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- Chair:
-
Barbara Junisbai
(Pitzer College)
- Discussant:
-
Barbara Junisbai
(Pitzer College)
- Format:
- Panel
- Theme:
- Sociology & Social Issues
- Location:
- Lawrence Hall: room 231
- Sessions:
- Saturday 21 October, -
Time zone: America/New_York
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Saturday 21 October, 2023, -Paper abstract:
Studying abroad is inevitably a transformative experience, accompanied by revision and constant renegotiation of social, cultural, and professional identities. For many Bolashakers, participation in the programme was also a first time of living alone away from family and thus accompanied by struggles of consolidation of the ‘self’. It was common to hear from my respondents that the programme was a ‘breaking point’ and a ‘life-changing experience’ that allowed them not only to see the world beyond Kazakhstan, change as a person, but also profoundly transform their socio-economic position upon return. The question of identity of international students have been extensively discussed by scholars of different disciplinary backgrounds, including but not limited to the perspectives of psychology that predominantly focused on issues of intercultural adaptation and identity negotiations, migration and transnational identities and connections, as well as education, often with a focus on internationalisation and globalisation . The literature, however, is predominantly focused on aspects of identity of international students during their time abroad; development of their identities and experiences upon return to home countries is studied in much less detail.
Based on interviews with alumni of the Bolashak International Scholarship who have experience working in the government of Kazakhstan, my analysis is aimed at providing an insight into the identity of the group of government decision makers deemed a ‘new generation of state managers’ (Baimanov, 2016). In the proposed paper, I will discuss how they see themselves and their fellow Bolashakers: What sets them apart as a group? In what ways participation in the programme influenced their values, identities, and social status?
I will start with discussing the special position of Bolashakers both in the society and in terms of a career in the civil service by exploring the questions of prestige, belonging and social networks in which Bolashakers are embedded. I will then move to examining how my respondents narrate what makes them different from the ‘rest’ in civil service and beyond. Using the concepts that my informants brought up, I will review what are the major characteristics of Bolashakers that allow them to perceive themselves and be perceived as ‘different’. I will conclude that discussion by deconstructing the notion of ‘propriety’ that is arguably expected from Bolashaskers in return for the privileges they are endowed with.
Paper abstract:
“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” –F. Scott Fitzgerald said that in 1936.
Youth moral development has been an important topic in multiple disciplines. Contemporary Tibetan teenagers are obligated to receive a uniform Marxist ideological education in the formal schools supervised by the Chinese central government. Yet Tibetan Buddhism is also passed on to them and ingrained in their families as their traditional belief system. This creates a conflict for Tibetan teenagers, who are confronted with an ideological tension between their theistic beliefs and their atheistic Marxist education. Directly asking them “which side do you stand with?” is not appropriate or feasible given government surveillance issues, and safety and honesty issues. By using ethnography and semi-structured interviews, this study finds that Tibetan teenagers do not typically feel the need to reconcile the apparent ideological conflict or choose between the two belief systems. Whether consciously or not, they incubate diverse functional strategies while holding two opposed ideologies, for example, utilizing tolerance to tolerate intolerance. We have studied the judgments of Tibetan teenagers in cultural-specific and context-rich moral dilemmas as a proxy to reveal to what extent they reason more like a Marxist or more like a Buddhist. The interview questions are designed based on ethnographic work in the light of anthropology, which is cultural-specific to avoid the dominant psychology universalism and western ethnocentrism. Moreover, the interviews were conducted semi-structurally with following-up contextualized questions to dig in underlying mentalities, which is a useful way to combine individualist particularity on the micro-level and group generalization on the macro-level. The adaptive coexistence strategies of Tibetan teenagers have broad implications for youth moral development in general, minority community-building and development in diverse cultural and belief contexts, as well as our increasingly multi-polar and multi-ideological global world.
（Note: This paper proposal is submitted to 2023 CESS conference. Please do not circulate it for other purposes without the authors’ permission.）
Paper abstract:
This study explores the possibility of accumulated social capital in the EAEU countries to influence their integration. Based on the study of existing concepts of social capital and methods for its measurement, the structural composition of social capital is determined, which is necessary for a comparative analysis across the EAEU countries. The subsequent analysis of the components shows that in all countries the distribution of the components has much in common. Everywhere, the component “personal and family relations” makes the most significant contribution to the final value of social capital.
All member countries of the EAEU are characterized by a low score of the “institutional trust” component. The same conclusion can be drawn with regard to the “civil and social activity” component. In all countries in 2022, it shows the lowest score. This distribution by components is a classic picture of a society with underdeveloped social capital. Citizens of such countries trust only close people, socially and politically inert.
The multidirectional nature of dependencies, different rates and directions of change in ratings do not allow us to conclude that there is any significant impact of the value of social capital in the participating countries on the supranational institutions of the EAEU.