{"title":"How I Met Your Fans: A Comparative Textual Analysis of How I Met Your Mother and Its Reboots","authors":"Can Koçak","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0170","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Since How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) ended in 2014 with its ninth season, there have been multiple attempts to create a new series based on a similar premise – one parent telling their kid(s) how they met their other parent. How I Met Your Dad (HIMYD), which was planned to begin in 2014 right after HIMYM’s final, was not picked up by any network, while How I Met Your Father (HIMYF), which started airing in 2022, is continuing a successful [Upon its release, the show, whose premiere was watched in 420 K households, held the fifth place on the TV time charts and went on to stay on the list for four more weeks (The Entertainment Strategy Guy).] run, currently in its second season. This article compares the narrative and narration of the first episodes of these three series, including themes, recurring jokes, sound and visual effects, introductions of important characters and the “missing” parent, as well as the use of cameos. By doing this, it aims to delve into the reason behind why one of these reboot attempts was favoured over the other. The answer is provided as the difference between the amount of fan service in HIMYD and HIMYF, with the latter establishing more direct connections with HIMYM. In addition to becoming a rather common tendency by creatives, this article claims that fan service also seems to be used by networks and production companies as a way of ensuring audience engagement.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42647262","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Translator Trainees’ Performance on Arabic–English Promotional Materials","authors":"Mutahar Qassem, Yousef Sahari","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0184","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Due to linguistic and cultural variations between the source language (SL) and the target language (TL), the tourism industry may struggle to communicate effectively with tourists from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds. The translation industry could contribute significantly to the growth of the tourism industry by removing linguistic and cultural barriers, facing those with different cultural and language backgrounds. Given this issue, this study targets 27 postgraduates enrolled in translation training programs at Saudi universities with an average age of M = 27.471 (SD = 4.8319) and examine their performance on inverse translation (Arabic to English). The authors use a translation task, a tourism-based knowledge questionnaire, and a scale of difficulty to gather the data. Findings reveal shortcomings in the postgraduates’ translation of the promotional translation material and adherence to the source text style. The participants’ responses to the questionnaire show a lack of know-what and know-how in tourism translation. Training in tourism translation and the design of tourism translation courses should be based on the interdisciplinary nature of the field in order to adequately prepare translator trainees for the tourism translation industry.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46912581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Odessa to “Little Odessa”: Migration of Food and Myth","authors":"Inna Kabanen","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0188","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0188","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract National cuisine represents an important part of our identity. Being able to cook or eat familiar foods when living abroad becomes nearly as important as being able to use one’s mother tongue. This article discusses the phenomenon of Odessan cuisine both in Odessa and in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, a Russian-speaking enclave where more than 10,000 ex-Soviet citizens, many of whom were Odessans. The aim of the study is to explore the migration of the Odessan culinary tradition, the gastropoetic aspect of Odessan food narration and the embodiment of the myth of Odessa in food discourse. The study analyses the websites, social media, the menus of two restaurants labelling themselves as Odessan, and the clients’ comments related to said restaurants. The gastropoetic aspect of Odessan culinary tradition is presented through examples from the literary works of Odessan authors.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136006010","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Russian-Speaking Families and Public Preschools in Luxembourg: Cultural Encounters, Challenges, and Possibilities","authors":"Daria Kanevskaya","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0173","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In the twenty-first century, multicultural encounters have become an experience that is familiar even to the youngest. In superdiverse trilingual Luxembourg, over 50% of the population are foreigners, and many of them do not speak the titular language of the country. Multicultural classrooms are studied very closely, but Russian-speaking students, a new but exponentially growing addition to the cultural mix, have not been studied yet in their journey of school integration. There is a gap between the parents and the teachers regarding perception of the content of the studies and family aspirations. Instruction in the Luxembourgish language, usually unfamiliar to Russian families, is not the only obstacle for a child to make good progress at school. The Slavic family group and the Cyrillic alphabet, different holiday calendar and traditions, as well as differences in behavioural patterns and educational models complicate the perception of implicit school rules both for the children and their parents. In this short ethnographic study, based on five in-depth semi-structured interviews with parents, qualitative data were analysed in order to single out the main challenges that Russian-speaking families face while adapting to the public Luxembourgish preschool, the first contact with Luxembourgish language and community life.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48487447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cultural and Linguistic Capital of Second-Generation Migrants in Cyprus and Sweden","authors":"Sviatlana Karpava, Natasha Ringblom","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0177","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The linguistic and cultural values of migrants, as well as their attitudes and behaviour, differ from those of the host society. All resources and values can be characterised as linguistic and cultural capital, which can provide migrants with certain advantages in their new country of settlement. A heritage language (HL) and knowledge about another culture are important components of this linguistic cultural capital. It is crucial for multi-generational families to maintain their HL and transmit the culture of their heritage to help individuals gain a better understanding of their own identity. This study aims to investigate the views, attitudes, and beliefs of second-generation migrants in Cyprus and Sweden in relation to their HL, linguistic and cultural capital, factors affecting HL use, maintenance, and development, as well as their future plans and aspirations regarding HL transmission. Narrative analysis of the semi-structured interviews revealed certain differences and similarities between the countries under investigation regarding the personal reflections of the participants and their perceptions regarding the role of family language policies, home literacy environments, child and parental agency, socio-emotional well-being, local context, and other internal and external factors influencing HL use, maintenance, and transmission. Storytelling proved to be an effective method of narrative inquiry, providing a deeper insight into the complex process of HL development and support. In addition, it offered participants an opportunity to reflect on their personality, language, and culture.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135104512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transnational Business Services, Cultural Transformation/Identity, and Employee Performance: With Special Focus on Migration Experience and Emigration Plan","authors":"Arlinda Kotorri Dushi","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0168","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of cultural identity centrality on stress, burnout, probability to leave the job, and job performance in the context of cultural transformation requirements, which is common in transnational business services. The key contribution of this analysis consists of controlling for the effects of migration experience and migration plan neglected so far in the relevant literature. This study also includes the first-time use of a random sample of 200 Kosovan call center employees. Findings indicate that individual identity centrality and organizational identity centrality are positively associated with stress and burnout. National identity centrality, however, reduces stress and burnout, but it is statistically significant only in the burnout model. As expected, empirical results suggest that migration experience reduces stress and burnout, while migration plan increases employee performance. Further results indicate that the probability to leave the job is enhanced by perceived job stress and reduced by perceived job satisfaction.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46890400","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Conceptualizing Russian Food in Emigration: Foodways in Culture Maintenance and Adaptation","authors":"E. Protassova, M. Yelenevskaya","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0186","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Food preparation and consumption is an essential part of culture. Leaving their homeland and finding themselves in a society with eating habits different from theirs, migrants face a dilemma of adapting their diets to those customary in their new place of residence or trying to maintain their food habits. Relying on the ethnographic method and applying thematic and critical discourse analyses, this article explores how Russian-speaking migrants discuss changes in their foodways and what role Russian food stores play in the life of immigrant communities. Material for analyses was drawn from fieldwork conducted in Finland, Germany, Israel, and Switzerland. It includes in-depth interviews, immigrants’ essays, and group discussions. We also studied culinary discussion groups on Facebook and documented linguistic landscape related to food consumption in the diaspora. Among the salient themes in the discourse dealing with eating habits abroad are food nostalgia, trying out familiar recipes with new products, evaluating traditional dishes of the host society, and re-evaluating Russian cuisine, searching for the right food in the new country and trying to showcase the best of one’s own cooking to other people. Immigrants’ discourse about food and the labels on the food products available in “Russian” stores outside Russia reveal frequent use of paroemias and quotations and allusions to Soviet and post-Soviet popular culture. Russian-speaking immigrants’ reflections about their old and new foodways reveal that they are an integral part of search for a new hybrid self-identity.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49527401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Failing or Prevailing? Russian Educational Discourse in the Israeli Academic Classroom","authors":"Claudia Zbenovich","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0178","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article seeks to explore the ways in which Russian–Soviet educational discourse survives in Israeli universities by bringing its underlying cultural messages to Israeli students. It focuses on the interpretation of educational discursive perceptions and practices of Russian-speaking professors who teach at Israeli universities. The study suggests considering the manifestation of the Russian–Soviet educational scenario through its enforcement in the Russian linguistic repertoire of meta-class talk, in which the professors report on the educational modes of in-class interaction. The analysis reveals that immigrant university teachers adopt communicative strategies imbued with key Russian–Soviet educational messages making them a cultural resource in the Israeli academic context. Concomitantly, however, the professors’ voices seem to be opposed to local Israeli cultural perception and practice. The study therefore seeks to uncover how enacted patterns of educational style reflect the cross-cultural condition of the academic context. It adopts the communicative–pragmatic perspective and focuses on key cultural educational scripts, rhetorical argumentation strategies, and the realization of speech acts in the university interaction.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47435034","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: Everyday Verbal and Cultural Practices of the Russian Speakers Abroad","authors":"Ekaterina Protassova, Maria Yelenevskaya","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0191","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Russian-speaking space plays an important role for diasporans: starting a business, founding a company, seeking legal advice, or high-quality medical treatment is always more convenient when participants understand the nuances of communication in a common language. It facilitates the understanding of highly specialized fields such as legislation and medicine. In business, it makes presumptions and expectations transparent, and common values allow the quality scale to be defined and shared. The sphere of activities conducted in the diaspora in Russian depends on the contingent of immigrants: their education, career aspirations, and interests. Integration in a new society is closely linked to the level of language proficiency in the local language/s and also in English as the lingua franca of science, commerce, and entertainment. Yet, Russian often competes with the other languages and serves as a unifying factor for communities with a background in the former Soviet Union. In the present special issue, the authors combine sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology while analyzing the everyday verbal and cultural practices of Russian speakers abroad. Observations of communication in immigrant groups reveal the cultural potential of the speakers as reflected in their discourse. They demonstrate a variety of lifestyles and practices, but have a strong sense of cultural identity.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135104521","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Humanities of Contagion: How Literary and Visual Representations of the “Spanish” Flu Pandemic Complement, Complicate and Calibrate COVID-19 Narratives","authors":"Nahum Welang","doi":"10.1515/culture-2022-0187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/culture-2022-0187","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract My article examines how literary and visual representations of the “Spanish” Flu contagion foreshadow and generate critical discourses about pandemics. D.H. Lawrence’s novella The Fox characterises paranoia about biological abnormality and loss of agency as a likely reaction to epidemic threats, Josep Pla’s literary non-fiction The Gray Notebook explores how the act of forgetting functions as a coping mechanism during the experience of contagion, and John Singer Sargent’s painting The Interior of a Hospital Tent problematises the contradiction between forgetfulness and pandemic preparedness. Because these works utilise subtle but effective metaphors to understand, remember, and ethicise the trauma of living through a global contagion, they reveal the unexpected ways that metaphors rethink or generate critical resources about pandemics such as COVID-19. My article thus argues that the ability of these works to complement, complicate, and ultimately calibrate hegemonic narratives about COVID-19 makes a persuasive case for the educational relevance of humanistic insights.","PeriodicalId":41385,"journal":{"name":"Open Cultural Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136303285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}