1. Who Produces Asian Identity? Discourse, Discrimination, and Chinese Peasant Women in the Quest for Human Rights

How ‘Universal’ Is the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review Process? An Examination of the Discussions Held on Polygamy

“…To begin with, state representatives that have adopted a universalist or relativist approach have, either explicitly or implicitly, adopted a traditional conceptualisation of culture (Boas 2012;Li 2006;Bell 2001). This is because those states that issued category 1 recommendations, or N4 responses, have presumed the very belief that has subjected this interpretation of culture to wide criticism, which is that norms and values within culture are immune from changes and reforms.…”

“…The Boasian interpretation of culture is the most criticised as it perceives culture as a 'static, homogenous and bounded entity' (Pries 1996;Boas 2012). In this regard, culture is understood to be 'time insensitive' and consequently determines 'the destiny of the population and the ways in which they think, feel, judge and behave' (Li 2006;Bell 2001). One of the most profound criticism of this narrow interpretation of culture is that it not only plays pretence to the possibility of boundaries being drawn around any human group, but, more importantly, it fails to take into account historical and social changes that occur within cultures over a period of time (Pries 1996;Perry 1998: Donnelly 1984.…”