Essentializing the binary self: individualism and collectivism in cultural neuroscience

Within the emerging field of cultural neuroscience (CN) one branch of research focuses on the neural underpinnings of “individualistic/Western” vs. “collectivistic/Eastern” self-views. These studies uncritically adopt essentialist assumptions from classic cross-cultural research, mainly following the tradition of Markus and Kitayama (1991), into the domain of functional neuroimaging. In this perspective article we analyze recent publications and conference proceedings of the 18th Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2012) and problematize the essentialist and simplistic understanding of “culture” in these studies. Further, we argue against the binary structure of the drawn “cultural” comparisons and their underlying Eurocentrism. Finally we scrutinize whether valuations within the constructed binarities bear the risk of constructing and reproducing a postcolonial, orientalist argumentation pattern

Two-level modelling of speech variant rules

This paper describes a phonetic knowledge base for German consisting of a set of speech variant rules. These rules have been established on the basis of empirical, corpus-based investigations enriched by linguistic generalisations. Theoretical and computational foundations of speech variant rules are discussed, and their practical application in a linguistic word recognition system (BELLEx3, U Bielefeld) is demonstrated. Although the speech variant rules described in this paper have been established for the purpose of knowledge-based word recognition, their declarative implementation in a two-level transducer enables them to be employed for both recognition and generation of speech variants. Finally, an extension of standard two-level techniques is described whereby two-level transducers defining constraints on mapping relations between input and output forms are integrated with wellformedness-constraints on input forms stated in terms of finite-state automata

Multikulturalität und Mehrsprachigkeit im \u27realen\u27 Europa und im \u27virtuellen\u27 Raum

While in the post World War II era autochthonous European ethnic groups were of main interest, since the 1960\u27s new, often socially- defined minorities like migrants, guest workers, emigrants returning from former colonies, refugees, evacuees and resettlers have moved into the focus. The European policy of the 1980\u27s and \u2790\u27s clearly votes for the protection of the cultural identity of all societal groups and in this context supports the evolution of a "European added value". But this process could be interrupted in the new millennium, where majority as well as minority groups are in danger of loosing their cultural autonomy. One indicator for this is the pressure to use standardized languages in a world marked by increased globalization - especially via the new media. This article looks at the chances and risks of the new media - mainly the Internet - for the pluricentric European society. (DIPF/orig.

INNOCENCE OF THE COUNTRY IN THE SELECTED PLAYS OF IVAN VIDIĆ AND LADA KAŠTELAN

U ovom ću radu problematizirati korelaciju fenomena domovine i »jastva«, tumačenu na različite načine, u odabranim dramskim djelima Lade Kaštelan i Ivana Vidića. Naslanjat ću se na teoretičare i filozofe koji se bave »staništem«, kao i »domom« (G. Bachelard), odnosom osobnog i socijalnog sistema (N. Luhmann), dijaloškog i monološkog (M. Bahtin), pa tako i doživljajem »našeg« te onog »stranog« (U. Bielefeld), »drugog« i drugačijeg. S tim u vezi otvara se i pitanje ideje »nevinosti« kao obrane od egzistencijalnog straha.The paper focuses on the correlation between the phenomenon of the country and ‘self’, interpreted in different ways in the selected plays of Lada Kaštelan and Ivan Vidić, relying upon theoreticians and philosophers who deal with »habitat« (G. Bachelard), as well as with »home«, relationship between a personal and social system (N. Luhmann) and with the impression of »ours« and »foreign« (U. Bielefeld), »other« and different (D. Caroll). In this respect arise the issues of ideal as defense from existential fear, and correlation of events and fiction (thanks to the idea of a »foreign« it becomes clear how the »reality« and fiction do not create opposition). Vidić and Kaštelan open the same subjects, approaching them in almost opposite ways. If we accept the thesis that a subject is split within himself, and therefore permanently aims at the »original«, »innocent state of the soul» it is possible to notice how, in Kaštelan’s plays we can identify a dominant process of subjectivization (attempt to persuade the co-speaker to exteriorize his carefully hidden »self«, and in Vidić’s works the process of objectivization (M. Bahtin). Objectivization is a monological position, thanks to which one tries to reduce his co-speaker to a pre-set structure of generally valid fact. Vidić writes precisely about the processes of objectivization. Through objectivization we try to speak of him or her, rather than with him, we try to see our co-speaker as an object of a future manipulation. However, paradoxically enough, this way Vidić-the writer acts with the aim to open up that carefully hidden »self« in his viewer, the Shadow, the »foreigner« within himself

INNOCENCE OF THE COUNTRY IN THE SELECTED PLAYS OF IVAN VIDIĆ AND LADA KAŠTELAN

U ovom ću radu problematizirati korelaciju fenomena domovine i »jastva«, tumačenu na različite načine, u odabranim dramskim djelima Lade Kaštelan i Ivana Vidića. Naslanjat ću se na teoretičare i filozofe koji se bave »staništem«, kao i »domom« (G. Bachelard), odnosom osobnog i socijalnog sistema (N. Luhmann), dijaloškog i monološkog (M. Bahtin), pa tako i doživljajem »našeg« te onog »stranog« (U. Bielefeld), »drugog« i drugačijeg. S tim u vezi otvara se i pitanje ideje »nevinosti« kao obrane od egzistencijalnog straha.The paper focuses on the correlation between the phenomenon of the country and ‘self’, interpreted in different ways in the selected plays of Lada Kaštelan and Ivan Vidić, relying upon theoreticians and philosophers who deal with »habitat« (G. Bachelard), as well as with »home«, relationship between a personal and social system (N. Luhmann) and with the impression of »ours« and »foreign« (U. Bielefeld), »other« and different (D. Caroll). In this respect arise the issues of ideal as defense from existential fear, and correlation of events and fiction (thanks to the idea of a »foreign« it becomes clear how the »reality« and fiction do not create opposition). Vidić and Kaštelan open the same subjects, approaching them in almost opposite ways. If we accept the thesis that a subject is split within himself, and therefore permanently aims at the »original«, »innocent state of the soul» it is possible to notice how, in Kaštelan’s plays we can identify a dominant process of subjectivization (attempt to persuade the co-speaker to exteriorize his carefully hidden »self«, and in Vidić’s works the process of objectivization (M. Bahtin). Objectivization is a monological position, thanks to which one tries to reduce his co-speaker to a pre-set structure of generally valid fact. Vidić writes precisely about the processes of objectivization. Through objectivization we try to speak of him or her, rather than with him, we try to see our co-speaker as an object of a future manipulation. However, paradoxically enough, this way Vidić-the writer acts with the aim to open up that carefully hidden »self« in his viewer, the Shadow, the »foreigner« within himself