Cultural & Area Studies

The Need for both Proactive and Responsive Facilitation in Addressing the Rural / Urban Divide in the United States

Angus McGregor, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, considers Thomas Jefferson’s thinking about rural economies in the United States. He concludes the need for a revolution of progressive rural development addressing income and political gaps between rural and urban communities, thus moving the United States closer to Jefferson’s hope; a nation committed to a democratization of prosperity.
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Cultural & Area Studies

New Approaches to the “Golden Age” of British Television Comedy

Daniel Reast, from the University of Portsmouth, UK, looks back at the development of British television comedy after the Second World War. He reflects on the way that the best comedy responds to the social, political, and cultural situations occurring around the programme.
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Svetlana-Ter_Minasova-My-Moscow-photo-collage
Cultural & Area Studies, History

My Moscow

Professor Svetlana Ter-Minasova tells the story of her life in Moscow, which she calls “a lucky life”. She documents her family history and shares her earliest memories from 1941, her wartime experiences, and her path to the present as President of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies at Lomonosov Moscow State University.
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Camilla Bundgaard Big Ben Sarah Kelley
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

The Power That Lies Within: Ideologies in Daniel Craig’s Bond Films

Sarah Kelley of the University of Bristol, UK, maps some of the ideas and themes conveyed in Craig’s Bond films to possible influences from their socio-political contexts, with a particular focus on Skyfall and Spectre.
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Amanda Third Child Rights, Digital Issues and Cyber Safety IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Technology

Amanda Third: Child Rights, Digital Issues and Cyber Safety

Dr Amanda Third sheds light on her research into the impact new technologies are having on children, discussing the challenges societies face as children are exposed to these technologies.
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The House of Wisdom Interdisciplinarity in the Golden Age of the Arabic Empire Suzi Elhafez Jorg Reuter
Cultural & Area Studies, History, The Arts & Literature

The House of Wisdom: Interdisciplinarity in the Golden Age of the Arab-Islamic Empire

Suzi Elhafez examines the efficacy of interdisciplinarity in the Golden Age of the Arab-Islamic Empire in informing approaches to multimodal art practices and expanding knowledge domains within a contemporary context.
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Cultural & Area Studies, The Arts & Literature

Psychedelics and the Secret Door to Perception

Mongia Besbes discusses psychedelic substances and their influence on literature and popular culture, with a particular focus on the work of US authors of the Beat Generation.
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China's Wealth and Happiness Paradox Matthew Monnot
Business & Economics, Cultural & Area Studies, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

The Goods Life: China’s Wealth and Happiness Paradox

Dr Matthew J. Monnot of the University of San Francisco discusses the contrast between decades of GDP growth in China and stagnant levels of individual life and job satisfaction.
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Black Madonna Anna Hamling Miguel Palafox
Cultural & Area Studies, History, The Arts & Literature

The Power of an Image: The Black Madonna of Częstochowa

Dr Anna Hamling of the University of New Brunswick, Canada, examines the historical and cultural significance of religious icon the Black Madonna of Częstochowa to the people of Poland.
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Public Image, Private Lives Bondage and Discipline Angela Wilson
Cultural & Area Studies

Public Images, Private Lives: Professional Bondage and Discipline

Angela Wilson analyses newspaper advertisements for specialised bondage and discipline services to compare them with other newspaper advertising, to comment on public perception of this industry, and to examine the blurring of truth and fantasy by service providers and their clients.
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Kevin Burkett Irish Immigrants Boys From Vepery Ian Michael
Cultural & Area Studies, History, Media, Film & Journalism

Boys from Vepery: John Footman’s Journey from the Ravages of “Gorta Mór”

Ireland’s Great Famine, “Gorta Mór”, had far-reaching effects for the Irish population in the mid-nineteenth century, leading millions to migrate in search of a better future. As part of a documentary film project, Dr Ian Michael, Fokiya Akhtar and Dr Michael R. Ogden explore the journey made by Dr Michael’s own ancestor, John Footman, from rural Cork to Madras, India.
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Falklands Calling Andrea Bellot
Cultural & Area Studies, Politics, International Relations & Law

“Falklands Calling”: The Local Community in Terms of Global Interaction

How has the way the Falkland Islanders see themselves and interact with the rest of the world evolved after, and as a result of, the 1982 war? Dr Andrea Bellot examines how islanders have experienced a transition from a small and isolated community to a more connected society.

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Damballah_La_Flambeau_Hector_Hyppolite André Breton Surrealism: A Global Cultural Movement with Local Political Agency
Cultural & Area Studies, History, Politics, International Relations & Law, The Arts & Literature

Surrealism: A Global Cultural Movement with Local Political Agency

Lauren Walden of Coventry University explores the impact of the surrealist movement on the local politics of Haiti, Martinique and Mexico through the diplomatic role played by André Breton, the founder of surrealism.
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Professor Svetlana Ter-Minasova, President of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia
Cultural & Area Studies, Language Learning

Language, Culture and National Security

Professor Svetlana Ter-Minasova gives an insight into the dangers created by language and culture in the fields of native and foreign language acquisition and translation.
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Sino-Japanese Relations
Cultural & Area Studies, Politics, International Relations & Law

Mutual Distrust between China and Japan and the Locked Sino-Japanese Relations

Bilateral relations between China and Japan have historically been positive, yet the two countries have formed a situation of mutual distrust regarding both strategic and moral issues. Shi Chen discusses the reasons for the “locked” status of Sino-Japanese relations.

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Reportage drawing by Louis Netter of the University of Portsmouth. Image Copyright © Louis Netter 2016. All rights reserved.
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

The Serendipitous City: Reportage Drawing, Visual Language and Discovery

Artist and illustrator Louis Netter of the University of Portsmouth, UK, explores links between reportage and caricature and describes his selection and “stalking” of the subject, to accompany his series of reportage drawings from the streets of Barcelona.
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chinatown-chinesca-china-iafor-think
Cultural & Area Studies, Humanities & Social Sciences

La Chinesca: A Chinese Community in the Mexico-US Borderlands

Chinese settlements on the border between California and Mexico date back over 100 years and their legacy can still be felt today. Scott Warren, Donna Ruiz E Costello and Wan Yu explore the impact of Chinese immigration to the region, in the context of the ‘hopeful geography’ of Bajalta California.
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Funeral hearse - Japans modern death system - THINK - IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy

Japan’s Modern Ritualized Death System (20/20)

In the final part of Professor Stuart D. B. Picken’s “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph, he explains how Japan’s death system has been developed far beyond that of any Western civilisation, serving the needs of social control, nationalism and militarism, as well as the preservation of the family and the maintenance of the stability of Japanese society.

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Emperor_Showa THINK IAFOR 2
Cultural & Area Studies, History

The Death and Burial of Emperor Showa (19/20)

In the penultimate Part 19 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken explains why the events preceding Emperor Showa’s passing away, and the rituals thereafter, created wide-ranging debate in Japanese society.
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Asahara Shoko Sarin Gas Attack Tokyo
Cultural & Area Studies, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

Terrorism, Violence and Tomorrow’s Citizens in Japan (18/20)

Professor Stuart D. B. Picken looks at the mentality of Japanese terrorism and violence, and where its roots lie, in Part 18 of “Death in the Japanese Tradition”.

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Death Note Japanese Popular Culture THINK IAFOR 1
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

Lingering Images in Japanese Popular Culture (17/20)

In Part 17 of Professor Stuart D.B. Picken’s “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph, he looks at the ways in which Japanese popular culture reflects the nation’s traditional values, and influences those of today.
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suicide in japan THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

Suicide in Contemporary Japan (16/20)

In Part 16 of Professor Stuart D. B. Picken’s monograph “Death in the Japanese Tradition”, he examines case studies of the different types of suicide present in modern-day Japan, from group and pact suicide, to forced suicide.
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Salaryman. Nogi Syndrome, Workoholism and Karoshi. THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, History

Japanese Survivor Syndrome, Workaholism and Karoshi (15/20)

Professor Stuart D. B. Picken explores the influence of Nogi syndrome and post-World War 2 survivor syndrome on modern-day Japanese work culture, in Part 15 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph.

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Kamikaze Japan THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, History, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

Militarism and Suicide in Japan: Meiji to Showa (14/20)

From the 1932 “Three Human Torpedoes”, followed by a growing trend of group suicide, to the kamikaze suicide pilots of World War 2, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken examines the ways in which the militarist tradition of suicide has survived into Japan’s modern history.

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Seppuku-confucianism samurai THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy

Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism and the Neo-Samurai (13/20)

Professor Stuart D. B. Picken explains the ways in which Japan’s Confucian social structures of harmony, duty and loyalty relate to its history of loyalty-inspired suicide in Part 13 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph.
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Bushido warrior hokusai THINK IAFOR 2
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy

Bushido: The Way of Death (12/20)

In Part 12 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken explains the apparent influence of the mentality of bushido, the way of the warrior, on Japanese attitudes towards death.

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Jizo death in Japan THINK iafor
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy

Japanese Buddhist Vs Christian Images of Death (11/20)

In Part 11 of Professor Stuart D. B. Picken’s “Death in the Japanese Tradition”, he compares and contrasts the Christian view of death with that of the Japanese Buddhist.
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Hmonh women what does it mean to be knowledgable? THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Education, The Arts & Literature

The Gift of Certainty: What Does it Mean to be Knowledgeable?

Using two excerpts by contemporary authors, Francesca Pierini examines our perception of knowledge, and the ways in which it can both empower and limit a society.

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Japanese mourning THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

Cross-Cultural Comparisons on Mourning and Object Loss (10/20)

In Part 10 of “Death in the Japanese Tradition”, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken explains the subtle cultural differences between the Japanese view of death and that found in other cultures, principally those that have been influenced by Christianity.
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Death poetry Basho haiku Japan THINK
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History, The Arts & Literature

The Death Poem and Buddhism in Japan (9/20)

Poetry and the death poem existed in Japan long before Buddhism, but it brought with it a new and lasting significance, explains Professor D. B Picken in Part 9 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition”.
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Ukraine conflict religion and war THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, Politics, International Relations & Law

Religion and War: The Wartime Tribalization of Universal Religions

Dr. Brian A. Victoria explores the nature of the relationship between religion and war, and the implications of it on our “shared humanity”.
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Great Buddha of Kamakura death cults japan copy
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

Popular Buddhist Death Cults: From Suicide to Mummifcation (8/20)

From suicide cults and self mortification to the worship of benevolent cultic figures such as Jizo and Amida, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken looks at the ways in which Buddhism in Japan provided a metaphysic of death that enabled the people to endure the hardships of life in the hope of a better hereafter, in Part 8 of “Death in the Japanese Tradition”.
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Zhang Yuan East Palace, West Palace queer film THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

Queer Film in China: Predicaments, Politics and Progress

Qin Qin examines the setbacks, progress and influence of queer film in China, from Zhang Yuan’s East Palace, West Palace of the 1990s, to the new media regulations of 2016 which prohibit representation of “abnormal sexual relationships”.

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Buddha and Kami in Japan THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

The Arrival and Acceptance of Buddhism in Japan (7/20)

Professor D. B. Picken looks at the introduction of Buddhism into Japan, how it was received and how it influenced the cultural mentality of the Japanese people in Part 7 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” series.

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Japan Buddhism Funeral THINK 2
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

Buddhism and death in Japanese society (6/20)

Professor D. B. Picken examines the history, formation, evolution and continuing importance of death systems in Japan in Part 6 of his 20-part series, “Death in the Japanese Tradition”.
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Kami and Ancestors Death in the Japanese Tradition THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

Kami and Ancestors: Death in the Japanese Tradition (5/20)

In Part 5 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” monograph, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken looks at kami, and how the concern of the Japanese for the welfare of ancestral spirits is a feature that runs throughout their history and permeates every aspect of Japanese culture.

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Day of the Dead mural Malcolm Lowry Under the Volcano THINK IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, The Arts & Literature

Psychogeographic Impact on Malcolm Lowry’s Consciousness: From the Zapotec and Aztec Civilizations to Taoism

Nigel H. Foxcroft analyses the influence of cultures and civilizations upon literature and national identity by investigating the evolution of the cosmic consciousness of the English Modernist novelist and poet, Malcolm Lowry (1909-57) after his experience of the Mexican Day of the Dead Hispanic festival.
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Japanese folklore THINK IAFOR Death in Japan
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, History

Parallel Worlds: Folk Religion, Life & Death in Japan (4/20)

In Part 4 of “Death in the Japanese Tradition”, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken looks at the themes sounded in the classics that continue into modern Japan, and at the ancient folk beliefs, customs and rituals that are still maintained in many places today.
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Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Japanese literary classics THINK 2
Cultural & Area Studies, The Arts & Literature

Death and the Dead in Japan’s Literary Classics (3/20)

Professor Stuart D. B. Picken uses two great classics of Japanese literature, the Manyoshu and the Nihonshoki, to glean invaluable insights into the ancient Japanese understanding of the nature of human life and the origins of death in Part 3 of his “Death in the Japanese Tradition” series.
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Attitudes to Death in Ancient Japan THINK Death in the Japanese
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

Buddhism & Burial: Attitudes to Death in Ancient Japan (2/20)

In Part 2 of his serialised monograph, “Death in the Japanese Tradition”, Professor Stuart D. B. Picken looks at Japanese attitudes to death through the ages, from primal awakenings to Prehistoric perceptions.
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Death in the Japanese tradition Stuart Picken Seppuku IAFOR THINK 2
Cultural & Area Studies, Ethics, Religion & Philosophy, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

Death in the Japanese Tradition: An Introduction (1/20)

The first instalment of Professor Stuart Picken’s serialised monograph “Death in the Japanese Tradition: A Study in Cultural Evolution and Transformation”, explains where his study of the subject began, and outlines where he will go with it.
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Bosozoku gang Think IAFOR
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

Bosozoku: Society, Politics and Terror

Dr. Paul Spicer on God Speed You! Black Emperor, a bōsōzoku biker gang documentary film by Yanagimachi, which both fascinates and infuriates.
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Chanoyu-Japanese-Style-Tea-Ceremony
Cultural & Area Studies, History, Humanities & Social Sciences

The Globalisation of Japanese Tea Ceremony

Dr. Alexandre Avdulov gives a short history of the globalisation of Chanoyu, better known as Japanese tea ceremony, and argues that the practice has provided great potential for intercultural communication.
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Writing Multicultural America: The Powers of Canon and Ethnicity - A. Robert Lee
Cultural & Area Studies, History, The Arts & Literature

Writing Multicultural America: The Powers of Canon and Ethnicity

America has long been taken up with the issue of cultural identity, and its literary authorship has been no less engaged. Who gets to say what writing best speaks for the culture? A. Robert Lee examines the formation of the American literary canon.
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Revolution, Transformation and Utopia: The Function of Literature - Bill Ashcroft
Cultural & Area Studies, The Arts & Literature

The Function of Literature: Revolution, Transformation and Utopia

Professor Bill Ashcroft uses two very different examples of Indigenous art to look at how art and literature can have the capacity to speak to power by speaking beyond it in the context of twentieth-century conflict.
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Dr. Joseph Haldane discusses with Prof. Jiro Takai the merits behind a variety of strategies and methods used in conflict management.
Cultural & Area Studies, Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences

VIDEO: Avoiding Conflict in Japanese Society

Professor Jiro Takai is interviewed by the President of The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Dr. Joseph Haldane, on the merits of various strategies and methods of conflict management, including that of the avoidance of conflict in Japanese society.

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Prof. Donald E. Hall - Queer Studies
Cultural & Area Studies, Education

VIDEO: On Queer Studies and Interdisciplinary Education

Professor Donald E. Hall and Dr. Joseph Haldane discuss the origins of Queer Studies, The Routledge Queer Studies Reader and interdisciplinary study.

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Cultural Studies as Activist Scholarship with Professor Baden Offord
Cultural & Area Studies

VIDEO: Cultural Studies as Activist Scholarship

Cultural studies expert, Professor Baden Offord, speaks to the President of The International Academic Forum (IAFOR), Dr. Joseph Haldane, about why cultural studies is a critical study of everyday life and ‘the new humanities’.

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The-Atomic-Cafe-(1982)
Cultural & Area Studies, Media, Film & Journalism

The Atomic Cafe (1982): Nuclear Paranoia in a Cold War Classic

Dr. Wajiha Raza Rizvi looks at how The Atomic Cafe (1982) dwells on stereotypes of public ignorance and nuclear paranoia during the Cold War era.
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