International and Area Studies Commons^™

Gaming And Culture: How Videogames Can Affect Global Players' Preception And Understanding Of Japan's History And Culture, Garrett Davies

Capstone Showcase

Video game developers have the ability to create synthetic worlds. These are places where players have the ability to immerse themselves within a culture presented to them by the creators. This allows a global audience to participate in the expression and learning of culture but that may come at a cost. Focusing on Japan, I want to dive into how culture is presenting within video games, why it is presented in such ways, and what that means for players' perception of the country through play.

Latin America & Caribbean Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection, assembled by Dr. Corinna Zeltsman of Georgia Southern University, consists of items from Latin America and the Caribbean dating from 1692 to 1985. Materials include political pamphlets, newsletters, ephemera, sheet music, published books, and other materials. The subject matter includes U.S.-Latin American relations, popular culture, and revolutions.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

In The Belly Of The Beast: The Legacy Of Puerto Rican Women In The Development Of Anti- Imperialist Feminism, Grace Amato

Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

The Ideology Of Baby-Mama Phenomenon: Assessing Knowledge And Perceptions Among Young People From Educational Institutions, Opeyemi S. Adeojo, Daniel Egerson, Gabriel Mewiya, Rowland Edet

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the knowledge and perception of the ideology of baby-mama concept among the youths. Particularly, this paper assessed the knowledge of the concept of baby mama among youths and also their opinion on the acceptability of this style of family structure. The study employed a qualitative approach through an in-depth interview research method. Forty respondents between the ages of 16 and 40 years were selected across three educational institutions in Oyo state, south-west Nigeria. The participants of the study voluntarily agreed to participate in the research and everything said during the course of the interview was transcribed and …

Ccr Style Guide For Submitted Manuscripts

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Jack Weatherford. Genghis Khan And The Making Of The Modern World, Ashok Kumar Malhotra

Comparative Civilizations Review

Jack Weatherford’s book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World is divided into three segments. Part one tells the story of Genghis Khan’s birth in 1162, his rise to power on the steppe, and the influence of the steppe in shaping his mindset. Growing up in this wilderness helped fashion the personality which led him to consolidate many warring tribes into a single Mongolian country by 1206. Furthermore, unifying these diverse ethnic groups into a Mongolian nation provided Genghis Khan an excellent model which he replicated in the rest of the world. Part two is devoted to the …

Michael Scott. Ancient Worlds: A Global History Of Antiquity, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

Michael Scott, Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Warwick in England, who has written prolifically on Ancient Greece and the Greco-Roman world, has broadened his scope in writing the book under review to include consideration of the ancient histories of selected societies in the Near East, India, Central Asia, and China. Scott is motivated by the thought that, scholars, particularly in the West, have been provincial, treating the designation, ancient worlds or ancient history, as if Greece, Rome, and the peripheral areas with which they interacted constituted the sum total of the ancient world. Or, if …

Front Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Civilization: Informatization Strategy, Andrew Targowski

Comparative Civilizations Review

The article proposes strategic aspirations for the development of sustainable civilization, which are based on organizing the Geoinformatics Steering System, which will monitor civilizations based on established indexes measuring the state of civilization. This monitoring must have a uniform system on many levels of human organization, from the enterprise (company) to regions, countries, continents and the world. The condition for this organization is the creation of the World Civilization Organization because the current efforts of people and countries are chaotic.

The Pahlavis And The Other Side Of The Coins, Ardavan Khoshnood

Comparative Civilizations Review

It was with great interest that I read “Political Power of Iranian Hierocracies” by János Jany published in Comparative Civilizations Review (83, 2020: 67-102). Writing about Iranian history is not an easy task because historical points of view have been highly politicized. Such is particularly the case when discussing the Pahlavi dynasty, particularly its founder, Reza Shah Pahlavi, and his successor, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi. It is therefore of major importance to be transparent and, when feasible, to present the varying views and schools of thought which may exist with respect to the Pahlavi dynasty (Khoshnood, 2019).

Book Review: David J. Rosner. Catastrophe And Philosophy, John Berteaux

Comparative Civilizations Review

In Chinese, the word “catastrophe” is composed of two characters: 危机 The first character represents danger and the second is the symbol for opportunity, suggesting as my son so aptly put it, “We should never let a ‘good’ disaster go to waste.” In much the same light, philosopher David Rosner’s sensible and probing anthology, Catastrophe and Philosophy, directs us to observe that, “catastrophes are catastrophes not only because they bring widespread death and destruction in their wake, but also because they fundamentally challenge the basic ‘sense making’ feature of the human mind and our need for a meaningful world.” …

End Matter

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Leonid Grinin. Macrohistory And Globalization, Stephen T. Satkiewicz

Comparative Civilizations Review

The Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin is once quoted as saying, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” There should be a parallel statement about how some books state extraordinarily little in multiple pages, but others speak volumes in mere sentences. A good example of the latter would be Macrohistory and Globalization by another Russian: Leonid Grinin.

Do All Roads Lead To Rome? Exploring The Underlying Logics Of Similar Policies And Practices Of Recruiting Barbarian Soldiers In Roman And Early Chinese Empires, Pengfei Su

Comparative Civilizations Review

There are many similarities between various aspects of the Roman and early Chinese empires, which have been the focus of much academic discussion. A wide range of comparative studies have been carried out and resulted in the publication of numerous research papers. Scholars have been using different approaches focusing upon different areas to address this very broad comparative topic. Detailed analyses were made to compare the two empires in respect to their coinage and monetary systems, state revenue and expenditures, elite formation and social class advancement, and executive decision-making processes, just to mention a few. In a broader context, the …

The Human Search For A Sense Of Wholeness, Ross R. Maxwell

Comparative Civilizations Review

How can we characterize a civilization? From an economic point of view, a civilization consists of a system of interacting fulltime interdependent specialized occupations. From a cultural point of view, on the other hand, a civilization consists of what Ben Nelson, the late president of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (1971-1977), called a civilizational complex, a structure that developed from the blending of multiple cultures.

Full Issue

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

Rutger Bregman. Humankind: A Hopeful History, John Bertreaux

Comparative Civilizations Review

Do crises bring out the best or the worst in people? Are humans inclined to be evil, or are they more likely to be good, to do the right thing? Is civilization simply a thin veneer that is easily scratched away? From Church Father St. Augustine (354-430) to French theologian, pastor, and reformer John Calvin (1509-1564), we are depicted, if not as totally depraved and evil, at least, as the bearers of original sin. While perusing Rutger Bregman’s hopeful history, I happened upon a newspaper article announcing an exhibition of drawings and prints of Francisco Goya (1746-1828), at the Metropolitan …

Editor's Note, Joseph Drew, Editor-In-Chief

Comparative Civilizations Review

It has always seemed somewhat ironic that the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations has never agreed on the exact definition of the single word arguably most central to its mission: “civilization”.

The Deep Seer And The Four Tests, Ross R. Maxwell

Comparative Civilizations Review

At last, he knew his true name. When he was young, he wandered, unsure of himself. He knew he was a generalist — not satisfied with mastering only one thing. He wanted to explore. He wanted to fill in blanks in his mental map of the world. He was good at science, and he understood concepts quickly, but he rarely stuck around long enough to gain real expertise in a field. His curiosity was ravenous, always seeking new realms to explore.

The World System, Regional Systems, And The Limitations Of Historical Urban Population Datasets, Karl E. Ryavec

Comparative Civilizations Review

This study presents a method for mapping and comparing the regional extents of historical city-based economies at the global scale by integrating the World-Systems Theory of Immanuel Wallerstein with the Regional Systems Theory of G. W. Skinner. The approach taken here focuses on mapping urban cores and their rural peripheries based on available disaggregated urban population estimates for 1741 cities according to six main historical periods from ca. 3700 BCE to 1900 CE. As a result, a spatial history of some regional-scale changes wrought by increasing modes of capitalism in the Modern and Industrial periods may be compared with earlier …

One Book—Two Authors—Whose Ideas?, Leland Conley Barrows

Comparative Civilizations Review

This short essay attempts to answer some questions that came to my mind regarding the authorship and the origin of ideas developed in De la Sénégambie française (Paris: Librairie de Firmin Didot Frères, Fils et Cie., 1855) by Frédéric Carrère and Paul Holle, two notables of mid-nineteenth century Saint-Louis, Senegal. I had been commissioned to prepare an analysis of the attitudes towards Islam of the authors for Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History 1500-1900, a multi-volume series of bibliographical studies under preparation by the Department of Theology and Religion of the University of Birmingham in England being published, volume by …

Imagining An Asian American Superhero Of North Korean Origin: A Design Fiction, Seo-Young J. Chu

Publications and Research

My talk, a thought-experimental blend of literary criticism and speculative "design fiction," will introduce you to an Asian American superhero of North Korean origin. In this science-fictional superhero, whom I have tentatively named "구름"/"☁️"/"Ku-reum," Korea's elusive realities coalesce into legible form. More specifically, they become available for narrative experience and relatable to us as an anthropomorphic character, a person with whom we might identify, come face-to-face, sympathize, interact dynamically, and have a conversation. Ku-reum is designed to reflect Korea's complex past and hopes for the future. Existing beyond division systems, Ku-reum uses the non-binary pronouns "one"/"they." Neither "South" nor "North," …

The Dutch Atlantic And American Life: Beginnings Of America In Colonial New Netherland, Roy J. Geraci

Theses and Dissertations

The Dutch colony of New Netherland was one of the earliest attempts at a non-indigenous life on the east coast of North America. That colony, along with the United Provinces of the Netherlands and Dutch Atlantic as a whole, played crucial roles in the development of what would become the United States. This thesis project examines the significance New Netherland held in American history as well as explores topics which allow for new and inclusive narratives of that history to reach further exploration. Similarly to how individuals from various cultures, ethnicities, and backgrounds all come to exist amongst one another …

#Aminext: The Link Between European Colonization And Gender-Based Violence In Contemporary South Africa, Jenna Meredith Pagel

Capstone Showcase

Alarmingly, the female murder rate in South Africa is five times the global average (BBC News 2019). According to data from 2017 and 2018, a woman is murdered every four hours in South Africa (Wilkinson 2019). More than 30 women were killed by their spouses in August 2019, and at least 137 sexual offenses are committed per day in South Africa (Francke 2019).

For this thesis, and in order to understand why South Africa has some of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, I consult a number of scholars who conclude that the overall issue of …

Litigating Socio-Economic And Women’S Rights In Benin’S Constitutional Court, Alice J. Kang, Susanna D. Wing

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Scholars debate the role of legal institutions in promoting human rights in Africa. Much of the discussion focuses on Anglophone countries and does not examine the gender of litigants. We propose a constitutionalism constrained perspective that argues that which and whose rights are adjudicated are shaped by the context of constitutional reform. Where reformists are primarily concerned with safeguarding civil and political rights, high courts may protect civil and political rights claims more often than socio-economic ones. Examining hundreds of human rights decisions issued by Benin’s Constitutional Court, we ask, which and whose rights does the court protect? We find …

Ethnic Conflict In Côte D’Ivoire, Ayouba Doumbia

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early days of independence, the African continent has been the theatre of many ethnic conflicts. While people, in general, assume these conflicts to be political and blame the conflicts on authoritarian regimes, they dismissed the fact that conflict between ethnicities is a phenomenon that has occurred for hundreds of years and in all corners of the Earth. Entire countries have been devastated by years of ethnic strife. Once ethnic conflict breaks out, it is difficult to stop. Conflicts in the Balkans, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq, and Darfur are among the deadliest examples from the late 20^th and early …

'Fraught' Chineseness: 'Chinese Christians' In The Vancouver Sun, Justin Kh Tse

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

This chapter explores the ways in which Douglas Todd, a journalist for the Vancouver Sun, has covered stories about Chinese churches in Vancouver, BC, for over three decades. It shows how Todd has focused on Chinese Christians as a way to offer a particular perspective on religion and cultural diversity in Vancouver, and as a window into their relationship with the civil society. Ultimately, this chapter highlights the ways in which Todd essentializes “Chineseness” and reinforces a problematic public narrative of homogeneity among Vancouver’s Chinese Christians.

Examining The Relationship Between Acculturative Stress And Religion/Spirituality Among International Students, Ly'jerrick Ward

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between acculturative stress and religion/spirituality of international students. This study utilized Sandhu and Asrabadi’s (1994) Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) as well as the Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORF) created by Plante and Boccaccini (1997). Much research exists on how international students adapt and acculturate to a host country. This research will add to the body of literature that exists regarding how international students use their religion/spirituality to deal with acculturative stress. Students in this study were asked a number of questions from the ASSIS …

Integration Of The Pochaiv Lavra Into The Structure Of The Russian Orthodox Church Between 1830s And 1860s, Ella Bystrytska, Nadiia Volik

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

A series of imperial decrees during the 1820s contributed to the spread of the autocratic and synodal system of government, and the installation of control over the Greek Uniate Church institutions in the territories of Right Bank Ukraine.1 The Greek Uniate Church was moved in “standby mode” for favorable conditions for the government to rapidly localize its activities. The accusation of the Basilian monks in support of the November Uprising of 1830-1831 in Poland contributed to the liquidation of this order and most of their monasteries. The transfer of the Pochaiv Lavra to the ownership of the Orthodox clergy in …