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Seen in modern perspective, the concept of national character poses fundamental problems for social science theory and research: To what extent do conditions of life in a particular society give rise to certain patterns in the personalities of its members? What are the consequences? Alex Inkeles surveys various definitions of national character, tracing developments through the twentieth century. His approach is to examine the regularity of specific personality patterns among individuals in a society. He argues that modal personality may be extremely important in determining which new cultural elements are accepted and which institutional forms persist in a society. Reviewing previous studies, Inkeles canvasses the attitudes and psychological states of different nations in an effort to discover a set of values in the United States. He concludes that, despite recent advances in the field, there is much to be done before we can have a clear picture of the degree of differentiation in the personality structure of modern nations. Until now, there were few formal definitions and discussions on national character and the limits of this field of study. This book will be of great interest to psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, and political theorists.
This Encyclopedia provides a comprehensive overview of individual differences within the domain of personality, with major sub-topics including assessment and research design, taxonomy, biological factors, evolutionary evidence, motivation, cognition and emotion, as well as gender differences, cultural considerations, and personality disorders. It is an up-to-date reference for this increasingly important area and a key resource for those who study intelligence, personality, motivation, aptitude and their variations within members of a group.
Do different nationalities have different psychological characteristics? This question is often avoided as being too controversial, but it is squarely faced in this illuminating comparative study, first published in 1985. Dean Peabody focuses principally on six nations: Britain, Germany, France, Italy and the two world powers, Russia and America, where extensive empirical studies have been conducted to ascertain what ordinary people judge to be national characteristics (often dismissed as 'national stereotypes'). These results are compared and contrasted with those from social scientific accounts of 'national character', and there is a perhaps surprising level of agreement between the two. Moreover, as Professor Peabody's systematic cross-national survey demonstrates, the psychological characteristics of different nationalities do differ in fundamental ways.
The Japanese Ethos: A Study of National Character is a seminal work of Yasuoka Masahiro (1898-1983). Published in 1924 despite Yasuoka's dissatisfaction with its shortcomings, the book was kept out of print by Yasuoka until popularity prompted reissuance in 1934 and 1937. In 1924, some 50 years after opening to the world in the Meiji Restoration, Japan was drowning in a flood of Western ideas, and all of Asia was in turmoil. The British-Afghan War had erupted just 5 years before, followed by Gandhi's nationwide "non-cooperation" campaign in India one year later. Yasuoka, still in his 20s, and deeply troubled by Western decadence infecting Japan in this time of crisis, urged development of an independent national character. "Now, before our eyes in Japan, citizens, one and all, are unequivocally conscious of being confronted with a terrible crisis. The time is now for Japan, as a nation, to realize a remarkable development of character." The Japanese Ethos was written to guide Japan to a promising future through the wisdom of ancient teachings. In it, Yasuoka describes a history and tradition nurtured for more than 2000 years. The moral examples depicted are primarily samurai and he discusses in detail the character traits a samurai must cultivate. In later chapters he gives examples of men of great character. Two chapters address kendo (sword fighting), whose spirit "became the foundation of all the arts and letters, and of Eastern thought." The samurai spirit was the leading force for the Meiji Restoration and is the essence of this book. For Japan, which lost much of its culture after World War II, The Japanese Ethos has awakened a nation from slumber. Though written nearly a century ago, it is surprisingly current and makes us ponder what it truly means to be Japanese.
This unique survey of the evolution of the modern Chinese national character incorporates a rich blend of history and theory as well as nation, gender, and film studies. It begins with the dawn of the concept of "nation" in China at the end of the Imperial period, and follows its development from early Republican China to the present People's Republic, drawing on themes of national identity, "Orientalness," racial evolution and purity, cultural and gender roles, regional animosities, historical impediments, and more. The book also takes up the changing American perceptions of Chinese personality development and gender, using materials from American popular culture.
"This is the first full-length study of South African English youth literature to cover the entire period of its publication, from the late nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. What gives this book particular strength is its coverage of literature up to the 1960s, which has until now recieved almost no scholarly attention. Not only is this earlier literature a rewarding subject for study in itself, but it also throws light on subsequent literary developments. Jenkins also makes comparisons with American, Canadian and Australian children's literature. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand children's literature in the context of adult South African literature and South African cultural history."--BOOK JACKET.
Although Lu Xun was a leading intellectual and writer in twentieth century China, and his representative character Ah Q, hero of "The True Story of Ah Q," is considered an iconic repository of progressive Chinese thinking about the national character, few works examine the major discourses in his thought and writing relative to broader historical and intellectual currents outside the context of his politicization. Ah Q Archaeology, however, concretely situates Lu Xun's critique of national character vis-a-vis metanarratives of nationalism and modernity through a close examination of his works in their historical context. Paul B. Foster uses a discursive approach to tie together Lu Xun's major theme of national character critique and its fate in China's tumultuous twentieth century. This book is an important and unique contribution to modern Chinese intellectual history and modern Chinese literature.
In a work of unusual ambition and rigorous comparison, Roberto Romani considers the concept of 'national character' in the intellectual histories of Britain and France. Perceptions of collective mentalities influenced a variety of political and economic debates, ranging from anti-absolutist polemic in eighteenth-century France to appraisals of socialism in Edwardian Britain. Romani argues that the eighteenth-century notion of 'national character', with its stress on climate and government, evolved into a concern with the virtues of 'public spirit' irrespective of national traits, in parallel with the establishment of representative institutions on the Continent. His discussion of contemporary thinkers includes Montesquieu, Voltaire, Hume, Millar, Burke, Constant, de Staël and Tocqueville. After the mid-nineteenth century, the advent of social scientific approaches, including those of Spencer, Hobson and Durkheim, shifted the focus from the qualities required by political liberty to those needed to operate complex social systems, and to bear its psychological pressures.
How does culture shape history, and history shape culture? This book answers this question by bringing readers on a fascinating journey through the evolution of Chinese culture, political and legal institutions, and "national character" of historical and contemporary China. It illustrates how "national character" evolves endogenously along with an institutional environment through the use of economic theories. Recognizing the unique role of "personality" in violence and social order – important variables that contribute to successful economies, the book provides a meaningful take on "personality" from the "average personality" of a country’s people. It analyses the relationship between culture, institution and "national character", providing gainful, interesting insights into the monumental transformation of China.