Search Results

Transnational Literary Spaces at War

Andrew N. Rubin

in Archives of Authority: Empire, Culture, and the Cold War

This chapter explores the new rhythms of movement in which the relationship between national identity and humanistic practice was renegotiated. It first describes how the United States and Britain ... More

This chapter explores the new rhythms of movement in which the relationship between national identity and humanistic practice was renegotiated. It first describes how the United States and Britain asserted their domination by reterritorializing the entire geography of postcolonial space. From here, the chapter looks at how technology has enabled magazines to not only reproduce but “synchronically” replicate their content. Moreover, the chapter examines the relationship between the writer and public during the postcolonial era, which underwent further transformations that would decisively expand and constrain cultural space. Finally, the chapter looks at how critics, novelists, and poets were recruited, mobilized, and exported in a historically decisive way that altered the situation of the transnational postwar writer and their public, as well as the effects thereof.Less

Cultural Spaces

Denise Tse-Shang Tang

in Conditional Spaces: Hong Kong Lesbian Desires and Everyday Life

This chapter discusses how queer cultural spaces came to emerge in a city dominated by capitalist ideologies and material consumption. Specifically, it uses the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film and ... More

This chapter discusses how queer cultural spaces came to emerge in a city dominated by capitalist ideologies and material consumption. Specifically, it uses the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival 2004 (HKLGFF) and HKLGFF 2005 as case studies to facilitate a discussion on the contested relations between a politics of consumption, the claim for queer visibility, and the emerging representation of lesbian desires in Hong Kong independent film and video. The HKLGFF has only just begun to understand the needs of local lesbian communities. Apart from continuing and expanding its lesbian programming, it should also partner itself with community organizations and media-arts groups in order to facilitate innovative programming. Furthermore, the chapter defines lesbian desires as same-sex desires between women, regardless of the politics of sexual identification, thereby including women with bisexual and lesbian sexualities.Less

The Challenge Dance: Black-Irish Exchange in Antebellum America

April F. Masten

in Cultures in Motion

This chapter examines the transnational origins of the challenge dance, a distinctly American tradition of brag dancing, and the ways in which Irish and African dance forms converged and collided in ... More

This chapter examines the transnational origins of the challenge dance, a distinctly American tradition of brag dancing, and the ways in which Irish and African dance forms converged and collided in the taverns of New York City in the early nineteenth century. Part theater, part sport, challenge dances emerged in the antebellum era alongside boxing. Dance matches were the product of the intersecting diasporas and cultural exchange of Irish and African emigrants moving through the Atlantic world. The chapter first considers the compatibilities in African and Irish dance traditions before discussing the genealogy of challenge dancing. It then looks at challenge dance competitions held on streets and in taverns as part of white and blackface shows. It also describes a cultural space and moment in which working-class blacks and whites saw enough likeness in their dance traditions to frame a space of public, popular competition.Less

Project Modernity: Intersubjectivity as Iso-ontology

Dipankar Gupta

in LEARNING TO FORGET: The Anti-Memoirs of Modernity

Modernity is understood as a specific form of social relations that people enter into in everyday life. These relations are modified at the most fundamental level by the quality of intersubjectivity. ... More

Modernity is understood as a specific form of social relations that people enter into in everyday life. These relations are modified at the most fundamental level by the quality of intersubjectivity. A modern society is characterized by intersubjectivity as an ontological condition. The difference between iso-ontology and poly-ontologies seems to be very vital in appreciating the distance between modern and pre-modern settings. Intersubjectivity does not mean agreement, or consensus, but respecting the other as occupying an equal position even when an adversary. Ethics catches this internalization of the intersubjective other, without sublating it to the self. Membership requires a space where the enactment takes place. The cultural space of modernity is kept alive through metaphors that encourage intersubjectivity. Modernity is ultimately about relations between people and not about traits in individuals.Less

Sexual Inequality, Youth Empowerment, and the GSA: A Community Study in California

Gilbert Herdt, Stephen T. Russell, Jeffrey Sweat, and Michelle Marzullo

in Sexual Inequalities and Social Justice

“Sexuality” as a cultural notion has gradually expanded since the 1960s to include a broad spectrum of identities, rights, and communities. In effect, this has enlarged the meaning of “diversity” in ... More

“Sexuality” as a cultural notion has gradually expanded since the 1960s to include a broad spectrum of identities, rights, and communities. In effect, this has enlarged the meaning of “diversity” in neoliberal democracy. More than a generation ago, subjects of studies concerning such issues exclusively engage adults, keeping the youth out of its purview. It reflected the researcher's naivety pertaining to the sexual awareness among the youth. Indeed, only later did advocates move to encompass sexuality as a larger social empowerment for youth. The holistic rejection of sexuality vis-à-vis the youth propelled the youth community to consolidate into enhanced interaction aimed at social justice in cultural spaces. It led to the phenomenon of gay-straight alliances (GSA) as a bulwark against sexual inequality. This chapter appraises the effectiveness of GSA of teachers, administrators, students, and students' families and friends in mitigating suppressed social subjectivity in terms of sexuality.Less

The historical evolution of the third age

Ian Rees Jones, Martin Hyde, Christina R. Victor, Richard D. Wiggins, Chris Gilleard, and Paul Higgs

in Ageing in a consumer society: From passive to active consumption in Britain

This chapter takes a look at the evolution of the ‘third age’ in British society, and traces its growth as a concept and as a social and cultural space. It uses various demographic and historical ... More

This chapter takes a look at the evolution of the ‘third age’ in British society, and traces its growth as a concept and as a social and cultural space. It uses various demographic and historical data, and presents various typologies and periodisations of the ‘third age’. The discussion also studies the ways in which it is expressed and reproduced in different social contexts. Several terms such as ‘generation X’, ‘baby boomers’, and ‘sixties hippies’ are introduced.Less

Epilogue: New Cultural Spaces, New Sensibilities

Young-a Park

in Unexpected Alliances: Independent Filmmakers, the State, and the Film Industry in Postauthoritarian South Korea

Can the alliances described throughout this book be characterized as “co-optation” of social activism in contemporary South Korea? This chapter argues that this characterization does not help us to ... More

Can the alliances described throughout this book be characterized as “co-optation” of social activism in contemporary South Korea? This chapter argues that this characterization does not help us to fully grasp the complex practices of the co-optors. In fact, former film activists and independent filmmakers who were “co-opted” by the state transformed South Korea’s film institutions, film censorship policies, and film industry, and elaborated the idea that Korean cinema was worthy of protection. In addition, they opened up new cultural venues that allowed the expression of underappreciated political and cultural sensibilities. This concluding chapter asserts that spaces of resistance were formed through unanticipated alliances and social processes and emphasizes that resistance emerged from “inside” power and transformed it from within. Being cognizant of the contingent yet transformative nature of resistance is fundamental to understanding South Korea’s ever-changing cultural landscape.Less

Introduction: Cinema, Space, and Liminality

Hrishikesh Sudhakar Ingle

in Marathi Cinema, Cultural Space, and Liminality: A History

In this introductory chapter, the broad arguments informing this study of Marathi cinema are presented. It begins by identifying the peculiar scenario of Marathi cinema as a displaced-yet-present ... More

In this introductory chapter, the broad arguments informing this study of Marathi cinema are presented. It begins by identifying the peculiar scenario of Marathi cinema as a displaced-yet-present film culture, and a prominent regional film industry operating from Mumbai and Pune. The geosocial contiguity of Hindi and Marathi film industries are then framed for a socio-spatial inquiry. The need for a critical spatial analysis is developed by considering the meta-ideas of ‘regional’ and ‘national’ in relation to Indian film studies. Marathi cinema bears an unmistakable character of a networked industry, where sites of filmic articulation become more prominent as performance of the region. This historical understanding is introduced in this chapter to identify the contours of a vernacular cultural space. The chapter then elaborates on the role of language in such a spatial scheme of analysis and later outlines the plan of this book.Less

Contested Notions of Revolution

Jaime M. Pensado

in Rebel Mexico: Student Unrest and Authoritarian Political Culture During the Long Sixties

This chapter examines student unrest and government response in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. It explores the impact of this defining event on the leftist student political landscape at UNAM ... More

This chapter examines student unrest and government response in the aftermath of the Cuban Revolution. It explores the impact of this defining event on the leftist student political landscape at UNAM as evident in at least four significant ways: the radicalization of students throughout the 1960s in response to the proliferation of charrismo estudiantil; the revaluation of the importance of ideology; the creation of innovative spaces of contestation; and the rise of reactionary politics and political violence. The chapter argues that the internationalist spirit of the 1960s gave rise to a new culture of protest inside UNAM. It illustrates the characteristics of Mexico's “New Left” by focusing on the following individuals: the political cartoonist Rius; the participants of the university cine-clubs; the collaborators of Radio Universidad; and the writers of el espectador, Revista de la Universidad, and El Corno Emplumado.Less

The Politics of Low and Slow/Bajito y Suavecito: Black and Chicano Lowriders in Los Angeles, from the 1960s through the 1970s

Denise M. Sandoval

in Black and Brown in Los Angeles: Beyond Conflict and Coalition

This chapter discusses the cultural history of the lowriding phenomenon in Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1970s and how car culture in Chicano and Black communities has involved a re-creation ... More

This chapter discusses the cultural history of the lowriding phenomenon in Los Angeles from the 1960s through the 1970s and how car culture in Chicano and Black communities has involved a re-creation or a reimagining of the city's urban landscape. More specifically, it examines how and why lowriding developed and what it means to Chicanos and African Americans. Focusing on the Ruelas family, the “first family” of lowriding and founders of the Dukes Car Club of Los Angeles, the chapter considers the sociohistorical interconnections between Chicano and Black cultural spaces in Los Angeles through the practice of lowriding. It also explores how this cultural space as well as Chicano cultural identity has been influenced by the politics of bajito y suavecito/low and slow. It shows that the Ruelas family had deep and multifaceted relationship with both African American culture and Black lowriders such as Terry Andersen and Ted Wells.Less

Gendered Geographies of Home: Mapping Second- and Third-Generation Puerto Ricans’ Sense of Home

Maura I. Toro-Morn and Marixsa Alicea

in Gender and U.S. Immigration: Contemporary Trends

This chapter takes a look at the features that make negotiating multiple identities and life on the borderlands difficult. It shows that life on the margins can be difficult due to the lack of road ... More

This chapter takes a look at the features that make negotiating multiple identities and life on the borderlands difficult. It shows that life on the margins can be difficult due to the lack of road maps or frameworks for constructing transnational identities. The chapter also reveals that notions of home are diverse and complex for second- and third-generation Puerto Ricans. It looks at their struggle to live in two cultures, and determines that Puerto Rican parents constructed their homes in the United States as “authentic” cultural spaces. They also expected their children to meet traditional gender roles and values. The chapter determines that despite these struggles, second- and third-generation Puerto Ricans seek comfort from the many forms of oppression they confront as colonized people in the United States by creating romanticized images of their homeland.Less

Introduction: Cultural Locations of Disability

in Cultural Locations of Disability

This book examines cultural spaces that have been set out exclusively on behalf of disabled citizens, such as nineteenth-century charity systems; institutions for the feebleminded during the eugenics ... More

This book examines cultural spaces that have been set out exclusively on behalf of disabled citizens, such as nineteenth-century charity systems; institutions for the feebleminded during the eugenics period; the international disability research industry; sheltered workshops for the “multi-handicapped”; medically based and documentary film representations of disability; and current academic research trends on disability. It characterizes these sites as cultural locations of disability in which disabled people find themselves deposited, often against their will. At the very least, each of these locales represents a saturation point of content about disability that has been produced by those who share certain beliefs about disability as an aspect of human differences. The book traces these beliefs back to the eugenics era, when disability began to be construed as an undesirable deviation from normative existence.Less

Traveling and the Neighborhood

Anna Servaes

in "Franco-American Identity, Community, and La Guiannée"

This chapter explores the traveling aspect of the Guiannée through its use of modern transportation, the bus, and its ability to reach a larger, more dispersed community. Historically, several ... More

This chapter explores the traveling aspect of the Guiannée through its use of modern transportation, the bus, and its ability to reach a larger, more dispersed community. Historically, several Guiannée groups performed throughout the community, redefining their boundaries through these performances. Today, one Guiannée group travels the community to redefine its community and cultural connections with other members. When the Guiannée arrives at a public place and performs, whether historical or contemporary, the place transforms into a sacred and cultural space where communal ties are renewed. The continuity in cultural spaces establishes and maintains links in the members’ memories between the past and the present.Less

Cultural Contact and Cultural Space: The Dialectics of Negation and Resistance

Donald H. Matthews

in Honoring the Ancestors: An African Cultural Interpretation of Black Religion and Literature

This chapter examines the African heritage on which Africans developed their spirituals and its importance in black religion in America, with particular emphasis on the dialectics of negation and ... More

This chapter examines the African heritage on which Africans developed their spirituals and its importance in black religion in America, with particular emphasis on the dialectics of negation and resistance. It first considers how the contact between Europeans and Africans in the New World altered the cultural space before turning to a discussion of the evocative nature of religion for African Americans. It then explores how African American spirituals were created and performed to resist the oppressive nature of slavery and racism and to counter the negation of African culture in the New World. It also analyzes the connection between the cultural space created by the spirituals and issues of African American psychology, along with the effects of African and African American worldviews on American Christianity. Finally, it assesses African American religion and culture in relation to the so-called African survivals and the social context of African American religion.Less

Introduction

Marijeta Božović

in After Yugoslavia: The Cultural Spaces of a Vanished Land

The introduction outlines the rationale of the volume and provides critical chapter summaries. One of the central binaries interrogated throughout the volume is that of individual versus collective ... More

The introduction outlines the rationale of the volume and provides critical chapter summaries. One of the central binaries interrogated throughout the volume is that of individual versus collective memory. What of this post-Yugoslavia is mine alone, and what is ours? Who are we? Who would we like to become? How does one make sense of the diverse, yet interconnected post-Yugoslav cultural spaces? What combination of contradictory tools and methodologies will shed light on the story of the Western Balkans, Central Europe, Southeast Europe, the former Yugoslavia, or any of these transitional spaces with contested names? Attempts offered here range from the meditative personal history, to inquiry, to linguistic research, to theoretically charged interventions, and to close readings that bracket recent political history in pursuit of other categories of knowledge. In place of a dominant metanarrative, the contributors to After Yugoslavia attempt a polylogue, a multiplicity of communicating voices.Less

Cheesecakes and Bestsellers: Contemporary Serbian Literature and the Scandal of Transition

Tatjana Rosić

in After Yugoslavia: The Cultural Spaces of a Vanished Land

The dream of “globalization as cosmopolitization” remains a dominant characteristic of Serbian culture, although globalization is seen as yet another totalitarian regime in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav ... More

The dream of “globalization as cosmopolitization” remains a dominant characteristic of Serbian culture, although globalization is seen as yet another totalitarian regime in Yugoslav and post-Yugoslav cultural space. The mourning for ex-Yugoslav cultural space appears as nostalgia both for the lost cosmopolitan context and the forgotten “golden age” of historical innocence. The repressive neoliberal cultural market provides an ideological and political arena where all participants are equally aggressive, intolerant, and corrupted by the idea of commercial success. Alternative ways of (re)constituting the Serbian literary and cultural scene are found in the works of contemporary Serbian writers depicting the transformation of the (sub)cultures of the 1970s and 1980s into the violent, xenophobic, right-wing communities of the last decade of the twentieth century . Most of these writers, even when writing in exile, like Albahari, see their literary work as part of a reconstituted post-Yugoslav cultural space.Less

Afterword

Christina Sunardi

in Stunning Males and Powerful Females: Gender and Tradition in East Javanese Dance

This concluding chapter reflects on the major points made throughout this book, discussing how individual artists have developed personal strategies for situating themselves within the constantly ... More

This concluding chapter reflects on the major points made throughout this book, discussing how individual artists have developed personal strategies for situating themselves within the constantly evolving constellations of personal, local, national, and global values that surround the negotiation of masculinity and femininity. Furthermore it returns to the subject of female power and how the performers maintain and make cultural space for the magnetic power of femaleness. Finally, and in spite of performers' concerns about the future of local tradition, the chapter expresses optimism about the future of the performing arts in Malang, demonstrating how a new generation of performers is actively engaging with the art.Less