quiz 2

Concern for worldly matters facilitates "religious awakenings". Changes in societies and what is deemed important reshape the tropes of religion.

Highly charged militant warrior-type expressions come from a context of new states, political insecurity and are often articulated or led by very powerful/charismatic people who will remind followers of their weaknesses and vulnerabilities creating a need to adhere to a new state or movement. In response to this awareness are acts of militancy with an emphasis on civil and social codes; all of which are methods of cleansing society in order to better the nation and ourselves.

Rap and Hip Hop:

Historically, African American music has been an exercise in innovation... wholly reformulating existing forms. Music is an inventive way for people to distinguish themselves from other communities. For African Americans, this in part is a result of existing on the margins of the larger, mainstream population. Rap and hip hop music is the telling of a story in a public arena. The public arena in question is coded with historical social and institutional discrimination.

1. According to the Shayne Lee, in what ways can you compare Shakespeare to rap?

Shane refers to Shakespeare as the "ultimate hip hop artist" he says this because Shakespeare has touch on multiple things in his work that are discussed in rap (i.e. violence).

What is the difference between social identity and collective identity?

Social identity is how people define themselves in relation to other people and the outside world (identities influenced socially). Collective identity is an affiliation & sense of connectedness to a particular social group.

Kenneth Lee discussing his experience as an Otaku:

: a fan of anime, manga or other East Asian forms of pop culture. He ponders the reasons why it seem less acceptable to be a fan of anime than a fan of a mainstream popular television shows. Kenneth Lee also considers his social identity and the way he is viewed as a fan.

Fundamentalism:

: refers to "black‐and‐white" thinking that opposes modernism, or progressive thinking about religion and other social topics. Fundamentalist groups tend to oppose anything that challenges their religious group's interpretations and opinions. To most Americans the term fundamentalist conjures up images of "Bible‐thumping" Protestants, which is far from the case. All denominations and groups—including those of religions like Islam—contain fundamentalist members. These activists usually think that they have a corner on "the truth," and do not tolerate other viewpoints or practices. The most well‐known fundamentalist denominations in the United States are the Assemblies of God, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Seventh‐Day Adventists. Organizations such as these often become politically active, and support the conservative political "right," including groups like the Moral Majority.

What are some of the funerary practices adopted by Indo-Caribbeans in the recent decades?

"Waking" everyone gets together around the body in the home of the deceased and reminisce and hang out for a day or 2.

Globalization

(The meaning varies with both disciplinary and theoretical perspectives). Globalization is most frequently used to discuss material and power exchanges in the economic and political arena. Including technology, goods, commerce, services, information and cultural production. It also includes exchanges of things outside of the market place but rather within the "realm of the symbolic". Globalization is also the spread of ideas, beliefs, customs, values, feelings, states of existence, language, ideologies, and cultural practices. African American music, style, slang, and clothing has (cont') spread throughout the world in a significant way yet African Americans are pulled over Globalization is characterized as: · Dynamic · Interdependent · Reciprocal · Unevenly distributed · And having both negative and positive impacts · And effect o different people, groups, cultures and states, o at different times o in different ways o to different degrees

1. Identify racial stereotypes made apparent through the dialogue.

- Booth in the play is no employed and works hard and hustles to be the best in three card monte alongside boosting what he owns. Booths actions are racial stereotypes of individuals in African American communities.

1. Indian migration to the U.S. resulted in adaptations within the culture. What are 2 examples Professor Verma described from her research in New York?

- Difficulties in advancement in education - Diffficulties in advancement in career

Cultural Memory

-Cultural memories are not fixed -Every group of people has a configuration of memory to explain the ones before them. -History can be far less important than what people choose to remember and what they choose to forget. -Even history is formed by the decision of what to remember and transfer to the next group, thereby shaping a collective memory. (Ex: the recent controversy over what to put in textbooks and whether a small group of people in Texas should be able to make decisions about what should be taught and whether it provides a "balanced and accurate" representation of history).

Literary themes of Language

-Expressing cultural concepts that have no accurate translations -Code-switching, switching between languages during conversation -Language barriers in a new place -The loss of the "mother tongue"

There are two kinds of religious expressions:

-Highly charged unifying, highly emotional, political movements in which people become spiritual soldiers, militant soldiers or martyrs for the cause. -Those who contemplate religious belief as more of a "guide to life". Religion is used as a moral compass, concerned with social principles and lacking in fervor.

Defining "who we are" through postcolonial literature:

-Post modernity (the late 20th and 21st centuries) is characterized by the experience of wrestling with identities, affiliations, values and a sense of belonging. -Is expressed through creative cultural production resistant to a totalizing colonial metanarrative

Themes in postcolonial literature:

-The desire to shed the colonial mentality -The new hybrid identity is often the bases of the story -Dispersion from past social realities -Marginalization, the feeling of not quite fitting in -The inability to identify with the land where one lives -Struggles with language

Indian Modernity: A postcolonial State Experiences of Indian Modernity

-born roughly at the time of Independence from Britain- August 15th, 1947 -Decolonization -Migration -Media -Religion -Urban displaces Rural -Rise of Consumption -Communal Violence

Understanding Culture through Literature:

...Just as we gain insight into a culture through cultural production such as art and architecture, we also find a window into culture through literature itself. The novelist draws from a "store of knowledge" unlimited by the confines of scientific inquiry... -The act of writing literature becomes the act of representing cultural challenges in both a homeland or diaspora -The novel is a point of departure containing and shaped by cues of the larger metanarrative -Factual "truth" vs. Cultural "truth"- In fiction we find evidence of a cultural reality. The novelist is not constructing something factually but rather a distilled, enjoyable-to-read, often funny or curious form of cultural information. -FICTIONS STILL REFLECTS REALITY -Each novel is a smaller narrative created within the condition of the metanarrative. -Problems of looking at a novel for insight into a culture: Do novels written by an elite or privileged person describe their culture or is an accurate presentation of the culture as a whole? It is both.

Indian Modernity: Novels from India in English 1) Writers writing from India include:______ 2) Themes:_______

1) Arundhati Roy, Aravind Adiga, Upamanyu Chatterjee. 2) Tend to be more bleak or dark; deal largely with the harsher realities of the Indian life; use magical realism; have unusual narrarotrs.

Indian Modernity is Linked to Globalization- 3 Factors

1. Migration (Out of the Gulf States, UK, US, Canada & US) 2. Global Economy (Who benefits? Mostly the elite, upper- class) 3. Electronic Media (Rise of popular culture (symbolized by TV, Cricket, and Bollywood)

What are the criticisms of scholars who condemn (don't like) rap lyrics?

1. Some scholars criticize hip hop due to political, ethical, and moral concern and judgements.

Diaspora:

: Diaspora refers to "the movement, migration, or scattering of people away from an established or ancestral homeland" or "people dispersed by whatever cause to more than one location", or "people settled far from their ancestral homelands. The term diaspora carries a sense of displacement; that is, the population so described finds itself for whatever reason separated from its national territory, and usually its people have a hope, or at least a desire, to return to their homeland at some point, if the "homeland" still exists in any meaningful sense. William Safran mentions distinctive features for the diaspora of which we will recognize the following: 1) he group maintains a myth or collective memory of their homeland, 2) the groups regard their ancestral homeland as their true home, to which they will eventually return, 3) the group committed to the restoration or maintenance of that homeland, and 4) the group relates "personally or vicariously" to the homeland to a point where it shapes their identity.

In what ways did indentured servitude reshape Hindu funerary and mortuary practices?

Cremation is now standard but Professor Keith McNeal suggests that burials may have been done.

Orientalism:

A term for the European invention of the Orient. A concept developed by Edward Said proposing that the Orient is the European constructed image of the Other, which has made it possible for Europe to both define itself and validate the domination, colonization and restructuring of that which is not European. (The "Other" is the negative term standing for all of those who are not the "civilized" people of Western or European descent)

Why does rap and hip hop music/videos generate so much controversy?

Critics of Rap/Hip Hop argues the content is damaging to societal norms and behaviors. · Misogyny- physical/social violence, denigration and objectification of women, · Sexual violence- explicit portrayals/depictions (usually towards women) · Criminal activities and violence- glorification of murderers, drug dealers, graphic descriptions of acts of violence · Conspicuous consumption-emphasis on status symbols, material goods, judging and being judged by possessions · Stereotypes- a new spin on existing racist stereotypes · Representation of African Americans- The argument that it widens the gap of who "we" are and who "they" are-both racially and culturally and fear that the depictions of the "rapper persona" could easily overwhelm social and political gains made over the past 50 years · The effects on youths- Young people have become desensitized to the content—misogyny, violence, crime and status are normalized. · It is no longer a cultural expression and critique of society but rather a commercialized product cultivated by media companies to raise both the shock value and profits. · Parental Control- Unprecedented saturation of all forms of media. This saturation, plus new technology make it harder for parents to monitor what their children consume.

What do novels tell us about culture? ... Principles and perspectives:

Diaspora Class/caste Relationship w/other societies Everyday problems Love/courtship/sex Ancestors Religion Humor Cultural memory Ceremonies/rituals/rites Significant life markers Factual and/or cultural history Racial attitudes What type of knowledge is valued Cognitive geography Popular mythology Food Social etiquette Family values Social realities/fissures in social realities The limitation of human impossibilities-requiring miraculous/ magical interference Sacred/meaningful locations Expected emotionality

Religious movements or religious wars are used to maintain power for a few. Architects of religion recognize the greater possibility of recruitment and/or momentum when people are in transitional periods or in the formative years of their lives. Moderate movements (ex: the Gulani) is characterized by its focus on:

Education Desire for a moderate approach Inclusion Ethical and social consciousness as a response to globalization Religion as a guide to meet desires and needs

According to the documentary,1st born males are more frequently afflicted with Hikikomori than other demographics. What is it about the Japanese culture that could stimulate this syndrome?

In the Japanese culture collectivism is strong and people like to stay within their groups (for example: school and work groups), however, when individuals leave their groups they are seen as a person who has withdrawn in general this stimulating the Hikikomori syndrome because individuals then tend to isolate.

1. What is organizational culture?

Is a specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization

Language and culture are intimately related:

It is argued by some that "language is the seat of culture". Postcolonial literature is unique—as one tries to write about their culture in the language of the colonizer.

How did colonialism contribute to Indian diaspora?

Many Indians left during the European colonization of India. They went to countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and to the far corners of the pacific to places like Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia.

Subcultures help to evolve the dominant culture. Far from being the response of people with their backs against the wall, struggling to survive through rituals of resistance, many subcultures seem to be on the cutting edge - leading the whole society in new areas of growth. Give an example of a aspect of subculture that became mainstream pop culture.

One example of an aspect of subculture that became mainstream pop culture that I know of is choices in clothing style. Bucket hats were/are popular in the hip hop scene (Especially in the early 90's) but they are now a part of mainstream pop culture/ fashion.

Why do people use repetition and revision in communication?

People look for patterns that create meaning. We know that if someone says something more than once, it is important Even and especially if it is said slightly differently. Revising every time you say something adds weight and depth.

_______________________________ is a subjective sense of self based on characteristics that a person believes to be unique and sets him or her apart from others.

Personal identity

What are Shayne Lee's counter-arguments against those criticisms?

Shane counter argues that hip hop is art form. He states that scholars who love to rant against hip hop lack "rigorous empiricism", claims that scholars do not rigorously engage with lyrics.

Consider: What are the formative, contextual influences that create a foundation for these movements to occur? Shared theme:

Religious leaders plant a sense of loss and anxiety and then replace it with a "saving grace", a sense of empowerment and a path to follow, as a way to ameliorate symptoms of the "human condition". Religious movements historically have fluxuated between militancy and social code with much seemingly dependent on the presence of energizing, charismatic leaders in times of political and civil corruption.

1. Which social group began the Iranian Islamic Fundamentalist movement?

Students- who were part of the Fundamentalist Islamic Republic in Iran

Name some of the aspects of humanity that help us form our identities.

Subcultures influence us and help us form our identities. They influence our choices in clothing styles, hairstyles, footwear, common interests, slang, music genres, and gathering places. Thus, helping us form an "identity".

1. Why does the act of martyrdom resonate within the Shiite belief system?

The act of martyrdom resonates with the Shiite belief system because of Imam Hussein's story. Imam Hussein's story represents eternal struggle against oppression and injustice and the willingness to sacrifice even one's own life for that struggle.

Disenfranchisement:

The adjective disenfranchised describes a person or group of people who are stripped of their power, like disenfranchised post-Civil War African Americans who were deprived of their right to vote even after being freed from slavery. Disenfranchisement continues today by stripping previously incarcerated people of their right to vote and by the new rules of additional documents required to vote significantly effecting the poor. This works to minimize the African American vote. 1. African-American/Black drivers are twice as likely (4.5% vs. 2.1%) to be arrested during a traffic stop. (The Leadership Conference) 2. 65% of Hispanic drivers are likely to receive a ticket during a traffic stop. This is higher than Caucasian/White drivers (56%) or African-American/Black drivers (55.8%). (The Leadership Conference) 3. Whites/Caucasians are twice more likely to receive a verbal warning for their conduct in a vehicle when compared to Blacks/African-Americans. (The Leadership Conference)

The final slides presented included images from an Afro-Caribbean funeral. Describe the features of this funeral that indicate the incorporation of rituals from other ethnic origins.

The cemetery included images of various tombstones. There was one that was previously cremated, but the ashes were placed in a burial site. There were different features on each tombstone where you could see the religious beliefs of each. For instance, there was another tombstone that had Hindu prayer flags surrounding it.

Modernity:

The concept of modernity has its roots in the attempt to come to grips with the meaning and significance of the social changes occurring in Europe in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Particularly, the effects of industrialization, urbanization, and political democracy on rural and autocratic societies. In literature, modernity is expressed in themes and allegories that emphasized the break from the old world and traditional ways of life occurring around the late 19th century-early 20th century. This was particularly prevalent during the period of transnational modernism.

1. What aspect of Turkish culture facilitated this movement?

The education system and what it stood for is what facilitated this movement.

1. What is the overall message conveyed through participation in intercultural and interfaith dialogue?

The overall message is that the youth must be educated, the future lays in educating the youth on not just math, technology, and science but human values as well, and those values are learned by helping other and being a "good muslim".

Postmodernity:

The shift from an economy based upon goods to one based upon the supply of information and services. This caused a shift away from clarity of affiliations and familiar relationships, resulting in identity politics.

Organizational Culture:

The specific collection of values and norms that are shared by people and groups in an organization and that control the way they interact with each other and with stakeholders outside the organization.

Postcolonial Studies:

The term "postcolonial studies" incorporates the study of all effects of European colonization in the majority of all cultures of the world, including all academic disciplines in use in institutions of learning across the globe. Consequently, it is only from the narrowed perspective of the Western academy that the term "postcolonial studies" appears feasible. The term "postcolonial" may be used to describe "since colonization began" rather than "after the end of colonization" in order to acknowledge the ongoing results of colonization/exploitation after the dismantling of formal colonial political administration.

It differs in that it vigorously articulates and challenges societal norms especially as it relates to ethnicity, race and class.

There has often been art, literature and music that is provocative and controversial. New musical forms are often thought of as degenerative. The way we view the world shapes the way we consume and process music. Historically, art, music and literature have frequently been steeped in controversy and censorship. But what constitutes risqué or forbidden subject matter continually changes as society evolves. Kissing, realistic violence, exposure of the body, biracial kissing, and openly gay protagonists are just a few examples of what has constituted inappropriate in the past and are now acceptable. Will the lyrics and content of rap/Hip Hop music also lose their infamy? Will it remain as popular as it currently is if it does?

Why do we find variations between practiced culture in India and that of Indians in Guyana or the U.S.?

They face different challenges. For example, in the United States there was racism, discrimination, devaluation of education credentials, unemployment and underemployment. They see the ancestral home as a place of return or a place to maintain or restore.

What are some of the reasons for diaspora?

They or their ancestors may have been dispersed from a specific original center to 2 or more peripheral or foreign regions. They could also retain a collective memory, vision, or myth about their original homeland, its physical location, history, and achievements. Or they believe that they are not in perhaps cannot be fully accepted by their host society and therefore feel partly alienated and insulated from it.

1. Why would Susan Lori-Parks write a play that included racial stereotype?

Wants to continue to "something that actually happens" want to use her literature to highlight racial stereotypes that actually happen/ bring awareness to them.

1. What sparked the Islamic fundamentalist movement in Iran?

When Islamic revolutionary students stormed the embassy and took American diplomats' hostage for 444 days. Iranians were reacting against decades of Western interference.

Youth subcultures provide participants an:

identity outside of that ascribed by social institutions such as family, work, home and school. Members of a subculture often signal their membership by making distinctive and symbolic tangible choices in clothing styles, hairstyles, and footwear, and intangible choices such as common interests, slang, music genres, and gathering places.

Personal identity

can be defined as: a subjective sense of self based on characteristics that a person believes to be unique and sets him or her apart from others.

Culture is not simply that which is orchestrated by:

composers, artists, and writers (high or popular culture) but also a practice that is orchestrated by political and religious leaders who are able to socialize the group through the cultivation of a cultural memory.

Dominant cultures retain their power partly through:

control of institutions such as religious dogma, the legal system and public schools.

People in diaspora manufacture new versions of

culture, valuing authentic material, clothing, food, and expressions of homelands. This acts to strengthen ties to the community and stimulate social support for those sharing the experience of displacement in a host county

The term hikikomori is:

derived from the Japanese words hiku (pulling in) and komoru (retiring) and refers both to the syndrome and to the person with the syndrome. In most cases these are young males (although a significant fraction are female) in their teens or twenties who have developed a psychological fear of social interaction with the outside world and who spend all their time in their room at home. In extreme cases, the hikikomori refuses even to interact with other family members. Consider sufferers as individuals who withdrawal themselves from a collective identity in an extremely collectivistic society.

Literature may, in fact, reflect, with some accuracy, certain cultural realities and act like

ethnography.

Writing in the years following India's independence, these writers exhibit a _____ that is reflected in their style and language.

hybrid identity

Identities of diaspora are constructed with the help of cultural brokers—

important or highly esteemed people who promote the issues of identity. Identity is a creation of self through the transference of narratives of ancestral places and shared values, beliefs, rituals and history that connects you to others in the group. These narratives are often mythical romanticized versions of memories of "home".

Globalization:

increased and intensified international ties related to the movement of goods, information and people.

Dominant cultures often control flow of:

information encouraging people to perceive subcultures in stereotypical ways.

The term collective identity:

is gaining popularity as a distinct term describing affiliation and a sense of connectedness to a particular social group. There are numerous forms of and ways of discussing identity, ascribed status (the situation in which you were born ex: a handicap, royality), career choices, the school you attended, whether you are married or have children, race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender

Modernism:

is the aesthetic experience of modernity-expressed in literature and art. Modernism is also the condition of living associated with this period of time.

A subculture has:

its own system of perception, values, beliefs, and customs that are significantly different from those of a larger dominant culture within the same society.

The study of subcultures investigates how:

members form meaning and identity through practice as well as the ways in which the dominant society interpret such activity.

Postcolonial stories frequently include themes of

rebellion from the colonizers and creating new identities by looking at the cultures from which they originated as well the condition of diaspora.

Cultural memory:

selected narratives used to explain the condition of ancestral people, practices and places shared by a group. Cultural memory works to: a) establish a link to a place of origin, b) foster a sense of belonging and c) socialize new generations into the culture of past generations.

Identity encompasses one's:

self-definition and one's affiliation with specific groups or roles.

Social identity refers to the way:

that people define themselves in relation to others and the outside world, i.e., identities that are socially influenced.

Post colonial Studies:

the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. ...

Modernity:

the break from the old world, old systems & the old way of living. Occurring around the end of 19th-beginning of 20th centuries

Transnational modernism:

the changes affiliated with modernity occurred simultaneously across the world.

Identity politics:

the creation of a complex sense of affiliations, power and uneven configuration based on religion, gender, ethnic identity, age, sexuality etc...

Explain the concept of transnational movement.

the flow of people, capital, and information that sustain cultural practices. "Across national boarding".

Once politics and religion are intertwined or religious interests seek to regulate all aspects of law, justice and civics, people are apt to devote their lives to the greater cause. This promotes a feeling of

unity, obligation, and martyrdom.

Modernist literature:

written about India by Indians or written about Egypt by Egyptians (in contrast to literature written about India or Egypt written by Western Europeans). This sort of writing may incorporate a picture of global processes such as hybridity, colonization, alienation, anxiety, inferiority; wish to rise in social status, etc. In the process of this sort of writing, there is self-definition of a people in a modernist sense, written as if the writer and the subject address certain national realities.

What are the functions of these religious expressions?

§ A way to solidify state or nationality § Purifying society or ethnic cleansing § Redefines people § Maintain a way of life

Plays.... What makes a play a "Black Play" as opposed to an expression of the human condition in general?

· A play can be a showing of the world as it looks every day, allowing for insight into a people, a person, a place, a time. · It can indirectly communicate multiple realities. · Cultural idioms shape the perspective of the literature by the writer, the actor, and the viewer (think of Reception Theory, when we read, listen or view something, we bring along our view of the world, beliefs, and experiences) · The dialogue of a play (such as Topdog Underdog) can be used to convey African American experiences . Suzan Lori-Parks,: "A play is blueprint of an event, a way of creating and rewriting history in the medium of literature" "[A play] writes history where history, in fact, has not been written". The playwright can communicate through metaphor- one foot in the realm of the real and one foot in the realm of the mythical. Even a fictional play can reveal reality. Topdog Underdog itself does not have a conventional story with an arc, resolution or moral tale. It is a tragedy where "truths" are contradictory but exist simultaneously. Tragedies include a conflict between versions of events that we want to be true and those that are true.

Why do people use Repetition and Revision?

· People look for patterns that create meaning. · We know that if someone says something more than once, it is important o Even and especially if it is said slightly differently · Revising every time you say something adds weight and depth Forward Progression: -returning to the same thing over and over again but experiencing it differently because the context has changed. In Topdog Underdog this occurs in written dialogue but also occurs for the actors who perform it repetitiously and those who view it multiple times. Have you ever watched something over again and noticed another layer of meaning or details that you hadn't noticed before? What changed? Did you miss something? What were you focused on the first time? Did you learn or experience something in between viewings? Our view of something can be revised through repetition.

[Proponents argue that Rap/Hip Hop is art. Their counterpoints include:]

· The scholars who criticize Hip Hop are far removed from "the streets" and the experiences of those who reside in poor urban areas · Art is the amalgamation of human experience and imagination, not be regulated · The nature of Hip Hop as a genre is to challenge our social contract and societal constraint. · It is a platform, a safe place to fantasize about exercising one's power-sexually, violently. · A function of art is to "push the bar" /to elicit an emotional response/ to spark controversy/ to start a dialogue. · Historically, even high culture has been deemed inappropriate (Shakespeare) · Expression of art and music is protected under the First Amendment · What constitutes art and music is subjective. Who decides what is acceptable or unacceptable? · Why is the same content found in television and filmed received differently than in Rap? · Rappers/artists are not obligated to be role models · It is the parents' duty to monitor content for their children not religious groups, academia or the government. · Monitoring the content of music does not change the living conditions in which poor urban children exist

Fundamentalism (Fundamentalist)- One of the most controversial religious terms in North America is "fundamentalist."

· Within academic circles, the term is generally used in a precise manner. For example, Author Karen Armstrong defines fundamentalist movements as "embattled forms of spirituality, which have emerged as a response to a perceived crisis" - namely the fear that modernity will erode or even eradicate their faith and morality. 1 That concern is shared by Fundamentalist Christians, Jews, and Muslims, Sikhs, and others. · Within Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and other faiths, the media generally use the term to refer to the most conservative wing of the religion. For example, fundamentalist Christianity is often described as the most conservative wing of Evangelicalism. · However, sometimes the term is used as a general-purpose "snarl" word which is intended to denigrate a religious group, implying that they are intolerant or prone to violence.

Hip hop music is like other genres of music:

· it reflects a wide range of cultural experiences · sometimes exaggerated, sometimes realistically · it requires creativity and skill · it holds meaning and is valued