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Western Notions (western + notion)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Swazi Concepts of intelligence: The Universal versus the Local

ETHOS, Issue 4 2002
Professor Margaret Zoller Booth
The Swazi concept of "intelligence " is analyzed in this article from both a historical and a contemporary perspective. It investigates the meanings of hlakaniphile (the closest translation for "intelligence") and how and why perceptions of this term have changed throughout the 20th century and continue to vary today. Utilizing historical and anthropological sources with contemporary local parental ethnotheories regarding intelligent behaviors, the article analyzes the impact of Western culture on meanings of the Swazi concept. Throughout history, as Swazi and Western societies have influenced each other, hlakaniphile continues to include a local perception of social skills. However, the definition has begun to incorporate more Western notions of intellectual competence, as reflected in academic achievement [source]

Understanding and treating African immigrant families: new questions and strategies,

PSYCHOTHERAPY AND POLITICS INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2009
Augustine Nwoye
Abstract In her very important article published in Family Process, Falicov (2007) recognized the need for expanding the dominant Western notions of the family, community and culture and to adopt new theory and treatment considerations for working with transnational immigrants. Unfortunately, her discussion, despite its originality and significance, was largely limited to addressing the problems and challenges faced by well-established immigrants, who present with symptoms precipitated by relational stresses and difficult choices. This article draws attention to another category of immigrants , the Green-Carded African Immigrants in Europe and North America, whose special concerns and problems were left unaccounted for in Falicov's contribution. It aims to broaden and extend the current Western frameworks for understanding and treating the psychological needs and challenges of transnational immigrants. In this regard, it is argued that in addition to such currently existing Western models for working with established immigrants in Europe and North America (Falicov, 2003, 2007), successful work with Green-Carded African immigrants must begin by taking into account their journey motif; their narratives of hope and significance and failed constructions, and the cosmopolitan perspective of these immigrants. The article clarifies these issues, introducing new concepts and strategies for working with African immigrant families in Europe and North America. Copyright © 2009 John Wiely & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Searching for the Promised Land: Examining Dr Martin Luther King's Concept of the Beloved Community1

ANTIPODE, Issue 3 2009
Joshua F.J. Inwood
Abstract:, 4 April 2008 marked the 40th anniversary of Dr King's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Since his murder we have seen Dr King's message of social justice, the growing threat of militarism, the threat the USA's burgeoning empire posed, and his goal of ending injustice boiled down to a few words spoken in Washington DC when he declared his dream to see his children grow up in a society free of race prejudice. This paper engages with Dr King's work and presents a more geographically sophisticated understanding of King's legacy than the oft repeated Washington speech. Through an analysis of Dr King's concept of the Beloved Community, I argue that Dr King's work stems from the experiences of the Black Atlantic world. Consequently, we should see Dr King's social theory as part of a larger anti-colonial struggle which sought to integrate African American and Western notions of community, which holds contemporary importance as a counterpoint to current neoliberal conceptions of community. [source]

"We Don't Want No Haole Buttholes in Our Stories": Local Girls Reading the Baby-Sitters Club Books in Hawai,i

CURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 4 2001
Donna J. Grace
This study investigates the place of popular cultural texts in the construction of the gendered and cultural subjectivities of seven eight-year-old girls growing up in Hawai,i. Within the context of weekly literature circles held over a period of four months, Grace and Lum sought to understand how these young "local" girls engaged with a book series privileging white, middle-class, mainland values, and how they located themselves within dominant ideologies related to race, culture, and gender. Using qualitative methods, the following questions were addressed: (1) In what ways did the girls identify with particular storylines, subject positions, and views of the world? (2) Were dominant messages accommodated, negotiated, or resisted? (3) What pleasures were produced and experienced in the reading? (4) How were meanings shaped and mediated by "local" culture and the reader's personal histories? The findings suggest that rather than being manipulated by the textual images of femininity, suburban living, and western notions of beauty, the girls had alternative social and cultural discourses with which to negotiate and resist them. These discourses related to notions of the family; gender relations; peer friendships and rivalry; perceptions of beauty; and cultural identity. The findings suggest the importance of local context in understanding textual readings and interpretations. [source]