Biblical Motifs in Chingiz Aitmatov’s The Place of the Skull

Folklore is the artistic expression of belief. The various forms of folklore change and adapt to reflect changing circumstances and changing views of the world. When Ukrainians came to Canada, they brought their folklore, ballads included, with them. In the new land, ballads helped voice the struggles of the Ukrainian Pioneers. Examining a collection of ballads made approximately sixty years after Ukrainians began arriving on the Prairies shows that the ballads performed in Canada spoke of real problems, problems attested in both folk sources and historical records. These include the physical hardship of life on an acreage, male absence as they went to work on the railroad, and the tension between women and their daughters-in-laws, who were left to struggle on their own. Ukrainian girls attracted to non-Ukrainians were seen as problematic, as were men seeking solace in alcohol and infidelity. And there were many other Canadian issues for which traditional ballads provided a powerful means of expression. The ballad tradition was modified through selection, i.e., only relevant songs continued to be performed. It was also changed internally and individual ballad texts were altered by the addition of new terminology and new ideas. This is especially true when attitudes in Canada differed from those in Ukraine. A very important change in attitude applies to magic. While the use of magic is treated ambiguously in ballads performed in Ukraine, it is routinely condemned in those performed in Canada.     

CROSS‐NATIONAL MORAL BELIEFS: The Influence of National Religious Context

International surveys have documented wide variation in religious beliefs and practices across nations, but does this variation in the national religious context make a difference? Building on existing theory, we explain why religion should have both micro‐ and macro‐level effects on morality not sanctioned by the state and why the effects of religion differ from other forms of culture. Using two international surveys and hierarchical linear modeling techniques we sort out the effects of national context and personal beliefs on morality with and without legal underpinnings. We find that national religious context, the respondent's age, and religious beliefs and practices are the most consistent predictors of the sexual morality index. For morality sanctioned by the state, however, the effects for personal beliefs and practices are attenuated, and the effects of the national religious context are no longer significant.     

Filming a Stalinist War Epic in Ukraine: Ihor Savchenko’s The Third Strike

Abstract

The article examines the production history of Ihor Savchenko’s film Tretii udar [The Third Strike, 1948], a World War II epic and the most significant project of the Kyiv Film Studio in the first post-war years. Using the example of The Third Strike, the author demonstrates how Stalinist cinema as an institution influenced Soviet film directors’ thematic and ideological choices as well as their style. Specifically, the supervision of such projects by the USSR’s political centre served to integrate Ukrainian film makers into Soviet cinema by fostering Soviet versions of the country’s political and social history and by preventing Ukrainian film makers from pursuing stylistic practices that might have become foundational to Ukrainian cinema. Filming a Stalinist war epic in postwar Ukraine was especially difficult in view of the Soviet struggle against Ukrainian nationalism. By featuring soldiers of different nationalities, The Third Strike underscored the idea of the “fraternal friendship of the Soviet peoples” during the war, which became a canonical element in Soviet depictions of the war. In this way, Ukrainian artists ingratiated themselves with the Soviet authorities and proved their loyalty to Russia.     

Indigenous Knowledge,Beliefs, and Cultural Practices for Children and Families in Nigeria

This study examined the indigenous cultural practices that impact the well-being of children and families at five sites in Nigeria. Fifteen community leaders participated in semi-structured interviews, and 78 community members participated in focus group discussions in their communities. Responses were analyzed using a grounded theory and thematic analysis approach. Three cultural practices are discussed: the naming ceremony of the child, the use of Oríkì, and the care of children and family by relatives. Overall, the cultural practices largely reflected the indigenous knowledge and beliefs of the local context. Implications for social work are discussed.     

Culture in Science Education

Classrooms in South Africa are becoming increasingly diversified. Students come to the science class with a variety of practices and beliefs. Although many of these beliefs have no direct link with the science the students are being taught at school, students belief that such beliefs and practices are in some way linked to science. This would require that the teacher has to develop strategies through which the beliefs and practices of the students could be addressed in the science class.     

Buddhist commons and the question of a third sector in Asia

Very little attention has been devoted by third sector researchers to the question of comparable or related activities in Asia. This article explores a complex of Asian Buddhist religious beliefs and practices using ‘the commons’ as a comparative concept. Examination of published, English-language sources provides clear evidence of the existence of a variety of third sector-like activity in Asia far in the past. Village codes codifying charitable practices and village associations have been recorded in China, Japan and Korea. In addition, a good deal of charitable and philanthropic activity has been associated with Asian Buddhism: beliefs supporting gift exchange (dharma anddana), veneration of certain leader-philanthropists, a distinctive model of community organisation (sangha), a Japanese model of fund-raising (kanjin) campaigns, and a long tradition of international Buddhist convocations are among the range of indigenous common goods which can be found in the Asian context prior to any discernible western influences.     

Bridges to the past: a Lemko family history explored through letters. An ethnographic case study

The paper is a case study of one Lemko (Ukrainian) family whose members experienced emigration to Canada, ethnic discrimination, war, ethnic cleansing, dispersals, and assimilation. It is based on the analysis of almost 80 letters that were sent to Canada from Poland and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1975. The author presents the impact of great historical events on the lives of the members of one family. She explains the content of the letters with reference to the wider cultural and historical context, and the narrative told by the owner of the letters, the son of the addressees, a Lemko of Ukrainian identity born in Canada. The analysis reveals the problematic role of family letters in the evolution of family relationships in circumstances where the correspondents live in mutually “untranslatable” realities. This is territory for the cultural anthropologist, whose work it is to translate cultures. In this case, the anthropologist tries to translate distant cultural and historical contexts for the use of the letters’ owner.     

A.I. Solzhenitsyn Selected Bibliography December 1962 - October 1970

Critics have noted similarities between Nikolai Gogol'’s three early horror stories (Vecher nakanune Ivana Kupala [St. John’s Eve], Strashnaia mest' [A Terrible Vengeance] Vii) and the works of his famous German predecessor Ludwig Tieck. There also exists some speculation concerning the relationship between his Ukrainian tales and the works of E.T.A. Hoffmann. However, a detailed comparison between the two authors focused only on Gogol'’s “St. Petersburg” stories. His early tales have been ignored because they were presumed to depend mostly on folklore. This article argues that there are intertextual connections between Gogol'’s St. John’s Eve and A Terrible Vengeance, and Hoffmann’s Der Sandmann [The Sandman] and Ignaz Denner. The paper contends that Gogol' was recapitulating, consciously or unconsciously, Hoffmann’s oeuvre in his works both in terms of plot detail and on a deeper psychological level.     

Place,gender and power in transnational Sikh marriages

In this article I explore the importance of place during transnational marriages and in particular during wedding rituals. The rituals described are two Sikh weddings taking place in East Africa and the Punjab respectively. Highlighting the importance of status and hierarchy during wedding events, the ethnography focuses on how transnationalism is experienced as a generator of status as well as a potential risk to status. Through an account in the article of ritual practices in transnational marriages and households, I underline place as a significant factor in gender relations during wedding events.     

The Language of the Presidential Election Campaign in Ukraine

The objective of the article is to trace and analyze Ukrainian language use in the recent presidential election campaign, paying particular attention to lexical innovations, neologisms, and satirical allusions. These changes are presented as the continuation of a steady process of democratization or liberalization of the Ukrainian language, a phenomenon some researchers previously attributed only to Russian. The language practices of the "Kuchma-Yanukovych regime" is presented and analyzed. The view of Yushchenko by his supporters as the narodnyi kandydat/prezydent (the people’s candidate/President) finds its antipode in political neologisms coined by Yanukovych’s camp (e.g., nashysty/nashysts’kyi), which were designed to attribute fascist tendencies to Yushchenko’s bloc, Nasha Ukraina ’Our Ukraine’. The egg farce during the campaign showed the vulnerability of Yanukovych’s camp to satire.     

The social context of hoarding behavior: Building a foundation for sociological study

This paper aims to build a foundation from which sociologists can effectively address hoarding as a social problem embedded in a wider economic, cultural, and historic context. By focusing on practices of consumerism, interior design, collecting and waste disposal, we can see how socially constructed attitudes toward objects are linked with three primary hoarding behaviors: the acquisition of objects, clutter within the home, and difficulty discarding items. The transformation of shopping into a leisurely pastime has created a cultural context in which the acquisition of objects is normal and expected. Arrangement of objects within the home can be used to create of a sense of class membership, and collecting as a hobby and a lifestyle has been socially and economically encouraged since the late 1800s. Finally, a look at disposal practices reveals that the way we get rid of objects can be just as socially dictated as the way we use them. The behaviors associated with hoarding have been historically developed and are actively encouraged in contemporary western society. By examining the social context of hoarding behaviors, we can move toward an understanding of the ways that hoarders and nonhoarders alike navigate the social and economic landscape using material culture.     

Third Sector in Ukraine: Civic Engagement Before and After the “Euromaidan”

This study explores the determinants of the low level of civic engagement in Ukraine. Applying the methodological framework of analytical sociology, we consider different social mechanisms that explain the weakness of the Ukrainian third sector. First, we discuss how the political system and economic performance of the country have shaped beliefs, values, and motives of people by creating the context for their actions. Second, we focus on different aspects of people’s experiences during the Soviet times to formulate a number of hypotheses concerning unwillingness of citizens to join CSOs. Analyzing the survey data of the years 2010 (beginning of Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency) and 2014 (survey conducted right after the “Euromaidan”), we argue that some specific features of Homo Sovieticus, such as passivity, absence of political identification, and reliance on informal networks negatively affect the propensity of people to participate in CSOs. These effects are complemented by disappointment with the post-Soviet transformation and low subjective social status. Based on the results of analyses, we formulate suggestions concerning possible ways of fostering the development of civil society in Ukraine.     

Consumption in the Korean Wedding Ritual: Wedding Ritual Values, Consumer Needs, and Expenditures

Recently, consumer researchers have been interested in rituals that concisely express the consumption system in a culture. This article studies the Korean wedding ritual. The particular focus is on consumer values, needs, and expenditures related to Korean weddings. Research hypotheses were developed by analyzing the consumption phenomena in a sociocultural context and using focus groups and in-depth interviews. The author suggests that hedonic values relating to wedding rituals influence conspicuous and female-focused consumption. Implications of the study and further consumption research issues are discussed.     

Art Markets,Sociology and the Emotional Art Object

In its current state the sociology of art markets is characterized by an externalist approach to the analysis of art value in which the art object is the repository of beliefs, judgements given to it by art market actors. However, a review of the literature on art museums poses a challenge to this externalist approach by focusing on the mutually constitutive relationship between the art object, its exhibition and museum context, and viewers. The article reviews this literature exploring the advantages of this line of research for a meaningful sociology of art markets. It will argue for the need to overcome its current externalist focus with studies of the emotional dimension of art market objects as well as of the practices of art market actors.     

The changing Xiangxi Miao marriage practices in contemporary China

This essay describes elements of Xiangxi Miao marriage practices such as courtship, wedding ceremonies, and marriages between the Miao and Han, exploring how Xiangxi Miao marriage practices changed at the turn of this century, and disclosing social influences on the changes in marriage practices. The author uses a Miao village of Zalun as a case study. Through participant observation and intensive interviews, it was found that, before 2000, Xiangxi Miaos’ courtship practices and wedding ceremonies had strict processes and reflected agricultural rhythm. In addition, there were few marriages between the Miao and Han. Since the beginning of this century, Xiangxi Miao marriage practices have changed due to socioeconomic development, population mobility, and diverse communication between Miao young women and men. Dramatic shifts in marriage practices have produced social influences among Xiangxi Miao communities. The changes in marriage practices have promoted Xiangxi Miao free marriages, advancing social cohesion and acculturation. However, these changes have also increased numbers of criminals and problems of healthy growth and education of the stay-at-home children.     

Whither pogromshchina – historiographical synthesis or deconstruction? 1

This historiographical discussion piece on the implication of Simon Petliura and the Directory in the pogroms during the ill‐fated struggle for Ukrainian independence between 1917 and 1920 focuses on four core issues. Firstly, it suggests that those committed to the current Ukrainian nation‐building agenda face a crucial paradox: for the Directory’s endeavours to qualify as a precedent in nation building, one has to talk up its ability to influence the developments in the territory under its control. Yet to get Petliura and the Directory off the hook as far as the pogroms are concerned, one has to talk down their ability to influence those same developments. Secondly, it fundamentally questions the juxtaposition of “Ukrainian” and “Jewish” approaches on which Henry Abramson’s claim to have achieved a new synthesis between these two positions hinges. Thirdly, it demonstrates just how crucial conceptual transparency is for any useful debate on the significance of antisemitism in this context. Finally, it revisits the contention that it is a priori implausible to hold Petliura and his colleagues responsible because their attitudes towards Jews were generally positive as demonstrated not least by their commitment to Jewish autonomy rights.     

Vernacular religion on the prairies: negotiating a place for the unquiet dead

The study of vernacular religion looks at faith as it is lived and emphasizes praxis. Research conducted among Ukrainian Canadians living on the prairies shows that the location where beliefs are expressed plays a role in the relationship between individual religion, folk religion, and official religion. Vernacular religion is freely expressed in the home, while its expression within the confines of the church is constrained. Negotiation, sometimes leading to change in church policy, takes place in cemeteries. As parishioners change their definition of personhood and see stillborn babies as human, as they come to consider suicide to be the result of illness rather than sin, their new views can affect the burial practices of their church, forcing it to include previously excluded persons in the sanctified ground of the cemetery.     

Training Mental Health Professionals in Child Sexual Abuse: Curricular Guidelines

This study explored whether counseling practices with women survivors of child sexual abuse reflect the belief that women do not sexually abuse children. Canadian therapists (n?=?164) who work with women survivors of child sexual abuse were surveyed about their beliefs about what constitutes child sexual abuse, who commits child sexual abuse, and their practices regarding inquiries about abusive behavior. A majority self-reported that they ask women and think it is important to ask but most believe that clients will not spontaneously self-disclose inappropriate sexual thoughts or behaviors. How broadly or narrowly therapists defined child sexual abuse was not related to self-reported therapeutic discussion. Therapists demonstrated differential gender beliefs about child sexual abuse perpetration, but this did not relate to self-reported counseling practices. Implications for therapist education are discussed.     

Objects,Meanings, and Role Identities: The Practices that Establish Association in the Case of Home‐Based Employment1

Contemporary social theory suggests that the meaning of any object differs by how we, as social actors, respond and relate to it. The challenge for sociology lies in exploring the different strategies and practices recursively and productively embedded in these relationships. In this article, I present data from in‐depth interviews with 20 home‐based employees to illustrate how these individuals interact with familiar objects in their surroundings to form anchor points for diverse lines of conduct. Although I draw from a number of sociological theories in my analyses, I further utilize cognitive theory to outline three micro‐psychological practices (i.e., routinization, goal targeting, and emotional alignment) that respondents apply in their attempt to establish the desired association between objects and identities. In this way, the article both extends previous lines of inquiry into the relationship between objects and actors, and makes a new contribution to the growing literature on culture and cognition.