Hybridizing the canon: Russian-American writers in dialogue with Russian literature

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Russian-American writers – that is, Russian-speaking Jews who immigrated to North America from the late 1970s to the early 1990s – have garnered both a wide readership and critical acclaim. Although they live in the United States and write in English, their works manifest a marked focus on Russian-related themes, including the frequent employment of Russian literature. Three Russian-American texts engage in sustained intertextual play: Irina Reyn’s What Happened to Anna K. with Lev Tolstoi’s Anna Karenina; Lara Vapnyar’s Memoirs of a Muse with the diary of Fedor Dostoevskii’s mistress, Polina Suslova; and Anya Ulinich’s Petropolis with Osip Mandel’shtam’s poem “Na strashnoi vysote bluzhdaiushchii ogon'” (“At a terrifying height a wandering fire”). This article has two interrelated aims. The first is to demonstrate that, similar to postcolonial and other diasporic writers, Russian-American writers’ intertextual use is inextricably linked with a negotiation of cultural identities. The second is to offer a close analysis of the ways in which Reyn’s What Happened to Anna K., Vapnyar’s Memoirs of a Muse, and Ulinich’s Petropolis recast Russian texts as Russian-American elaborations of cultural hybridity and immigrant sensibility.     

Romantic Partners,Friends, Friends with Benefits,and Casual Acquaintances as Sexual Partners

The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed examination of sexual behavior with different types of partners. A sample of 163 young adults reported on their light nongenital, heavy nongenital, and genital sexual activity with romantic partners, friends, and casual acquaintances. They described their sexual activity with “friends with benefits,” as well as with friends in general. Young adults were most likely to engage in sexual behavior with romantic partners, but sexual behavior also often occurred with some type of nonromantic partner. More young adults engaged in some form of sexual behavior with casual acquaintances than with friends with benefits. The frequencies of sexual behavior, however, were greater with friends with benefits than with friends or casual acquaintances. Interview and questionnaire data revealed that friends with benefits were typically friends, but not necessarily. Nonsexual activities were also less common with friends with benefits than other friends. Taken together, the findings illustrate the value of differentiating among different types of nonromantic partners and different levels of sexual behavior.     

Frameworks for resolving value conflicts in social work practice: A case study

Abstract

This article will discuss how two theoretical frameworks can be useful in the analysis of conflict situations in social work practice. By viewing situations from the perspective of competing and differing values, social workers are able to come to respect the positions of those with whom they are in conflict. The respect that emanates from being empathic and validating towards another's values is crucial for negotiating resolution to difficult conflict situations.     

Romantic partners, friends, friends with benefits, and casual acquaintances as sexual partners

The purpose of this study was to provide a detailed examination of sexual behavior with different types of partners. A sample of 163 young adults reported on their light nongenital, heavy nongenital, and genital sexual activity with romantic partners, friends, and casual acquaintances. They described their sexual activity with "friends with benefits," as well as with friends in general. Young adults were most likely to engage in sexual behavior with romantic partners, but sexual behavior also often occurred with some type of nonromantic partner. More young adults engaged in some form of sexual behavior with casual acquaintances than with friends with benefits. The frequencies of sexual behavior, however, were greater with friends with benefits than with friends or casual acquaintances. Interview and questionnaire data revealed that friends with benefits were typically friends, but not necessarily. Nonsexual activities were also less common with friends with benefits than other friends. Taken together, the findings illustrate the value of differentiating among different types of nonromantic partners and different levels of sexual behavior.     

Positive Interactions and Avoidant and Anxious Representations in Relationships with Parents,Friends, and Romantic Partners

We examined associations between positive interactions and avoidant and anxious representations in relationships with parents, friends, and romantic partners. Two hundred adolescents completed questionnaires, observations, and attachment interviews. From a between‐person perspective, those adolescents with more positive interactions overall had less avoidant representations. Within persons, the more positive interactions were relative to one's own average level in relationships, the less avoidant representations were for that type of relationship. Adolescents were less anxious about a particular type of relationship if they had positive interactions in their other types of relationships. Finally, representations were primarily predicted by interactions in the same type of relationship; interactions in other relationships contributed little. The findings underscore the importance of examining representations of particular types of relationships.     

A comparative analysis of Norwegian and American social workers’ views about inclusion of religion and spirituality in social work

ABSTRACT

This article presents results from a comparative analysis of national surveys of Norwegian and American social workers’ views and practice with regard to inclusion of religion and spirituality in their professional work with clients. Findings include views about professional values, educational preparation, raising the topics of religion and spirituality with clients experiencing oppression, and use of related interventions. Overall, American social workers are more likely to address religion and spirituality than Norwegians. International comparative statistical and conceptual analyses consider influences of differences in practice settings, respondents’ age and length of experience, and cultural contexts.