凉山彝族的家支与德古的结构与功能

本文利用民族学者的凉山彝族社会历史调查报告,从家支组织形态与功能、家支权力结构与德古、社会变迁中的家支与德古三个方面论述彝族家支(血亲社会组织)与德古(权力人物)的结构与功能.笔者认为凉山彝族家支与德古的传统性和现代性并非此消彼长的两个对立物,它们之间的关系是复杂而多面的,传统性不仅具有顽固性,而且会吸收现代性的某些成分从而获得新的生命,家支与德古具有适应社会变迁的能力.传统与现代结合为一种协调的模式,构成了彝族在当代社会的特定民俗.这就是现在凉山彝族农村的地方政治.在当代社会,德古继续扮演什么角色要看他们接受新知识、新的价值观念以及理性权威程度而定.民众在家支上的同质性极高,所以他们不缺乏家支从属感与认同观念,缺乏的是对现代文化的了解,对现代社会的认知,对身处经济极不发达社会的处理方式.     

Formation of European identity: ethnic minority groups in Central and Eastern Europe in generational perspective

Research into European identity has mostly focused on majority populations in Western European countries, neglecting new member states in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) as well as ethnic minority groups. This paper contributes to filling this gap by exploring and investigating processes of European identity formation of five ethnic minority groups in four CEE countries. A generational perspective was applied by conducting qualitative in-depth interviews with three generations of ethnic minority group members. The results support the instrumental approach of identity construction. In all minority groups researched, the young generation, due to more positive personal experiences and perceived benefits from the European Union, have developed more positive images and perceptions of Europe and a greater sense of European identity than older generations. Furthermore, ethnic group-specific processes of identity formation were found.     

‘Singing acts’ from the deep North: critical perspectives on northern exotics,contemporary ethnic music and language preservation in Sámi communities

This paper discusses the relationship of northernness and performances of contemporary ethnic popular music, within the context of critical geography and postcolonial theory. The focus is on the Sámi ethnic minorities of northern Finland. The North of Finland, ‘nature-Finland’, is understood here as an imaginative region which over the course of several centuries has been constituted through various forms of stereotyping, mystifying, exoticising and othering of Sámi minorities in accordance with the nationalist endeavours of Southern Finland. While these stereotypes and preconceptions of northernness have delimited northern cultural activity, contemporary ethnic music is conceived here as a strategic tool with which stereotypes of northernness can be contested and the work of the preservation of ethnic heritage put into action. The focus is on the works of Inari Sámi-singing rap musician Amoc, Skolt Sámi-singing heavy rock girl Tiina Sanila and the North Sámi-singing hard rock band SomBy. Their music is approached as ‘singing acts’ that work as tools for the preservation of ethnic culture and minority languages and for the deconstruction of stereotypes directed at northernness. The paper claims that contemporary contexts and genres within which singing in Sámi languages takes place may inspire the audience to ponder and reconsider their own ways of perceiving Sáminess and northernness.     

Fabric that weaves stories: Pua kumbu and contemporary Iban identity construction in Sarawak,Malaysia

This article examines the process of identity construction among the Iban indigenous people of Sarawak in Malaysia through pua kumbu – their sacred and ritual cloth. Although the Ibans are popularly known for their headhunting practices and longhouse dwellings, these cultural practices are in major decline and therefore pua kumbu is brought to the forefront as a significant means of identity construction. By illustrating the meanings, narratives, and ceremonies associated with pua kumbu, this article demonstrates that pua kumbu is not just a piece of sacred or ritual cloth; rather, it has significant meanings in the everyday life of the Ibans. It connects the Ibans with distinctly eternal meanings of their life and cosmology, past histories, and their connections to the physical environment. It thus helps the process of maintaining a boundary and identity construction of the Ibans by distinguishing between ‘us and them’ – the Ibans and others.     

Reconfigured Reciprocity: How Aging Taiwanese Immigrants Transform Cultural Logics of Elder Care

Drawing on 55 interviews with older Taiwanese immigrants who relocated to the United States at an earlier life stage, the author argues that changing contextual features involved in the processes of international migration encourage and even demand aging immigrants to reconstruct cultural logics of aging and geriatric care. He develops the concept of reconfigured reciprocity to demonstrate how aging migrant populations transform cultural logics of intergenerational responsibility, obligation, and entitlement to reconcile the tension between ethnic tradition and modernity. First, he reveals how many of the respondents' lack of caregiving for their own parents undermines their sense of entitlement to receive care from younger generations. Furthermore, he highlights how the structural squeeze among work, family, and caregiving with which the younger generation struggles further discourages the respondents from relying on their children. Finally, the author underscores how aging immigrants evoke the concept of Americanization to reconstruct expectations of how they should be taken care of in their twilight years.     

文化冲突视野下青年世界观问题研究

当前的中国正处于社会转型的关键时期。在这个特殊的历史时期,社会中充斥着各种文化冲突。这些不同文化之间的相互冲突,对于当前的青年群体正确世界观的确立产生了诸如对科学世界观缺乏认同、不能正确认识个人和社会的关系、有神论思想及思想方法片面等很多消极影响。为此,对青年世界观的教育,应着重采取实践教育、区别对待、具体指导、情感培养、实现知识内化等措施。     

原生态文化中孑遗的黎族记忆

本文试从黎族的几类特征鲜明的原生态文化——宅居、服装、歌舞、图腾、纹身等方面挖掘这个民族的记忆,以期让更多人的了解黎族,走近黎族,并推动黎族文化走出海南、走向世界。     

Grandchildren's perspectives on grandparents in rural New Zealand

Within studies of ageing, rurality and family relations, the prevalent “point of view” is based on the perspectives of adults, particularly older people themselves. However, taking seriously the reciprocal nature of kinship relations also challenges researchers to find ways to explore younger people's views and experiences of intergenerational ties. The study on which this paper is based addressed this challenge, by considering the dynamics of ageing in rural families through the lens of young people's experience. In the South Island of New Zealand, Area Schools serve families in rural regions specifically defined in terms of a catchment area based on distance from any other state school. This research study selected five (from 16) of these schools, and invited the classes of Year 7 and 8 students to take part in a classroom activity, led by the researcher with support from the class teacher. The activity involved a total of 98 young people (aged 11–13) in written completion of a survey which outlined their relationships and contacts with the people they know as grandparents, along with basic demographics of their own age, gender, family and household situation, and length of attendance at the school. From this survey, information was derived about 380 grandparents (of whom 73 were no longer alive), the nature and frequency of their contacts, and the types of activities they shared with these grandchildren. Around 40 percent of the students have daily or weekly contact with a grandparent, one third “regularly do things together”, and one fifth say they have “a special relationship” with a grandparent. By controlling the age group of the grandchild, and focussing on rural families, this study adds insights and detail to a growing body of research interest in understanding the roles and contributions made by grandparents to New Zealand families, in particular those in rural communities.     

Older people and poverty in rural Britain: Material hardships,cultural denials and social inclusions

This paper explores the relations between older people, poverty and place in rural Britain. It develops previous work on rural poverty that has pointed both to the significance of older people within the rural poor population and to their denials of poverty. The paper also connects with recent discussions on the complexity of relations between poverty and social exclusion in later life, as well as key themes emerging from studies of older people in disadvantaged urban neighbourhoods. Drawing on findings from a survey of 4000 households in rural Wales and interviews with older people in poverty in three rural places, the paper provides a detailed examination of the materialities and experiences of poverty among older people in rural places. In particular, it highlights how older poor groups construct their lives in complex terms with references made to both social inclusions and exclusions. The research also points to the significance of the socio-cultural contexts of place in shaping older people's understandings of poverty in rural areas.     

Conducting Large‐Scale Surveys in Secondary Schools: The Case of the Youth On Religion (YOR) Project

There are few published articles on conducting large‐scale surveys in secondary schools, and this paper seeks to fill this gap. Drawing on the experiences of the Youth On Religion project, it discusses the politics of gaining access to these schools and the considerations leading to the adoption and administration of an online survey. It is concluded that successful research in schools has to be planned carefully in collaboration with key members of staff, and justified as an educational activity. Providing speedy feedback was helpful to ensure schools benefited from the research and to keep them engaged with the project. © 2011 The Author(s). Children & Society © 2011 National Children’s Bureau and Blackwell Publishing Limited