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Review Article: English Studies in India: Contemporary and Evolving Paradigms (2019)

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Edited by Banibrata Mahanta and Rajesh Babu Sharma

Publisher: Springer (Singapore, 2019). ISBN 978-981-13-1524—4

Reviewed by

Himadri Lahiri

Professor, Department of English, Netaji Subhas Open University, West Bengal, India. Email: hlahiri@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.22

In the context of the changing times and gradual evolution of what we know now as ‘New Humanities’, it is time for us to re-evaluate the role of English studies. As the hangover of colonial ideological control and the reigns of ‘universal truths’ waned and as new generations of students, teachers and academic administrators took control of the discipline, English studies began to face new ideological and pedagogical challenges. Moreover, the perception that the study of Humanities does not have much utilitarian values and hence government funds should be diverted to the study of science and technology has put English studies in a precarious condition. At a time when the academic fraternity is wrestling with discursive questions on textual-methodological orientations, pedagogical experimentations and innovative teaching-learning designs in order to sail through the adversity, the publication of the book under review is a welcome event…Full Text PDF>>

Review Article: Homelandings: Postcolonial Diasporas and Transatlantic Belongings (2016) by Rahul Gairola

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Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, Ph.D.

Director, Folded Paper Dance and Theatre Limited (Hong Kong, India, Seattle). Independent Researcher, Fulbright-Nehru Scholar, 2017-2018. Email: kanta.kochhar123@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.21

We all discover over and over again the kind of strange and violent stranglehold history has over us. We deploy histories to explain our pasts, identify the present, and orient us to the future. As Rahul K. Gairola shows in Homelandings: Postcolonial Diasporas and Transatlantic Belongings, the multiple currents of history have dictated our methods for establishing our home-sites: who belongs and who does not belong in any given place. Our “at-home” practices, one dimension of “the double-bind of history as home…” (2016, xvi), have a deep and lasting impact on how we move about and participate in the world-at-large. Homelandings provides a timely intervention into the theoretical discourse on the “home-site” as the outcome of a “home-economics” that continually reenacts the persistent racism, classicism, sexism, and queerphobia of a neoliberal bio-political governmentality of the Anglosphere (Bennet’s term, cited in Gairola, 18). The project offers “homelandings,” Gairola’s neologism, as the process of resistance to and reappropriation of “home-sites”: “producing new homes in which alternative modes of community and belonging flourish and reproduce” (17). Homelandings—with “landings” as the demarcator of that which is in motion, always about to happen—then act as a series of transversal disruptors of the neoliberal sphere. In this way, these resistances provide a conceptual and practical apparatus for the emergence of domestic orientations, relations, and spaces, even if these are often provisional…

Book Review: A Primal Issue: Stories of Women by Subrata Basu

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Number of Pages: 144. Publication Year: 2020. Publisher: Orient Blackswan

ISBN: 9789352879045. Price: Rs. 295.00/-

Reviewed by 

Ms. Adishree Vats

Assistant Professor, Department of English Studies, Akal University, Talwandi Sabo, Punjab. Email: vatsadishree8@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.20

The book, “A Primal Issue: Stories of Women”, is a gripping, enthralling anthology of analytical stories, translated by Subrata Basu, and written originally in Bengali by Jagdish Gupta, a “trailblazer” (p. xv) of modernist movement in India. With its epicentric plunge on the word “primal”, the book very meticulously exhibits a valorous investigation of interdictions and anathemas existing in the splendid post-Tagore chapter of Bengali literature. This revelatory compendium stresses on Jagdish Gupta’s seven translated stories, all originally published between 1927 and 1959, with females as chief characters, scrutinizing the intense connotations of life at personal as well as societal levels.  Every chapter is dedicated to one story so as to undrape the aggregation of the dilemmas, quandaries, and predicaments of Bengalis in general and women in particular for whom the repugnance of conservatism continues to exist. The stories unsparingly underscore the barbarous realities of the society, such as polygamy, child-marriage, widow-remarriage, women’s oppression and marginalization..Full Text PDF

Review Article: We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of Indenture (2018)

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Edited by David Dabydeen, Maria del Pilar Kaladeen and Tina K. Ramnarine

Reviewed by

Arnab Kumar Sinha

Assistant Professor, Department of English and Culture Studies, University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India. Email: arnab.ks@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.19

Writing the history of indentured diaspora primarily depends on the available archives that contain the official and personal documents related to this history. While the State archives contain scanty materials for research in this area, considerable efforts have been made by the descendants of the indentured labourers to retrieve personal narratives of their ancestors. Retrieving these personal narratives, have indeed, played a major role in creating small family archives, which have inspired the present generation of authors/researchers to document the history of indentured diaspora. Indeed, this history is the outcome of intensive research on the genealogies of the descendants of indentured labourers. Stories narrated by the indentured labourers, old photographs, diary writings, travel documents and such other records are significant archival materials based on which the present generation of authors/researchers trace their family’s past as well as that of the community. These family archives provide considerable resource for research on history of indentured diaspora. It is in the context of this background that the anthology, We Mark Your Memory: Writings from the Descendants of Indenture (2018) edited by David Dabydeen, Maria del Pilar Kaladeen and Tina K. Ramnarine may be considered as a worthy contribution to the history of indenture diaspora. This anthology, which the editors of the book claim to be a “commemorative volume” (Dabydeen, Kaladeen, & Ramnarine, 2018, p. xii), is an attempt to collate the creative/critical pieces written by the descendants of indentured labourers (coolies). Production of such an anthology to mark the centenary year of the abolition of indentureship (1917) is a praiseworthy initiative. The publication of this book is the outcome of a collaborative venture between the School of Advanced Studies, University of London and the association of Commonwealth Writers, which inevitably foregrounds the active global network of almost thirty writers from various regions of the world working seriously on this project of retrieving the lost indentured narratives. The editors of the book acknowledge the genuine contribution of the association of Commonwealth Writers, which is “the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation” and this association, the editors claim, “inspires and connects writers and storytellers across the world, bringing personal stories to a global audience” (Dabydeen et al., 2018, p. vii). The pronoun ‘we’ of the title of this book represents the storytellers of the present generation, while the determiner ‘your’, mentioned in the title, refers to the coolies, the ancestors of these storytellers. The book therefore is indicative of academic activism that seeks to highlight the significance of reading, researching and discussing these personal narratives in the context of indenture diaspora…Full Text PDF>>

Moderating Effects of Academic Position and Computer Literacy Skills on E-learning Portal Usage: SEM Application on Theory of Planned Behaviour

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Mohamed Majeed Mashroofa1, Athambawa Haleem2 and Aboobucker Jahufer3

1Senior Assistant Librarian1, Science Library, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka,

E-mail: mashroof@seu.ac.lk,

2Senior Lecturer in Accounting2, Faculty of Management & Commerce, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, E-mail: ahaleem@seu.ac.lk

3Professor in Statistics 3, Faculty of Applied Sciences, South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, E-mail: jahufer@seu.ac.lk

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.18

 Abstract

The main objective of this research is to investigate the moderating effect of academic position and computer literacy level on usage of the online learning portal among academics by examining the factors from the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behaviour as the basis for conceptual model. Academic position and Computer Literacy skills are used as moderators. The population of the study comprised 5399 academics. Systematic proportionate sampling techniques applied to gather data, with 400-sample size. Data were received from only 320 university academics, giving a response rate of 80%. SPSS and AMOS version 23 were instrumented to analyse the data and Structural equation modelling was used to find the model fit and causal relationships. This study reveals that both attitude and subjective norm have influences on the behavioural intention but not the perceived behavioural control. Behavioural intention and perceived behavioural control had a direct association with Portal Usage. Both gender and academic position moderate the association of exogenous and endogenous variables. This study will help to set up new work norms that will set aside time for teaching activities through the E-L portal, prepare policy guidelines, and provide incentives to faculty members to encourage E-L portal usage. Universities can use the finding to improve their concerns of the factors involved, as that would enable the academics to use more effectively the online learning system installed at great cost in the universities. In addition, this theoretically contributes to consider the academic position and the computer literacy skills level as the determinants of portal usage.

Keywords:- Academic position, Computer Literacy, E-Learning Portal, MOODLE,  VLE,  Sri Lanka, Theory of Planned Behaviour

 

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Understanding the Gender Biases in Modern and Pre-modern Times through Mricchakatika and Utsav

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Prabha Shankar Dwivedi1 and Priyanka Tripathi2

1Assistant Professor of English, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati. prabhas.dwivedi@iittp.ac.in

2Associate Professor of English, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Patna. priyankatripathi@iitp.ac.in

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.17c

Abstract

Gender Bias is a phenomenon that strengthens in India as a result of personal values and perception, traditionally assigned roles on the basis of sex and regressive ideologies deeply entrenched in patriarchy. Vasantasen? is the protagonist of the M?cchaka?ika of ??draka, a classical Indian masterpiece written in c. 350 BCE which was later adapted into a Hindi film–Utsav (1985) written and directed by Girish Karnad. Despite being an adaptation, in its filmy avatar, Karnad denies Vasantasen? love and respect due to her profession and resorts to endorsing the conventional whereas in the original text she is a respectable woman. The article offers a comparative study of the treatment given to courtesans in general and reflects upon their complex realities by comparing the treatment of an Indian courtesan of two historically apart periods.

Keywords: Gender Bias; Courtesan; Film Adaptation; Patriarchy; Culture

One Danger and Eleven Types of Academic Disquiet Whilst Hunting for Cinematic Christ-figures

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Anton Karl Kozlovic

Researcher in Department of Media and Communication, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. Email Id: akozlovi@deakin.edu.au

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.17b

Abstract

Christ-figures increasingly permeate the popular cinema, but hunting for them is not necessarily a benign or unproblematic activity. Following a selective review of the film and religion literature, and a preliminary scan of the popular cinema utilizing textually-based humanist film criticism as the guiding analytical lens, one danger and eleven types of academic disquiet were explicated herein. Namely: (1) When Factual Minimalism Equals Certainty: Holy Hope, (2) Misidentification: When Something Supposedly “Christian” Was Something Else, (3) When Nothing Equals Something: Creatio Ex Nihilo, (4) Spiritually Negating Christian Iconography: Form Versus Substance, (5) Some Problems with the Secular-is-Sacred Argument, (6) Film is Not a Substitute for Faith, Religion, or God, (7) Rewriting the Film: Aesthetic Violence?, (8) Tenuous Links, Strained Associations, and Uncertain Correspondences, (9) Rejecting Overt Religion for Covert Religion: Distorting Theology and Misdirecting Faith?, (10) From Symbolism Fatigue to Symbolism Cynicism, and (11) Pattern Appeasement: From Being Uncritical to Narrative Insights. It was concluded that being cognizant of the inherent dangers and sources of academic disquiet is a valuable means of expanding one’s visual and intellectual imagination, and also useful for the postmodern church. Further research into the subtextual sub-genre of the religion-and-film field was encouraged, warmly recommended, and is already long overdue.

Keywords: Christ-figure, religion-and-film, sacred subtexts, Jesus Christ

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Manifestations of Place in Al-Raneen Short Story Collection by Amin Oudah: an Analytical Study

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Mohammad Issa Alhourani1, Suad Al-Waely2 & Tar Abdallahi3

1, 2, 3 College of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Al Ain University

Emails: mohammad.al-hourani@aau.ac.ae, suad.alwaely@aau.ac.ae, tar.abdallahi@aau.ac.ae

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.17

 Abstract

This research paper aims at examining the experience of Amin Oudah in his second short story collection, Al-Raneen. In addition to introducing the writer and highlighting his literary contributions, the paper introduces the reader to the short story collection entitled Al-Raneen. It briefly introduces each story and provides a quick comment on it, with the aim of coming up with a overall perception of all the stories in the collection. In addition, we dedicate a section of the paper to the study of Hamdan’s Shoes, one of the short stories in the collection. This case study provides insights into this particular story and highlights the most significant features that all the stories have in common.

Key words: Al-Raneen, Ringing, Amin Oudah, short story, place

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Cross-Cultural Encounters, Self-Estrangement and Mutual Understanding in Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North

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Mohammad Jamshed

Assistant Professor, English, College of Business Administration, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Email: jamshed.psau.edu.sa@gmail.com

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.16

Abstract

Cross-cultural encounters and confrontations constitute major areas of postcolonial studies. These depictions are built upon a few stereotypes, colonial constructs and ‘exotic’ images of people. Even in this globalized world of today, these problematic and false assumptions continue directing our ways of thinking and understanding.  We are deeply either ill-informed or misinformed about people who are like us with an insignificant difference in culture and language. As a result, the increasing cultural divide, tensions, conflicts, and misconceptions plague collective human existence. The postcolonial writings, travel literature and feminist studies, characterized by the ideas of ‘self’ and ‘other’, serve as the theoretical framework for this study. These theories have strong parallels as they seek to empower the oppressed and reinstate the marginalized to the position of equality and dignity. The paper attempts to examine in brief how African and Arab writers of the twentieth century, spurred to write back to their demonization in western literary texts, instead chose to promote cultural understanding and present their story from their cultural perspectives. With the help of textual analysis and Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks, the paper shows how this colonial trauma distorts perspectives and engenders a sense of self-estrangement and rootlessness which adversely affects the personal lives of people. The paper seeks to use this study to dismantle the stereotypes, reveal similar urges and passions to move away from a troubling past towards a future of mutual respect and cultural understanding. Thus, free from all these mistaken notions misdirecting our ways of dialogues and communications, we, as a global community, will get rid of the ills plaguing our existence across cultures and regions.

Keywords: colonialism; stereotypes; estrangement; cross cultural encounters; understanding; distortions

Construction of Modern Ethno-cultural Identity by Symbolic Art Forms as a Condition for Self-development of Culture: on the Example of Yakutia (Siberia, Russia)

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Aleksei G. Pudov1, Maria I. Koryakina2, Evdokia P. Yakovleva3, Liudmila S. Efimova4 & Natalia S. Shkurko5

1,2?ssociate Professor of the Social and Humanitarian Disciplines, Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Yakutsk State Agricultural Academy.

Emails: agro_on_line@mail.ru & kormar61@mail.ru

3?ssociate Professor of the Department of Philosophy, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov. Email: yakov_eva@mail.ru

4Professor, ?ead of the Department of Cultural Studies, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov. Email: ludmilaxoco@mail.ru

5?ssociate Professor of the Department of Cultural Studies,Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education North-Eastern Federal University named after M.K. Ammosov. Email: nat-shkurko@yandex.ru

 Volume 12, Number 4, July-September, 2020 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v12n4.15

Abstract

The article reveals the heuristic possibilities of introducing a constructivist interpretation of the phenomena of ethnos and ethno-cultural identity, made on the basis of symbolic constructs of consciousness of a mythological and metaphysical sense. Considering these phenomena from this perspective makes it possible to give a qualitative new interpretation of the understanding of modernizing transformations on the basis of a certain ethno-cultural complex, which is able to effectively conquer the achievements of European modernity. The peculiarity of ethno-cultural identity, which becomes a condition for successful modernization, is modeled on the examples of the development of professional art in Yakutia in the ethno-modern paradigm in the national theater, cinema and choreography. The paper presents the first generalized analysis of the possibilities of ethno-cultural modernization in the “multiple modernities” paradigm, which is based on the ontology of symbolic consciousness of representatives of non-modernized ethnic groups.

 Keywords: ethno-cultural identity, ethnos, constructivism, symbol, ethnic symbolism, mythological and metaphysical symbol of consciousness, Yakutia, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia, modernization, ethnomodern, ethno-cultural modernization. the national theatre, the national cinema.

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