Vol 10 No 1

Negotiating Identity in a Multi-cultural Context in Elizabeth Wong’s Kimchee and Chitlins: A Serious Comedy about Getting Along

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Hana’ Khalief Ghani

College of Arts/Department of Translation, Al-Mustansiriyah University. Email: h.horizons2013@gmail.com

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.18

Received November 20, 2017; Revised January 28, 2018; Accepted February 14, 2018; Published February 25, 2018.

Abstract

Based on the real story of the racial clash that took place between two hyphenated minorities in the United States of America, namely; the Korean and the African in Los Angeles in 1990, this paper sets out to explore issues that go beyond this apparently simple racial conflict. Kimchee and Chitlins, indeed, is a serious attempt by the Chinese-American dramatist Elizabeth Wong, being herself a journalist and a member of minority community, to dig deep into the problems that plague and are still plaguing these communities, namely; racial discrimination and profiling, stereotyping and marginalization, and loss of cultural heritage. Drawing on the theories of ‘Melting Pot’ and ‘Salad Bowl’, the paper discusses the politics of identity in relation to the main characters’ attempt to define ‘who are they’ and ‘how do they look at themselves as well as at others in their multicultural society.’ To overcome these problems, the dramatist encourages members of minorities to reach out to each other and understand the cultural as well as other types of differences that do separate them. Rather than yielding to, and assimilating into the main society, Wong advocates preserving the cultural heritage besides developing the skills of coexisting and tolerating the Other. The title of the play is a clear reference to Wong’s suggestion as ‘Kimchee’ is the ‘heart of Korea’-its most popular meal- and ‘Chitlins’ is a translation of the ‘history’ of African people in America. Putting them beside each other certainly means the possibility of coexistence and mutual understanding and respect.

Keywords: Wong, Kimchee and Chitlins, minorities, Koreans, Afro-Americans, (anti)assimilation, coexistence, cultural differences.

Violently Yours: Nation and its Other in Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist

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Arnab Dasgupta1 & Rupayan Mukherjee2

1Salesian  College, Siliguri.

2Department  of  English, University  of  North  Bengal. Email: rupss.joy@gmail.com

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.17

Received October 31, 2017; Revised February 10, 2018; Accepted February 14, 2018; Published February 20, 2018.

Abstract

Nation  States  are  constructed, imagined, represented  and  authenticated  through  the  principle  of  inclusion  and  exclusion, where  the  idioms  of  culture,  race,  history,  politics and  ideology  conjure  what  Anderson  calls  an  “elastic  space” beyond  which  lies  the  abyss  of  the  other. The  ‘other’  then  becomes  an  essential  component  in  discourses  of  Nation  formation,  as  it  is  through  a  response  to  the  other  that  the  nation  fashions  its  ontological  identity, a  “phenomenology  of  alterity”. As  Levinas  points  out  in  his  essay  “The  Trace  of  the  Other” : “ the  outside  of  me  solicits  it  in  need:  the  outside  of   me  is  for  me.”  The  other  is  thus  an  intimate  enemy  for  the  nation. The  nation  is  then  latently  reliant  on  the  fixated  identity  of  the  other  and  is  thus  deeply  apprehensive  of  this  other  and  seeks  an  epistemic  consummation  of   it  in  its  totality.  The  nation  state  constantly  interrogates  the  other : “ what  do  you  want  from  me?”   which  Zizek  terms   as  “Che  voi(?)”  a  constant  interrogation  which  is   the  genesis  of  all  forms   of  xenophobia.  This  in  turn  has  the  possibility  to  induce  sporadic  spectacles  of  active  or  passive  violence  through  which  the  other  responds  to  the  nation.  Such  acts  of  violence  then  become  an  integral  component  of  the  performative  of  the  other. In  Mohsin  Hamid’s  The  Reluctant  Fundamentalist,  Chengiz  Khan, a  man  who  migrates  to  America, embracing  the  American  dream, faces  constant  interrogation in  a  post  9/11  world  from  the  host  nation  state  to  which  he  in  turn  responds  through  a  form  of  passive  violence,  accomplishing  the  cult  of  the  other. This  paper  interrogates  into  the  performative  of  the  other  and  the  economy  of  violence  which  is  inseparable  from  it  and  through  a  close  analysis  of  the  novel, explore  the  problematic  relationship  between  the  nation  state  and  the  other.

Keywords: Nation-State, Other, Ethics of Hospitality, Che vuoi, Big Other, Empirical Other, Ethnos, quilting, performative.

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Writing the Nation in Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children: a Dialectical Interplay of Literary and Cinematic Text

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Simran Preet Kaur1 & Kamaldeep Kaur2

1Assistant Professor, SMVD University. Email: simranpreetsmvdu@gmail.com

2Assistant Professor, GDC, Udhampur. Email: kamaldeepsmvdu@gmail.com

   Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.16

Abstract

The Adaptation of literary text is a significant endeavor that becomes a critical effort at revisiting the classics in the area of popular culture. In reworking of the classics, the dialogues are enunciated with an altered script while the narrative becomes more or less consistent. Cinematic as well as theatrical adaptations have proved to be an effective media of transposing meaning across historical times and cultures as they assist in reliving the text, making it a more inclusive enquiry. The present research is based on the hypothesis whether the film adaptation of classic manifests as a parody of the original text or adds a new facet to its time-tested aura. Further, it revisits the most popular assertion that the reworking of classic in form of its adaptation has been relegated to a cliquish study by literary professionals rather than for mass consumption.

Keywords: Adaptation; revisit; classic, reworking, consumption.

Contemporary Contextualization of Paanchali and Penelope through Chitra Banerjee’s The Palace of Illusions and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad

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Monali Bhattacharya1& Ekta Srivastava2

1Associate Professor in English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida. ORCID: 0000-0003-0534-0007. Email: monali.bhattacharya@jiit.ac.in

2Assistant Professor in English, Humanities & Social Sciences, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida. ORCID 0000-0002-0745-3083. Email: ekta.srivastava@jiit.ac.in

  Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.15

Received December 23, 2017; Revised January 30,  2018; Accepted February 4, 2018; Published February 14, 2018.

Abstract

Females have always been the silent, voiceless and the subaltern sex, but when it comes to assigning some place to these poor, inferior sexes, then they are at the receiving end of the blame-game of the society in history, if at all they are to be given a place. Two such females spoken of, in history likewise are Draupadi in East and Penelope in West, the wives of the greatest heroes of mankind. This paper attempts to study the lives of these two representative ladies of east-west through analysis of their universal femalehood in characterization as done by writers Margaret Atwood and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in The Penelopiad and The Palace of Illusions respectively. This paper further tries to assess how the experiences of these at different times and places still remain the cup of tea for today’s women everywhere. Finally this paper seeks to establish the contemporary relevance of these two characters through the fact that these two heroines of history were not the ‘second sex’, rather were very compassionate, loving, intelligent human beings and very able statesmen with all the qualities of good leadership, team coordination and strategic competencies for being successful in life, who could be seen as our torchbearers in twenty first century life as well.

Keywords:  Female, Paanchali, Penelopiad, 21st century woman.

Rendering Imagery in the Semantic Structure of Stable Terminological Word Combinations

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R. E. Shkilev1, E. V. Samsonova2, I. D. Kazanchuk3, M. M. Isupova4

1, 2Kazan Federal University, Russia. Email: schkilef@gmail.com

3Professor, Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, Ukraine,

4Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL), Russia.

Corresponding email: Email: schkilef@gmail.com

  Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.14

Received December 23, 2017; Revised January 30,  2018; Accepted February 4, 2018; Published February 08, 2018.

Abstract

The article focuses on the peculiarities of rendering the meaning of compound terms in the translation process with the help of word combinations without shift of meaning in the semantic structure. The research is based on the examples from English and Russian legal terminology. Taking into account the fact that legal terms form a part of literary language the classification is based on principles accepted and used in Phraseology. The examples analyzed in this paper reveal the difference between English and Russian compound terms in the lexical and grammatical structure. The author arrives at a conclusion that the semantic shift in legal terminology has an anthropocentric orientation. The dependence of the nature of the semantic shift on certain features of national cultures is shown. The results of the investigation provide for the material for the study of the features of the corresponding segment of linguistic worldview.

Keywords: compound term, stable terminological word combination, imagery, semantic shift, equivalence, legal terminology.

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Integrating Translation in Classroom: Facilitating Language Skills

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T. Asha Priya1 & B. Jayasridevi2

1Associate Professor, Department of English/SCD, SNS College of Engineering. Email: ashapriya2001@gmail.com

2Assistant Lecturer, Department of English/SCD, SNS College of Engineering

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.13

Received September 27, 2017; Revised December 11, 2017; Accepted December 30, 2017; Published February 04, 2018.

 Abstract

This paper aims at studying the effectiveness of using Grammar Translation method to teach English as a Second Language and formulating recommendations to use this method. It was observed that translation as a method when applied to language teaching practice induced a deeper insight into achieving the desired outcome of teaching. The drawback felt in this particular analysis was because of multi-lingual and diversified classrooms (students with gender and intellectual differences). Translation was not given importance to in second or foreign language classrooms all these years because it was deliberated to be misleading and restraining, discouraging students from thinking in terms of the foreign language. Translation was misinterpreted as one of the many deficient teaching methodologies of olden times. However, in the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in translation practice in ESL classrooms. Translation, an educational instrument when it is incorporated into the language teaching practice with learning activities, (reading, listening, writing, and vocabulary development) fulfils the purpose of teaching a language. Translation activities like two sides of a coin make students communicate from the Source Language to the Target Language and vice versa. The exercise of translation encourages students to discern the differences in structure and vocabulary, to strengthen their grammatical competence and comprehending ability, to shape their own way of thinking and to correct common mistakes that could otherwise go about unnoticed, thereby helping them to enhance their reading and writing skills, during the process of translation. Translation skills if used properly by students can lead to better understanding and learning of L1.

Keywords: Integrated teaching, ESL classrooms, translation, teaching-learning process, language skills

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Image of America in Telugu Cinema: A Study of the Cultural Implications

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D. Sudha Rani

VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology (Autonomous), Hyderabad.

Email: sudharanikaja@yahoo.co.in

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.12

Received September 27, 2017; Revised December 11, 2017; Accepted December 30, 2017; Published February 04, 2018.

Abstract

Telugu cinema is one of the most popular art forms among Telugus across the globe. It has played an important role in understanding and depicting the life, society and the culture of Telugus as an authentic art form of the society. This depiction is not restricted to the life in native sates of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana but continued to the life of immigrant societies inhabited by Telugus across the globe. Albeit migration of Telugus to different counties is a pre independence phenomenon, their migration to USA is more a post independence phenomenon that is unique in many ways. Among them, the cultural implications involved in migration from Andhra Pradesh to America are certainly noteworthy. Telugu cinema took this seriously and treated it on a significant level. In this context, it becomes imperative to study the mediascape of Telugu cinema to understand the Telugus’ perspective of America that played significant role in encouraging migration of considerable number of Telugus to America. This paper studies the image of America created by the mediascape of Telugu cinema to understand the Telugu diaspora and the attempt Telugu cinema made in bridging these two cultures (America and Andhra Pradesh) and the cultural implications involved.

Keywords: Telugu cinema, Telugu diaspora, America, mediascapes, image, cultural implications

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The Juror-poet: a New Assessment of William Jones

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Kush Sengupta

M. Phil Research Scholar, University of Delhi.

ORCID 0000-0003-1088-1211. Email: little92monster@gmail.com

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.11

Received September 17, 2017; Revised December 15, 2017; Accepted December 30, 2017; Published February 04, 2018.

Abstract

When we consider the career of William Jones, terms like “Indologist” or “Philologist” are chiefly used. Even in the canon of Jones himself, his juridical and academic writings occupy a higher pedestal than his literary endeavors. This has led to a lopsided view of this dynamic man. In this paper, I seek to propose a new appellation for Jones, preferring to call himself a “Jurist-Poet”. The cognate term as I would believe can be best used to suit the ambivalent nature of his poetry. It is my contention that Jones was simultaneously in and out of the process of the Empire building and critical focus has been to stress on any one aspect of his character. The term that I propose to use for Jones would help to encapsulate the ambiguities that occur in him. It can only be achieved by a close reading of his poetry and using it to judge him as a true vehicle of the trajectory of his career.

Keywords: William Jones, Orientalism, Colonial India, Juror-Poet, Religious Hymns

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English Transference of Hindustani: a Pragmatic-Stylistic Study of Gulzar’s Poetry

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Pallavi Kiran

Senior Research Fellow, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad, Jharkhand.E-mail: pallavikiran@ymail.com

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.10

Received September 27, 2017; Revised December 11, 2017; Accepted December 30, 2017; Published February 04, 2018.

Abstract:

Gulzar (Sampooran Singh Kalra) is a contemporary Indian poet versing in Hindustani. Emerged during the 14th century, Hindustani came from the Deccan representing the mix of Hindi and Urdu. It soon became a literary language and poetic communication through the Hindi-Urdu format appealed to every reader. Similarly, Gulzar makes poetry out of Hindustani colloquial speech that strikes the head and heart of the listener. However, is it the same when transferred into English? To find out the aesthetic effect of Gulzar’s poetry, the present study selects two poems randomly with their English translation by J. P. Das and Rina Singh. The original and the translation are compared through a pragmatic and stylistic approach. The approach helps to locate the loss in translation without overanalysing. The study effectively brings out how the translators capture the allusiveness of Hindustani in English and makes the target readers feel the same aesthetics.

Keywords: Gulzar’s poetry, Hindustani language, English translation, Pragmatic analysis, Equivalence or loss.

Mapping the contours of a Tempestuous Interiority: Reading Kamala Das through Kristeva

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Sandhya V1, Hari M G2 & Harini Jayarman3

1Assistant Professor, Department of English and Humanities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India. Email: v_sandhya@cb.amrita.edu ORCID Id: 0000-0002-8885-3571

2Assistant Professor, Department of English and Humanities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India. Email: mg_hari@cb.amrita.edu ORCID Id: 0000-0003-0508-8112

3Professor, Department of English and Humanities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India. Email: j_harini@cb.amrita.edu ORCID Id:0000-0002-9747-2850

 Volume 10, Number 1, 2018 I Full Text PDF [fa type=”file-pdf-o”]

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v10n1.09

Received September 27, 2017; Revised December 11, 2017; Accepted December 30, 2017; Published February 04, 2018.

Abstract

This paper examines Kamala Das’ attempt to translate the ever changing contours of feminine subjectivity into the structured space of language, in the light of the French philosopher Julia Kristeva’s theorization of psyche. Das’ instinctual urge to resist definitive structuring of the inner zones of female consciousness echoes Kristeva’s concept of Revolt, which is identified to be the psychic re-ordering to explore the varied dimensions of subjectivity. Revolt is explained by Kristeva as the disruptive potential of the innate desire drives of human psyche, which challenge the very stability of the discourses pertaining to identity in the ‘Symbolic’. The manifestation of Revolt in the writings of Das breaks the fetters of gendered identity and opens up the possibilities to experience one’s ‘self’ in unspecified ways.  The resistance to the order of the ‘symbolic’ and the inclination to oscillate between the blurring borders separating the most natural urges of the “semiotic” and the ordered space of the symbolic, defines the essence of female psyche in Das. This paper discusses this unstable and trangressive nature of female subjectivity in Das which reflects Kristeva’s thrust on the dynamics of Revolt in defying categorization.

Keywords: Kamala Das, Kristeva, Revolt, Subjectivity

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