Authenticity

Abstract

Authenticity is valued today as an absolute good. It is sought in art, music, commodities, experiences, and persons. It can also be claimed by nations, ethnicities, religions, and races. All forms of authenticity are validated by reference to shared origins or shared content. Collective authenticity is inculcated by symbolic representations and proven by collective celebrations. Disputes over who has the right to be part of the authentic collective can lead to exclusion and violence, while the affirmation of alternative forms of collective authenticity offers solace for those excluded.

Thai Silk Dot Com: Authenticity, Altruism, Modernity and Markets in the Thai Silk Industry

“…In findings that mirror Lindholm's (2007) conclusions about the contemporary quest for authenticity, imagery symbolizing particular visions of authenticity and difference features heavily in the photographs looked at in this study. Two central themes have been identified.…”

Secular studies come of age

“…Modernity (sometimes, multiple modernities; Appleby [RS]) is presented as the age of individualism, scientific rationalism, industrial capitalism, urbanization, democratic nationalism, colonialism, missionization and, of course, the birth of 'religion' and 'secular' as tandem categories. (We could add to this list the obsession with authenticity (Lindholm, 2008), discourses of measurement (Cintron, 1997), and the transatlantic slave trade.) Throughout VSSA Taylor is presented as a theorist of modernity who is in dialogue with other modern theorists (namely Max Weber, although several essays put Taylor [PRPS]).…”

The Construction of "Singapore" in Singapore Cinema

“…Given the importance of authenticity in my thesis, it is critical first, to attempt an understanding of the term. Lindholm (2008) defines authenticity "as the leading member of a set of values that includes sincere, essential, natural, original, and real" (p. 1). For Vannini and Williams (2009), authenticity is "understood as an inherent quality of some object, person or process" which is neither negotiable nor achievable.…”

“…Cultural hybridity has evolved in Singapore in the form of Singlish and food, both of which Singaporeans feel most passionate about principally in terms of national identity and belonging to the homeland (Gomes, 2015, p. 32). As Lindholm (2008) notes, there is an undeniable connection between the invention or recovery of authentic local cuisine and the development of national consciousness (p. 80). As a symbol of cultural identity, food brings both solidarity and separation, by bringing people together in the sharing of food and also by separating them culturally (Ohnuki-Tierney, 1993, p. 129 -30).…”