Giovanna Leone

Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?: Perceptions of Historical Calamities and Progress in Cross-Cultural Data From Thirty Societies

The universality versus culture specificity of quantitative evaluations (negative-positive) of 40 events in world history was addressed using World History Survey data collected from 5,800 university students in 30 countries/societies. Multidimensional scaling using generalized procrustean analysis indicated poor fit of data from the 30 countries to an overall mean configuration, indicating lack of universal agreement as to the associational meaning of events in world history. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified one Western and two non-Western country clusters for which adequate multidimensional fit was obtained after item deletions. A two-dimensional solution for the three country clusters was identified, where the primary dimension was historical calamities versus progress and a weak second dimension was modernity versus resistance to modernity. Factor analysis further reduced the item inventory to identify a single concept with structural equivalence across cultures, Historical Calamities, which included man-made and natural, intentional and unintentional, predominantly violent but also nonviolent calamities. Less robust factors were tentatively named as Historical Progress and Historical Resistance to Oppression. Historical Calamities and Historical Progress were at the individual level both significant and independent predictors of willingness to fight for one’s country in a hierarchical linear model that also identified significant country-level variation in these relationships. Consensus around calamity but disagreement as to what constitutes historical progress is discussed in relation to the political culture of nations and lay perceptions of history as catastrophe.

Cross-Cultural Dimensions of Meaning in the Evaluation of Events in World History?

The universality versus culture specificity of quantitative evaluations (negative-positive) of 40 events in world history was addressed using World History Survey data collected from 5,800 university students in 30 countries/societies. Multidimensional scaling using generalized procrustean analysis indicated poor fit of data from the 30 countries to an overall mean configuration, indicating lack of universal agreement as to the associational meaning of events in world history. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified one Western and two non-Western country clusters for which adequate multidimensional fit was obtained after item deletions. A two-dimensional solution for the three country clusters was identified, where the primary dimension was historical calamities versus progress and a weak second dimension was modernity versus resistance to modernity. Factor analysis further reduced the item inventory to identify a single concept with structural equivalence across cultures, Historical Calamities, which included man-made and natural, intentional and unintentional, predominantly violent but also nonviolent calamities. Less robust factors were tentatively named as Historical Progress and Historical Resistance to Oppression. Historical Calamities and Historical Progress were at the individual level both significant and independent predictors of willingness to fight for one’s country in a hierarchical linear model that also identified significant country-level variation in these relationships. Consensus around calamity but disagreement as to what constitutes historical progress is discussed in relation to the political culture of nations and lay perceptions of history as catastrophe.

Collective memory and intergroup relations

Abstract The paper stresses the utility of a closer link between recent reassessments of social and collective dimensions of memory and the lines of research on intergroup relations. We maintain that by this link, suprisingly not fully explored to date, both fields could profit significantly. On one side, it is possible to highlight the crucial role of collective memories in the definition of identities and of boundaries of groups. On the other side, it could be argued that the study of the ways in which collective and social memories are actually performed in intergroup context may improve the understanding of the processes involved. In our opinion, a full development of this link have been hindered by a widely diffused individualistic reading of some classical contributions in the field of collective memory, and by the growing radicalism of recent socio-constructionist approaches to the same topic. As to the first point, we propose a new reading of Bartletts work; as to the second, we support the reduction of the clash between cognitive and socio-constructionist approaches on memory research.

When ownership hurts: Remembering the in-group wrongdoings after a long lasting collective amnesia

This study explores the effects of two different kinds of text addressed to young Italian students, which convey past in-group war-crimes either in a detailed or in an evasive way. After completing a first questionnaire (and confirming the social amnesia on these crimes) a sample of Italian university students (number: 103; average age: 21.79) read two versions (factual vs. evasive) of a same historical text on Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935–36). The results show that participants reading a detailed text feel react more emotionally and feel more involved. However, the more negative reactions linked to the detailed text were also associated to a stronger will to repair intergroup relations with the descendents of ancient victims of the in-group crimes. Positive consequences of negative emotions linked to detailed text that challenge a widespread collective amnesia of war crimes are discussed.

Sometimes I, Sometimes Me: A Study on the Use of Autobiographical Memories in Two Political Speeches by Barack Obama

Personalization being a major change in contemporary democratic persuasive endeavor, the paper is based on the general idea that leaders may sound more persuasive by using self-disclosure communications. The study presented is a first tentative to explore how Obama might profit from his references to his own life story to enhance intergroup reconciliation processes, when speaking officially to leaders of other countries. The in-depth multimodal analyses of the opening parts of two important political speeches in Accra on July 11 i¾?2009, and in Jakarta on November 10 2010 allow to detect Obamas different uses of autobiographical memories, sometimes linked to personal aspects and some other times more focused on social and historical aspects, without conveying any self-exposure intent. Consequences for further studies as well as for the need of a more complex concept of personalization are discussed.

Flooded by a wall of water: parent–child reminiscing about local environment and unwanted changes

ABSTRACT This article examines the long-lasting effects of an unwanted place change (i.e., the construction of a dam) on the social representations (SRs) of places and of place-community relationship. The study integrates an SRs approach, generative semiotics, and methods borrowed from research on the social making of autobiographical memory. The aim is to explore whether and how intergenerational family narratives contribute to the transmission of SRs. Parent-child pairs were asked to share episodes linked to the dam. Video-recordings were submitted to thematic content analysis and semiotic analysis. Results show that parents and children associate the dam with a radical transformation: it acts as a performer of separation between the community and its territory. The analysis of interactions gives further insights into the how family and community memories are connected. This first attempt confirms the potentialities of the integrated approach to understanding the processes of intergenerational transmission of social representations, and paves the way to further refinements.

When Teachers’ Intervention Makes an Immigrant Child More Dependent

As we are writing this paper the situation in Italy as to the issue of multicultural classes is in a particular and very delicate phase of general discussion in relation to the Italian public school and University system. On the one hand TIMSS 2007 (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study; Martin et al, 2008), an international project of I.E.A. (International Association for the evaluation of educational achievement) has noted that Italian primary schools are among the best in Europe, while on the other hand the national government intends to reform them. This proposed reform reduces the number of teachers and breaks the positive experience of “modules”, (a teaching system based on the differentiation of subjects), due to the lack of funding as a result of the economic crisis.

Together We Buy, Alone I Quit: Some Experimental Studies of Online Persuaders

We present a simple web experiment in which participants are asked to listen to a small number of songs and download the two they liked the most. In the experiment, participants were subject to common types of online feedbacks such as star ratings, recommendations and expert advice. Somewhat surprisingly, such online cues had no impact on market shares, but a significant difference emerged as far as market volume was concerned. When operating under the influence of online cues conjuring the presence of others activities soared: participants downloaded, listened to and rated songs much more than in the other scenarios.

When History Teaching Turns into Parrhesia: The Case of Italian Colonial Crimes

The aim of this chapter was to highlight the importance and the consequentiality of a specific kind of history education that happens when teachers decide to openly narrate to their students the crimes committed by previous generations of their own group—crimes so far kept silenced and literally denied in the general social discourse. According to Foucaults categorization of different kinds of truths speaking, we propose to call parrhesia this history teaching. After reviewing theoretical stances on consequences expected for young people receiving this kind of history education, empirical evidence is discussed referring to recent researches conducted on chosen case studies. Data suggest that knowledge conveyed by parrhesiastic historical teaching on previously silenced ingroup crimes allow young students to morally distance themselves from wrongdoings of older generations.

From Personalization to Parrhesia: A Multimodal Analysis of Autobiographical Recalls in Barack Obama’s Political Speech

This paper analyzes autobiographical recalls in Barack Obama’s political speech, framing them by two main theoretical perspectives rather than by the more commonly evoked theory of personalization. The first theoretical framework refers to Arendt’s concept of the self-aware pariah, as opposed to the concept of parvenu. The second theory invoked refers to the work of Michel Foucault on parrhesia, seen as a risky yet empowering communicative game. In accordance with these theoretical premises, four political speeches delivered by Barack Obama, both when he was still a “strange” incumbent and after he had become president of the USA, were selected, given the high political risks these particular speeches were addressing. Extracts sharing autobiographical memories were analyzed with both a multimodal analysis of communication and an analysis of facial expressions of emotions (facial action coding system, or FACS). Results show that these autobiographical memories conveyed parrhesiastic narratives about the social origins of Obama as a pariah. Together with these risky rhetorical moves, emotional expressions (mainly negative) were clearly evident, yet well regulated. Our concluding remarks on this first explorative analysis suggest that Obama could apply a parrhesiastic attitude to himself – making clear to all his socially disadvantaged origins – in order to persuade his audience to accept a similar parrhesiastic game for communicating about difficult aspects of the political situation of his listeners. The limitations of the study and possibilities for future developments of this line of research are discussed at the end of the chapter.