Sociology Lens最新文献

Most traditional knowledge is constructed within a uniquely defined social, ecological, and cultural value transferred across generations as collective skills and practices of indigenous communities. The syncretic heritage of silk-weaving in Banaras (India) demonstrates the intersection of traditional knowledge and social structure to sustain the popularity of the sarees of Banaras. By integrating the findings and perspectives from various studies, this paper synthesizes the disparate and interdisciplinary evidence to uncover an area in which more research is needed. To explore if indigenous knowledge can deconstruct historical caste-occupation linkage, especially, with the enforcement of geographical indication (GI), it analyses continuity and change of social identities among Banaras silk-weavers and assesses the need to revisit GI architecture in India as an alternative to foster sustainable environment, market, and livelihoods for communities associated with such traditions. It questions whether democratization of artisanal knowledge protected under GI provides a viable and reasonably remunerative source of livelihood for those willing to acquire it, irrespective of their position within a deeply stratified society.

The phenomenon of animal rights has been a controversial issue i.e. not given proper priority but deserves utmost attention. The present study was designed in response to the increasing need to comprehend the unique being of animals within social boundaries. Besides, considering the ongoing discussions initiated in the varied recent studies as well as the contentious debates held within several up-to-date media sources, this study, designed as a single-site case study, delved into the draft law that has been proposed by the Turkish government on euthanasia of stray animals. The data were obtained from six media platforms signifying three different editorial styles, namely pro-government, anti-government, and alternative channels. Three-dimensional critical discourse analysis model and framing theory were simultaneously utilized to analyze the data. The findings revealed characteristic differences among six different media portals. The pro-government channels were relatively cautious in reporting the bill whereas the anti-government channels' agenda was generous in informing the public highly sensitively. Conversely, the alternative media platforms were found to be more neutral in demonstrating their responses to the draft law. Conclusively, case-specific discoveries, perspectives, reflections, and insights were highlighted, and it was underscored that animals’ fundamental societal role requires more thorough acknowledgment and attention.

Submitting an invited text for the Anthropology and Humanism festschrift “Hundreds for Katie,” I experienced cognitive dissonance between the objectives of ethnographic writing championed by Kathleen Stewart and the journal's submission requirements. The insistence that every submission must contain keywords and an abstract signifies deeper issues with academic writing. Specific forms of writing enforce the disciplinary norms of Thomas Kuhn's “normal science.” To “write difference”, we may need to write differently. The paper draws inter alia on works by Kathleen Stewart, Lauren Berlant, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Peter Winch, Walter Benjamin, James Clifford, Georges Bataille, and members of the Mass–Observation group.

Isabel Wilkerson's recent publication has sparked an academic debate regarding the true nature of social hierarchies in South Asia and the West. This article conducts a comparative historical sociology of caste in South Asia, and race in the US, to demonstrate structural differences between these two modes of social stratification. Although caste groups in South Asia had greater possibilities of social mobility and intermarriages, interracial sex and marriage were legally prevented between Whites and non-Whites in the United States. This was because most castes in South Asia were thought to have common origins in the Brahmin caste, whereas most races were thought to have emerged from different species. Furthermore, caste hierarchies often depended on the discretion and power of locally dominant castes, whereas racial hierarchies were legally established through pseudo-scientific theories and enforced in the United States through state authorities. These divergences in their respective trajectories of development and endurance present to us, a more comprehensive understanding of how caste and race were different in their respective configurations. This is also why sweeping generalizations on such forms of social stratification were discouraged by social scientists such as Cox and Ambedkar.

By collating and analyzing various datasets, this paper gives a statistical overview of the flow of Chinese to English book translations, analyzing the asymmetrical structure of the global flow of book translations and the positions of Chinese and English within it. It firstly portrays the asymmetries of China/Chinese and Anglo-American countries/English in the international exchange of book translations and in the copyright trade, reviewing the center–periphery relationship between Chinese and English in the international book market. Based on UK national book statistics, it then illustrates the general picture of the production of Chinese books translated in English in the UK, analyzing the publishing trends from 1949 to 2020, Chinese translated books published in the UK, and publishers involved in translating from Chinese to English.