Art Brings Us Together

uring his short stay in Chengdu, I was lucky to catch a chance of meeting Mr. Lee Paoltmg, Secretary-General of the Sculptural Association of Taiwan. The main purpose of his trip was to invite some sculptors from Mainland to attend an intemational camp of iron A sculpture in Taiwan nextyear. Continually surrounded by various disturbing noises, he impressively remained calm and quiet. There＇s something elegant and sophisticated in his charm of manner. Mr. Lee appeared to be a real gentleman -- modest, kind, considerate and extremely polite. Standing in front of his unfinished work, a distorted, twisted and screwing.up banana, at a very simple roadside workshop, he spoke in his soft tone, in an absolutely undemonstrative way, ＂I am stable exteriorly but interiorly I am not.＂ —— Perhaps, that makes sense.     

‘A Dangerous Revolutionary Force Amongst Us’

ABSTRACT

Historians of nineteenth-century British tea consumption have highlighted the function of the substance as an index of middle-class civility and marker of national identity. In this article, I maintain that concerns about tea drinking were equally prominent throughout the late Victorian period. As medical practitioners increasingly intervened in food matters, apprehension about the physiological and psychological consequences of increasing access to tea in working-class communities proliferated. This pessimistic discourse can be firmly situated in the context of broader debates about national decline, physical and mental deterioration, the subversion of gender roles in the domestic sphere and Imperial expansion.     

Gender Issues in Multicultural Children's Literature—Black and Third-World Feminist Critiques of Appropriation,Essentialism, and Us/Other Binary Oppositions

In light of the concepts of appropriation and essentialism, othering, and binary oppositions, the author will examine the interrelation between various feminist theories and gender representation in multicultural children and young-adult literature. Additionally, the author will address the practical implications of those theories and concepts for the classroom.     

“Thank You for Calling:” Accents and Authenticity on NBC’s Outsourced

India’s turbulent and dynamic relationship with the English language stems from its colonial past. This project integrates linguistic hegemony, mimicry, and brown voice to examine discourses surrounding the creation and reception of fake Indian accents on the short-lived NBC series Outsourced. The first primetime sitcom to showcase a primarily South Asian cast, Outsourced featured British and American actors of Indian descent using fake Indian accents to portray call center workers. Critical Discourse Analysis reveals the influence of linguistic hegemony to delegitimize Indian English and thereby hinder linguistic cosmopolitanism.     

“Maybe That Concept Is Still with Us”: Adolescents' Racialized and Classed Perceptions of Teachers' Expectations

Teacher expectations for student behavior and academic performance have a lasting effect on student academic achievement—not only in the immediate school year, but also many years later. Yet, we know very little about how students interpret and understand teachers' expectations for them. This article expands the literature on teachers' expectations for students by drawing on student voice to examine how middle and high school students describe and experience the expectations that teachers have for them, and the implications of these expectations for developing positive student–teacher relationships. Findings indicate that traditionally minoritized and traditionally privileged youth harbor racialized and classed perceptions of teachers' expectations.

I feel like it's all around us too, like everything we hear kinda everything we learn about; it's kinda like minorities are oppressed. Like you learn about, a lot about, like, civil rights and all that; like you always kinda hear that, like, Blacks, minorities, all of them were kinda oppressed and that Whites were dominant at one point. So I mean it's not like it's the same; it's not completely different now, but maybe that concept is still with us. (Latina/o high school student)     

“You are too ethnic,you are too national”: Dual identity denial and dual identification

Ethnic minorities tend to develop dual identities and therefore can face identity denials from two groups. We examine in two studies the relation between dual identity and experiences of dual identity denial as misgivings or a manifested mistrust of one’s group membership from both majority and minority group members. Based on identity integration and threat literature, identity denial represents a threat to dual identity which means that stronger dual identity denial can be expected to be associated with lower dual identity (a negative association). In contrast, based on identity enactment literature, stronger expression of one’s dual identity can be expected to elicit stronger identity denial (a positive association). These two contrasting hypotheses were examined in two studies (Study 1 = 474; Study 2 = 820) among ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. The results from both studies offer greater support for the identity enactment model and illustrate the complexities associated with having a dual identity.     

Usāma Ibn Munqidh's Lubāb al-Ādāb (The Kernels of Refinement): Autobiographical and Historical Excerpts

Usāma ibn Munqidh (d. 584/1188) is best known for his “memoirs” entitled Kitāb al-i?ibār, which provides a personal and detailed window into the world of an aristocratic Syrian Muslim in the period of the Crusades. But scholars have almost completely ignored a lesser-known work by Usāma called Lubāb al-ādāb or The Kernels of Refinement. This anthology consists mostly of poetic excerpts relating to adab, the ideal conduct of the male courtier, but, scattered throughout, it also contains a handful of narrative anecdotes about Usāma and his times very much akin to the material found in his “memoirs”: tales of admirable behaviour, of encounters with the Franks, of Usāma's family, and the daily life of the elites of his day. This article presents these narrative extracts translated into English for the first time, with commentary, and with the intention that The Kernels of Refinement will attract the attention it deserves from both Arabists and non-Arabists.     

You Gotta Represent¡ Ethnic Identity Development among Hispanic Adolescents

Hispanic students' awareness of cultural, linguistic, and sociopolitical issues are influenced by their experiences in schools and affect their sense of identity. An examination of student discourse between bilingual gifted and bilingual general education students in an urban middle school is presented, with particular attention given to how participating bilingual students relate to each other, peers (in general and gifted education), teachers, administrators, families, and communities, and how they perceive themselves. A discussion of the core issues that emerged, including students' reawakening to their ethnic identity, differing rationales for using native language, and observed differences in self-perceptions between the gifted and general education bilingual Hispanic students is provided, along with results and implications for future research.     

‘Now You See a Great Many Men Pushing their Pram Proudly’

ABSTRACT

The image of a man pushing a pram could provoke much controversy in mid-twentieth-century Britain. Many contemporary commentators argued men should be and were pushing their child in a pram with pride, yet others felt this compromised manliness. The article explores this image to analyse the relationship between fatherhood and masculinity, and between cultural norms and social practice in this period. It argues that this image was used to symbolize a new emotionally close relationship between father and child and suggests that a ‘family-orientated’ masculinity came to prominence in this period, partly instigated by certain popular cultural norms.     

‘Are You Really Living?’ If Not, ‘Get With It!’

ABSTRACT

Young women were harbingers of social change in postwar Britain; this article addresses discourses that informed their sense of self and expectations. It focuses on magazines produced for, and read by, young women in their mid-to-late teens and early twenties as a prism through which to explore ideas about the teenage self and lifestyle between 1957 and 1970. It argues that a distinctive feature of these magazines was a new ideal of young womanhood that resonated with late-modern discourses of self-discovery and self-fulfilment and which necessitated a lifestyle characterized by independence, experience and opportunity. Though an attractive ideal, it was also problematic for young women and potentially frustrating.     

“Have You Noticed any Changes upon your Return”? Vietnamese Alumni After Their Australian University Experiences

Many individuals who study abroad return to their home country with the hope of applying new learnings. This paper reports on a videotaped group discussion with three such returnees, in-service English language educators from Vietnam. It considers ways that these educators feel that they have changed through their study abroad experiences and how these changes are accepted and contested after their return to Vietnam by their students, colleagues and the public. By exploring the themes that emerge, we open up discussion about how returnees embrace, negotiate and contest diverse aspects of multiple worlds and the complex and layered nature of post-return identity.     

“What Are You Reading?”: How School Libraries Can Promote Racial Diversity in Multicultural Literature

While many educators state beliefs about the importance of selecting fiction that will engage a diverse student population, use of multicultural titles in secondary classrooms has lagged, in part due to increasing focus on the Common Core State Standards in the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine if high school students in a Southern California district were using school libraries to access multicultural literature characterized by racial diversity. Four years of circulation data from the district's five comprehensive high schools were examined. Analysis revealed that the titles with the highest circulation were overwhelmingly written by White authors and about White protagonists. Suggested are ways that educators can use resources within school libraries to promote more racially diverse multicultural literature, even as classroom titles remain static. Included are recommendations for how teachers and teacher-librarians can encourage students to select from a wider range of texts, as well as guidance on conducting a circulation analysis.     

“I Would Want You to Understand It:” Students’ Perspectives on Addressing Race in the Classroom

This article reports on qualitative research addressing pedagogical issues related to race in the classroom. In 5 focus groups and 14 one-on-one interviews, researchers asked students to share their expertise regarding the challenges to and possibilities for talking about race in college and university classrooms. Results are reported related to instructor practices and student practices. Data point to the importance of instructor support for diversity and of self-reflexivity on the part of instructors related to race.     

Preface Interflow and Integration of Eastern and Western Cultures

The topic of cultures and civilizations has always been surrounded by great interest both domestically and internationally. In recent years, with increased debates on economic globalization,and deepened interflow and integration of different cultures and civilizations, economic globalization and cultural diversity have also become a “hotspot”, and a “major discipline” for research and study.     

Possibility and Necessity

Yair Lior approaches the synthesis of East and West through form and content. He works with traditional Chinese tools,namely the Chinese brush, inks, traditional papers and seals. But while his tools may come from the Chinese tradition, he avoids imitating the ＂Chinese spirit＂ in his artworks. Instead, Lior elaborates on universal sentiments, things all people can relate to - regardless of their cultural background.     

“You don’t sound black” African immigrant youth experiences of discrimination in the labor market in Calgary

This paper aims to understand the factors promoting racial microaggression from the perspective of first-generation Black African immigrant youth in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Most of the literature on Blacks and other visible minorities [1] in Canada is centered on integration challenges, which have been identified in terms of socioeconomic and political marginalization. Within the context of immigrant challenges of navigating the job market, one realizes that many institutionalized factors influence access to opportunities. However, there is little research on immigrant youth, notably Black youth, and their experiences of racial microaggressions in Canadian society. This study fills this gap by offering an understanding of the experiences of microaggressions among Black African youth in Calgary. This city is arguably becoming increasingly diverse with the influx of immigrants from different countries and other Canadian provinces. Drawing on qualitative research methods (40 semistructured interviews with Ghanaian and Sudanese youth immigrants, 20 females and 20 males between the ages of 18 and 30 years), we incorporate meaningful insights from African immigrant youth on racial drivers of microaggressions. The analysis is grounded in critical race theory (CRT). Findings indicate that the youth face marginalization in the labor market during the hiring process (linguistic discrimination), discrimination at the workplace, and exclusion because their names are exploited as identity markers. Overall, policies advocating for an inclusive society need to be strengthened to address these inequalities that are ingrained in Canadian cities. [1] In this study, a visible minority is defined by the Government of Canada as ‘persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour’ (Statistics Canada, 2015).     

Tolerance and Harmony： Chinese Culture and 2008 Olympics Beijing

“People‘s Olympics“, one of the slogans of 2008 Olympics Beijing, represents the core of Chinese culture -tolerance and harmony. In fact, the Olympics spirit“sports means peace“ accords to values of Chinese nation.     

Blending Han and Manchu Cultures:Painter and Calligrapher Shang Hai

M anchu artist Shang Hai is an outstanding painter and calligrapher in China's art arena. Twenty years of hard practice have brought him enviable artistic accomplishments in Chinese painting and calligraphy. Recently, Shang Hai has successfully held his solo exhibition abroad, capturing extensive attention worldwide. Shang Hai, a descendant of Duke Conquest South Shang Kexi who lived during the reign of Qing Emperor Kangxi (1654-1723), was born in Fengcheng, northeast Liaoning Province.…