Culture and belonging in divided societies : contestation and symbolic landscapes / edited by Marc Howard Ross.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ross, Marc Howard.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cultural pluralism.

Multiculturalism.

Symbolism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (312 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From cartoons of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper to displays of the Confederate battle flag over the South Carolina statehouse, acts of cultural significance have set off political conflicts and sometimes violence. These and other expressions and enactments of culture-whether in music, graffiti, sculpture, flag displays, parades, religious rituals, or film-regularly produce divisive and sometimes prolonged disputes. What is striking about so many of these conflicts is their emotional intensity, despite the fact that in many cases what is at stake is often of little material value. Why do people invest so much emotional energy and resources in such conflicts? What is at stake, and what does winning or losing represent? The answers to these questions explored in Culture and Belonging in Divided Societies view cultural expressions variously as barriers to, or opportunities for, inclusion in a divided society's symbolic landscape and political life.Though little may be at stake materially, deep emotional investment in conflicts over cultural acts can have significant political consequences. At the same time, while cultural issues often exacerbate conflict, new or redefined cultural expressions and enactments can redirect long-standing conflicts in more constructive directions and promote reconciliation in ways that lead to or reinforce formal peace agreements. Encompassing work by a diverse group of scholars of American studies, anthropology, art history, religion, political science, and other fields, Culture and Belonging in Divided Societies addresses the power of cultural expressions and enactments in highly charged settings, exploring when and how changes in a society's symbolic landscape occur and what this tells us about political life in the societies in which they take place.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. Cultural Contestation and the Symbolic Landscape / Ross, Marc Howard

Chapter 2. The Rise and Fall of a Sacred Place / Davis, Richard H.

Chapter 3. Social Lives of the Dead / Johnson, Greg

Chapter 4. Flagging Peace / Bryan, Dominic / Stevenson, Clifford

Chapter 5. Conflict Transformation, Cultural Innovation, and Loyalist Identity in Northern Ireland / Smithey, Lee A.

Chapter 6. Islamic Headscarves in Public Schools / Thomas, Elaine R.

Chapter 7. Minority Language Policy in France / Cartrite, Britt

Chapter 8. Symbols of Reconciliation or Instruments of Division? / Marschall, Sabine

Chapter 9. Emerging Multiculturalisms in South African Museum Practice / Soudien, Crain

Chapter 10. Strategies for Transforming and Enlarging South Africa's Post-Apartheid Symbolic Landscape / Ross, Marc Howard

Chapter 11. Invisible House, Invisible Slavery / Mires, Charlene

Chapter 12. Politicizing Chinese New Year Festivals / Yeh, Chiou-Ling

Chapter 13. Paddy, Shylock, and Sambo / Kibler, M. Alison

Epilogue / Linenthal, Edward T.

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9781283890441

1283890445

9780812203509

081220350X

OCLC:

802049501