Warwick Group 2 Keywords (Courtney & Ridzal)

internationalism

1. a policy of cooperation among nations .
2. an attitude or belief favoring such a policy.

Additional definitions and/or uses of the term:

the advocacy of cooperation and understanding between nations.
(OED)

cooperation between nations for the theoretical benefit of all.
(Wikipedia)

In linguistics, an internationalism is a "loanword that occurs in several languages with the same or at least similar meaning and etymology. These words exist in 'several different languages as a result of simultaneous or successive borrowings from the ultimate source' (I.V.Arnold). Pronunciation and orthography are similar so that the word is understandable between the different languages e.g. 'airport,' 'tsunami' and 'international.'"

In Marxist thought, proletarian internationalism might be summed up in the slogan, "Workers of the world, unite!"
(Wikipedia)

Challenge(s): The initial definition presupposes cooperation and does not address potentially exploitative relationships or tensions embedded in the concept and its application. As the other definitions reveal, internationalists strive to establish cooperation but there are also divergent interpretations and agendas that shape the understanding of what it means to be international or internationalist. How do we maintain the balance between supra-national bodies e.g. UN, ICJ, EU, as some kind of international authority, against the rights and autonomy of individual sovereign nations? Are the interests of both complementary to or at odds with each other? Is internationalism an all-encompassing term or does it allow for differences between groups in terms of race, gender or class? (Proletarian internationalism vs. bourgeois internationalism? Is there such a thing as bourgeois internationalism? Other types of internationalism(s)?)

syncretism



1. the combination of different forms of belief or practice.
2. the fusion of two or more originally different forms.



(Source: Merriam-Webster Online)



Challenge(s): Does the conceit of inclusiveness conceal underlying exclusions and omissions? Does it perpetuate false consciousness to conceptualize this fusion and synthesis as an all-encompassing incorporation of disparate elements?


How does syncretism account for the persistent distinctive sub-groups or sub-genres, such as Asian-American or African-American theatre(s)? Is syncretism always desirable or does it threaten the autonomy and/or distinctiveness of particular sub-cultures or groups?

polyglottal (or polyglot), adj.

1. Of a person: that speaks, writes, or understands a number of languages.
2. a. Written or uttered in a number of languages; spec. (of a book, esp. a bible) printed with the text translated into several languages.
b. Characterized by a multiplicity of (native) languages; involving the use of several languages, or elements of several languages; multilingual.

(Source: Oxford English Dictionary)

Challenge(s): Is it merely a superficial pastiche of different languages i.e. throwing in words and phrases in other languages into a play, for example, for the sake of aesthetic variety? Do polyglottal theatricalizations also contribute to stereotypes or reductive characterizations of people and groups based on speech acts? How does polyglottal performance impact audience reception? (Positively? Negatively?)