Suchergebnisse

The event known as Matariki, the rising of the Pleiades in winter, which Māori take as the mark of the beginning of a new year, was not a strong feature of the wider public sphere for most of the 20th century. Since 2001, however, when Te Taura Whiri, the Māori Language Commission, published an explanatory booklet with the aim of reviving interest in Matariki as an aide to the maintenance of te reo, it has been promoted by several quasi-governmental institutions, especially the national museum, Te Papa, as a winter festival for all New Zealanders. Its main public presence to date has been through media products: posters, banners, websites, television programmes, newspaper features, calendars, some theatrical performances and physical commemoration ceremonies. The larger project, of which this paper represents an initial descriptive and positioning phase, is a continuation of the researcher's long-standing interest in the intersections of religiosity, culture, and media as they are active in the environment of Aotearoa New Zealand. It assumes, building on theorists such as Bellah and Lundby that the creation of such festivals is an act of 'civil religiosity' that attempts to create and strengthen national community around a set of numinous symbols. However, the development of an enterprise such as Matariki is pursued in a complex political field, where broad agreement across various factions is needed before the festival can take on an enduring material and symbolic existence. In investigating the factors that will determine the future of Matariki it is relevant to consider the interaction of three factors in particular: the ethno-political history of New Zealand; the characteristics of contemporary reflexive spirituality, which are intertwined with commodificatory tendencies and thirdly, the impacts of increasing globalisation on the parameters of identity-formation for citizens in late-modern societies.

Theology of culture is essentially multi-disciplinary in its foundation where it should be able to appropriate discursive theology, sociology, philosophy, history, psychology etc. Theology of culture cannot be simply an exercise of appropriating the scriptural injunctions.In the history of the dissemination of Islam in this part of this world, the cultural role is instrumental in the process of Islamisation. Understanding the religious life and discourse in this region will not be completed if the realm and significance of culture is being relegated. It is imperative for Muslims in Southeast Asia to develop theology of culture as part of their intellectual and religious discourse, nourishing them with the notion of dialogue, criticality and reconstruction. In more specific term, the need to garner the interest on culture is important where student of religion could engage, like other students of culture, by giving critical religious perspectives, on a domain that affect their life and humanity as a whole. Our cultural and intellectual responses to the predicaments of our time are urgently needed, especially when the political responses always beset by more problems and confusion. To attempt an alternative approach must be recognized and made available. Herein lies the importance of a theology of culture.

This paper examines the role that culture, the information society, and media play in forming stable and productive communities. Through a theory of culture defined by conflict and play, it examines the history of Europe as a concept, issues of continental identity, and the impact/intent of European Union policy initiatives regarding culture and media. It suggests that although some EU policy approaches are well designed, there is a great deal of room for improvement in their conceptualisation and execution. By understanding culture and media to be intertwined but not identical, we can see how the arts and media can be used to create community not only in their distribution and consumption but also in the very fact of their creation. Moreover, by situating culture and media within contemporary socio-political frameworks, particularly the deregulatory atmosphere supported by transnational corporate interests and the construction of a commodified neoliberal citizen, the paper argues for a conceptualisation of culture that can exist within contemporary systems of capital while retaining the potential for oppositional and critical ontologies. It concludes with specific suggestions for EU policy and funding directives through analyses of two visual culture phenomena, the 2002 film L'Auberge Espanole and the 2005 Venice Biennale.

Most commentators on political and development crises in Nigeria have identified corruption as the prime factor. A number of factors have been adduced as responsible for the prevalence of corruption in the country. However, the aspect of culture is yet to be adequately captured. Yet, the place of culture in the high incidence of corruption as well as the constraints to its entrenchment cannot be underestimated. While the culture of the people abhors corruption, yet, we have various instances where culture has been invoked to support corrupt practices as well as fight against it. This article seeks to focus the angle of cultural dimension to the issue of corruption in Nigeria. It seeks to explain how culture has contributed to the menace of corruption and how it can be invoked for its extermination. In essence, it looks beyond the formal to the informal angle in the issue of corruption discourse in Nigeria.

First peoples and the making of Andean and Amazonian space -- States and conquests in the Andes -- The rich mountain -- From Indian insurgency to Creole independence -- Market circuits and enclave extraction -- The nation and political fragmentation -- The nationalization of natural resources -- Revolutionary currents -- Dictatorship and democracy -- Neoliberalism and lowland ascendency -- Competing projects for the future

The political culture of any society is supported and determined by the spiritual and moral values adopted by this particular society over the course of its historical development. We can say that general cultural values of the metaphysical order eventually transformed into socio-political values that formed the modern heterogeneous political space. The transmission of values, including political ones, takes place by means of exploiting different mechanisms by society and using different tools. Nevertheless, one of the most effective mechanisms at this time is education, which is more and more often considered by developed countries as a means of achieving their economic and political dominance in the international arena. In this aspect, education serves as a tool of "soft power" policy. It is through the expansion and spread of their education model that many countries promote their political values in economically and geopolitically important regions.

The metaphor of the casino, with its associations of risk, uncertainty and illusion resonate at different levels of the contemporary cultural and political imagination where notions of chance and luck – together with the arbitrariness of being either a 'winner' or a 'loser' are pervading themes. This article discusses the notion of casino culture as a psycho-cultural formation and its relationship to the emergence of what I call 'casino politics'. The article deploys a psycho-cultural approach that combines cultural and political analyses with object relations psychoanalysis in order to examine the cultural and unconscious investments that underpin the ideology of casino culture and its politics – particularly in the contemporary context of Brexit politics in the UK and Donald Trump's Presidency in the US, where manic fantasies associated with gambling are mobilised as a defence against loss and uncertainty.

We live in a culture of contest and protest. Our economic, political, and legal institutions are structured as contests. Our efforts to reform these institutions frequently are characterized by protest. This article examines the social and ecological implications of this culture of contest and protest. It begins by demonstrating that our economic, political, and legal institutions form an integrated tripartite system of contests that is socially unjust and ecologically unsustainable. It then considers the paradox of attempting to reform these institutions through protest and other adversarial strategies of social change. The article concludes by outlining a theory of social change that derives from the concept of cultural games. This theory suggests that the nonadversarial strategies of construction, attraction, and attrition are the most effective means of creating a more peaceful, just, and sustainable social order.

THE MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF PATRIOTIC AND NATIONALISTIC ATTITUDES AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO NUCLEAR POLICY OPINIONS WERE INVESTIGATED. ONE HUNDRED AND NINETY-FOUR COLLEGE STUDENTS, 24 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, AND 21 BUILDING CONTRACTORS WERE ADMINISTERED THE 120-ITEM PATRIOTISM/NATIONALISM QUESTIONNAIRE. ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX OF THE COLLEGE STUDENTS WERE CONCURRENTLY ADMINISTERED THE 18-ITEM NUCLEAR POLICY QUESTIONNAIRE. AN ITERATED PRINCIPAL FACTOR ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED ON THE PATRIOTISM/NATIONALISM QUESTIONNAIRE AND SIX FACTORS WERE EXTRACTED FOR VARIMAX ROTATION. THE RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE FACTORS WERE INTERPRETABLE AND DISTINCT. FURTHER ANALYSES INDICATED THE PREDICTIVE VALIDITY OF THE SUBSCALES DERIVED FROM THE SIX FACTORS FOR THE NUCLEAR POLICY QUESTIONNAIRE, AND EXPLORATORY ANALYSES OF VARIANCE EXAMINED THE EFFECTS OF SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES. THE FINDINGS SUPPORT THE CONTENTION THAT PATRIOTIC/NATIONALISTIC ATTITUDES ENTAIL MULTIPLE DIMENSIONS, AND THAT THEY ARE DIFFERENTIALLY RELATED TO NUCLEAR POLICY OPINIONS. THE AUTHORS CONCLUDE THAT RESEARCHERS NEED TO BE MORE ATTENTIVE TO THIS MULTIDIMENSIONALITY, ESPECIALLY THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN PATRIOTISM AND NATIONALISM.

A review of a collection of essays by Paschalis Kitromilides, Enlightenment, Nationalism, Orthodoxy. Studies in the Culture and Political Thought of South-Eastern Europe, explores the ideological aspects of the evolution of modern political culture both in Greece & the wider Balkan region. Emphasis is given to the interplay of the Enlightenment, Orthodoxy, & nationalism, particularly the failure of Enlightenment thought to transform Greek society & the emergence of a distinct historical consciousness among the various Balkan peoples, a consciousness that has been fueling nationalist movements in the region since the early 19th century. The development of Kitromilides's thought on political culture & nationalism is traced, particularly his resolution of a variety of theoretical & methodological issues. The relevance of Kitromilides's work to the analysis of contemporary Greek & Greek-Cypriot politics is discussed. D. Generoli

What does it mean when a hit that knocks an American football player unconscious is cheered by spectators? What are the consequences of such violence for the participants of this sport and for the entertainment culture in which it exists? This book brings together scholars and sport commentators to examine the relationship between American football, violence and the larger relations of power within contemporary society. From high school and college to the NFL, Football, Culture, and Power analyses the social, political and cultural imprint of America's national pastime. The NFL's participation in and production of hegemonic masculinity, alongside its practices of racism, sexism, heterosexism and ableism, provokes us to think deeply about the historical and contemporary systems of violence we are invested in and entertained by. This social scientific analysis of American football considers both the positive and negative power of the game, generating discussion and calling for accountability. It is fascinating reading for all students and scholars of sports studies with an interest in American football and the wider social impact of sport.

"British culture today is the product of a shifting combination of tradition and experimentation, national identity and regional and ethnic diversity. These distinctive tensions are expressed in a range of cultural arenas, such as art, sport, journalism, fashion, education, and race. This Companion addresses these and other major aspects of British culture, and offers a sophisticated understanding of what it means to study and think about the diverse cultural landscapes of contemporary Britain. Each contributor looks at the language through which culture is formed and expressed, the political and institutional trends that shape culture, and at the role of culture in daily life. This interesting and informative account of modern British culture embraces controversy and debate, and never loses sight of the fact that Britain and Britishness must always be understood in relation to the increasingly international context of globalisation"--