Transforming selves and society: Women, spiritual health and pluralism in post -Soviet Moscow.
Item
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Title
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Transforming selves and society: Women, spiritual health and pluralism in post -Soviet Moscow.
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Identifier
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AAI3213272
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identifier
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3213272
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Creator
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Honey, Larisa.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Gerald Creed
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural
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Abstract
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Research into the lives of New Age women in contemporary Moscow offers a view of the social practices of the post-Soviet world that contradicts western preconceptions of Russia as ever leaning toward authoritarianism and offers a look at a movement working towards pluralism and tolerance that blends liberal individualist notions of freedom with collectivist ideals of social responsibility and justice. Following women on their individual paths to self-discovery, transformation and empowerment, we discover that their journeys are marked by active attempts to improve lives---their own, their families', and the broader world around them. In these attempts we see a unification of the values of individual freedom and social responsibility---civil and social rights. The New Age community in Moscow expresses a human rights agenda, opening up the possibility of uniting multiple spheres and revealing the common ground shared by a plurality of voices at the local and global levels.;Blending traditions of Russian mysticism, Soviet social values and pragmatic attitudes, New Age women have developed a unique strain of individualism tempered by a concern for collective well-being. Their lives counter prevailing stereotypes and serve as a case study in the distorting influences of hegemonic discourses that pit East against West and intensify polarizations and extremist positions in both Russia and the West. Neither a westernizing threat to the cultural and demographic state of the Russian nation nor passive receptors of tradition, Russian New Age women turn to multiple sources of support as they actively work to transform their lives and the world about them.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
