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Two photo essays which explore neoliberalism and transcultural exchange as well as transcultural exchanges and assimilations are presented.

This paper assesses the relative effects of acculturation preferences (assimilation, separation, integration, and marginalization) on migrants’ perception of acceptability in James Town, a traditional urban neighborhood in Accra, Ghana. There is a paucity of academic work on the relationship between migrants’ acculturation inclinations and their assessment of the hosts’ attitude towards them in Ghana. Cognizant of the fluidity of acculturation strategies, the study focuses on individual inclinations towards acculturation. To examine migrants’ perception of acceptability by the host, we use perceived personal discrimination. We utilize results from a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 301 migrant individuals from different migrant households in James Town. Our findings suggest that migrants with assimilation preferences are less likely to have a higher rating on the extent to which they are discriminated against by the host population. Such an exploratory study is pertinent to understanding relationships (conflicts or “togetherness in difference”) in poor multi-ethnic settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes up the concept of recognition as an ever-present structuring arrangement in relations between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Recognition, in both positive and negative guises, is understood here to foreclose the terms of those relations. For Warlpiri people of Central Australia who have achieved positive recognition and the attendant confirmation of legal rights in land and native title, the contradictions and frustrations of recognition continue to be multiple. Looking back across the eight decades since Warlpiri were first recognised in particular ways by settler-colonists, the paper explores a series of encounters where transformation is visible but ultimately undermined. The paper explores these issues by way of the observations of one remarkable cross-cultural innovator and his quest to ‘be free to the world’. In tracing this work of interpretation and its strategic application to the field of intercultural relations the paper argues that what is being pursued should not be mistaken for assimilation, nor the refusal of recognition, but rather a mode of reciprocal engagement that carries with it significant transformative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper questions the effectiveness and usefulness of the Russian government's policies of migrant integration. Using a unique combination of ethnographic research methods (observations, interviews and survey) with methods from psychology (cognitive mapping) and urban studies (GIS mapping), I depict the presence of Central Asian migrants and their interaction with local long-term residents in two cities of the Russian Federation: Kazan and Saint Petersburg. On the basis of my findings, I argue that the readability (defined as the ease with which the city can be ‘read’ and understood) and legibility (defined as the degree to which individual components of an urban environment are recognizable by their appearance) of urban space in Kazan have positive effects on the relationship between these two communities, while the ambiguity and uncertainty of urban identity in Saint Petersburg make the life of migrants very vulnerable and unpredictable, and result in the growth of xenophobic views among the local residents. This allows me to argue that the policy of migrant integration will be more successful if it is built on learning to live with differences, instead of trying to ‘Russify’ migrants or create various forms of supra-ethnic identity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There have been few studies to date of the cultural work performed by NPR's information radio programmes, and those that have been conducted have overlooked the role of musical interludes in those programmes. This article combines quantitative data analysis with textual and discourse analysis to elucidate the nature of the interludes and their function within the context of All Things Considered, NPR's flagship afternoon newsmagazine programme. It argues that the structured diversity of the interludes embodies the homologous aesthetic and ideological dispositions of NPR's personnel and its core audience. The interludes themselves suggest a tension between highbrow and middlebrow aesthetic dispositions that are manifested in the structured diversity and hybridity of the genre selections as they are deployed in the context of the programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the processes by which human cultures spread across diffferent populations is one of the most topical objectives shared among diffferent fields of study. Seminal works have analyzed a variety of data and attempted to determine whether empirically observed patterns are the result of demic and/or cultural difffusion. This special issue collects articles exploring several themes (from modes of cultural transmission to drivers of dispersal mechanisms) and contexts (from the Neolithic in Europe to the spread of computer programming languages), which offfer new insights that will augment the theoretical and empirical basis for the study of demic and cultural difffusion. In this introduction we outline the state of art in the modeling of these processes, briefly discuss the pros and cons of two of the most commonly used frameworks (equation-based models and agent-based models), and summarize the significance of each article in this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across immigrant-receiving democracies, 'multiculturalism' has come under assault by political decision-makers and commentators. The academic debate, while less fiery, is also heated. We start by outlining the multiple meanings of 'multiculturalism': a term for demographic diversity; a political philosophy of equality or justice; a set of policies to recognize and accommodate ethno-racial and religious diversity; or a public discourse recognizing and valorizing pluralism. We then review the existing empirical literature and offer some new statistical analyses to assess what we know about the harm or benefits of multicultural policies, focusing on sociopolitical outcomes. We conclude that multicultural policies appear to have some modest positive effects on sociopolitical integration for first-generation immigrants and likely little direct effect, positive or negative, on those in the second generation. On the question of majority backlash, the limited scholarship is mixed; we speculate that multiculturalism works best in places where both minorities and majority residents see it as part of a common national project. We end by considering the conditions under which this happens and whether there are distinctions between 'Anglo-settler' and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparison between the two ways of managing immigration and diversity existing in Canada: multiculturalism (Canada-wide) and interculturalism (Quebec). While some authors (see Juteau, McAndrew and Pietrantonio 1998) argue that the two policies are more similar than different, others, like Gérard Bouchard (2011), argue that interculturalism is a rather unique model of managing diversity in Quebec. In this paper we aim to make a contribution to the debate by providing an analysis of the way both models understand immigrants' participation in their new society. Indeed, both models seem to consider participation as having a central role in the process of integrating newcomers. However, we will show that the reasons put forward by inter-culturalism and by multiculturalism to explain their interest in participation are very different. On the one hand, multiculturalism recognizes the importance of participation as a way of protecting individual identities, in line with the spirit of liberalism. On the other hand, for interculturalism, the issue of participation seems to be more fundamental: not only is participation one of the founding pillars of the policy, but it is also consistent with the political, legal and historical characteristics of the province of Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assimilation theory has traditionally been used to evaluate cultural and ethnic relations within the nation-state, specifically, the extent to which a minority culture becomes more similar to a dominant 'host' culture. However, due to globalization characterized by cultural flows extending beyond the nation-state boundary, the world today is beginning to look like a pluralistic global nation-state. At the same time, an overarching global 'third culture' is forming that can be equated to a dominant mainstream culture on the nation-state level. Thus, assimilation theory becomes a viable tool on the international system level of analysis. There can be no doubt that Western culture has contributed the most to the global 'third culture'. China, as the country with the world's largest population and fastest growing economy, provides a fascinating chance to use assimilation theory on a global scale. Is China being assimilated into the Western cultural group? This paper finds that while China has exhibited some evidence of 'acculturation' into the Western dominated global 'third culture', 'structural assimilation' is still a long way off. In the mean time, China's growth is expanding its global 'cultural market share', pointing to the likelihood of a future, more equitably amalgamated global 'third culture'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific region is one of the most culturally diverse areas of the world; societies within this region are also culturally diverse. For both these reasons, intercultural relations and acculturation phenomena are at the forefront of psychological interests there. This paper first situates these phenomena in their ecological and cultural contexts, in which human diversity and individual behaviour can be examined and understood as adaptations to these contexts. Then the notion of differentiation in psychological and sociocultural phenomena is discussed, linking them to the concept of social capital. The processes involved in acculturation and intercultural relations are then described, and linked to the concept of differentiation. The argument is presented (with an empirical example from research with immigrant youth) that the more differentiated are a person's psychological life, as well as their social and cultural engagements, then the better adapted they are to living interculturally. Suggestions for policy and programme development and implementation are made: these include advancing the multicultural way of living together, and of accepting the need for mutual accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The convergence-divergence debate on whether business cultures are growing alike or not has become an important part of studies of the influence of national cultures on the operation of firms. This article intends to formulate a third way, a third model, by creating synergy between the model of cultural hybridization and Social Integration Theory. We contend that cultural hybridization takes place in multicultural joint ventures but this process happens unevenly and in different parts of the venture. The new model, itself a product of hybridization, is illustrated with examples from Chinese and Indian joint ventures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Missions have long been recognized as spaces of colonial contact and cultural exchange, and they are significant places in Indigenous landscapes today. However, archaeologists have only recently begun to explore such places across Australasia. This collection canvasses a range of approaches to this dynamic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how the complex notion of hybridity, as developed by Homi K. Bhabha, can shed light on the Letter of Aristeas. Throughout the narrative of this ancient Jewish tale one finds a risky attempt on the part of the author to incorporate the best aspects of the two cultures and modes of thinking—Judaism and Hellenism—within which his community were living in Alexandria. In order to understand the dynamics of the hybrid condition of Aristeas in its ambivalence, this paper argues that the multiple agencies in place to foster a certain version of Jewish identity in this diasporic social location are best captured in the forms of calculated negotiations, prudent affiliations, and idealized memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the complexity of diplomatic and cultural exchange, assimilation, competition, and cooperation that characterized the alliance between England and Spain in the sixteenth century. It also examines the shared cultural heritage of both countries, their trade agreements, and dynastic marriages that had linked them closely by blood. Moreover, a special attention is given to Philip II's entry into London in 1554 as the new English king, a pivotal moment in the rivalry between the two countries. The general dynamics of the international diplomatic relations between the two are also discussed, demonstrating the balance between honesty and deception, admiration and jealousy, and cooperation and rivalry.

The article presents an overview of the cultural relations between Jews and African Americans in the 20th-century, focusing on the ideological cooperation between the groups during the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Discussion is given outlining how the two ethnicities have shared common experiences of social marginalization and engaged issues of cultural assimilation. Further mention is given concerning the contrasts in their separate social developments through the century and their resultant divergence because of them.

While the economic, political, and military bonds between Spain and Nazi Germany have received much attention, the close cultural exchange between the two fascist states is little known. Thanks to its neutrality in World War I, Spain became a top priority of German cultural foreign policy in the 1930s. The Hitler government not only sought to extend its influence through German culture in Spain, but also encouraged Hispanic culture in Germany through the creation of German-Spanish societies. From 1930 to 1945 the Deutsch-Spanische Gesellschaftin Berlin (DSG) emerged as a main axis of the cultural relations between the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the contemporary cultures left by the Europeans in their interactions with peoples who are their colonies resulted from their expeditions after 1492. The author points out that these interactions shaped and were shaped by differences between the systems of beliefs, technologies, economics, religions, and cultures of Europeans and peoples they encountered. This suggests that the postcoloniality of any culture may be identified as moment of gradual and complex cross culture drawn out the idea of postcolonial cultures.

The article discusses the notion of cultural diversity transformed by the contemporary wave of culturalism from a given human condition and anthropology. The was the transformation into a normative metanarrative, whether culture is seen as the ground of perpetual, irreducible diversity of human kind. The author points out that cultural differences in the service of a larger national or international politics are global in which the discourses of cultural diversity as a policy ideal have been generated in Europe and North American and appear to have their strongest purchase there.

Whether poetry gives knowledge or not is a question that has been debated from a variety of perspectives, depending on how a society or a culture defines knowledge, and on the function it ascribes to poetry in relation to that definition. The civilizations of Asia and the Middle East have generally taken the line that poetry deals primarily with affects, emotions and feelings. The West has had a more complicated history of responses. One way of making sense of this history is to map rival claims as split over the idea of scientific knowledge, where it affects notions of the poetic function. The mapping, through all its manifold branches, gives clear indications that claims to knowledge - both those made on behalf of poetry, and those denied to poetry - depend more on assumptions, predispositions and cultural conditioning than on rational argument or critical debate. The resulting variety also suggests that the cultural relativism that affects such debates is unlikely to arrive at resolutions except of the contingent kind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work with groups may be used to reduce prejudice and discrimination. This paper reports on a case study of an interracial, intercultural dialogue group that has met together for over six years to share experiences based on race, ethnicity, and culture. The group exemplifies a group work model known as intergroup dialogue. Pettigrew's (1998) longitudinal intergroup contact theory was used to explore why this group has remained together so long when others have not. Factors contributing to group success included friendship potential, individual readiness, facilitation strategies, and varied and repeated contact across multiple settings. Implications for group workers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Community cohesion' is widely regarded as the 'new' framework governing race relations policy in the UK. It emerged in government discourse following the civil disturbances that occurred in several northern UK towns in 2001, and has rapidly become absorbed within local government and related organizations to replace previous attempts of multiculturalism. This paper examines several key characteristics of this agenda. In particular, I explore 'slippages' in language within and around discourses of 'community cohesion'. I demonstrate how `community' is central to the community cohesion agenda, and suggest that whilst the concept of 'community' is highly ambiguous, it has continuing resonance in New Labour policymaking. The concept of `community' has particular implications for processes of race and gender. Talking about 'communities' enables for language to become deracialized, whilst at the same time the language of community cohesion draws upon earlier discourses of assimilation through notions of 'integration'. The community cohesion agenda is also gendered, and as suggested in this paper, has specific implications for women and the construction of 'cultures'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Young people's ideas about their obligations to parents are linked to the popularization of high school as an institutional space for adolescence. This chapter examines the growing acceptance of the concept of adolescence among Italian immigrants historically as a salient example of a broader cultural change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the global diffusion of social and cultural sciences providing a framework that facilitate worldwide communication among intellectuals through a degree of sharing of common concepts which implies the appreciation of regional and local differences. The author points out the cultures in East Asia which includes Japan, China and Korea. He points out that as concepts diffuse outwards from their original context of application, redefinition of cultures inevitably multiply through the varied standpoints of culture investigators.