The U‐turn phenomenon among South American‐Japanese descendants: From emigrants to migrants

About a decade has passed since the problem of foreign migrant workers became serious in Japan. The Japanese government has been reluctant to formalize the introduction of migrant workers in the unskilled job sectors, yet, with the revision of the Immigration Control Law in 1990, has decided to formalize the status of residence of South American‐Japanese descendants, or Nikkeijin. This article focuses on the issue of the Nikkeijin in Japan. The article details the current position of the Nikkeijin and reviews their impact on Japanese society as well as on their home countries. The article further discusses the possibility of Nikkeijin settlement in Japan in the context of the government's attempts to preserve the notion of lineage as the basis for Japanese nationality.     

From Historical to “Dialectical” Populism: The Case of Post-Communist Romania

This article begins with a brief discussion of the differences between “historical populism” and “neo-populism” in the post-communist context. The second part concentrates on “neo-populism from below,” exemplifying the category of neopopulist politicians aspiring to power, with the case in point being George Becali and his New Generation Party (PNG). The third part turns to “neo-populism from above,” that is to say, to populist policies employed by incumbent politicians for the purpose of preserving power and enlarging support. The example chosen here is that of President Traian B?sescu and the role played by intellectual elites in making possible “neopopulism from above.” The fourth examines successes and failures of the two categories of neo-populists in two electoral contests, namely the 2007 elections for the European Parliament and the 2008 local elections. It is pointed out that the latter electoral contest produced a prospective “populist dialectics,” namely, a symbiotic mergence of the two Romanian post-communist populisms. Finally, the fifth and last part turns to theoretical considerations of a general and comparative nature.     

The “Big Bang” of the populist parties in the European Union: The 2014 European Parliament election

A significant number of voters are turning their backs on traditional parties. The stability of European party systems is being defied by a growing number of (new) radical parties, whose presence in the European Parliament has never been as strong as it is now. Faced with the worst global economic crisis of the last 80 years and with growing socio-economic inequalities, a series of political groups, referred to as populists, have secured almost a quarter of the seats in the European Parliament. This paper aims to highlight some of the reasons why these parties attract so much support and to reach a better understanding, from a comparative perspective, of the profile of these electorates as well as their motivations and aspirations. The analysis is based on the study of microdata (N?=?30,064) from the European Election Study 2014 conducted in the EU after the European elections of 2014.     

The self in the other: Aleksandr Griboedov’s Orient

While scholars of Russian orientalism have diverged somewhat in their interpretation of Aleksandr Griboedov, they have in the main viewed him as a supporter of Russian expansion and seen in his works a justification of Russia’s conquests in the East. This essay seeks to complicate that view. By taking a comprehensive look at Griboedov’s Eastern-themed works (including his poems “There, Where Flows the Alazani”, “Kal'ianchi”, and “Predators on the Chegem”, the play Georgian Night and a series of editorials, letters, and travel notes written from the Caucasus and Persia) and situating them in the context of contemporary literary and political debates, the author argues that Griboedov undercuts rather than supports the orientalist conception of the East’s alterity. By portraying “Eastern” ways as possibilities latent within all humans and by pointing out the Russian past in the Persian present, Griboedov is able to question Russia’s role in the Caucasus and to explore the costs of Russia’s progress towards European-style civilization.     

The Unique Aspects of Short-Term Teaching: How to Teach the “How To's” to the Doers

Effective short-term teaching, as in continuing education, requires of the teacher special competence in small group dynamics and current practice involvement. Students are practitioners who are motivated to learn quickly whatever will be immediately useful to them on their jobs. Objectives must be clearly defined and understood by both teacher and learner and content presented in a specific and well-focused manner. Educators involved in short-term teaching should relate participants' experiences to concepts, facilitate sharing, and involve participants in developing content. Teaching methodology is purposefully selected to stimulate learner engagement. Evaluation of progress toward educational goals is an ongoing process.     

Unsettling the 'learning community': From 'dialogue' to 'difference'?

The focus of this article is adult learning theory and the concept of ‘communities of learning’. Drawing on the authors' experiences as educators, it offers a critique of liberal-humanist and critical ideas about pedagogy, and draws on feminist poststructuralism to disrupt notions of ‘dialogue’, ‘community’and ‘difference’. The aim is to interrupt critical pedagogies through recognition of partial knowledges, exclusionary practices, and differences and similarities within learning communities. The article argues the need for an understanding which acknowledges both the universal and the particular, and engages with the discursive and the material realities entailed. El foco de este artículo es la teoría de aprendizaje para adultos y el concepto de ‘comunidades de aprendizaje’. Recurriendo a las experiencias de los autores como educadores, ofrece una crítica de las ideas liberales-humanistas e ideas críticas acerca de pedagogia, y recurre tambien al postestructuralismo femenista para trastocar nociones de ‘diálogo’, ‘comunidad’ y ‘diferencia’. El objectivo es interrumpir pedagogias críticas mediante el reconociemto de conocimientos parciales, prácticas exclusionarias y diferencias y similitudes entre comunidades de aprendizaje. El artículo sostiene la necesidad de un entendimiento que reconoce tanto lo universal como lo particular, y que aborda las supuestas realidades materiales y discursivas.     

From “Just Us” to Justice: Connecting the Environment,Community, and Academy

Sociological Forum -     

From Christianity to paganism: The new middle ages and the values of ‘medieval’ masculinity

Abstract

In the context of the upsurge of interest in all things medieval, this essay examines the promotion in popular culture of ‘medieval’ masculine role models. It begins with an assessment of the 19th century's creation of a version of medieval masculinity which was essentially Christian and chivalric. It traces the transfer of this image from literature to cinema in the 20th century. It argues that the image remained dominant until the 1960s when it was eclipsed by a new version of medieval masculinity, a violent pagan ‘Dark Age’ model. This new image triumphed because of changes in society and in the structure and strategies of the cinema industry and its audience. The essay concludes by examining possible medieval alternatives to the pagan ‘Dark Age’ image: the revived chivalric knight, the eco‐warrior and the transplanted modern rationalist. The evidence suggests that they have not yet dented the dominance of the pagan image.     

From College Counselor to “Risk Manager”: The Evolving Nature of College Counseling on Today's Campuses

Abstract

College counselors are increasingly being called upon to assess “risk” and protect the college community from harm. This paper explores how this changing role for counselors might be impacting its reputation with students. It further discusses the complex and ever-changing dimensions of “risk,” noting the difficulty in developing reliable risk assessment tools.     

From Geneva to San José: The ILO standards and the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights

This article analyses how the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights has used ILO standards as a reference on matters relating to freedom of association and the rights of indigenous peoples. Having established the limits to their use, the authors also analyse how these standards have influenced recent Inter-American jurisprudence in relation to certain economic, social and cultural rights. They argue that such cross-referencing is both desirable and useful, since it allows the Inter-American bodies to base their arguments on the interpretation of specialized authorities, thereby reinforcing the credibility, normative legitimacy and universality of their decisions.     

From silence to condemnation: Institutional responses to “travel ban” Executive Order 13769

On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order that attempted to bar citizens and refugees from seven countries from entering the U.S. for a certain time period. One of the contexts most directly affected by this order was higher education. This study examined college and university communicative responses to the order from a public relations perspective. We qualitatively determined a range of responses from U.S. universities then quantitatively determined variables of particular colleges and universities that had a correlation to the nature of the responses. Responses were then assessed using public relations best practices. The data suggest variables with relationships to type of institutional response were number of international students and political stance of the state where the institution is located. While there was no single “correct” type of response, best practices suggest two options for appropriate responses to the order.     

From myth to counter‐myth: The romanticization of the Eastern Jew (1880–1914)

The East European Jews (Ostjuden) played an integral role in German Jewish self‐definition. As ‘ghetto Jews’ they were living embodiments of the general pre‐modern Jewish condition and perfect foils for the creation of Jewish myths and counter‐myths, stereotypical negations and affirmations. This paper attempts to delineate the outlines of these myths and counter‐myths and to analyse the major symbolic functions which the Eastern Jews performed in the ideological world of liberal, Zionist and ‘post‐Zionist’ German Jews.