environment

“You’ve Got to Know How to Speak Animalese”: Literary Explorations of Engagements with the Animal Other

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Jessica Murray
University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. Email: murraj@unica.ac.za. ORCID: 0000-0001-8383-2459

[Received 25 May 2023, modified 26 July 2023, accepted 27 July 2023, first published 27 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.20
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Abstract

As the harmful impact of anthropogenic activity on the environment becomes increasingly glaring, it has become more urgent than ever to find more ethical and sustainable ways of engaging with the other animals with whom we share space. From extreme weather events to food supply disruptions and species extinctions, it is no longer possible to cling to the hubristic myth of an independent human who exercises dominion over nature. Our actions and choices have very real, immediate, and often unintended environmental consequences and our own species survival depends on accepting this inter-dependent reality in a spirit of respectful responsibility. While climate change is now widely considered to be an issue that demands serious attention, this article will argue that any attempt to foster greater environmental care will be compromised if we fail to listen to the voices of the animal other. I will explore the ways in which other animals try to speak and the challenges that inevitably arise when attempting to hear those voices by anchoring my argument in a literary analysis of selected contemporary novels. I will demonstrate that, even when authors represent characters who care deeply about the environment, animals tend to fall through the cracks of their activist commitments, and they repeatedly turn away from opportunities to listen respectfully to the voices of animals.

Keywords:  Animal, voice, listening, climate change, violence, environment, contemporary fiction

[Sustainable Development Goals: Climate Action, Life on Land]

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The Use of Foul Language in Pop Music Composition in Nigeria: A Historical Analysis

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Nnanyelugo Emelda Chinasa1, Onyeke Blessing Uzoamaka2 & Izuchukwu John Ewulu3

1Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Corresponding author. Email: chinasa.nnanyelugo@unn.edu.ng.

2 Lecturer, Department of Music, Federal College of Education Ehamufu. Email: blessingonyeneke@gmai.com

3 Lecturer, Department of Music, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Email: izuchukwu@unn.edu.ng

 Volume 13, Number 3, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n3.20

PlumX Metrics

Abstract

The background and exposure of music artistes contribute a lot in shaping the quality of songs they compose and produce. Since the 21st century, there has been a great departure in what used to be the ideal choice of words for musical composition and productions in Nigeria, especially in the popular music spheres. Hitherto, musicians of all genres were careful in their choice of words; but regrettably, the decent use of language is fast disappearing especially in dance hall and emotional songs. This stems from the cultural shack on the part of the artistes especially in the influence of the environment. It is this inherent lacuna that this paper seeks to address but most importantly the paper recommends a cultural policy for the government and as well as the need to checkmate and regulate the brands of music by periodically engaging DJs, radio presenters and other principal stakeholders in the entertainment industries.

Keywords: Cultural shack, History, Philosophy, Language, Environment

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What is Performance Studies?

Richard Schechner Tisch School of the Arts, New York University  Download PDF Version Because performance studies is so broad-ranging and

Bioterrorism & Biodefense: An Environmental and Public Health Preparedness

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Saira Gori1 & Anjani Singh Tomar2

1Gujarat National Law University. Email: sgori@gnlu.ac.in

2Associate Professor of Law, Gujarat National Law University, Gujarat

 Volume 12, Number 2, April-June, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n2.13

Abstract

Humans, plants and animals have always been susceptible to the threat of pathogenic microorganisms and their toxins which are present in the nature. Although these microorganisms occur naturally in the environment but they are unnaturally inflicted upon the society in the form of biological weapons. Bioterrorism is defined as the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other agents used to cause illness or death in people, and also in animals or plants. Biological weapons have often been referred to as the “poor man’s atomic bomb. Biological attacks are more likely to be covert. A covert attack is most disturbing because the event itself might be completely unnoticed until numerous victims fell ill and their common illness has been diagnosed. The spread of biological agent does not have an instantaneous effect because there is a delay between exposure and onset of the illness. Further, it is often very difficult for historians and microbiologists to differentiate natural epidemics from alleged biological attacks. The current concerns regarding the use of biological weapons result from the increasing number of countries that are engaged in the proliferation of such weapons and their acquisition by the terrorist organizations. The purpose of the present study is to analyse the growing threat of the bioterrorism in the world. It further entails to delineate the sub-sets of bioterrorism, which are agro-terrorism, environmental-terrorism. Further, the impact of bioterrorism on public health, environment is correctly spelled out. Major focus is also given on the current threat of bioterrorism on India and the legal framework which India possesses to counter such threat.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, public health, environment.

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Sustaining the Environment: the Wisdom of Banyumas Women in Ahmad Tohari’s Novels

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Septi Yulisatiani1, Sarwiji Suwandi2, Suyitno3, Slamet Subiyantoro4

1,2,3,4Faculty of Teacher Training and Education. Email: septiyulisetiani@gmail.com

1,2,3,4Sebelas Maret University, Indonesia

 Volume 12, Number 1, January-March, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n1.19

Abstract

This article discusses the wisdom of Banyumas women in preserving the environment, as represented in the novels of Ahmad Tohari. In this study, ‘Banyumas women’ is the term used for women who live in the Banyumas area, central Java, Indonesia and who perform activities which preserve their environment. Research into literary works such as Ahmad Tohari’s novels is important because its results can be used as guidelines for readers in choosing quality literature. This research was conducted employing an ecofeminism approach to literary texts. The research method used is qualitative content analysis and the data is drawn from six novels by Ahmad Tohari. The results of the study show that novels by Ahmad Tohari depict women who engage in activities which manage the environment wisely. These activities include wisely conducted activities in processing natural resources into food and herbal medicines, using environmentally friendly equipment in daily living, preserving domesticated animals and their habitats, and in utilizing nature as a medium and a place to play for their children. These environment-preserving activities represented in Ahmad Tohari’s novels can be used as a guide for people around the world for preserving their own environments.

Keywords: Women’s activities, wisdom, environment, novel, Indonesia

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Smudge on an Illuminated Manuscript: a Postcolonial Reading of Shalimar the Clown

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Javaid Bhat, University of Kashmir

Abstract:

This Paper begins with Timothy Brennan’s riposte to Amir Mehmud and Sara Suleri, underlining, simultaneously, the problem of Post colonialism as described by Brennan. His rather hasty definition is used to underscore the different postcolonial propensity in Pachigam, a fictional village created by Salman Rusdie in the novel Shalimar the Clown (henceforth SC). This village is posited as hybrid, fluid, and a space marked by difference. It is a typical but not an unproblematic post colonial space, one which Brennan ignores in his categorical definition of post colonialism. Finally, the essay highlights the essentially ambiguous relationship of Pachigam, a microcosm of Kashmir, with the larger ‘postcolonial’, ‘post-imperial’ entities of India and Pakistan. Keep Reading

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Carbon Footprint –A Model Structure for our Future

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Michael Dan Archer, School of Art and Design, Loughborough University

For images please download PDF Version

 Introduction

Michael Dan Archer, British Sculptor and Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at Loughborough University School of the Arts in the UK is currently working on a project with Ray Leslie, Professor of Chemistry at Nottingham University, James Davis, Nottingham Trent University, Simon Austin, Professor of Structural Engineering at Loughborough University, Tony Thorpe, Civil and Building Engineering, Loughborough University on a project to illustrate the volume of the Carbon Footprint of an average British family through a large sculptural tower partly based on the form of a carbon nanotube and partly on the shape of a power station cooling tower. Keep Reading

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Drama and the Politics of Climate Change in Nigeria: A Critical Appraisal of Greg Mbajiorgu’s Wake Up Everyone

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Norbert Oyibo Eze, University Of Nigeria, Nsukka

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 Abstract

Johnny Igbonekwu observes that ‘an obvious primal instinctive human quest” is to “conquer the world” but he equally notes that man has not been able to achieve this goal, in spite of his “formidable intellectual assaults on the multifarious stupendous mysteries of the world” (Talk About Man 1). The quest for all manner of domination-economic, political, territorial, and spatial, etc, has driven man into invention and mindless application of technology which in choking nature, cause it to frequently retaliate through global warming, tsunami, landslide, erosion, and flooding of different dimensions. The constant decimation of human lives, businesses, buildings, and municipal services as well as the emergence of perturbing diseases owing to these palpable effects of natural disaster, force the issue of climate change to occupy a significant place in the world of environmental studies and research. This paper seeks to explain the place of drama in tackling the problem of climate change through a detailed analysis and interpretation of Greg Mbajiorgu’s Wake Up Everyone considered to be a giant impact assessment study and provocative wake-up call. Keep Reading

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Editorial, Volume V, Number 1

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It should not be out of place for us here to think of giving an outline to a kind of project, which was on our minds till a certain time but which could not be either discussed or implemented for the lack of appropriate opportunities. Could it be possible to think of a center or academy devoted to neuroscience, evolutionary studies, aesthetics, environment and medicine. Perhaps there is no one single institution in which information from such disciplines could be studied with a general redressive purpose. An institute which shall contain interdisciplinary course work intending to develop modules of analysis regarding behavioral functions, or components of human social existence is the call of the day. This call is driven by the very simple notion that what men and women need are scientific insights into the roots of their own existence and being, and a study of the conditions that would be conducive to free, uninhibited livelihood. Perhaps such insights lead to amelioration of health. The connection between neurophysiological realities of the brain and any form of physical exercise, athletics or sports seemed to have been already grasped by ancient systems of religion. Economists are studying the effects of microlevel redressal measures in the context of attempts made in order to bring about radical changes on macroeconomic level. Answer to such questions as how the arts emerge in human societies can explain the nature of aesthetically motivated actions. It is indeed time for us to conceive of the formation of a society that could discuss issues related to our lives and its environment, our culture and the arts that we perform. Please send us your suggestions or proposals for the formation of such a society. We look forward to hearing from you.

Tirtha Prasad  Mukhopadhyay, Editor-in-Chief

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