Suchergebnisse

Draws on research conducted in Aruloor, a large multicaste village in Tamilnadu, South India, to examine the phenomenon of possession. It is argued that possession clearly shows that there is a strong bias against women in the religious sphere of all casts, both Brahmin & non-Brahmin; further, the various manifestations of possession indicate that lower castes do not share upper-caste assumptions about ritual purity. The nature, function, & mechanisms of possession are described, noting that purity is a precondition that allows possessed men to be pierced by metal hooks, spikes, skewers, or needles without shedding any blood. Both Brahmin & lower-caste men must "become female" in order to be possessed by the deity, & it is contended that this symbolic appropriation of "femaleness" marginalizes women in the religious discourse of all castes. However, upper-caste men stress ritual purity & the exact performance of ritual, while lower-cast men emphasize devotion, rather than ritualism, as the way to make a man fit for the deity. The political & gendered implications of possession are discussed. 16 References. J. Lindroth

(Interview conducted by Kathleen M. Blee.) Margolis explains her personal reasons for joining a radical left-wing party in the 1970s & leaving it some 10 years later. Generally, pride is expressed in participating in the left-wing politics of the late 1960s & early 1970s. After becoming active in the antiwar movement at the U of California, Berkeley, Margolis joined a Marxist-Leninist political organization that was attempting to organize trade unions. By the early 1980s, dissatisfaction with Marxist-Leninism led to a break with the organization. A key insight raised by this experience is that fundamental social change will not occur until radical organizations loosen the ideological straitjackets they place on individual members. Achieving a balance of fighting social injustice outside while maintaining democracy inside these organizations is crucial for their success. D. Ryfe

The nature & implications of the consumption & leisure patterns of Algerian male youth during the 1980s are discussed in an analysis of rai music: a mixture of Western & traditional styles performed predominantly by young male artists. Rai music seems to reflect male youths' desires & difficulties coming to terms with new love relationships & with adulthood. The central themes of this musical form were love, lust, emphasis on traditional family relationships with a caring mother & respected father, glorification of Islam, association of women with sorcery, & concern regarding women's entrance into recently male-dominated realms of society. However, the extent to which different individuals accepted these diverse beliefs was highly variable. Rai frequently expressed the desire for young males to create their own social sphere separate from the parent generation. Relationships with females were seen as an entrance into the adult world; however, these relationships were complicated by the gender division in leisure activities & consumption, & concern regarding women's emerging social freedoms. It is concluded that rai is reflective of the major crisis in modern Algerian culture -- the conflict between young men's movement toward Islam & the Westernization of culture. 55 References. T. Sevier

Draws on use of the word "sexy" by molecular scientists in reference to topics that enjoy the highest status, to argue that such male/female binary distinctions influence interpretations in both the biological & social world by celebrating masculinity. Specific examples of "master molecules" taken from the science of signal transduction are used to illustrate that the standards used to identify "sexy" cells are based on male-centered notions of mastery & dominance. Although sexy science does not inhibit scientific progress, reasons are given for why molecular biologists & feminists should resist sexy science that equates molecular interaction to a human biological phenomenon. The many levels of molecular biology's connection to hierarchical oppression are examined, & personal efforts as a scientist/feminist to participate less in sexy science are related, noting that sexy science-oriented researchers do everything possible to discredit any work that detracts from the master's position of supremacy. A new vision of science is presented that offers alternate metaphors/models that better describe a cell's multiple functions. 2 Figures, 4 References. J. Lindroth

Data collected via semistructured interview from 24 pregnant teenagers, ages 14-17, in Xhosa, a Cape Town township, are drawn on to explore violence in the sexual relationships of South African adolescents. All but 1 of the respondents reported assault as a regular feature of their sexual relationships, including coercion, rape, & physical abuse. Men controlled the timing & conditions of sex, & the women felt powerless to resist. These experiences demonstrate how sexuality is a key arena for the display of unequal power relations between men & women in South African society, an element that health care educators need to consider in designing health & sex education programs for adolescents. 13 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

This essay is a modern narrative history that takes its content from the
fictional characters of the English poet William Shakespeare. The aim of
this story-based analysis is to reconsider configurations, general trends,
and collective aspirations in the international and transatlantic relations
between two nations of Western culture, Germany as Germania and
the United States as Sam. On the basis of seven picturesque characters
and episodes selected from his dramas and poems, each representing
an image of love and hate in these relations, an interpretation in comparison
with the cultural historical and socio-cultural developments in
German-American relations is presented: (1) The Birth of Macduff, (2)
The Passionate Pilgrim, (3) The Two Noble Kinsmen, (4) Shylock and
Aaron the Moor, (5) Macbeths Dream of Power, (6) The Phoenix and
the Turtle, and (7) Hamlet's Reflections and the self-assurance of Fortinbras.
This interpretative, comparative analysis involves three different
levels of interpretation for each image: On the basis of Shakespeare's
texts a description and paraphrase of some of the important facts in the
plot and the main characters are presented. Thereafter, a hypothesis is
summarized regarding what we have seen as the main point in the story
(at the level of the meaning of the image). Finally, these meanings, the
ways of Shakespeare's reception, and language games ('Sprachspiele';
in the Wittgenstein sense) are transferred to historical and socio-cultural
substantiation.

Research from different parts of Africa indicates that to grasp the HIV/AIDS catastrophe, an in-depth understanding of conjugal relationships is crucial. In casual, short-term sexual interactions, safer sex practices, foremost condom use, have become more and more prevalent. This does not hold true for long-term relationships. Marriage rates have substantially declined in many parts of southern Africa. Without marriage as a possible frame for conjugal relations meanings and practices of 'love' have become the structuring concept of conjugality. Love relations are perceived as based on trust. This contradicts the use of condoms, a visible sign of mistrust. Based on long-term ethnographic field research in rural northwest Namibia we analyse the interconnections between conjugal relations, perceptions of risk and practices of safe sex in detail.

An exploration of parental treatment of appearance-impaired children in Israel draws on 6 years of ethnographic fieldwork in the 1980s. In spite of efforts by medical & psychological professionals to normalize these children, they are seen as abnormal & unattractive. Case histories of 4 families with appearance-impaired children (eg, spina bifida & severe Down's syndrome) illustrate how families place these children in the role of a "nonperson." Notions of unconditional maternal love are discussed in light of the more pragmatic conditional love of Israeli mothers. It is argued that much of the parental behavior observed, which includes referring to the handicapped child as a "monster," constitutes child abuse. The ethical anthropological dilemma of field neutrality on the part of a researcher observing harmful or immoral behavior is discussed, along with suggestions to resolve it. 20 References. J. Lindroth

An exploration of conspiracy-minded anxieties about viral infiltration focuses on the "ILOVEYOU" computer virus that hit 45 million computers in 20 countries in 2000. The rhetoric of paranoia & conspiracy that followed the Love Bug is examined alongside the paranoid talk that has accompanied other infiltrations such as the acquired immune deficiency syndrome epidemic & earlier computer viruses. It is contended that the Internet & its viral plagues exemplify confusion between self & other that has resulted from the state of "low-intensity" conflict in the world that has produced an unspecified sense of threat. In addition, the link between national politics & the rhetoric of germophobia has generated a corresponding shift in the vocabulary of immunology from the skin as the body's protective barrier to the immune system. Difficulties involved in determining whether conspiracy theories surrounding the Love Bug were justified or exaggerated are discussed, along with the unlikely prospect of total immunity, & the increasing confusion between Them & Us that is a byproduct of corporeal paranoia. 28 References. J. Lindroth