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Serving as introduction to this Special Issue, this article presents a thematic review of topics involved in studies on humour and belonging. It briefly elaborates on the intricacies of concepts such as humour, sense of humour and belonging and their relationships. It then provides a selective review of some major relevant studies. Finally, the themes and contents of the Special Issue are introduced.
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This paper combines perspectives from evolutionary biology and linguistics to discuss the earlyevolution of laughter and the possible role of laughter-like vocalisation as a bonding mechanismin hominins and early human species. From the perspective of evolutionary biology, we hereemphasise several things: the role of exaptation, the typically very slow pace of evolutionarychange, and the danger of projecting backwards from the current utilities of laughter to inferits earlier function, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of years ago. From the perspectiveof linguistics, we examine both the semantics of the word ‘laugh’ and the vocal mechanics ofhuman laughter production, arguing that greater terminological care is needed in talking aboutthe precursors of laughter in the ancient evolutionary past. Finally, we turn to hypotheses abouthow laughter-like vocalisations may have arisen, long before articulate language as we know ittoday. We focus in particular on Robin Dunbar’s hypothesis that laughter-like vocalisation,which stimulated endorphin production, might have functioned as a bonding mechanism (a kindof “vocal grooming”) among hominins and early human species.The paper contributes to the special issue theme (Humour and Belonging) by casting a longlook backwards in time to laughter-like vocalisation as a distant evolutionary precursor ofhumour, and to bonding as an evolutionary precursor to cognitively and socially modern formsof “belonging”. At the same time, it cautions against casual theorising about the evolutionaryorigins of laughter.
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This article presents some reflections on European integration in times of increasing uncertainty. The migration crisis, the pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine have revealed the European Union’s vulnerability to shocks and threats, mainly of external provenience. They undermined intra-EU solidarity, exposed cynicism and egoism of some EU members, and showed the far-reaching economic and resource dependence of the European Union. Thereby, they undermined the postmodern integration project promoted by the European Commission. The article contains a critical analysis of selected aspects of European integration relating to the security-determined dilemma of identity of the European Union as a bridgehead of a collective defense of the West against external threats. The argument put forward in this article holds that the weakening role of the EU in the international arena, the growing risk of instability, as well as the increased vulnerability to security threats are the results of neglect in supranational decision-making processes, fear of responsibility for defending the global position of the West and the lack of readiness on the part of governments and citizens for a revision of the geostrategic determinants of the Union’s identity in the face of increasing internal tensions and external pressures.
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The paper analyzes the migration processes that have taken place and are still taking place in Poland as a factor that can positively influence the perception of Poland in the world. Poland is an example of a country that very quickly changed its status from an emigration state to an immigration one. This is evidenced by the positive migration balance and the issuance of the largest number of temporary residence permits in the European Union. The status of an immigration state was confirmed by the influx of war refugees from Ukraine and numerous decisions to stay in Poland for a long time and permanently, as well as an attempt to open a new migration pathway running through the Polish-Belarusian border. It should be assumed that with appropriate conduct of foreign policy, this new situation in Poland can strengthen its international position and perception. At the same time, there are also risks associated with it. If there is a failure to respond properly and in accordance with the law and the rules of democratic states to the migration challenges, it could result in the entrenchment of negative opinions about Poland from the migration perspective that emerged during the migration crisis of 2015–2016.
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The article is dedicated to one of the fundamental social problems – the problem of inequality in the field of education and the mechanisms of its reproduction. The author's view of the problem is related to understanding the evolution of the institute of education in the light of the accompanying scientific discourse, which usually starts with the issue of equal access to educational resources, and then emphasizes on discussing the possibilities for equality of educational outcomes. The author traces several main stages that reveal the progressive movement of the institutional nature of education, especially in the direction of expanding its accessibility, openness and efficiency, which at the same time remains firmly embedded in the existing system of stratification. Attention is paid mainly to the analysis of the way in which the institutional instruments in the form of selection and differentiation are materialized in the complex mechanisms and realities of the pedagogical process and contribute to the exacerbation of educational inequalities.
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In this study, we analyse conversations recorded during ethnographic research in two bilingualcommunities on the island of Rhodes, Greece. We examine: (a) the bilingual in Greek andTurkish Muslim community of Rhodes (Georgalidou et al. 2010, 2013) and (b) the Greek-American/Canadian community of repatriated emigrant families of Rhodian origin (Kourtis-Kazoullis 2016). In particular, combining interactional and conversation analytic frameworks(Auer 1995; Gafaranga 2007), we examine contemporary approaches to bi-/multilingualismfocusing on the pragmatics of humour in conversations among bilinguals. We scrutinise aspectsof the overall and sequential organisation of talk as well as instances of humour produced byspeakers of different ethnic origin, generation, and social groups. We focus on the constructionof “otherness,” which reflects the dynamic interplay between the micro-level of conversationalpractices and the macro-level of discourse involving contrasting categorisations and identitiespertaining to differently orientated ethnic and social groups. Based on the analysis, we willshow a) how humorous targeting orients in-groups versus out-groups, and b) mediates thedynamic process of constructing the identity of speakers who, being members of minoritylinguistic communities, represent “otherness.”
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The analysis of memes posted on Moroccan Facebook pages during the first wave of Covid-19pandemic shows that the use of humour by Moroccans is not only motivated by achieving mirthbut it also vehicles critical views about issues of common concern debated in the digital publicsphere. Some of these memes were used to cope with fear and uncertainty. However, most memesharboured mixed feelings about the situation and were used for social control and theexpression of conflict and resistance, addressing issues of behaviour, governance andcommunication. This article uses a social semiotic approach to analyse the collected memes(460 from personal and communal pages) as a multimodal discourse in terms of context, culture,and media affordances. This article contends that the study of these memes can be a key tounderstanding how Moroccans used humour to cope with danger and radical uncertainty, buildidentification and strengthen social cohesion. It also highlights the polyvocality of humour intimes of the pandemic and the gradual shift from inclusive, conformist and sympathetic humourto disparaging, exclusive and challenging humour as the pandemic lingered, consensus beganto crack, social control was challenged and injunctive norms were replaced by survival values.The results show how these memes are indicative of the way humour changes mechanisms andfunctions in terms of contingent motivations.
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In her research, the author examines the particular traits of the social and political processes from Bukovina (mostly from the northern part) from the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty first century through the terms of the reciprocal relations of these with the processes related to the formation of civic identity of the inhabitants of the region. The article draws attention on the role and significance of the First World War on the formation of the national identity of the Ukrainians in the region, the activation of the national liberation movement from the region. A special attention is given to the Soviet period, where the so-called "Soviet Man" (Homo Sovieticus) concept was formed, who was lacking national patriotism and has lost his national identity. The processes which formed the independent Ukrainian state are analyzed and also the relationship between the democratization of the social and political life and the increase in the level of civic identity. The author also highlights the importance of educational activities in order to develop civic identity.
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We are writing to you about a matter of grave concern. Within the entity of Republika Srpska, convicted perpetrators and others who committed atrocities are routinely glorified while survivors are prohibited or strongly discouraged from installing memorials to the victims. It is crucial, as a matter of the rule of law, restorative justice, and reconciliation to defend the human right to the truth 1 and the human right to memorialization.
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The present article is focused on separate aspects of the political skirmish between two prominent representatives of the Bulgarian and Greek communities – Nayden Gerov (1823 – 1900) and Georgios Tsoukalas / Γεώργιος Τσουκαλάς (1804 – 1872). At the beginning of the 50s of the XIX century, the establishment of the Bulgarian school in Plovdiv gave rise to one of the first public disputes between the two ideologists in the context of the development of nationalisms. The article depicts some moments from the Bulgarian-Greek arguments on the pages of periodicals – ‘Tsarigradski vestnik’ and ‘Bosphorus Telegraph’. In a word duel, the two intellectuals resort to the specific pejorative rhetoric of subversion and slander. This strategic rhetoric is characterized by an intensified ideological load and lavish figurative argumentation, often accompanied by expressive ideologies, with a multitude of offensive words, provocations and critical comments. Through the use of such rhetorical techniques, the prominent socio-political figures aim not simply at the personal undermining of their opponent, but above all, at defending their own ideology and contestation of the alternative opinion. In the confrontation between the text strategies (some of them deliberately anonymous, allowing the identification of the people with the text) of N. Gerov and G. Tsoukalas, the two political programs are revealed in their contrast and convergence to the own / foreign ideological code.
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This paper examines the attitude of socialist groups in Ottoman Salonica from different ethnic backgrounds to the conflict between empire and nation-state during the first term of the Second Constitutional Era (1908 – 1912) in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution. Following the stories of Abraham Benaroya (1887 – 1979), the renowned Jewish printing worker, and Dimitar Vlahov (1878 – 1953), the esteemed Macedo-Bulgarian political activist, and their interactions with like-minded socialists from Bulgarian, Greek, Jewish, and Turkish origins, I analyze how these particular socialist organizations in Salonica integrated Ottomanism, or the imperial nationalism which pursued the equality of Ottoman citizens and the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire, into their class politics. Using a wide array of sources which include parliamentary minutes, newspapers and memoirs, I argue that socialist activists in Salonica, in the heyday of nationalism, believed in the possibility of a socialist future within the Ottoman Empire. Notwithstanding their disagreements with the elected Ottoman government, Salonican socialists openly opted for the constitutional and ethnically heterogenous empire rather than its disintegration and territorial accession to the homogenized Balkan states.
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The article describes the general situation of the roma living on the Left Bank of the Dniester, and the manifestation of a discriminatory attitude towards representatives of the roma community. Presented are some of the results of a study carried out by UNHCHR consultants on the left bank of the Dniester in July-August 2020, the findings and recommendations of the UN Senior Human Rights Adviser Thomas Hammaberg, reflected in the 2013 and 2018 Reports, and the start of their implementation through the creation of a network of roma community mediators operating in various localities.
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Religious identity represents one of the most sensitive topics, especially in the context of a conflict, so religious identity and confessional aspects can be bridges for resolution and de-escalation, or on the contrary, they can block and stiffen the regulatory process. The confessional reality on the two banks of the Dniester has so far not been analyzed from the perspective of the regulatory process, but more from the historical perspective of the evolution of religious life in the Transnistrian region. The Soviet period made it practically impossible to discuss religious life in the region, it was almost annihilated. But even in the context of special and internationally unregulated political realities after 1991 and which still bear strong traces of the Soviet period, religious and confessional life developed and diversified. In this situation, a series of questions arise regarding the specifics of religious and confessional life as well as confessional freedoms in the region, as well as the role they may or may not have in the effort to regulate the Transnistrian file.In general, the confidence-building measures considered and are undertaken by international actors, but also by the authorities on the two banks of the Dniester, where they have focused in recent years especially on elements specific to human security and less on elements of national security and state consolidation, as many expected or counted on in the regulatory process, a fact that somewhat displeased the political decision-makers. In the context of the war in Ukraine, the negotiation format has stalled, and the process of settling the Transnistrian file has entered a very dangerous minefield. That is why it is important to analyze the opportunity or, on the contrary, the risk, that religious identity can generate the continuation of measures to strengthen trust and maintain dialogue, especially when political channels of communication close.
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The “special military operation” launched by the Russian Federation in Ukraine at the beginning of 2022 had a strong impact on the European security environment. The full-scale invasion marked an unwelcome return of armed conflict within the continent and an unprecedented humanitarian situation. It was also the first time that members of Generation Z are seeing what war really looks like. The existing literature provides extensive studies about Gen Z’s perception of various issues like social and political values, workplace, and quality of life. However, very little is known about young citizens’ perception of security, safety, and freedom after the war in Ukraine started. This study seeks to address this gap in the literature and analyses how Gen Z’s perception of security, safety, and freedom has changed in the current security environment. The analysis is based on a single case study – in Romania, and semi-structured interviews conducted in September-October 2022 with young citizens coming from different socio-demographic profiles. The main purpose is to explain how the conflict affected the perceptions variation of the abovementioned indicators, in a post-communist state where those under 25yo did not experience a large-scale military conflict so close to our borders.
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In the last decades the issue of refugees and immigrants has become more transparent and a subject of interest for the common citizen. Many authors discuss and analyze how people perceive immigration and the issues related to them. However, we know very little about what young citizens, members of generation Z, think about refugees and immigrants. The paper addresses this gap in the literature and analyzes how young citizens perceive immigrants and refugees that arrive in Romania. It uses Romania as a single-case study and semi-structured interviews conducted in September 2022-October 2022 with young citizens coming from different socio-demographic profiles, to explain the variation in how they perceive the recent Ukrainian refugees and other immigrants. The main purpose is to explain the perceptions variation related to the current crisis generated by Russian Federation. The findings indicate that young citizens’ perceptions are influenced by a combination of general attitudes toward the political system and society, education, and specific attitudes about potential external threats.
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The everyday life of the deportees was orchestrated by the authorities through work, education and leisure and through intrusion in their family life. Under constant surveillance, people submitted themselves to the demands and executed the chores established by the regime. However, from the very beginning they struggled to preserve their agency. This article, based on the memories of former deportees, underlines their capacity to resist repression, to overcome the social constraints and to create social groups parallel to the official ones.
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Cet article analyse les rapports entre la domination politique de l’État roumain, pendant le socialisme et le post-socialisme, et les stratégies et tactiques de résistance et d’adaptation des gens ordinaires (common people) aux politiques étatistes. Cette relation dynamique sera observée à partir des réalités de la vallée du Jiu, l’une des régions les plus touchées par le projet de l’État, axé d’abord sur l’industrialisation accélérée et, ensuite, sur la désindustrialisation, également, accélérée, avec des répercussions majeures sur les relations sociales. En corroborant les entretiens et les récits de vie avec des articles de presse de l’époque, nous entendons comprendre le contrôle de la production et de la population par l’État, l’appropriation et l’aménagement du territoire, le licenciement de la main-d’œuvre lors de la transition du communisme au capitalisme, tout comme les répercussions de ces mesures étatistes sur la vie quotidienne des gens et la résilience de ces derniers à l’ordre politique.
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This paper examines the ideological ranges of contemporary stories about Kosovo, as reflections on the social, political, and cultural background in which they arise, as well as the processes of establishing or abandoning the dominant identity matrices, based on the Kosovo myth. As Kosovo is our great story, the constitutive narrative of our national being, but also of Serbian literary-historical consciousness, it proved necessary to shed light on how contemporary Serbian prose reflects this narrative, but also to elucidate the diachronic perspective, which gives ideologies a mythical or symbolic dimension. The five authors and texts I am analyzing are Branislav Janković, “Nightingale the Chicken” (Slavuj-pile), Muharem Bazdulj “From Prizren the tame place” (Iz Prizrena mjesta pitomoga), Dejan Stojiljković, “No cour- age” (Nema hrabrosti), Vesna Kapor “What would you like to remember” (Čega bi voleo da se sećaš) and Ana Radmilović “Kosovo - three hundred miracles” (Kosovo– trista čuda). Among the selected contemporary stories, a range from establishingand empowering to challenging the dominant ideological discourse on Kosovo and its mythology is noticeable. The common intention is to constitute “small” stories by referring to a “private” view of Kosovo resulting from a fragmentation of the world image, and hence deconstruction or rethinking inherited identities based on new policies and ideological constructs represented in our era, which produce internal dissonance in the text itself.
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Homi Baba, American-Indian literary theorist and philosopher of cul- ture, is one of the key figures in postcolonial theory. His original contribution is in the introduction of the terms „hybridization“, „mimicry“, „cultural difference“,„ambivalence of colonial discourse“ and „third space“, which enriches the repertoire of postcolonial theories and problematizes these theories in the key of poststructur- alist philosophies, especially those of Jacques Derrida, Jacques Lacan and Michel Foucault. As a postcolonial literary and cultural theorist, Baba opposes binary divi- sions of theories / policies in The Location of Culture (1994) to try to show the true meaning of postcolonial theories. Of course, in order to arrive at this new practice, it was necessary to discuss some aporia into which his thought often falls, especially to develop a complicated dialectic of the ambivalence of post/colonial discourse. In parallel with postcolonial thought, Baba develops philosophy of culture, which is thematized in the second part of the text. In the essay „DissemiNation“ (1990), as a poststructuralist-inspired thinker he does not derive a systematic transcultural theory, but only deconstructively points to the „splitting points“ of the unison-understood Culture as a monolithic and monopolistic Western narrative.
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When in the novel Migration by Miloš Crnjanski the idea of the Serbian choice is articulated in one unfinished, interrupted sentence – „You Serbs prefer to choose military work, so ...” (Crnjanski 2008: 25) – an example of this articulation ironically marks the historical role of the nation. it is not possible to make a choice within the socio-political system of the Austrian monarchy that would stabilize the position of the community in the empire, ensure it in an appropriate way. The incompleteness, the interruption of the sentence that formulates the perspective of the Serbian choice, indicates a strong narrative sense of the historical conditioning of identity. The political affirmation of the military identity of Serbs delegitimizes the heroic ethos that is the basis of the Serbian historical being. The ideological use of the Serbian warrior discourse indicates that a modern mechanism of identity regulation is active in the world of the novel Migration. The nation learns about the experience of ontological deprivation to be realized in the dimension of dying in war, which would provide it with historical and metaphysical meaning. Crnjanski’s novel reveals the fundamental difference between an ideologically constructed stereotype of identity and an ontological inversion of historical experience.
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