Posted: March 8th, 2016

Culture, Gender, and Power Differences in Conflict

easts of the Southern Wild; social constructionism and culture
Before participating in this week’s discussion forum, please complete the assigned readings and watch the film Beasts of the Southern Wild. You can watch it online, free of charge, at the following URL:

https://www.novamov.com/video/b62e21f6efc28 (Links to an external site.)
If you have watched this film in the past, prior to taking this class, please watch it again after completing the assigned readings. After watching the film, please address the following questions in an in-depth post on the discussion forum:

1, Based on this week’s readings, what do you think “culture” is?
2. How does it relate to conflict resolution?
3. How is the film Beasts of the Southern Wild relevant to “culture”, and to “culture and conflict”?
4. Please discuss Avruch and Black’s conceptualization of culture?
5. how some of their ideas are illustrated in the film?
6 How are Roy’s notions of power and conflict relevant?
7. How is the social constructionist framework an adequate analytical lens for this film?
Identify and discuss examples from the film that illustrate the social constructionist stance that the ways in which we understand the world and the categories we use are culturally and historically specific.
Think about agency as well. Social constructionism acknowledges that both structure and agency exist. It is not a deterministic framework. As Burr explains: “From a social constructionist perspective individuals are not determined by society, nor is there an ‘essential’ human nature or a ‘coherent, unified self’ capable of making ‘self-originated choices and decisions’ (Burr 1995:97). Can you find examples of human agency in the film?