Introduction to Ambiguity in Culture and Literature

Abstract

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture, the peer-reviewed, full-text, and open-access learned journal in the humanities and social sciences, publishes new scholarship following tenets of the discipline of comparative literature and the field of cultural studies designated as "comparative cultural studies." In addition to the publication of articles, the journal publishes review articles of scholarly books and publishes research material in its Library Series. Publications in the journal are indexed in the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (Chadwyck-Healey), the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Thomson Reuters ISI), the Humanities Index (Wilson), Humanities International Complete (EBSCO), the International Bibliography of the Modern Language Association of America, and Scopus (Elsevier). The journal is affiliated with the Purdue University Press monograph series of Books in Comparative Cultural Studies. Contact:

Sociocultural Causes of Ambiguity in Arab Academic Writings

“…The academic literature is rather quiet on the question of the influence of social cultures on written ambiguity, as investigated through sociological and anthropological lenses [13]. While ambiguity has been well-studied in such fields as linguistics, arts, humanities, law, politics, psychology, information technology, and management, it has not been well-studied in the fields of sociology or anthropology [14][15][16]. The academic literature has generously studied whether ambiguity is effective or not, the methods to measure and detect ambiguity in writing, the types of ambiguity, how people respond to ambiguity, and so forth [17].…”

Beyond a Tolerance of Ambiguity: Symbolic Competence as Creative Uncertainty and Doubt

“…The idea of using language to express that which is seemingly unfathomable (Bartoloni & Stephens, 2010) is a reminder of the unstable nature of the worlds and languages in which people move and communicate, inevitably leaving some elements unspoken and ambiguous. Symbolic and metaphoric language is often implemented in an endeavor to make that which is ambiguous or abstract more concrete.…”

“…The fact that ambiguity is often viewed as negative in day-to-day communication, in which clarity and transparency are deemed desirable, presents an even broader challenge for integrating ambiguity in the classroom. Bartoloni and Stephens (2010) have discussed this in regard to ambiguity in culture and literature, pointing to the fact that cultural ambiguity or diversity is even today often openly contested, in light of which they maintained that "ambiguity, or its lack, may be the entrance to different domains, determining in turn the possibility-which is also our potentiality-to move at ease between modalities of discourse and being" (Bartoloni & Stephens, 2010, p. 2). This speaks to one of the aims of the current study, namely to explore how FL learners might begin to "move at ease between modalities of discourse and being" (Bartoloni & Stephens, 2010, p. 2)-and how ambiguity, as opposed to its absence, can be useful in that endeavor.…”

“…Bartoloni and Stephens (2010) have discussed this in regard to ambiguity in culture and literature, pointing to the fact that cultural ambiguity or diversity is even today often openly contested, in light of which they maintained that "ambiguity, or its lack, may be the entrance to different domains, determining in turn the possibility-which is also our potentiality-to move at ease between modalities of discourse and being" (Bartoloni & Stephens, 2010, p. 2). This speaks to one of the aims of the current study, namely to explore how FL learners might begin to "move at ease between modalities of discourse and being" (Bartoloni & Stephens, 2010, p. 2)-and how ambiguity, as opposed to its absence, can be useful in that endeavor. To that end, the ambiguities of literary and non-literary communication alike need to be deliberately included in all levels of instructed FL learning in order to expose learners to the ambiguous situations that arise in and through linguistic and cultural practices-practices that extend beyond the classroom and contribute to the multiplicity of rapidly growing modes of meaning-making in the 21 st century.…”