MARGINALITY,ADVOCACY, AND THE AMBIGUITIES OF MULTICULTURALISM: NOTES ON ROMANI ACTIVISM IN CENTRAL EUROPE

Activists who take up the cause of marginalized and discriminated cultural groups often find themselves in an ambiguous position in relation to the very people whose interests they seek to represent. Inspired by the ideas of multiculturalism, minority advocates turn the cultural identity of marginalized and discriminated minorities into the central focus of a political struggle for recognition. By so doing, however, they construct a particular sectional minority identity that not only fails to give full expression to individual identities, but is usually also “stigmatized” in the sense that it is popularly associated with standard stereotypical images and negative characteristics. This article identifies this ambiguity in contemporary projects of minority rights advocacy aimed at redressing the social and economic grievances of the Roma in Central Europe. It shows how activists in the articulation of their claims rely on essentialist assumptions of Romani identity. While these minority rights claims resonate well in international forums, they also run the risk of reifying cultural boundaries, stimulating thinking in ethnic collectives, reinforcing stereotypes, and hampering collective action. By reviewing some of the recent literature on multiculturalism in social and political theory, this article explores ways of dealing with this ambiguity. It concludes that minority advocacy for the Roma can avoid the tacit reproduction of essential identities by contesting the essentializing categorization schemes that lie at the heart of categorized oppression and by foregrounding the structural inequality that drives political mobilization.     

美国犹太教“极化”进程中的以色列因素

自20世纪末以来,美国犹太教正统派和非正统派之间呈现出明显的“极化”趋势,以色列是加剧这一“极化”进程的“分化剂”。以色列在全球犹太人中“精神中心”地位的凸显、全球化时代流散地犹太人群体对以色列关联的增强以及不同宗派群体在对以关联中的地位差异,导致以色列成为美国犹太教不同宗派间竞争的关键“战场”。籍由此种紧密但不平衡的关联,以色列的社会政治冲突和“极化”得以“外溢”至美国犹太人群体。美国犹太教不同宗派以“受邀”或“回旋镖”模式卷入以色列社会政治的纷争。进入21世纪以来,右倾化和“民主危机”使以色列犹太人正统派在身份认同、政党归属和政策倾向等方面与美国正统派犹太人趋近,同时却更加疏远非正统派群体。日趋右倾化的以色列加剧了美国犹太教不同宗派间的“身份冲突”。     

The Willingness to State an Opinion: Inequality,Don't Know Responses,and Political Participation

Most explanations of inequality in political participation focus on costs or other barriers for those with fewer economic, educational, and “cognitive” resources. I argue, drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's work on “political competence,” that social position in the form of income also structures political participation through differences in the sense that one is a legitimate producer of political opinions. I test whether income differences in participation persist net of costs by examining nonparticipation in a setting in which barriers to participation are low: answering political survey questions. Lower‐income people are more likely than others to withhold political opinions by saying “don't know” net of differences in education, “cognitive ability,” or engagement with the survey exercise. Further, political “don't know” rates predict voting rates, net of other predictors. Efforts to democratize participation in American politics must attend not only to the costs of involvement but also to class‐based differences in individuals' relationship to political expression itself.     

What are women's political interests? Connecting theory to empirical approaches in cross‐national perspective

Parliamentarians and other elected officials have the power to “act for” women and improve their substantive representation. Yet, women are not a homogeneous group with identical individual goals. Given the diversity of women, especially considering the social intersections within a multiplicity of socioeconomic and cultural arrangements across the globe, the identification of “women's political interests” worldwide is problematic. Does the concept of “women's interests” grasp the diversity of women's collective political demands? How can this concept be used to study women's substantive representation in legislative bodies? This article presents theoretical perspectives on the concept and their connection to empirical approaches to the identification of women's interests.     

Ethno‐Class Distinctions and Reality (TV)

This article offers a cultural‐sociological analysis of interpretations by viewers from different classes on the most popular reality show in Israel, namely, Big Brother. The findings of this study show dramatic differences in viewing practices according to class and ethnic distinctions of the viewers. Viewers from the upper socioeconomic class primarily addressed the way in which the subjects from the low socioeconomic class and marked ethnic groups appear in their eyes: that is, the processes affiliated with Othering. These ethno‐class distinctions were translated into unique viewing practices: the identification of what are called, “cult moments” or “grotesque moments.” These moments are depicted as ridiculing the “exaggerated” behavior of members of the low socioeconomic class and specific ethnic groups. Viewers from the low socioeconomic class offer more imminent (and less distant) perspectives on the Big Brother program. They relate to a broad spectrum of content that was broadcast in the program, identify with the participants from their group, criticize the judgments and the cultural hierarchies of marked group members, and describe how political anger accompanies their viewing of the reality program. The discussion section suggests the connection of these subjective interpretations and widespread cultural scenarios about class and ethnic identities.     

The “Homeless Problem” and the Double Consciousness*

The purpose of this article was to identify manifestations of a social discourse that construct those who are homeless as an existential problem. Based on 4 years of ethnographic data and grounded theory analysis, we illustrate the nature of exclusionary social practices that emerge from discourse on the “homeless problem” as well as the conflicting identities experienced by those who are homeless. Herein we frame the data using DuBois concept of “double consciousness.” Our findings indicate that those who are homeless mix together discourses of value and legitimacy with self‐applied stigmas and self‐denigrating political perspectives in ways that directly mirror DuBois’ notion of the conflicting nature of African and American identities around the end of the nineteenth century. We illustrate identity problems that manifest in the contemporary conflict between being both “homeless” and “American.”     

Standing OUT/Fitting IN: Identity,Appearance, and Authenticity in Gay and Lesbian Communities

Sexuality scholars have noted the historical connection between appearance and gay or lesbian identity. However, as the social landscape for lesbian women and gay men has shifted over the past forty years, little research has documented how such changes influence gay and lesbian individuals' appearance choices as they form, manage, and maintain their identities. To explore the impact of this “post‐closet” ( Seidman 2002 ) era on the identities and appearances of lesbians and gays, in‐depth interviews were conducted with twenty individuals, aged eighteen to thirty. Findings suggest that while most people use appearance to attain a sense of authenticity after “coming out,” achieving a feeling of authenticity in gay and lesbian spaces presents unique challenges as individuals come under scrutiny by the community.     

Is there a European social work identity?

The aim of this paper is to examine whether at this point in time the notion of a ‘European social work identity’ can be sustained. The paper commences with some brief consideration of theories of identity, and particularly draws attention to social constructionist identity theory, highlighting its focus on identity as a process. Ideas about what constitutes ‘collective identity’ are then examined. From this, two particular models of collective identity are presented which are helpful for understanding cultural identities. These are the more ‘traditional’ notion of collective culture being evidenced by the presence of shared histories and traditions, and the more social constructionist view of collective processes and action to form identities – whether imposed by the state or generated by the people – as constitutive of identities in themselves. ‘European identity’, and then ‘European social work identity’, will then be examined using these models of collective identity. The paper concludes that using social constructionist versions of identity (identity as a process of collectivisation), European social work identity can certainly be established.     

Languages of Class in US Party Platforms, 1880–1936

This article will explore the shifting use of class language in party platforms during the Lochner era, a period of increased class polarization, social unrest, and laissez faire judicial philosophy. It explores the ways in which political parties responded to the growing inequality of wealth and the judicial distaste for “class legislation.” Using as a dataset all available party platforms of the presidential elections years during this period, I analyze the impact of class identity and class consciousness on politics and social movements during this time, finding that (1) class language increased during this period, with its sharpest images and depictions found in third party platforms; (2) the use of class language was directly connected to calls for an end to “government by injunction” and very specific proposals for workers; (3) the two major parties often took on some of these specific recommendations in the following presidential cycle or cycles, but without the attendant class language; leading to (4) a general muting of explanations for the cause of industrial conflict (irrecoof industrialncilable interests of labor and capital) in favor of specific reforms leading to government as mediator, picked up primarily by the Democratic Party.     

Constructing Transnational Identities without Leaving Home: Korean Immigrant Women's Cognitive Border-crossing

Literature on contemporary immigrants suggests that increasing volume of transnational practices foster identity construction across borders, thereby disjoining geographical space and social space in which identities are constructed and negotiated. While studies pay increasing attention to the linkage between transnational organizing of economic and political activities and that of identities, relatively less attention has been given to transnational identity construction of immigrant groups without high level of transnationalism. This essay documents the identity dynamics among less mobile immigrants, who, albeit their immobility, negotiate their identities transnationally by way of various identity practices to imagine themselves as members of multiple communities across national and cultural boundaries. Based on thirty in-depth interviews with first generation Korean immigrant women, the author examines mechanisms of identity organizing which simultaneously indicate a gradual adaptation to the U.S. society and resistance to assimilation.     

The Politics of Drugs: an Inquiry in the Sociology of Social Problems*

While a great deal of sociological attention has been given to phenomena identified as social problems, a general theory of social problems has yet to be presented. The describing and categorizing of social problems has dominated such inquiry, with little attention given to the process of problem creation and maintenance within the context of power, interests, and politics. We must look to the arena of political, social, and economic power, and identify those varying interests vying to define certain phenomena as problematic and those attempting to counter such recognition. The emergence of the “drug problem” in the early twentieth century provides an excellent example of the political nature of problem identification and definition. Early entrepreneurs and their organizations brought about the institutionalization of the problem through the passage of drug laws. While medical interests were victorious in protecting their practice in the Harrison Act of 1914, subsequent efforts by enforcement agencies, among others, brought about the criminalization of the user. The criminalization of the “drug problem” was aided by a change in the image of the user.     

The Aural and Moral Idylls of “Englishness” and Folk Music

The idea of “Englishness” is explored as an historical social construction that is subject to ongoing negotiation. Important features of “Englishness” are embedded in the sacralized symbolism of the “rural idyll,” which represents traditional English values. “Landscapes” and “soundscapes” are utilized to construct personal and national identities in periods of “revivalism.” By viewing English folk music through an interactionist framework, responses to the music build upon earlier collective works that have shaped traditional song. “Englishness” is problematized as either an inclusive, or exclusive, identity. Ideational artifacts thus provide a foundation for social action.¹     

Problems of Nationalism and Historical Memory in China's Relations with Japan

This paper employs concepts and analytical frameworks drawn from Sociology, particularly collective memory, to examine China's attempts – and the limitations of those attempts – to improve relations with Japan in the new century. In particular, it focuses on a specific episode, the attempt to bring “new thinking” to Sino-Japanese relations. It concludes that the difficulties and complexities are the product of many factors. In the first place, CCP is constrained by its own definition of nationalism and national identity. Secondly, Beijing's control mechanisms and its ability to direct nationalist discourse in ways convenient to itself are challenged by the rise of popular nationalistic sentiment. In addition, the rise of revisionist nationalism in Japan further complicates Beijing's stance toward Japan. The achievement of China's vision of harmonious world and of “Mutually Beneficial” relations with Japan will depend on how well China handles the delicate matters of the construction of national identity and the basis of government legitimacy.     

Spaces of Pride: A Visual Ethnography of Gay Pride Parades in Italy and the United Kingdom

Gay pride parades represent an active site of production of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), intersexual and queer identities, featuring a spatial and social articulation of political and human rights claims. While the multiplication of these events in different countries suggests the existence of a coherent and cohesive community which shares the same collective identity beyond national borders, different patterns in the organisation, part-taking and social and political connotations given to these events can be observed in different contexts. By means of a comparative visual ethnography of Italian and British Gay Pride Parades, this article investigates how the creation, mobilisation and challenge of quasi-normative LGBT identities occur within the spatial context of gay pride marches. It is argued, in particular, that while gay pride parades are sites in which the socio-political status quo can be successfully challenged, participants are also faced with the possibility of falling prey to dynamics of identity commodification and homonationalism which may ultimately deprive their claims of their subversive potential.     

Friendship Talk as Identity Work: Defining the Self Through Friend Relationships

This paper places friendships at the center of individuals' identity work, examining how individuals construct self‐identities through their talk about friend relationships and networks. We conceptualize this “friendship talk” as a subcategory of identity talk. From interviews with emerging adults, we find three strategies of friendship talk: envisioning self through others, betterment distancing, and situating with networks. These strategies demonstrate unique ways identity construction occurs through talk about friends. Individuals verbally connect with and separate from friends while constructing desired selves and moral identities. We suggest that friendship talk strategies may be generic social processes that apply beyond emerging adulthood.     

The Medicalization of Deviance as an Interactive Achievement: The Construction of Compulsive Gambling

This article joins two lines of research from distinct areas in sociology to illuminate the mechanisms through which the meaning of “compulsive gambling” and what it means to be “a compulsive gambler” are cooperatively constructed in interaction at meetings of the fellowship group Gamblers Anonymous (GA). Combining Conrad's work on the medicalization of deviance with a social psychological focus on support group interaction, I demonstrate how individuals' experiences and identities come to be imbued with a medical vocabulary through the homogenization of the initial diversity among members. This analysis contributes to conceptualizations of the medicalization of deviance as well as to interactionist interests in the social construction of reality.     

The Construction of Sexual Identities in an Online Gay,Lesbian, and Bisexual Bulletin Board System

An online bulletin board system was used to focus on how sexual minority gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) individuals perceive and display their individual and collective sexual identities through textual and visual communication processes. While exploring sexual identity construction, four major themes emerged: “coming out,” separation, equality and civil rights, and misconceptions. Concepts of identity negotiation theory help to conceptualize the observed sexual identity construction processes. This work provides insight into how GLB individuals around the world perceive, construct, and perform their sexuality as well as how they perceive the majority culture as viewing them.     

Democratizing Rural Economy: Institutional Friction,Sustainable Struggle and the Cooperative Movement*

Abstract Sustainable development demands institutions manage the conflicts and struggles that inevitably arise over material and ideal interests. While current cooperative theory privileges the economic element, a political economy of cooperation emphasizes cooperatives' tentative bridging of economic and political spheres with a democratic ethos. The cooperatives' democratic political structure exists in tension with a capitalist economic structure and other sites of friction. These contradictions are: in the realm of social relations, between production and consumption; in the realm of spatial relations, between the local and the global; and in the realm of collective action, between cooperatives as both traditional as well as new social movements. Where neo‐classical economic models seek to eliminate or reduce these tensions, political economy views these tensions as functional to sustainability by creating an “institutional friction” that facilitates innovation, flexibility and long‐term adaptability. This political economy of cooperation is intended as a step toward the development of a multidimensional sociology of cooperation.     

“Who else is gonna do it if we don't?” Gender,education, and the crisis of care in the 2018 West Virginia teachers' strike

In 2018, a sequence of powerful education strikes and work stoppages across the United States sent shock waves through the country's public education system. This eruption of collective workers' organization was strongly led by women teachers responding to the current crisis of care, demanding resources, dignity, and justice for themselves, the children they teach, and their communities. While mainstream reports often represent these actions as traditional labor and/or feminist struggles, our research demonstrates that they were sites of more nuanced response to “care extraction” in education, and for understanding how constructions of gender and gender injustice both gave rise to the strikes and shaped their unfolding. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 10 teacher-activists who participated in the West Virginia strikes, we examine how teachers' labor is being transformed in a context of postindustrial austerity, illustrate the complex political identity of the strike actions, and explore the relationship between specific constructions of gendered labor and collective organizing in US public education today.     

Don't End Up in the Fields: Identity Construction among Mexican Adolescent Immigrants,their Parents,and Sociocontextual Processes

This grounded theory study of 16 Mexican immigrant adolescents and 20 of their parents examines how they construct relational identities within their families, at school, with friends, and in the larger society. Results focus on a core identity bind faced by the adolescents: immigration messages from parents that say, “don't be like me” and the societal message, “you're not like us.” Response to this bind was guided by two contrasting sets of identity narratives: Empowering narratives invited an intentional approach to school and life choices. Restricting narratives maintained an ambivalent approach to school and life choices. Resolution of the identity bind was a collective, ongoing process that has implications for Mexican immigrant families and the professionals who work with them.