Not Thinking Ethnicity: A Critique of the Ethnicity Paradigm in an Over-Ethnicised Sociology

The many critical approaches to an 'ethnicity framework' have fallen short of a very possible conclusion—that the language of ethnicity provides, for the most part, a poor paradigm with which to work. In the present paper we seek not only to re-state some key weaknesses of this paradigm but also to suggest that these weaknesses are more general in an over-ethnicised sociology. There are numerous critiques of particular models or elements of ethnicity thinking, including critiques of primordialist approaches (Fenton 2003), of multiculturalism ( Barry 2000 ), and of the over-objectification of groups (Brubaker 2004; see also Jenkins 2008). The major critiques constitute a strong case against 'thinking with ethnicity'; the broader weaknesses are more general in contemporary 'identitarian' sociology. From this position we turn to the question of offering an alternative approach in a sociology which emphasizes agency, and is grounded in an analysis of actors in material situations. This is allied to the concept of ideational resources, social categories and identities upon which actors draw, and a middle-range view of causality and tendency in social change. Ideas of ancestral belonging are among those ideational resources, and these ideas and assumptions are played out in a context of material and political change. The subject of study is not ethnicity, but power, resources, social relations and institutions (which may and may not be) informed by cultural identities and ideas of ancestry. The strategy of the paper will be first to re-state the deficiencies of 'ethnicity thinking' and second to offer an alternative framework for thinking about social action and social structure.     

Identity,selfhood and dementia: messages for social work

Dementia has been identified as a policy priority area for the European Union (EU). Given projected figures on the global increase in dementia over the next few decades, working with people with dementia is likely to become an even more prominent area of activity for social workers in older people's services. Recent research has begun to engage with the subjective experiences of people with dementia and there is considerable focus within nursing literature on their active efforts to maintain identity and selfhood. However, these issues have received little attention within the domain of social work. This paper reviews recent research on the subjective experiences of people with dementia and discusses the implications for social work in relation to: early intervention; communication and assessment, and support arrangements. Based on experience in England, it is argued that the current policy and practice context constrains social work's ability to respond to these issues and that a supportive organisational context, as well as high levels of skill, time and commitment, are required if concepts of personhood and citizenship are to have meaning in practice.     

HOME: TERRITORY AND IDENTITY

Beginning with a story from Deleuze and Guattari of a child in the dark who hums to comfort himself, this essay presents a spatial theory of everyday life through an exploration of the idea of home. The song the child sings brings order out of chaos, a space of comfort amidst fear, in other words, home. Through song, repetition, and other ways of marking we establish personal territories in a search for a place of comfort. This essay explores the nature of these markings, of this territorialization, and how such processes are cultural. Indeed, the essay argues that subjectivity is a product of territorializing, identity is territory. Identity is grounded in habit; the repetition of action and thought establishes home. The essay concludes by returning to the idea of culture on a more general level and how a theory of home and everyday life as territorialization may help better explain how cultures move, adapt, and resist.     

边疆少数民族国家认同问题的反思及对策

增强边疆少数民族的国家认同，保持国家认同在认同序列上的优先地位，是维护边疆经济社会稳定发展和祖国安全统一的基础。当前，亟须从强化公民意识、发展经济、强化国族认同、发展教育等方面提高边疆少数民族的国家认同。     

“不再流泪的洛特曼”：洛特曼在西方

60年代中后期塔尔图—莫斯科符号学派代表洛特曼以结构主义符号学家身份进入西方学界视野。90年代后洛特曼面临结构主义身份认同危机,西方学界开始致力于放大其理论中解构主义因子,塑造更为开放、跨界、全新的“洛特曼”。通过描摹洛特曼在西方语境置换、视域更迭中呈现的独特镜像,不仅可以启发洛特曼后续研究,也可窥见西方学界对外来理论阐释的价值取向以及文化立场。     

文化认同是民族融合的先决条件

在我国多民族关系的发展史中 ,中华文化对中华民族的形成 ,对我国多民族国家的建立与发展 ,起到了重要的凝聚作用。而在这些丰富的中华文化中 ,大一统的思想、儒家文化、汉语汉俗和各民族科学、文学艺术的交汇 ,是中华民族大融合中决定性的因素     

断裂与重构:少数民族地区学校教育中的潜在课程研究

本文所探讨的潜在课程重点在于“潜在”上,目的是想说明在少数民族地区现代性学校教育中的潜在课程是如何存在的,它潜在地发挥着什么样的作用。经研究发现,潜在课程与少数民族文化是一种冲突的关系,表现出了“断裂”与“重构”的文化现象。因此,本文主要从这两个方面探讨潜在课程对于少数民族文化和个体的潜在作用:作为文化断裂,类似于强制地要求停止你以前的思考和习惯;身份重构则要求你必须获得与以往不同的身份和意识,并先适应学校中生活和现代性要求。     

澳門品牌識別設計的策略

近年,"品牌"這個字眼是澳門企業界、學術界最爲熱衷計論的话题,從産品、服務、中小企、各種活動;甚至城市都被冠以品牌化稱謂,而當中建言多屬融資方法、人力資源及服務質素等"管理"層面上的觀點;但處在全球知識經濟的競爭下,設計策略、品牌形象與整合行销的"創意"層面才是企業、品牌或城市生存和兢争力的關鍵。因此,爲了提升澳門中小企業、節日活動以至城市的兢爭力,必须重视设計策略规劃舆強化品牌識别系統的意識,藉以提高企業、活動的核心理念與文化内涵,使"品牌"的塑造更具個性及魅力。     

严歌苓作品中的女性身份探析

随着一批女性作家的异军突起,女性的身份问题逐渐成为学术界研究的热点,女性身份的构建不再仅仅局限于性属身份的角度,而是日趋多元化。严歌苓作品中丰富的女性形象正是这种多元化视角的体现:一方面,她将女性身份置于时代、社会背景下进行分析,揭示出女性身份所蕴含的雌性特质;另一方面,她又对移民女性的身份进行深入剖析,在文化认同的前提下,女性新的文化身份也应运而生。可见,严歌苓在构筑一个丰富的女性形象世界的同时也为我们构建了女性的多重身份。     

从贺州客家宗祠看客家人的认同意识

地处南岭走廊中段的贺州,是客家民系的重要居住地之一。特殊的地理位置与环境,使贺州客家成为最具客家特征的广西客家人。贺州客家非常重视宗祠的建设,数量众多是贺州客家宗祠的突出特点。作为在重大节庆时举办祭祀活动专用场所的客家宗祠,反映了客家人强烈的认同意识,对客家文化的传承起着十分重要的作用。