Intellectuals as constructors of cultural identities

Editorial: Whose Diaspora is this anyway? Continental Africans trying on and troubling diasporic identity

“…What does it mean to say I am an African? Gripsrud (1994) has observed that it is academics and intellectuals who are given to constructing, discussing and sustaining national identities and that the average person focuses instead on localized and concrete markers of identity. If national identities are overly abstract for most folks, then continental identity is even more so.…”

Breastfeeding, mutual gratification, and emotion self-regulation: Bridging gaps across object relations, drive- and attachment-based psychoanalytic theories.

“…Although modern infant feeding practices are heterogeneous (Gripsrud, 2008), it is the case that throughout most of human history, breastfeeding — whether by biological mother or wet nurse — has been the norm (Maher, 1992). In traditional cultures, infants were breastfed until 2–3 years of age (Gripsrud, 2008; Stuart-Macadam & Dettwyler, 1995), a practice that allowed women to space births because the prolactin produced during lactation may prevent ovulation (World Health Organization [WHO], 2009).…”

“…Although modern infant feeding practices are heterogeneous (Gripsrud, 2008), it is the case that throughout most of human history, breastfeeding — whether by biological mother or wet nurse — has been the norm (Maher, 1992). In traditional cultures, infants were breastfed until 2–3 years of age (Gripsrud, 2008; Stuart-Macadam & Dettwyler, 1995), a practice that allowed women to space births because the prolactin produced during lactation may prevent ovulation (World Health Organization [WHO], 2009). Until the late 19th century, which brought the discovery of pasteurization and industrial production of adequate feeding bottles, there were no safe substitutes for mother’s milk, as alternative feeding practices other than wet nursing resulted in high infant mortality (Fildes, 1988; Stevens et al, 2009; Yalom, 1998).…”

“…What about the implications of successful breastfeeding for the mother? This is a blindspot in Freud’s theoretical corpus, as he only explored the conjunction between the infant’s and mother’s desire from the infantile position (Gripsrud, 2008). Laplanche (1999, pp.…”

Film policy and cooperation between east and west: The case of France and Romania in the nineties

“…In the past, policy-makers and 'intellectuals' have largely determined which values should be encouraged and/or merit continuation. Many have been criticised and a healthy debate about the socio-cultural interests at stake and the political role of each particular identity construction (Grispud, 1994;Basom, 1995;Cormack, 1998) has taken place. While it is true that the emergence, sustenance and demise of identities are the outcome of conflict and negotiation at several levels (Sofos, 1997), there is an alarming tendency on the part of policy-makers and those who advise them today to give in to international economic pressures and/or leave it to 'market forces'.…”