Number of results to display per page
Search Results
122. Fleeing Boko Haram: The Trauma of Captivity and Challenge of Freedom
- Author:
- Mojúbàolú Olufúnké Okome
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- Captivity and freedom are seen as opposites. To be captive is to be imprisoned, detained, confined. To be free is to have liberty, autonomy, free will. It seems logical to associate captivity with trauma, and freedom with an end to trauma. However, enduring elements of trauma challenge the notion of freedom, especially when considering possible psychological effects of long-term captivity. The assumption that the cessation of captivity and experience of freedom constitutes a peaceful, joyful, and self-determining existence may be highly problematic, as may be the social implications of freedom and the impact of responses by others to a person once in captivity but now “free.” This article conceives of the route traversed from captivity to freedom by the victims of Boko Haram (including the young female students abducted from a school in Chibok) as akin to walking a tightrope—a tense, tenuous, perilous, unstable process. It is not impossible to get to freedom, but successfully traversing the tightrope may require unbelievable, extraordinary luck. The surest way to get through is to have the requisite training. Experience also helps. The experience necessary for surmounting the odds need not be experience of abduction and its horrors, but experience with strategies on how to cope with trauma. Such strategies can be provided through culturally appropriate psychosocial support.
- Topic:
- Culture, Trauma, Captivity, and Freedom
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
123. At the Edges of the Map: The Chronotope of Informatics and Maps of Human Terrain
- Author:
- Riley Collins and Sabrina Peric
- Publication Date:
- 08-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
- Abstract:
- Cultural data gathered by researchers has provided militaries across the globe with intelligence and a unique insight into a category of analysis that is not normally given primacy in military strategic planning. Such data has been used in the past; it was used during World War Two to gain insight into the Japanese mind; it was used during British Colonial pacification efforts in Northern Africa; and it is again used today by the U.S. armed forces’ Human Terrain Teams to understand and relay cultural expectations and needs of occupied communities. This paper examines how the U.S. forces relate to an idea of culture for consumption as intelligence through an analysis of the Human Terrain Teams Handbook. Through this lens, we show how the U.S. armed forces condition members of Human Terrain Teams to interact with and think about local cultures in certain ways that are operationally relevant to military activities.
- Topic:
- Intelligence, Military Strategy, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, Japan, Asia, and North Africa
124. Eighth Pupul Jayakar Memorial Lecture Cultural Diplomacy: Leveraging India’s Soft Power
- Author:
- Shyam Saran
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Pupul Jayakar was influenced deeply by theosophy and became a follower of one of its best known spiritual masters, J. Krishnamurti. One of my treasured possessions is an autographed copy of her celebrated biography of the spiritual guide and teacher. This was her gift to me in the midst of the Festival of India in Japan in 1987/88, which I regard as one of our most successful forays in cultural diplomac y, showcasing the breathtaking range of cultural experiences that India has to offer. The Festival in Japan, just like the earlier Festivals in the US and France, was meticulously choreographed by Pupul Jayakar. As coordinator of the Festival in the Indian Embassy in Japan, I had the rare privilege of working closely with her, putting in place nearly 30 events – performing arts, theatre, exhibitions, fashion shows and film festivals, which eventually covered as many locations throughout Japan. Japanese TV channels carried Festival related programming of over 100 hours, all without cost, bringing Indian culture as a living phenomenon into the homes of millions of Japanese. And over this veritable cultural feast presided Pupul Jayakar, not inappropriately known as the Czarina of Indian culture. I am honoured to have been invited to deliver this address in her memory.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Culture, Soft Power, and Spirituality
- Political Geography:
- South Asia, India, and Asia
125. The Revolution Turns Five: Faculty reflections on the fifth anniversary of the Arab uprisings
- Author:
- Fida Adely, Michael Hudson, Joseph Sassoon, Noureddine Jebnoun, Marwa Daoudy, Emad El-Din Shahin, and Rochelle A. Davis
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center for Contemporary Arab Studies
- Abstract:
- In this fifth year anniversary of the Arab revolts or “Arab Spring,” we might ask ourselves “what has changed in the region?” Given the conflicts raging in the Arab world as we speak, many have concluded that the revolts failed, or that rather than bringing “progress” they have pushed us back—entrenching authoritarianism, displacing millions, exacerbating sectarian differences, etc. But such conclusions reflect a short view of history and a truncated understanding of change. More troublesome, they can fuel a view of the region as unchanging, stagnant, and even backward.
- Topic:
- Arts, Culture, Social Movement, Economy, Arab Spring, Youth, Syrian War, Revolution, and Counterrevolution
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Libya, Arab Countries, Syria, North America, Egypt, and Tunisia
126. THE SYRIAN MUSICIANS IN ISTANBUL: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN REPERTOIRE AND STAGE
- Author:
- Hussain hajj
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternative Politics
- Institution:
- Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
- Abstract:
- This article aims to present some notes and findings about the fieldwork that I conducted in Istanbul with Syrian musicians in 2015. The main questions of the research were the identity of the Syrian musicians and the status of Syrian music and musicians in Istanbul. In this article I will first present some details about the musical institutions in Syria and the problems related to “being a musician” and studying music in the era of Al-Baath party ruling. I will add some notes about the Kurdish musicians in Syria. The second section is about Syrian musicians in Istanbul. I will discuss how far they can communicate among each other and with musicians from Turkey, and what are the messages that they try to spread through their music. For this aim, I analyze some musical activities that took place in Istanbul, such as the concerts of the Syrian community, as well as the relationship with the Turkish music of the Syrian alternative media in Turkey. Then, I discuss whether Turkey is seen as a temporary or permanent station by Syrian musicians. Lastly, I will analyze two musical activities and their repertoire that took place in two different stages to show the diversity of Syrian community in Istanbul. Keywords: Syrian refugees, ethnomusicology, musicians, cultural diversit
- Topic:
- Diaspora, Culture, Refugees, and Music
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, and Istanbul
127. Transaction with the World: Ecocriticism and the Environmental Sensibility of New Hollywood
- Author:
- Adam O'Brien
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Book
- Institution:
- Berghahn Books
- Abstract:
- In their bold experimentation and bracing engagement with culture and politics, the “New Hollywood” films of the late 1960s and early 1970s are justly celebrated contributions to American cinematic history. Relatively unexplored, however, has been the profound environmental sensibility that characterized movies such as The Wild Bunch, Chinatown, and Nashville. This brisk and engaging study explores how many hallmarks of New Hollywood filmmaking, such as the increased reliance on location shooting and the rejection of American self-mythologizing, made the era such a vividly “grounded” cinematic moment. Synthesizing a range of narrative, aesthetic, and ecocritical theories, it offers a genuinely fresh perspective on one of the most studied periods in film history.
- Topic:
- Environment, Mass Media, Culture, and Media
- Political Geography:
- United States, California, and North America
128. The role of consumer generated contents in the music industry: conflicts and perspectives
- Author:
- Hector Fouce
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Fundación Alternativas
- Abstract:
- Digital culture already is the present in which we live. The wounds of transition from the analogue model are being gradually left behind and a new model of culture has taken root in our societies. A model whereby users are no longer limited to consume what the media and cultural societies generate, but are now active elements in their circulation and, often, of creativity itself. Evidentently, this new model has generated disruptions and transformations, which, in the case of music, were initially dramatic. But right now the music market is taking advantage of the oportunities in the Internet, and has been growing during the last four years, with the digital market in Spain receiving in 2016 over one hundred million Euros -61% of its revenue. (Promusicae, 2017), while a new panorama is consolidating with new actors, new relationships among them and new ways of action from authors, industries, technologies and users. This work will explore the exisiting interweaving tensions, endeavoring to point out some ecommendations towards a horizon that brings together the potentialities of technologies, the fair remuneration of those whose way of life is music, and the daily practices of the listeners who make music so important .
- Topic:
- Mass Media, Culture, Internet, and digital culture
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Spain, and Western Europe
129. Pop culture with a purpose: Violence against women in Bangladesh
- Author:
- Conor Molly
- Publication Date:
- 10-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Violence against women and adolescent girls is a systemic and ingrained problem in Bangladesh. Oxfam Novib worked with a group of local partners in Bangladesh, including BRAC, WECAN, HASAB and Rupantur, to address the problem in the Khulna Division through an intervention strategy centered on the utilization of edutainment methodologies. The project combined interactive, high quality modern communications tools, including televised docudramas and public service commercials, and traditional edutainment, such as street theatre, together with targeted and more intense school and community interventions in 10 select locations in the Khulna Division. As a result, more than 3,000 students (60 percent were girls) and 3,000 parents reported changing their values and attitudes towards sexual violence against adolescents. Through a mass campaign, the project reached approximately 500,000 people across the Bangladesh.
- Topic:
- Communications, Culture, Social Movement, and popular culture
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh, South Asia, and Asia
130. Challenges of Separatism in East Pakistan and Tamil Nadu: Comparative Appraisal of Political Leadership
- Author:
- Rizwan Ullah Kokab and Mahboob Hussain
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- South Asian Studies
- Institution:
- Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
- Abstract:
- Separatist tendencies emerged in India and Pakistan even before the end of colonial rule in both countries in 1947. The political leadership of these states while dominating the political systems in their respective countries equally demonstrated much determination to curb the separatism. However their response to the challenge of separatist movements, particularly in Indian Tamil Nadu and Pakistani East Bengal, was different to each other. The outcome of separatist movements in two regions were altogether dissimilar. Indian leadership succeeded in repealing the Tamil Movement while Pakistani leadership fell short to the Bengali Movement. This paper is an attempt to expose that India and Pakistan both remained leader centred political systems during most of the time when they were confronted with the challenge of separatism in Tamil Nadu and East Pakistan respectively. While revealing the features of Tamil and Bengali Movement it compares the responses of Indian and Pakistani leadership to the challenges in their relevant spheres. The measures adopted by the political leadership of these countries to appease these movements have been explored in comparison with each other. The dealing of language issue, central to the separatism in both cases, has been specially assessed for the comparative study of response to challenge of separatism.
- Topic:
- Politics, History, Governance, Culture, Ethnicity, Language, and Separatism
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, India, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu