User:Geofferybard/DraftEssay2
Cultures of silence is a term extending an original concept by Brazilian educator [Paulo Friere] in his book [Pedagogy of the Oppressed]. It has subsequently been explored as a general category by academics and deployed as an operational concept by social workers and victim advocates [1]
According to Chris Payne of Artwork "Speaking the truth... is a step toward healing for all survivors."[2]
As a result of successful experience with the concept cultures of silence have been described pejoratively as markers of apathy, complicity in illicit conduct, including victim complicity [3] and as a contributing factor in creating ignorance of public health information[4], but some scholars conducting interdisciplinary investigations of silence
[5]contend that in many cultures silence is revered. "Cultures such as Japan, China, Thailand, Swaziland, Ethiopia, and Kenya value silence. Asian cultures associate silence with wisdom and it is used to express power". [6] Moreover, religion has long recognized the virtue of silence in meditation and communal life.[7]
The specific phrase received its definitive scholarly delineation with publication of a book by the same title by
Culture of Silence by Paulo Freire
Cultures of silence: subsequent investigators
In a paper presented at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Paul Armstrong investigated "how different 'academic tribes' value the use of silence in learning, and how the ambiguities are experienced in different cultures of learning. " [12] He noted that examination of the concept was essential to giving voice to marginalised communities.
"Culture of Silence": Tom Heaney notes that Friere studies are typically fraught with neo-logisms which can overwhelm those who are new to the field.
He identifies the "culture of silence" as a characteristic "which Freire attributes to oppressed people in colonized countries, with significant parallels in highly developed countries." Accrding to Heahey, Friere isolates the phenomena in the underdogs for whom so much of his works seems to advocate. " Alienated and oppressed people are not heard by the dominant members of their society. The dominant members prescribe the words to be spoken by the oppressed through control of the schools and other institutions, thereby effectively silencing the people."
He is careful to point out however that "silence", according to Friere, is not necessarily in accordance with the dictionary sense of total mute lack of speech. Rather, he states that "this imposed silence does not signify an absence of response, but rather a response which lacks a critical quality."
Further, he discusses the effect of this suppression of speech. "Oppressed people internalize negative images of themselves (images created and imposed by the oppressor) and feel incapable of self-governance. Dialogue and self-government are impossible under such conditions. "[13] It seems that a vast cadre of social workers have echoed similar themes, based upon practical field experience.
Ignorance of public health information
Kathleen Cravero, deputy executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said, "This culture of silence that prevails in Asia -- good women don't ask about sex, they don't seek to know about sex, they don't ask their husbands or partners about their sexual activities -- puts women at great risk."[14]
Victim reluctance
It has been noted that victims of crime such as rape and domestic abuse frequently manifest reluctance to complain. This "culture of silence" is at times challenged and becomes the topic of heated public discussion when events such as the Duke University lacrosse team rape prosecution break into public view.[15]
External links
References
- ^ Telling without Talking: Breaking the Silence of Domestic Violence Art breaks the silence of domestic violence.By Cathy Malchiodi in The Healing Arts
- ^ Ibid. " But when talking about violence brings shame, ambivalence, and fear, art therapy gives survivors not only a voice, but also is a way to raise consciousness..."
- ^ Breaking the culture of silence : uniting to fight domestic violence Author:Aruna Burte; Centre for Enquiry into Health & Allied Themes (Bombay, India); Dilaasa (Centre) Publisher:Mumbai : Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes : Dilasa, 2008.
- ^ http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/7273-culture-of-silence-puts-asian-women-at-aids-risk/
- ^ ttp://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OM4ueFfoRfcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Jaworski,+A+(ed)+(1997)+Silence:+Interdisciplinary+Perspectives&ots=uHU_Qp0a_H&sig=5l-JX8GZ-v63mzqqZFvzPfuBAfE#v=onepage&q=Jaworski%2C A (ed) (1997) Silence%3A Interdisciplinary Perspectives&f=false Gruyter, Berlin
- ^ cited by Joann Brown, Chair, Communication Arts, Florida International University at http://www2.fiu.edu/~brownj/spc2600/Discussion%20Topics/SilenceandCulture.pdf
- ^ Silence and sign language in medieval monasticism : the Cluniac tradition c. 900-1200 Author:Scott G Bruce Publisher:Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007. Series: Cambridge studies in medieval life and thought, 4th ser., 68.
- ^ http://campus.arbor.edu/media_ethics8/dr_christians_digital_library/Christians1996CulturesofSilenceandTechnologicalDevelopment.pdf
- ^ http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/contemporaryed/Paulo_Freire/paulo_freire.html
- ^ http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/163812.htm
- ^ http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/163812.htm
- ^ http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/163812.htm
- ^ http://nlu.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/Documents/FreireIssues.cfm
- ^ http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/7273-culture-of-silence-puts-asian-women-at-aids-risk/
- ^ Ferguson, The Washington Post, May 30th, 2006