Admin

Contrasting Approaches to Language, Meaning, and Knowledge in Advaita Vedanta and the Western Literary Traditions

/
462 views

Aayushee Garg  
Ph.D. in English, Assistant Professor at Amity School of Languages, Amity University, Lucknow.

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.02
[Article History: Received: 12 February 2023. Revised: 08 August 2023. Accepted: 12 August 2023. Published: 14 August 2023]
Full-Text PDF  Issue Access

 Abstract

The present research article undertakes a comprehensive examination of contrasting approaches to language and meaning, topics that have engendered contemplation and discourse across a range of disciplines including literature, philosophy, and linguistics. The article commences by delving into the foundational disparities between Indian and Western literary theories concerning the intricate relationship binding knowledge and meaning. While the Western tradition concentrates predominantly on interpreting textual meaning, treating literary works as subjects for analysis and critique, the Indian tradition perceives concepts and ideas within texts as indirect indicators of reality and self-realization. The ancient Indian school of thought, Advaita Vednata, presents a distinctive viewpoint on the dynamic interplay between language and meaning. The article further dissects the distinct attributes of the seemingly paradoxical and contradictory language prevalent in classical Indian texts. Through this exploration, it strives to uncover the methodology of constructing meaning as employed within the framework of Advaita Vednata. This analysis is juxtaposed against the approach to linguistic interpretation prevalent in the Western literary tradition—a tradition largely rooted in the empirical world. Advaita Vedanta places significance on direct experience or anubhava, prioritizing it over transmitted knowledge, and acknowledges that the true essence of the self transcends human comprehension. By navigating the quandary of defining literary language, elucidating the process of meaning-making in Western literary theory, delving into Advaita Vednata philosophy, and studying the role of language in representing the essence of the self, this research aspires to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing discourse in the areas of literary criticism and philosophical studies.

Keywords: Language, meaning, self-realization, knowledge, Advaita Vednata.
[Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education]
Citation: Garg, Aayushee. 2023. Contrasting Approaches to Language, Meaning, and Knowledge in Advaita Vedanta and the Western Literary Traditions. Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.02.

You might be interested in

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

‘I’ll tell that human tale’: Documenting the Wartime Sexual Violence in Jing-Jing Lee’s How We Disappeared (2019)

//
497 views

Ashmita Biswas
Research Scholar, Department of English, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata.
Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.01
[Article History: Received: 13 June 2023. Revised: 04 August 2023. Accepted: 05 August 2023. Published: 11 August 2023]
Full-Text PDF  Issue Access

Abstract

Sexual slavery as a phenomenon of war was rampant during the Japanese Imperial Army’s occupation of territories before and during the Second World War (1939-1945). These innumerable sex slaves, or “comfort women”, as the Japanese Army had named them, were women (a striking number of them being minors) who were forcefully captured and separated from their families and placed at comfort stations built to fulfill the sexual needs of the Japanese soldiers. While this entire system was created on the pretext of reducing wartime rapes and curbing the spread of venereal diseases, these comfort stations did just the opposite. Studies conducted into these comfort stations reveal how they had become sites of inhuman sexual violence, torture, disease, and death. This paper will look at how Jing-Jing Lee’s historical fiction How We Disappeared (2019) rewrites these innumerable, nameless, brutalized women into the world’s history as victims of a bloody war that had tainted unassuming lives and had snuffed out their existence ruthlessly. Lee’s narrative is scarred by violence committed along gendered lines – illustrating the reduction of the female body to a disposable sexual tool, existing merely to bear the brunt of a war that was not theirs. This paper decodes the politics of gender violence behind Japan’s enforced and licensed prostitution, the nature of sexual violence, the commodification of women’s bodies, the place of women in the socio-cultural context of the era, and the gendered role of women, in what was quintessentially men’s war.

Keywords: Sexual violence, prostitution, sexual slavery, torture, gender violence
[Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Equality, Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions]
Citation: Biswas, Ashmita. 2023. ‘I’ll tell that human tale’: Documenting Wartime Sexual Violence in Jing-Jing Lee’s How We Disappeared (2019). Rupkatha Journal 15:3. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n3.01.

You might be interested in

Intertextuality in Young Adult Literature: A Study of Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

//
558 views

Oleksandra Nikolova1, Yana Kravchenko2 & Roman Vasylyna3
1Dr of Science in Philology, Professor at the Department of German Philology, Translation and World Literature, Zaporizhzhia National University, Ukraine. ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2327-1941. Email: anikolova@ukr.net
2PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at the Department of German Philology, Translation and World Literature, a vice dean of the Faculty of Foreign Philology, Zaporizhzhia National University, Ukraine. ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1219-4688. Email: yana_kr@yahoo.com
3Ph.D. Student, Department of English Philology and Linguodidactics, Zaporizhzhia National University, Ukraine. ORCID iD: 0009-0006-1541-5462. Email: romanvasylyna888@gmail.com

[Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities, Gender Equality]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.30
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
This article explores how intertextuality works in Young Adult literature, a key cultural trend of the 21st century. It focuses on Zoe Sugg’s novel Girl Online, a popular and representative example of this genre among young readers. The authors of the research aim to examine the features of intertextuality in this novel: they identify and describe the references to other texts and interpret the novel in relation to the cultural heritage of the past and the present. Using intertextual and contextual methods of analysis, they conclude that the novel’s potential reader is expected to “recognize” certain texts that are symbolic, “cult” or appealing to young people, and that are used as effective tools for creating a story that follows the parameters of mass culture. This also leads to a hypothesis that some types of texts, related to specific traditions and sources, are more dominant than others in the novel’s intertextuality. The study reveals that the novel Girl Online draws on, firstly, the literature of the past (well-known works of English classics that have a “cult” status); secondly, fairy tales; thirdly, products of contemporary, mostly youth, culture (other Young Adult texts, movies, cartoons, etc.); and finally, established narrative techniques that belong to various genres and are not bound by a specific time or place and that are updated by the author. These intertextual links make the novel successful.

Keywords: Young Adult literature, intertextuality, reminiscence, cultural context, literary tradition.

You might be interested in

Terroristic Torture in George Orwell’s 1984 and Abdul-Sattar Nasir’s Eggplant Peels

/
791 views

Bushra Juhi Jani
College of Medicine, Al-Nahrain University, Baghdad, Iraq. Orcid: 0000-0002-8981-7003. Email: bushrajani@nahrainuniv.edu.iq

[Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.29
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
This essay examines the theme of terroristic torture and its effects on both the victim and the torturer in Orwell’s 1984 and Abdul-Sattar Nasir’s Eggplant Peels. Through an analysis of the two novels, the essay distinguishes between terroristic and interrogational torture and explains how the former is often used to achieve an end at the expense of the victim’s well-being, and how the torturer is also impacted by their acts of cruelty. The victim of torture may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. On the other hand, the torturer may experience feelings of guilt, shame, and remorse, as well as psychological trauma and other negative consequences of their actions. The impact of Orwell on Nasir is discerned in the similarities in characterization between the two novels. The characters of O’Brien in 1984 and Dohan in the Iraqi novel are studied as government officials responsible for the terroristic torture of the protagonists of these novels. The essay concludes by highlighting the psychological impact of torture on both the victim and the perpetrator and emphasizing the moral implications of causing pain to others.

Keywords: Terroristic torture, torturers, 1984, Abdul-Sattar Nasir, Saddam’s regime.

You might be interested in

The Party of Evil Genius in Orwell’s 1984

Malek J. Zuraikat1 & Haneen al-Nawasreh2 1Department of English, Yarmouk University. Corresponding author. ORCID: 0000-0003-1948-2671. Email: m.zuraikat@yu.edu.jo 2Independent Researcher, Jordan. Email:

The Motives and Behavior of Malaysian Chinese Using China’s Social Media

/
560 views

Haoyuan Yu1 & Farideh Alizadeh2
1Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya (UM), 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-3223-2685. Email: Henryyu0820@gmail.com
2Corresponding author, Department of Drama, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Malaya (UM), 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5695-5314. Email: farideh@um.edu.my

[Received 24 May 2023, modified 17 July 2023, accepted 25 July 2023, first published 31 July 2023]

[Sustainable Development Goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.28
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
With the increasing number of overseas users of China’s social media (CSM), this study aimed to explore the motivation and behavior of Malaysian Chinese in using Chinese social media platforms. A questionnaire was done to 219 Malaysian Chinese, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in SPSS. The results show that Malaysian Chinese use CSM with high frequency and duration. Their main motives are information, entertainment, and interpersonal interaction. The results indicated that entertainment motivation (?=0.448, p=0.000), information motivation (?=0.348, p=0.000), self-presentation motivation (?=0.142, p=0.047), and social motivation significantly (?=-0.249, p=0.000) affected the use of CSM among Malaysian Chinese, while business motivation did not. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the patterns of Malaysian Chinese usage of CSM and their motivations, which is crucial for marketers and advertisers trying to effectively target this group on social media platforms. Moreover, the findings of this study have important implications for cross-country communication and exchange within the same ethnic culture.

Keywords: Motivation; behavior, regression analysis, Malaysian Chinese, China’s social media.

Vietnamese Teachers’ Beliefs About Fostering Learner Autonomy in English Teaching and Learning

//
371 views

Duyen. N. T. Ngo1, Vy. T. M. Luu2
1Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance, Vietnam. ORCID: 0000-0002-7314-1352. Email: duyennnt@uef.edu.vn
2Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance, Vietnam. ORCID: 0000-0003-0231-3863. Email: vyltm@uef.edu.vn

[Received 23 January 2023, modified 23 June 2023, accepted 15 July 2023, first published 29 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.27
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
Driven by rapid technological developments together with social and economic changes, the demand for flexible education has grown in a way that the cultivation of learner autonomy (LA) has become a worldwide phenomenon, especially in language learning and teaching. In this sense, the study reported here makes further contributions to the understanding of teachers’ beliefs in fostering LA in English learning and teaching at the tertiary level in Vietnam. The study adopted a complete qualitative approach to exploring how 10 Vietnamese teachers perceive LA based on their previous teaching experiences. Data analysis from an in-depth interview reveals that participants gave multiple interpretations of LA and admitted that Vietnam’s deep-rooted traditional teaching culture causes the main constraints on developing autonomous learning. Besides, these teachers seem fully aware of the significance of LA but not the “how” in assisting learners with exercising LA both within and beyond educational settings. The findings also propose some pedagogic implications for teacher development as well as curriculum development in English learning and teaching at tertiary levels.

Keywords: teachers’ beliefs, learner autonomy, English language learning, Vietnamese context.
[Sustainable Development Goals: Quality Education]

Reminiscences of Kothas: Exploring Spatial Intimacies in Ruth Vanita’s Memory of Light

///
633 views

Ankita Chatterjee1 & Sutanuka Banerjee2
1Research Scholar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. ORCID: 0000-0003-2714-7080. Email: ankita.chatterjee70@gmail.com
2Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Durgapur. ORCID: 0000-0002-7219-4778. Email: sutanuka.banerjee@hu.nitdgp.ac.in

[Received May 19 2023, modified 25 July 2023, accepted 28 July 2023, first published 29 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.26
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
This paper aims to study the representation of same-sex desire in Ruth Vanita’s Memory of Light (2020) and analyze how the socio-spatial dynamics of the kotha helps to reconstruct female-to-female intimacy and convey a different idea of community and a sense of belonging in history. The novel, which traces the relationship between two courtesans, is also a recreation of the pre-modern Lucknow and its vibrant kothas with distinct architectural features. Beyond its overt function of entertaining the male patrons, the kothas as all-female establishments also served as a space of security and intimacy for women. The paper outlines the politics of situating same-sex desire in the historical backdrop of pre-colonial era. It uses concepts from Feminist Theory, Cultural Geography and Memory Studies, to examine the importance of kothas as a material and an ideological space, in facilitating discourses on gender variance, intimacy, and friendship that entered the cultural production of the time. In particular, the analysis intends to emphasize the frequent entanglement between the spatial features and women’s intimate practices as a distinct way of articulating same-sex desire that dissolves the binary understanding of hetero/homosexuality. Therefore, by insisting on the remembrance of kothas, the paper delineates how the ‘memory of places’ carves out two functions in the context of lesbian politics. On the one hand, it generates a ‘symbolic continuum’ to the history of women loving women to reframe postcolonial categorical understanding of ‘lesbian’ in contemporary times, and on the other, by infusing strategic use of metafictional elements, it emerges as a subversive mode of narrating stories of same-sex love while negotiating with the historical erasure of spaces of female-to female desire.

Keywords. kothas, space, intimacy, community, same-sex desire, memory.
[Sustainable Development Goals: Decent Work and Economic Growth, Gender Equality]

You might be interested in

Narrative Perspective and Imagined Space: Understanding Japanese-American Experience in Hawaii through Murayama’s Fiction

/
344 views

Kristiawan Indriyanto1, Esra Perangin-angin2 & Tan Michael Chandra3
1Faculty of Teacher Training and Education: Universitas Prima Indonesia. ORCID: 0000-0001-7827-2506. Email: kristiawanindriyanto@unprimdn.ac.id
2Faculty of Teacher Training and Education: Universitas Prima Indonesia. ORCID: 0000-0003-4240-7071. Email: esraperanginangin@unprimdn.ac.id
3Vocational College: Universitas Pignatelli Triputra. ORCID: 0009-0006-2226-0585. Email: michael.chandra@upitra.ac.id

[Received May 23 2023, modified 28 July 2023, accepted 28 July 2023, first published 29 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.25
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
This paper contextualizes the intricate relationship between language, culture, and place in Milton Murayama’s All I am Asking for is My Body, underlining the dynamic of the Japanese-American diasporic experience in Hawaii. The econarratological analysis delves into the spatial representation and homodiegetic narration employed by Murayama to immerse readers in the plantation labor experience and the linguistic landscapes of Hawaii. The study examines the complex dynamics between Standard English and Hawaiian Creole English (HCE) in Murayama’s work, highlighting their role in shaping the cultural and linguistic identity of the characters. By employing immersive textual cues, such as vivid descriptive imagery and the strategic use of language styles, Murayama creates a mental model of narratives that accurately depicts the historicity of the Nikkei community, focusing on the plantation labor experience. This paper argues that the deliberate blending of Standard English and HCE in Murayama’s fiction enhances readers’ engagement and understanding of the Nikkei experience and contributes to broader discussions on language, culture, and identity within the context of diaspora literature.

Keywords: econarratology, Hawaii, language and place, Japanese-American literature, story world.

[Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities]

A Study of the Mediating Effect of Work Stress on Work-life Conflict and Turnover Intention in the Private Higher Education Sector in India

//
392 views

Soni Rathi1 & Praveen Kumar2
1Research Scholar, University School of Business, Chandigarh University.
ORCID: 0000-0002-2997-8622. Email: sonirathi.r20@gmail.com
2Assistant Professor, University School of Business, Chandigarh University.
ORCID: 0000-0002-7503-3531. Email: Praveen.usb@cumail.in. Corresponding Author

[Received June 28 2023, modified 28 July 2023, accepted 28 July 2023, first published 29 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.24
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
The main focus of this study is to analyze the impact of work-life conflict on turnover intention and examine the impact of work stress as a mediating variable among the teaching employees of private higher education institutions. The current study drew upon samples of 145 teaching employees of private higher education institutions in the education sector of Haryana. A questionnaire was administered to gather the necessary information. Data was evaluated by using the Smart PLS (v.3.2.9) software. In addition, structural equation modeling was conducted to achieve the study’s objectives, and SPSS 25 software was used to compute the demographic profile of teaching employees. The findings indicated that the turnover intention of teaching employees is positively associated with work-life conflict and work stress. In addition, work stress as an intervening variable positively and significantly impacts kinship amid work-life conflict and turnover intention. The teaching employees like to stay in their institutions if there is no work stress. The main concern is not only reducing the work stress of teaching employees but also reforming the quality and level (of work), so they can have less work-life conflict, thus reducing turnover intentions. To dwindle job-related stressors and work-life conflict among employees, various family-friendly benefits and job stress management policies may provide the benefits. This study enhances the understanding of work-life conflicts and work stress. Further, it also has taken into account some antecedents of work-life conflict and work stress, which will aid researchers and academicians in comprehending their impact on turnover intention. The current study has discussed limitations and future directions.

Keywords: Work-life conflict, Work stress, Turnover intention, Teaching employees, Private higher education institutions

[Sustainable Development Goals: Reduced Inequalities, Good Health and Wellbeing, Decent Work and Economic Growth]

Of Maternal Uncles and Mangalik Brides: Sakuni in the Folk Narrations of The Mahabharata

///
457 views

Seema Sinha1, Kumar Sankar Bhattacharya2 & Sailaja Nandigama3
1Ph.D. and a Post-Doc from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan. Email: p2015101@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
2Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan. Email: kumar.bhattacharya@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in
3Associate Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus, Rajasthan. Email: sailajan@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in

[Received February 10 2023, modified 24 July 2023, accepted 25 July 2023, first published 29 July 2023]

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 2, 2023. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v15n2.23
Full-Text PDF Issue Access

Abstract
The timelessness of The Mahabharata lies in its ability to re-invent itself, thereby giving the society a chance to re-negotiate, revise, and revive the discourse. It also gives the so-called ‘villains of the piece’, well established in the ‘rogues’ gallery’, a chance to redeem themselves. One such character is Sakuni, the ‘shrewd’ maternal uncle of the Kauravas, whose negative image in Vyasa’s textual universe is questioned by the folk renditions of the grand epic. The Oriya Mahabharata by Sarala Das views Sakuni not as the master conspirator who brought about the great war, but as a victim who suffered because of the court politics of the Kauravas. The strong popular culture that supports him is also evident in the narratives of the Kalbelias of Rajasthan, and in the folk renderings of the epic in Kerala. This makes us reflect as to why the meta-narrative has vilified Sakuni and treated him with contempt when the folk traditions view him in a more charitable light, or at least give him the benefit of doubt. This paper utilizes narrative research methods to understand the dehumanization of Sakuni in the dominant discourse. It employs the postmodern theories of psychoanalytical criticism and deconstruction in the study of the petite narratives associated with Sakuni to facilitate engagement, plurality, and divergence in the discourse. The paper attempts to read the chronicles of self, society, and social justice in these lesser-known narratives to liberate Sakuni from his filial debt and relocate him into the discursive universe.

Keywords: The Mahabharata, Sakuni, discursive, petite narratives, oral tradition, plurality, social justice

[Sustainable Development Goals: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, Reduced Inequalities]

You might be interested in

1 … 17 18 19 20 21 … 163