This book starts with Vansina, who holds that old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed, but that new ones are emerging. With Prah, the study argues that a key role is played by... Show moreThis book starts with Vansina, who holds that old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed, but that new ones are emerging. With Prah, the study argues that a key role is played by education, which has to be based on African languages and values. Using a new quantitative comparative analysis, the study shows that maintaining former colonial languages as medium of instruction will become impossible to sustain. Over the next decade, some African countries will have to transition to African languages. The issue of language choice has vexed researchers and policymakers. The study shows how all over the world, designed languages serve speakers of several discerned languages. This solution could also be used in Africa, as demonstrated through six brief case studies. African languages in education will bolster the new, decolonised cultural traditions already taking shape on the continent. Show less
This book presents a mode by which to discuss and assess Jewish religious participation and religious group membership as a social phenomenon through the lens of social identity theory. It... Show moreThis book presents a mode by which to discuss and assess Jewish religious participation and religious group membership as a social phenomenon through the lens of social identity theory. It includes analyses and discussion of minority groups’ self-perception within broader national contexts, self-esteem as a result of religious group membership, and the dichotomy between religious in-group identity and active belief. If we are able to distinguish ‘belief’ from ‘belonging’ relative to institutional religions, we might better accommodate the needs and values of these groups. This book focuses on a Canadian group of secular Jews, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to illuminate how religious identity, connection and membership affect daily modern life. Show less
Since the 1980s, a migration has started from the Japanese community in Brazil "back" to Japan. This movement has been studied in recent publications as an interesting example of "return migration"... Show moreSince the 1980s, a migration has started from the Japanese community in Brazil "back" to Japan. This movement has been studied in recent publications as an interesting example of "return migration". This dissertation is based on interviews with migrants of the first and second generation, conducted between 2003 and 2010 in Kandatsu and surroundings. This ethnographic field research shows that the concept of “return” does not properly describe the migration of Japanese Brazilians to Japan, because it is rather a circular movement between the two countries. Moreover, it appears that the identity of these people is an ambivalent dynamic and strategic entity. The study provides important information about the motivation of the migrants, their experiences in Japan, and the challenges they face within and outside the family. It is a very heterogeneous group. Differences in cultural background, appearance, affinity with Japanese culture and Japanese language skills are decisive for the integration process. Within this process migrants handle different strategies that ultimately lead either to a permanent establishment in Japan or a decision to return temporarily or permanently to Brazil. Crucial to the integration process is the success of the Japanese-Brazilian children in Japanese schools. Show less
Combining extant literature with archival and archaeological evidence, photo albums and oral interviews, eponymous names and witty sayings, folksongs and participant observation; this study,... Show moreCombining extant literature with archival and archaeological evidence, photo albums and oral interviews, eponymous names and witty sayings, folksongs and participant observation; this study, covering from 1880 to 1980, wrote a history of Yorubaland as seen through dress. Also subsumed in this study was a history of Yorùbá dress, especially its place in the construction of Yorùbá ethno-national identity. Yorùbá people conceived dress as an assemblage of modifications and/or supplements to the human body. These included coiffed hair and coloured skin, pierced ears and scented breath, etc. Underlying this conceptualization was the requirement of being an Omoluabi, an ethical category defined as a conglomeration of moral principles such as being lofty in spoken words and respectful, having good mind towards others and being truthful, possessing lofty character and being brave, hardworking and being intelligent, including having a good dress sense. All these formed Yorùbá individual and group identity (Yorùbáness) as well as what Yorùbá dress was all about. To be a Yorùbá man or woman was therefore to dress well and to dress well was to be a Yorùbá man or woman. Understood in this way, Yorùbáness therefore was impossible without Yorùbá dress and Yorùbá dress was impossible without Yorùbáness. Show less
