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Summary - Engaging with Society: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World (EWS2601)

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Course
Engaging with Society: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World (EWS2601)

Institution
University Of South Africa (Unisa)

A short, but in-depth summary of Theme 1-4 (exam scope)of the study guide for EWS2601. Colour coded to make important information pop, definitions stand out and for better memorisation. The layout is more compact which makes studying feel faster and keeps your attention. Theme 5 is not included as ...

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Uploaded on October 7, 2023
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Institution
University of South Africa (Unisa)
Course
Engaging with Society: Meeting the Challenges of a Changing World (EWS2601)

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EWS2601: ENGAGING WITH SOCIETY

SUMMARY OF STUDY GUIDE

THEME 1 - 4

Coloured coded meanings:
Green: Definitions
Blue: Names
Purple: Examples
Pink: Important

, THEME 1: US AND THEM: IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE
Phenotype: observable physical characteristics of organism President of Maldives, Mohammad Naheed
● 2008 - announced intention to establish fund to go
● Humans = social creatures towards purchasing land for new Maldives state
● Humans form part of di erent social, cultural + ● Bc Maldives (1200 islands, 200 inhabited) face
political groups possibility of relocating all 300 000 members of its
● Basic categories of identity based upon physical population bc of rising sea levels caused by global
appearance warming
● Societies have basic divisions based on sex ● For Maldivians to preserve unique culture + way of
(biological di erence between men and women) life, need own sovereign territory (bc only migrated on
○ gender (social + cultural roles + identity large scale to Africa, Asia + Australia)
given to someone who manifests certain
biological sexual characteristics) Sovereignty: right to rule over themselves/ right to autonomy
● Gender roles inﬂuence all aspects of person's identity,
how behaves ect. ● Israel + Palestine - conﬂict about territory which
● Some identities born into, while others acquired along involve issues of rights of people who self-identify as
the way group of sovereignty
● Some ﬁxed, some ﬂexible ● Africa - people part of country bc of speciﬁc historical
● Culture transmitted within societies + individuals learn circumstances (colonisation, decolonisation, conquest
cultures by learning from + interacting with, other + incorporation)
people ● Nation-state use ceremonies, celebrations + acts to
○ This way shared belief, values + attributes promote allegiance to national identity
that make up di erent parts of our identity ○ Eg. Pledge of Allegiance recited by school
created children in US / singing of national anthem
● Individuals belong to more than 1 group + shaped by at international sporting events
multiple facets of identity
● Individual identities shaped in relation to group 2. Transnational Identities
identities ● Identity transcends national boundaries
● Group identities play important role in human culture ● International communities that form around speciﬁc
bc determine who is “us” (included) vs who is “them” commonalities eg. religion
(excluded) ● Members of subdivisions of Christian, Muslim, Hindu
● Categories change depending on context or Jewish faiths form part of respective global
religious communities
● Large-scale, secular organisations eg. Boy Scouts
STUDY UNIT 1: THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ● Members participate in same activities
● Easily expanded bc rely on taught behaviour + active
IDENTITY promotion by existing members

Identities include: interactive, not additive
3. Subnational Identities
● Gender
● Within nation, are many layers
● Race
● Based on regionalist, language,class, politics, shared
● Ethnicity
history or religion
● Class
● Bound up in ethnicity
● Language
● Ethnic groups di erentiate themselves from one
● Occupation
another by using collective name, shared language,
● Age
belief in common descents + shared allegiance
● Will arrest right to maintain cultural traditions as way
What is identity? of preserving distinctive identity
Identity (Concise Oxford Dictionary): absolute sameness,
individuality, personality ; condition of being speciﬁc person Ethnicity: identity linked to ethnic group often characterised by
shared language + customs
● Identities are relational - you are x (women), bc you members di erentiate themselves from other groups on
are not y (man) basis of culture
● Identities are situational - show speciﬁc aspects of
our identity depending on where we are eg. At home Diasporas: large-scale movement of people with shared
(brother) /school (nerd) geographical origin to other parts of world

Categories of identity ● Groups choose to assert identity though speciﬁc
practises - not always accepted by outside groups
1. National Identities
○ Eg. Makkah people (Native American group
● Shaped by languages, institutions + cultural milieu
in US) maintain right to hunt whales des[ite
we’re surrounded by
international bans - view hunt as important
● Based on political/perceived emotional link to speciﬁc
to maintenance of spiritual + cultural
territory
identity
● Ethic di erences can cause idle ce
1

, THEME 1: US AND THEM: IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE
● result of primordial di erences (di erences existing unions (on ﬂags, T-shirts, banners) + share certain
from beginning of time) language
● more likely bred from situations of ● Workers who don’t join unions marginalised in
perceived/actual socio-political + economic inequality workplace
● Ethnic groups = self-deﬁned

4. Ethnocentrism STUDY UNIT 2: SIGNALLING IDENTITY AND
Ethnocentrism: belief own group is best
Racism: belief certain groups are inferior bc of set of physical ASSERTING DIFFERENCE
features the possess
● Instead of acknowledging values + beliefs held by
Marking Identity
others, judge them in terms of ur own ● Similarities + di erences marked through use of
● Contribute to feeling of group solidarity identity markers
● Lead to discrimination + intolerance ● Group members display same symbols to illustrate
their membership of the group
Ascribed & Achieved identity attributes
Symbol: Something verbal/non-verbal, that arbitrarily + by
Ascribed attributes: attributes determined at birth
convention stands for something else, with which is no
determined at birth by virtue of genetics +/ family
necessary/ natural connection.
race + gender

● Group members use makers/symbols to di erentiate
Achieved attributes: attributes acquired over time
themselves from other groups to draw boundaries
occupation, membership of certain group/association
between themselves + others
● Meaning ascribed to symbols are culturally +
1. Ascribed attributes: race / gender
contextually determined (same symbol mean di erent
● Race is social construct - deﬁnition + delineation of
things in di erent context)
di erent races di er from society to society
● Use of symbols = uniquely human trait
depending on social + cultural factors
● Symbols = signs that have no self-evident connection
● Scientiﬁcally no such things as race - little genetic
to things for which they stand
variation
● Is variation in human phenotype (physical
2 Categories of Identity Markers:
appearance) bc of combo of genetics + environmental
Tangible:
factors
● can be seen + remain behind when individual is gone
● Physical di erences categorised as product of society
rather than biology
Intangible:
● 2 Biological sexes (male/female)
● Identity embodied in set of intangible practices
● There are many genders bc gender refers to roles +
● eg. In preparation + consumption of foods, speaking
identity attached to speciﬁc physical appearance
certain language, observation of certain customs
● Native America - Two-spirit person (male who takes
● Most visible in religious communities where groups of
on certain social characteristics of woman - aspects
people come to worship
of dress + work)
● Naming
● September 2008 - Nepal lesbian women given identity
card as neither male/female - belonged to third
gender
Tangible Markers of Identity
● Nepal transgender male issued identity card with 1. Clothing:
both male and female ● Dress = important form of non-verbal communication,
allowing to distinguish who shares similar interests +
2. Achieved attributes: membership of associations beliefs signify cultural, ethnic, religious / subcultural
● Membership of groups often voluntary + associations identities
based on common interests outside those determined ● Individuals use clothing as powerful tool to ally
by sex, age, kinship, intermarriage /occupation of themselves with broader group identities
speciﬁc territory ● Legal prohibit actions placed on dress items bc of
● common interests +goals this
● include participation in sport, professional ● In nation-states that maintain strict division between
associations /hobbies state + church, there is ban of wearing overt religious
● Work-related association is trade union symbols in state schools
● Trade unions exists to capitalise on collective ● Eg. In France ban on Muslim headscarves + other
bargaining power of workforce conspicuous religious symbols
● By withholding labour of their members, unions ● Clothing has 2 levels:
invoke powerful tool to negotiate better terms for ○ Meaning to those inside group
their members ○ Meaning to those outside group
● Unions function as social groupings
● Membership bestows certain status, members hold 2. Body Modiﬁcation:
group gatherings at which they display symbols of

2

, THEME 1: US AND THEM: IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE
● Tattooing - practise of inscribing inked patterns on ● National identities supported by creation + promotion
body of speciﬁc sets of symbols
● one of oldest of body modiﬁcation + ornamentation ● National anthem, national bird, national tree, national
practises linked to assertion of either individual / emblems (ﬂag, coat of arms), language
group identity
● Piercings, branding, cutting, binding, scariﬁcation,
teeth ﬁling, circumcision, insertion of implants, STUDY UNIT 3: “TO BE OR NOT TO BE..”:
shaving, bodybuilding, anorexia + fasting
● alter appearance + form of body PERSPECTIVES ON IDENTITIES IN MOTION
● Used in initiation rites, to indicate statues/social
group, for beautiﬁcation or to illustrate membership f
Case Study: Retraditionaisation of Maputaland
subgroup (prison/gang tattoos)
Institution in 1994 of democratic
● Practices adopted for ostensibly practical reasons can
government in SA, changes:
come to be symbolic/highly indicative of group
identity Positive -Transition to democracy
changes -Establishment of 1 of most
3. Body Modiﬁcation and past group identity: progressive constitutions in
● 1950s - shallow mass grave of 31 individuals world.
uncovered during building excavations on Cape Town -Rapid growth in black middle
class
foreshore
-= optimism
● Shipwreck o Cape of Storms
● Researchers used combo of scientiﬁc techniques to
see where originated from Negative -deindustrialisation
● Teeth of large number of skeletons were chipped +/ changes Job losses (½ million)
ﬁled into decorative shapes -Deindustrialisation
● Individuals originated further north in Africa accompanied by
● Probably enslaved Africans transported from retraditionalisation
central/south-eastern Friday to Americas
● Tooth modiﬁcation practice among Central Africans Retraditionalisation: upsurge of cultural identities/ culturally
until early years of 2000s + performed on males + constituted groups like traditional chiefdom, in which identity is
females as part of puberty rites, to mark individual’s circumscribed in terms of shared knowledge, meanings, values,
ethnicity / for aesthetic reasons behaviour + characteristic why of life unique to each group
● By examining patterns of decoration researchers
concluded that individuals members of Manual, Unravelling Retraditionalisation (3 Factors)
Maravi and Yao groups in Mozambique
1. Realisation by marginalised groups + minorities that
● Victims of wreck of Pacquet Real - ship foundered o
claimes for access + rights had better chance of
Cape coast on 1818 while transporting 171 slaves from
success if framed in terms of culture + di erence
Mozambique to St Salvador
than in language of equal rights in political, juridical +
● Conclusion supported by dietary analysis of bones
social terms
● Eg. 1990’s Makhuleke Tribal Authority in
4. Body-modiﬁcation practices as cultural property
Limpopo lodged land claim using language
● Practised by speciﬁc group for speciﬁc purposes -
of culture + regained land in Kruger National
regarded as form of cultural and intellectual property
Park (were evicted in 1969)
(like clothing brands)
● Land struggles of Namaqualand coloured
● Ta Moko (traditional art of Māori tattooing
communities reasserted historical Khoisan
● observed by early European explorers + several
identities in claims for cultural + political
European sailors
rights
● Individuals captured/adopted into Māori society in
2. Culture + cultural identities gained signiﬁcance bc
18th + 19th century tattooed to illustrate new group
racial + cultural di erences used during SA’s colonial
membership
past as bases for social + political discrimination +
● Moko functioned as system of communication:
oppression
○ Tattoo marks on face + body of Māori men +
● In past racial di erences used as
women worked to signify rank, status + clan
overachieving rationale for discrimination,
membership
while cultural di erences used during
○ Bc of importance to Māori identity, it was
apartheid as rationale for dividing country
targeted by colonial government + outlawed
into separate + distinct homelands where
in early 20th century by Tohunga
indigenous people own political rights,
Suppression Act
languages + cultural practices
● Ta Moko made reappearance in 1970s + 1980s tattoos
● Colonial notion that indigenous groups
regarded as sacred + embodiment of set of cultural +
“civilised” premised on idea of di erence as
symbolic practices that relate directly to Maori
categorical distinction making
discrimination valid
National Symbols

3

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