Cultural Hauntings in Toni Morrison's Beloved (1987)
Mohammad Shaaban Ahmad Deyab
Issue:
Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2016
Pages:
13-20
Received:
25 July 2016
Accepted:
18 August 2016
Published:
7 September 2016
DOI:
10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.11
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Abstract: African American writers’ preoccupation with supernatural elements such as ghosts stems not from an interest in Gothic themes, but in a new genre in American literature termed as "the story of cultural haunting.” The objective of this paper is to discuss Morrison’s choice of a ghost to play the part of connecting past with the present in her novel, Beloved (1987). In discussing this role, the paper examines Morrison’s use of the magic realism and the ghost’s relationship with the other characters, such as Sethe, Denver and Paul D, as well as its relationship with the African American community. The paper also points out how the ghost’s impact on these characters has been achieved on both personal and collective levels. To be more specific, the paper argues how Beloved’s ghost is deeply symbolizing both private and collective past, which matches Morrison’s notion about the past. Finally, the paper examines the ghost’s cultural role of healing African Americans from the trauma of slavery.
Abstract: African American writers’ preoccupation with supernatural elements such as ghosts stems not from an interest in Gothic themes, but in a new genre in American literature termed as "the story of cultural haunting.” The objective of this paper is to discuss Morrison’s choice of a ghost to play the part of connecting past with the present in her novel,...
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Language Attitudes and the Issue of Dominance: The Nigerian Experience
Tajudeen Afolabi Alebiosu
Issue:
Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2016
Pages:
21-29
Received:
18 August 2016
Accepted:
30 August 2016
Published:
18 September 2016
DOI:
10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.12
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Abstract: Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa (1964) to “ there has never been a language spoken by so many people in so many places” (Crystal 1997) the English language seems set to dominate the world as ‘an only language’. Fishman (1996) Kachru (1997) Bamgbose (2004) and Daramola (2004) have all expressed concern about the dominant status of the English language with a threat towards other languages in diaspora. This paper appraises the attitudes of the Nigerian elites vis–a- vis the dominating figure of the English language over the indigenous languages. It remarks the love-hate relationship stemming from the conflicting sentimental and instrumental attachment to the use of English in Nigerian education. The paper concludes that Nigeria as the largest black democracy in the world should evolve a more robust language planning policy towards the functional expansion and revalorization of the indigenous languages as extolled by LICCA.
Abstract: Globalization is affecting all facets of life. With eco-tourism and telecommunication technology providing information for all and sundry, our attitudes are bound to be affected linguistically. Ranging from the linguistic bias of an English woman who objected to the checking of a pronouncing dictionary because “the way I speak is English” Hayakawa ...
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Impact of Transculturalism and Globalization on the Concepts of Oral Literature and “Ubuntugogy” as Educational Paradigms for African Liberation and Development in the 21st Century
Francis Mowang Ganyi,
Jayne Ise Owan
Issue:
Volume 1, Issue 3, September 2016
Pages:
30-39
Received:
31 August 2016
Accepted:
12 September 2016
Published:
29 September 2016
DOI:
10.11648/j.ellc.20160103.13
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Abstract: The concepts of transculturalism and globalization have, of late, occupied the front burner in discourses of many disciplines the world over as peoples and institutions examine, not just the potency but also the relevance of the concepts to their existence and well-being. In many educational institutions, the concepts have formed the basis or themes for conferences aimed at examining their effect on the progress and development of human society. African states and educational institutions have also joined in these discourses, and rightly so, since they cannot isolate themselves from the world polity within which they live and operate, except that the focus and concern of Africans seems for now, to be misplaced. It appears that Africa’s focus on the gains of these concepts, without the high level of technological advancement required to effectively and gainfully key-in to the envisaged or resultant new world order, should be on how it can meaningfully impact on the technologically advanced cultures of the world rather than struggling to accept concepts to which they have nothing to offer or even gain from now. It is from this perspective that this paper examines the meaning of transculturalism and its impact on the concept of Oral literature and the African philosophy of “Ubuntugogy” as educational paradigms for African liberation and development in the 21st. century, to enable Africans re-assess their educational curricula and refocus same on Oral literature for positive advancement in the envisaged new world order propelled by these concepts.
Abstract: The concepts of transculturalism and globalization have, of late, occupied the front burner in discourses of many disciplines the world over as peoples and institutions examine, not just the potency but also the relevance of the concepts to their existence and well-being. In many educational institutions, the concepts have formed the basis or theme...
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