as a definitive goal. The concept of civic competence or citizenship competence indicates a combination of such knowledge, skills, abilities and values that make the individual capable of effectively participating in an everyday life that is based on democratic values as well as in civic society (Hoskins and Crick, 2008, cited by Kinyó, Az állampolgári kompetencia egyes összetevőinek és a közösségi tevékenységformák jellemzőinek vizsgálata 7. és 11. évfolyamos tanulók körében[PhD dissertation: Individual Components of the Competence of Citizenship and an Examination of the Characteristics of Forms of Community Activities Among Students in the 7th to 11th Grades], 2012). The various models of preparation in schools assume that civic knowledge has identifiable elements that can be taught (e.g. texts of legal documents, constitutional principles, the structure of the state); at the same time, civic "knowledge" comprises rather the adoption of attitudes and the practice of certain skills. This study, supported by research data based on survey questions, seeks to discover the degree of prevalence of education for democracy and citizenship in everyday practice, as well as the kinds of problems those affected see in this area and what recommendations they have to address these difficulties.

Direitos humanos: por uma cidadania autogestionária

The essay moves around the signs of the present time, molded, figuratively, by a dense fog to obscure the critical view of the ends and the ethical-political means of technological civilization. In the same step, it intends to reflect on Human Rights, in a projective way for the future invention of a self-managed citizenship. The construction is demarcated by the end of illusions, in a way, still in the shadow of the fragments of the old ethos, figured by anachronisms, which insist on reappearing in a spectral way in the form of difficulties, apparently, with no resolution for forwarding to the current time. To this end, the essay uses passages from modern and contemporary philosophies, along with poetry, cinema and theater, in order to support the defense of the theory and practice of such citizenship. Conceived, modelly, from the self-managed experience of the Paris Commune, as an outstanding stage of its production.

Minutes of the Annual Meeting: Friday, 24 January 2020,Convene, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Minutes of the Annual Meeting: Friday, 24 January 2020,Convene, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY

Conceptions of Class Teachers on Democracy and Diversity

Abstract Introduction: Globalization provided people in once isolated lands with an array of democracy types and international principles. The boosting traditional, conventional, societal, ethnical, and cultural differences in countries all over the world are pushing educational authorities to reexamine their contemporary habits, customs, principles, and practices of citizenship. Examining the assumptions and methods of cultural democracy in education settings is the foundation of critical pedagogy. Thus, a critical multicultural pedagogy is formed on critical views on democracy and diversity by illuminating the transformative nature of citizenship. Accordingly, this study inquires the conceptual grounds of class teachers in a phenomenological tradition in that it investigates the conceptions of these teachers on the concept of diversity and democracy. The data of the study were gathered through a questionnaire, besides semi-structured interview questions designed by the researcher. Based on a mix method research design, this study makes use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques to collect the required data. 160 class teachers officially working in diverse regions in Turkey voluntarily participated in the study (N=150 for the questionnaire and N=10 for the interview). Related implications to raise the awareness of class teachers on diversity and democracy were presented at the end of the study. Methods: This study searched for the conceptual underpinnings of the class teachers in the phenomenological tradition (Marton, 1981). Just like other methods to utilize philosophical phenomenology to the social sciences (Entwistle, 1997), the interpretative process of phenomenographic research is quite similar to that of grounded theory which refers to a set of systematic inductive methods to practice qualitative research (Richardson, 1999). Based on a mix method research design, this study makes use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques to collect data. Results: The findings demonstrate that class teachers are open to new perspectives, diverse religions and different genders. Thus, it can be said that a critical perspective was adopted by class teachers. Further, class teachers should be included into curriculum and syllabus design which are solely carried out by policy makers. Otherwise, critical skills of class teachers might be destroyed in the process of education. Thus, primary school curriculums and textbooks need to focus on the importance of democracy and diversity. Policy makers, Ministry of National Education, Turkey and Higher Council of Education need to include critical theory and critical pedagogy into curriculum. Future studies should focus on the views of both novice and professional class teachers. In addition, views regarding democracy and diversity from different cultures need to be examined in future research. Direct democracy, representative democracy, gender diversity, cultural diversity and pluralistic perspectives need to be adopted by related textbook publishers, classroom teaching departments, administrators and policy makers. Discussion: The findings of the study show that the participants developed a positive perspective towards democracy and diversity, although some issues in the context of Turkey are hardly mentioned or criticized (Dodd, 1992). The most important problem in examining democracy and diversity was religion because the participants stated that they respect religion, in their case Islam, because they somewhat would not want to hear church bell in a land of Islam (Bader, 2007). Diversity has been conceptualized as a positive element in the study. Since democracy and diversity are interrelated and interwoven, the participants generally adopted these terms (Banks et al., 2005). Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that the respondents had positive conceptions on individual and cultural diversities. Further, they developed good attitudes towards cultural democracy and they believe in the power of integration through individual differences. Critical pedagogy is an educational theory which aims to form a progressive and democratic culture by means of critical inquiry, which consequently results in valuing and respecting personal and cultural differences. Critical pedagogy perceives teaching as a naturally political event, refuses the neutrality of knowledge, and asserts that matters of social justice and democracy are not recognizable from only educational activities.

The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States

The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States

Gender, (im)mobility and citizenship in a refugee women’s driving programme: exploring emotional citizenry in Aotearoa New Zealand

During resettlement, refugee-background women often become socially and spatially immobilised with heavy domestic responsibilities, lack of language skills, and lack of access to personal transport. To empower women to navigate spatial and social dimensions of resettlement landscapes, Wellington-based non-governmental organisation ChangeMakers Refugee Forum implemented a driving initiative entitled Turning the Curve. In this article we draw upon a mixed-method evaluation of Turning the Curve to explore differences within stakeholders’ assessments of the programme’s ‘success’. Specifically, we highlight tensions around the temporalities of ‘success’; with some individuals emphasising the achievement of a license in a set timeframe, and others supporting an open-ended approach. Paying attention to these temporalities enabled us to explore relationships between citizenship practices, patience, and waiting. We argue that Turning the Curve’s curation of spatial encounters between learner drivers and driving volunteers enacts Askins’ concept of emotional citizenry, and that the programme’s disposition to patience and a quiet politics of waiting extends emotional citizenry beyond space through time. Through this disposition, more innovative forms of being together emerge and women’s rights to the city are enabled. We conclude that other resettlement efforts could learn a great deal from the emotional citizenry of Turning the Curve as a means to enhance more gender-equitable outcomes from service provision and training during refugee resettlement.

Common sense politics: religion and belonging in French public space

Public “common sense” should be conceptualized as an important force structuring the politics of belonging. Homing in on the embodied and sensory aspects of common, taken-for-granted knowledge and the habits of perception that inform it, this article demonstrates how culturally entrained listening practices structure rights to the city and the exercise of citizenship. By tuning into the significance of ambient religious sound, it offers an empirical, ethnographic investigation into how common sense, in dialogue with constitutional and municipal law, shapes practices of citizenship and participation in French public space. The article argues that common sense deriving from perception and interpretation of public sound among majority French represents a stubborn obstacle to French Muslims’ exercise of full citizenship; indeed, it enacts a kind of violence that locks French Muslims out of agentive citizenry, rendering them objects to be muted at will, not fellow citizens to be heard.

English

The study examines the relationship between the Corporate Citizenship (CC) practices of leading firms in their industries and their level of advancement in CC. The study took a conceptual approach and used two cases not as empirical evidence but for illustration purposes. The main hypothesis was that CC practices of leading firms find expression from the fact that these firms tend to play two significant roles. First, leading firms in CC can set standards (pace-setting) of CC practice in their industry which would become a benchmark for other firms. Second, leading firms take up the challenge to catch up with the standards set by other firms in the industry in other aspects of CC where they are not leaders. The results show that the two cases used by the study have revealed how the CC practices of a leading firm in an industry under institutional isomorphism that manifests through pace setting, and catching-up can improve the general CC practices of an industry. As a practical recommendation, champions of CC like NGOs should target leading firms more as their practices are more likely to be replicated by other firms in the industry since the study has demonstrated that firms in the industry tend to copy leaders (innovators and early adopters) more than laggards.    Key words: Corporate social responsibility, corporate citizenship, socially responsible behaviour of leading firms, institutional isomorphism.

The Political Economy of Displacement: Rent Seeking, Dispossessions and Precarious Mobility in Somali Cities

AbstractDisplacement is urbanizing. Urban violence increasingly contributes to displacement while a growing number of displaced people across the globe seeks refuge in cities. This article builds on original research in four Somali cities to explore the link between violence, displacement and urbanization. It identifies and comparatively explores three types of urban settlements of displaced people: urban camps at cities’ outskirts, inner‐city squatter settlements, and relocation areas. The focus of the analysis is on the political economy that underpins the establishment, maintenance and, at times, destruction of these settlements. The article shows that settlements of displaced people are embedded in varied practices of rent seeking which contribute to the commercialization of land and housing and lead to further land speculations. Urban reconstruction accelerates rent seeking and goes hand in hand with (mass‐scale) evictions of displaced people. The article also shows how land ownership is mobilized to retain political rights and citizenship. The findings outline the multiple ways urban land relations are intertwined with practices of sovereignty and citizenship, and attest to observations of a globally expanding rent economy. They also underscore the arbitrariness and violence imbricated in property relations.

Digital Literacy in Chinese Young People’s Engagement on Weibo

Abstract This study identifies the digital literacies generated from Chinese young people’s engagement with Weibo (one of the major Chinese social media platforms). These literacies, manifest as widely accepted community practices on Weibo, extend the prevalent understanding of digital literacy as a set of functional skills or competencies. This extended understanding of digital literacies underlines the importance of their social and cultural dimensions, showing how young people experience them as meaningful and relevant to their digital life. By drawing attention to the constitutive nature of young people’s everyday online practices, and their role in defining digital literacies, this study also highlights the significance of digital literacies for the formation of their identity as a member of digital communities, and for their practice of citizenship in digital spaces.

Exploring Students’ Knowledge and Practice of Digital Citizenship in Higher Education

The purpose of this study is to investigate undergraduate students’ knowledge and practice of eight of the nine elements of digital citizenship: digital commerce, digital communication, digital literacy, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibility, digital health and wellness and digital security. The sample population for this descriptive study comprised 204 undergraduate students selected by purposeful sampling. The results show that undergraduate students have an insufficient level of knowledge about good digital citizenship. A significant number of undergraduate students do observe eight digital citizenship elements through several ethical practices; however, the study revealed several concerns among participants in regards to security and safety, such as verifying the reliability and credibility of digital resources, checking the accuracy of information on the Internet, interpreting laws and penalties related to using digital resources, reporting irresponsible behaviour to the appropriate authorities and limiting the time and duration of daily digital device use. The results of this study show that an individual’s extent of experience using the Internet is not a factor that affects the level of knowledge and practice of digital citizenship among undergraduate students. Conversely, the nature of academic specialisation, particularly technology-heavy courses (e.g. Educational Technology), are among the factors that affect the knowledge and practice of good digital citizenship. This article offers several recommendations for future study, policy development and practice.

Higher education community engagement as a pathway to developing global citizenship practices in young people: South African perspective

The aim of this study is to discuss how South African higher education (HE) is a mechanism to enable global citizenship. This qualitative secondary analysis study draws on retrospective qualitative case study data generated by multiple partners (parents, teachers, young people, HE students, researchers) in a long-term community engagement (CE) study in a remote high school. Thematic analysis of data sources (verbatim transcriptions of participatory reflection and action discussions, and visual data) enabled in-depth multi-partner descriptions on the utility of CE to address social and cognitive injustices given extreme structural disparity and social disadvantage. It was evident that, across CE partner groups, HE involvement was viewed as a mechanism to promote the positive social development of young people. In particular, when young people were included in CE, their social development was supported as they were afforded opportunities to develop capacity as future leaders and in terms of language development in multilingual spaces. We argue that CE can support progress towards social and cognitive justice by offering alternate views and beliefs to young people that promote their global citizenship practices.

Chinese migrants’ spatial politics of belonging, identity, and citizenship in Santiago de Chile

ABSTRACT Chinese migrants are often used as an example of socio-spatial self-segregation, exemplified in Chinatown studies. Drawing on scholarship on citizenship and multiculturalism, I analyze the case study of the ethnic Chinese in Santiago, Chile, to interrogate their perceived reluctance towards social or political integration. Analysis draws on interviews, participation observation, and media coverage of a 2016 Chinese mass protest in the city center, and a 2018 proposal by the Santiago mayor to establish a Chinatown in a multicultural commercial neighbourhood. By discussing Chinese and Chilean interpretations of these events, I highlight the diverse practices of citizenship and identity – between ‘old’ and ‘new’ Chinese migrant groups in Chile. These not only challenge views of Chinese migrants as homogenous and/or politically disengaged. It also highlights complex evolving practices and attitudes towards belonging and citizenship in the diversifying overseas Chinese population, in an era marked by tropes about ‘the rise of China.’

Review: The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States, by Derrick R. Spires

Review: The Practice of Citizenship: Black Politics and Print Culture in the Early United States, by Derrick R. Spires

Elite global citizenship, a case of a secondary school in Bogotá, Colombia

ABSTRACT Global citizenship education has been in the world agenda for some time. However, different understandings of global citizenship are at play not only on the official curricula but also in the daily enactments of students within each institution. The research presented in this article seeks to investigate the notions of citizenship practices in an elite secondary school in Bogota, Colombia’s capital city. Following Andreotti,, I argue that this particular school educates under the light of a soft global citizenship that reproduces the country’s status quo and its inequalities. Empirical data were collected through classroom observations, interviews and group interviews.