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Vol.7, No.5, pp.18-24, November 2019 Published by ECRTD-UK Print ISSN: 2055-6063(Print), Online ISSN: 2055-6071(Online) SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM FROM THEORETICAL ORIGIN TO THE ROLE OF SOCIAL INTERACTION AND INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION
Nhac Phan Linh^1 (^1) Ph.D, Vietnam Institute of Workers and Trade Unions, [email protected]
ABSTRACTS: Weighting scale symbolizes justice. Heart symbolizes love. Pigeons symbolize peace. All these ideas are formed through the common symbolic system of humankind, transcending barriers of language, culture, ethnicity, competence and qualifications. They become tools for the formation of social interactions between individuals, communities, within a country or internationally.
KEY WORDS: symbolic interactionism, theoretical origin, social interaction, international integration.
INTRODUCTION
History of formation and development process of Symbolic Interactionism in the world Symbol is an ancient form of “sign”, considered as a tool of thought in the cognitive process of humanity. Therefore, the theoretical premise of Symbolic interactionism also has an ancient origin, directly linked to the development of human cognitive thinking and value system, both in the East and West. So far, the majors of symbolism such as Semiotics, Icon Anthropology have been recognized as an independent science subject with specific training contents at many major universities in the world such as Columbia, Indiana, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Stanford, Hawaii in the US, Toronto, McGill, Western Ontario in Canada, Tartu in Estonia, Helsinki in Finland, etc.^1
An outstanding feature of the symbolic scientific research is that the interdiciplinary approach has become a mandatory path.^2 Therefore, this paper focuses on the theoretical interactionism focusing on three angles (1) Cultural studies, (2) Semiotics associated with Linguistics; and (3) Sociology. These three angles are also the basic components for a comprehensive analysis of symbolic interactionism, from concepts, characteristics; to structure; and finally the meaning, and its role in society.
a. From a Culturalistic perspective Symbols are a cultural element created by human to use as a mean of communication and symbolic communication tool. Many cultural anthropologists also claimed that the “basic
(^1) Claude Levi-Strauss, 1950, in Marcel Mauss , Comment on the gift gesture: Form and reason
of exchange in ancient societies , translated by Nguyen Tung, Intellect Publisher, Hanoi, 2011.
(^2) Dinh Hong Hai, Symbolistic Research - some theoretical approaches , World Publishing
House - Hanoi, 2014.
Vol.7, No.5, pp.18-24, November 2019 Published by ECRTD-UK Print ISSN: 2055-6063(Print), Online ISSN: 2055-6071(Online)
unit” of culture is the symbol - the container of information, and the first social “genetic nucleus” of mankind.^3
In the Song Dynasty (a dynasty in China from 960 to 1279), in the work of Theory of Philosophy, the philosopher Chu Hy (1130 - 1200), explained that “The statue is to take one image to depict another meaning”, i.e. using the “can understand” to illustrate the “hard to understand”, or using the specific to illustrate the abstract, using the still to illustrate the movement, using the tangible to illustrate the invisible.^4
Meanwhile, in the West, since the nineteenth century, the theory of symbolistic has flourished. Ernst Alfred Cassirer (1874-1945), in The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms proposed to replace the definition of man as a “rational animal” with the definition of man as an “animals producing symbolic forms”. He supposed: “The symbolism of behavior and thought is the most representative characteristic of human life, and the whole of human culture develops based on these conditions”.^5 Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908 - 2009), a French anthropologist and ethnologist, also asserted that: “All cultures can be seen as a set of symbolic systems, in which ranks first in terms of language, marriage rules, economic relations, arts, science, and religion”.^6
Thus, the concept of symbolism is placed within cultural interactions. Therefore, on the basis of the human “symbolic” capacity and see the symbol as a form of “representative cultural language” expression, “International Encyclopedia of Cultural Development” (International UNESCO's Thesaurus On Cultural Development, Mexico, 1982) defined: “Culture is a collection of symbolic systems, it regulates human behavior and makes it possible for a large number of people to communicate with each other, uniting them into a separate community.”^7
a- From Semiotics and Linguistics perspective The essence of semiotics is linguistic research. From the first studies of the duality of the signifier and the signified of F. Saussure - the founder of semiotics - in the late nineteenth century, the study of symbols has both sequential and groundbreaking succession, accompanied by research and discoveries on semiotic notation.^8 By the beginning of the twentieth century, semiotics had developed by important names such as Louis hjelmslev, Charles Morris, Roland Barthes, Algirdas J. Greimas, Thomas A. Sebeok, Raymond Firth, Juri Lotman, Umberto Eco. Symbolic research is always accompanied by the development of
(^3) Nguyen Van Hau, Symbolics as a "basic unit" of culture, http://www.vanhoahoc.vn/nghien-
cuu/ly-luan-van-hoa-hoc/llvhh-nhung-van-de-chung/1186-nguyen-van-hau-bieu-tuong-nhu- la-don-vi-co-ban-cua-van-hoa.html (^4) Nguyen Van Hau, About the iconics and symbolism in cultural and artistic works , Journal of
Cultural Research - Hanoi University of Culture, No. 2 (September 2010). (^5) Ernst Cassirer, The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms, Yale University Press, United States,
(^6) Jean Cheralier, Alain Greerbrant, Literature University, translated by Nguyen Du,
Dictionary of world cultural symbols , Da Nang Publisher, 1997, page XXIII (^7) Unesco, World Conference On Cultural Policies, Final Report , Soregraph, Paris, 1982.
8 Cao Kim Lan, Symbolics: from semiotics to rhetoric ,
http://www.vienvanhoc.vass.gov.vn/noidung/tintuc/Lists/LyLuanVanHoc/View_Detail
.aspx?ItemID=
Vol.7, No.5, pp.18-24, November 2019 Published by ECRTD-UK Print ISSN: 2055-6063(Print), Online ISSN: 2055-6071(Online)
processes both in terms of social structure such as groups, communities, and spatial structures on the extent of local, regional and international.
1. Social connection mechanisms through symbolic interaction In order to form symbolic interactions in social relationships, each individual person first needs to promote the ability to capture and use their individual avatars through socialization process. The process of social interaction helps shape the personality of the individual (socializization), from intimate handshakes, kisses, winks, and duel, to beer parties, soccer games, and the building of religious beliefs. Every time people turn themselves toward others and others' actions, while not considering about their motives of either hurting others, helping others, transforming or destroying others, is when they conduct a social behavior. Individuals try to conduct themselves appropriately and appropriate for others. While doing so, they may act as individuals or as representatives of a group or organization such as a church, university, corporation, or government.^11 This process is, in essence, the development of cognitive thinking about the self. While thinking, people shape the meaning of objects, by accepting, rejecting, or modifying them to suit their definitions and subsequent behaviors.
On the other hand, the meaning of symbols depends on the context. People create behaviors based on the meaning they attribute to situations and their interactions with others. This leads to a characteristic that the symbol can change with each period of social development. The symbol changes its meaning and way of affecting social life based on the inference of the individual about the situation. People always tend to test possible types of action, evaluate the relative advantages and disadvantages, and make reasonable choices. It is this model of action that is mixed, intertwined and interacted to create groups as well as society, hence creating social change. 12
2. Implementing symbolic interactions in international connection and integration Based on the analysis of social connection mechanism through symbolic interaction as above, this section would look into some of the world famous symbols to understand their meaning as well as how to create the meaning of symbols catering to international connection and integration.
Our first example is the Olympic flag symbol. This flag was introduced by Pierre de Coubertin, president of the International Olympic Committee, in 1913. The five circles ( colors) represent 5 continents (Asia, Europe, America, Africa, Australia), signifying inseparable solidarity. At the same time, they symbolize the spirit of fairplay, frank competition and friendship among athletes worldwide.^13 True to that spirit, from the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, as the Olympic flag flew, not only athletes, sports groups, but all sports fans in the world felt its symbolism of honesty, fairplay in competition, solidarity and friendship among nations, regions, peoples and races around the world.
(^11) Bryan S. Turner, translated by Dinh Hong Phuc (2006). The Cambridge Dictionary of
Sociology. New York: Cambridge University Press. (^12) Bui The Cuong et. al., Oxford Sociology Glossary , Hanoi National University Publisher.
Hanoi, 2010, pg. (^13) https://www.olympic.org/olympic-rings
Vol.7, No.5, pp.18-24, November 2019 Published by ECRTD-UK Print ISSN: 2055-6063(Print), Online ISSN: 2055-6071(Online)
Next, the picture of “Syrian boy on the beach” is our second example. The image viraled on the mass media on September 2, 2015, taken the body of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying on the beach near the area of Bodrum resort in Turkey. The image took the world by storm, representing a naked truth about the brutal civil war in Syria that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions. The image quickly became a symbol of the crisis of migrants from Syria and North African countries to Europe in 2015. A overwheming global empathy, flushed with hastag and shares on social networks, Aylan-shaped shirts are sold everywhere, acted as a awakening of humanity's conscience in face of an ongoing disaster. The power of this symbol has led many countries, including the German government - a conservative capital, decide to open the border to welcome refugees.
The famous next example is called: “Panda diplomacy” - a Chinese policy to promote diplomatic relations through the giving or lending of large pandas to countries around the world. This policy has long existed in Chinese history. Between 1958 and 1972, China transferred 23 large pandas to 9 countries around the world. The highlight of this policy was the Chinese government's gift to the United States of America two large pandas after the visit of President Richard Nixon in 1972. Over twenty thousand visitors were seen in the first day and a total of about 1.1 million visitors in the first year came to see this pair of pandas at the US National Zoo in Washington DC. The popularity of the pandas is a clear testament to the success of China's panda diplomacy, in specific is the desire to establish official diplomatic relations between China and the United States.^14
In another development, in 1961, the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) was established and decided to choose the panda as an icon based on the animal's impressive criteria: easy to identify, easily break down all language barriers. WWF founders agreed that the big and cute, beloved animal deserves to be a great symbol. Moreover, the black and white color of panda on the logo also helps save WWF printing costs in public awareness campaigns about animal protection.^15
DISCUSSION
The importance and significance of Symbolic Interaction for Social Development was mentioned in the opening of “ Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols ”: “The period without symbols is the era of death, a society lack of symbol is a dead society. A civilization with no symbol will die, it only belongs to history.”^16
The Olympic flag, the “Syrian Boy by the Sea” picture, WWF panda pictures, or Chinese panda diplomacy, are used as official and popular symbols in social connections and international cooperation. Thus, symbols are expressed in many forms, many levels of expression, from inanimate objects such as circles, squares, to animal images and the highest - the image of people. Symbols such as the Olympic flag, the Red Cross are formed by people assigning it symbolic and representative, with its conventional, uniform uses. These symbols
(^14) https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/chinas-panda-diplomacy/ (^15) http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/giant_panda/panda/panda_evoluti
onary_history/ (^16) Jean Cheralier, Alain Greerbrant, Literature School of Nguyen Du translated (1997).
Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols , Da Nang Publisher House, pg. 3.
Vol.7, No.5, pp.18-24, November 2019 Published by ECRTD-UK Print ISSN: 2055-6063(Print), Online ISSN: 2055-6071(Online)
- Dinh Hong Hai, Symbolistic Research - some theoretical approaches, World Publishing House. Hanoi, 2014.
- Ernst Cassirer, The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms , Yale University Press, United States, 1998.
- Jean Cheralier, Alain Greerbrant, Literature School of Nguyen Du translated (1997). Dictionary of World Cultural Symbols , Da Nang Publisher House, page XXIII.
- Nguyen Van Hau, Symbol as a “basic unit” of culture , http://www.vanhoahoc.vn/nghien-cuu/ly-luan-van-hoa-hoc/llvhh-nhung-van-de-chung/1186- nguyen-van-hau-bieu-tuong-nhu-la-don-vi-co-ban-cua-van-hoa.html 9. Nguyen Van Hau, About the iconics and symbolism in cultural and artistic works, Journal of Cultural Research - Hanoi University of Culture, No. 2 (September 2010).
- Unesco, World Conference On Cultural Policies, Final Report , Soregraph, Paris,
- http://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/endangered_species/giant_panda/panda/panda_e volutionary_history/
- https://thediplomat.com/2017/11/chinas-panda-diplomacy/
- https://www.olympic.org/olympic-rings
