scholarly journals A Central Voice in Caribbean Literature

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Yra van Dijk ◽  
Ghanima Kowsoleea
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Caribbean Literature ◽  
Award Winning ◽  
Caribbean Country ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Do So

Abstract This essay explores the complex ways in which narrative may signify in the contemporary Caribbean cultural context. Specifically, it is concerned with a trilogy written by award-winning Surinamese author Astrid Roemer, set in the years of independence of the Caribbean country after 300 years of Dutch occupation. The analysis focuses not on the usual postcolonial themes but on structures of signification: allegory, materiality and media of language, affect, and the function of objects. Roemer’s texts demonstrate the relation between discourse and physical violence, her language being tied to material media, bodies, and earth. Not just postmodern, but posthuman too, the Surinamese narrative is characterized by the attempt to connect objects to language, objects to emotions, or nature to memories. Language brings us in touch with Caribbean reality and memory, all the while questioning its capacity to do so through allegory and metaphor.

scholarly journals The 1930s Horror Adventure Film on Location in Jamaica: ‘Jungle Gods’, ‘Voodoo Drums’ and ‘Mumbo Jumbo’ in the ‘Secret Places of Paradise Island’

Humanities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Emiel Martens
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
American Empire ◽  
Sound Film ◽  
Mumbo Jumbo ◽  
First Sound ◽  
African Caribbean ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Black Populations ◽  
Made In ◽  
Do So

In this article, I consider the representation of African-Caribbean religions in the early horror adventure film from a postcolonial perspective. I do so by zooming in on Ouanga (1935), Obeah (1935), and Devil’s Daughter (1939), three low-budget horror productions filmed on location in Jamaica during the 1930s (and the only films shot on the island throughout that decade). First, I discuss the emergence of depictions of African-Caribbean religious practices of voodoo and obeah in popular Euro-American literature, and show how the zombie figure entered Euro-American empire cinema in the 1930s as a colonial expression of tropical savagery and jungle terror. Then, combining historical newspaper research with content analyses of these films, I present my exploration into the three low-budget horror films in two parts. The first part contains a discussion of Ouanga, the first sound film ever made in Jamaica and allegedly the first zombie film ever shot on location in the Caribbean. In this early horror adventure, which was made in the final year of the U.S. occupation of Haiti, zombies were portrayed as products of evil supernatural powers to be oppressed by colonial rule. In the second part, I review Obeah and The Devil’s Daughter, two horror adventure movies that merely portrayed African-Caribbean religion as primitive superstition. While Obeah was disturbingly set on a tropical island in the South Seas infested by voodoo practices and native cannibals, The Devil’s Daughter was authorized by the British Board of Censors to show black populations in Jamaica and elsewhere in the colonial world that African-Caribbean religions were both fraudulent and dangerous. Taking into account both the production and content of these movies, I show that these 1930s horror adventure films shot on location in Jamaica were rooted in a long colonial tradition of demonizing and terrorizing African-Caribbean religions—a tradition that lasts until today.

The Norm Orientation of English in the Caribbean

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Dagmar Deuber ◽  
Stephanie Hackert ◽  
Eva Canan Hänsel ◽  
Alexander Laube ◽  
Mahyar Hejrani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
American English ◽  
Media Exposure ◽  
Quantitative Investigation ◽  
British English ◽  
Mass Tourism ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Newspaper Writing ◽  
British Colonies ◽  
Do So

This study examines newspaper writing from ten Caribbean countries as a window on the norm orientation of English in the region. English in the former British colonies of the Caribbean has been assumed to be especially prone to postcolonial linguistic Americanization, on account of not just recent global phenomena such as mass tourism and media exposure but also long-standing personal and sociocultural links. We present a quantitative investigation of variable features comparing our Caribbean results not just to American and British reference corpora but also to newspaper collections from India and Nigeria as representatives of non-Caribbean New Englishes. The amount of American features employed varies by type of feature and country. In all Caribbean corpora, they are more prevalent in the lexicon than in spelling. With regard to grammar, an orientation toward a singular norm cannot be deduced from the data. While Caribbean journalists do partake in worldwide American-led changes such as colloquialization, as evident in the occurrence of contractions or the tendency to prefer that over which, the frequencies with which they do so align neither with American English nor with British English but often resemble those found in the Indian and Nigerian corpora. Contemporary Caribbean newspaper writing, thus, neither follows traditional British norms, nor is it characterized by massive linguistic Americanization; rather, there appears to be a certain conservatism common to New Englishes generally. We discuss these results in light of new considerations on normativity in English in the 21st century.

scholarly journals Les catastrophes naturelles dans les romans caribéens d’expression française

Il Tolomeo ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessia Vignoli
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Caribbean Literature ◽  
Common Origin ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
Common Features ◽  
African Slaves ◽  
European Colonization ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Caribbean

The notion of ‘disaster’ pervades the Caribbean thought. The common origin of the Caribbean region, the European colonization, caused two disasters: the extermination of Native Americans and the deportation of African slaves. The union between nature and the oppressed people against the oppressor resulted in the creation of an environmental conscience that the Caribbean literature has often expressed. This essay will investigate the common points shared by some Haitian, Martinican and Guadeloupean authors in the writing of natural hazards. It will show that, despite the diversity that marks the Caribbean, there is a repetition of common features that proves its geopoetic unity.

Oceanic Intimacies

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-165
Author(s):  
Mona Narain
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Middle Passage ◽  
Slave Ships ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Historical Accounts ◽  
Do So

In this essay, I explore what intimacies might be revealed if we trace oceanic entanglements created by eighteenth-century maritime routes and journeys in historical and contemporary imaginative reconstructions of such histories. I respond to Lisa Lowe’s proposal to use “intimacies as a heuristic,” and to decentre the European notion of “the human” constructed by colonial epistemologies. To do so, I offer two counter-histories, embedded in and through different waters, which challenge imperial two-dimensional epistemologies. “Porous Intimacies” discusses the seafaring part of Sheikh I’tesamuddin’s The Wonders of Vilayet (1765), one of the first travelogues written by an Indian about Europe. “Immersive Intimacies” analyzes David Dabydeen’s poem “Turner” (1995), which imaginatively reconstructs the middle passage of captured Africans on British slave ships bound for the Caribbean. Rethinking former historical accounts within and outside colonial and liberal frameworks, I analyze new intimacies through oceanic connections.

Emergence of university-centred entrepreneurial ecosystems in the Caribbean

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 246-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haven Allahar ◽  
Ron Sookram
Keyword(s):  
Triple Helix ◽  
Entrepreneurial Universities ◽  
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
The Core ◽  
External Stakeholders ◽  
Caribbean Country ◽  
Core Components ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
University Industry

This study examines the progress of the two major universities in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago towards the transition to entrepreneurial universities through incorporating the core components of designing and delivering entrepreneurship education programmes, establishing effective university-led business incubators and the building of university–industry–government collaboration. The theoretical construct of the Triple Helix interrelationships and the development stages framework provide the basis for analysing the progress of the universities towards achieving their development mission. The general conclusion is that progress towards building an effective university-centred entrepreneurial ecosystem has been relatively slow and needs to be accelerated through more proactive leadership and greater involvement of internal and external stakeholders.

Archaeological Perspectives on the French in the New World

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
New World ◽  
Cultural Landscapes ◽  
French And Indian War ◽  
Early American ◽  
French Colonial ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Indian War ◽  
Do So ◽  
Descendant Communities

This collection offers a new understanding of communities of French heritage in the New World, drawing on archaeological and historical evidence from both colonial and post-Conquest settings. It counters the prevailing but mistaken notion that the French role in New World histories was confined largely to Québec and New Orleans and lasted only through the French and Indian War. Some chapters in the volume reveal new insights into French colonial communities, while others concern the post-Conquest Francophone communities that thrived under British, Spanish, or American control, long after France relinquished its colonies in the New World. The authors in this collection engage in a dialogue about what it meant to be ethnic French or a French descendant, Métis, Native American, enslaved, or a free person of color in French areas of North America, the Caribbean, and South America from the late 1600s until the late 1800s. The authors combine archaeological remains (from artifacts to food remains to cultural landscapes) with a rich body of historical records to help reveal the roots of present-day New World societies. This volume makes clear that, along with Spanish, British, and early American colonial influences, French colonists and their descendant communities played an important role in New World histories, and continue to do so.

Barbadian Adults' Perceptions of Eighteen Popular U.S. Television Programs

1993 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 771-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica A. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Physical Violence ◽  
Negative Influence ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Prime Time ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Caribbean Island ◽  
Local Television ◽  
Cosby Show ◽  
The Caribbean

A sample of 1017 adults aged 18 to 55 years on the Caribbean island of Barbados rated 18 U.S. programs shown on local television in terms of their perceived positive or negative influence on young viewers. The Cosby Show was clearly perceived as having the most positive influence, and the prime-time “soaps,” Dynasty and Falcon Crest, the most negative. There were few age- or sex-group differences, but respondents in manual occupations were far more likely than those in nonmanual occupations to give positive ratings to programs featuring physical violence or conspicuous affluence or materialism.

scholarly journals The early Prague spring: Analysing the re-establishment of modernist aspects according to the example of three piano concertos by the “Prague group” of composers

Muzikologija ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
Marija Golubovic ◽  
Nikola Komatovic
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Interwar Period ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
World War ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Prague Spring ◽  
Kingdom Of Yugoslavia ◽  
Do So ◽  
Piano Concertos

The interwar period brought about a number of modernist tendencies in the heterogeneous cultural context of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which is particularly salient in the works of the young composers belonging to the so-called ?Prague group.? Having completed their studies, dozens of composers and conductors, including Ljubica Maric (1909-2003), Stanojlo Rajicic (1910-2000) and Milan Ristic (1908-1982) contributed to the establishment of the new movement in the conservative milieu of interwar Belgrade. After World War II, socialist realism became, in effect, the only approved style for the artists of the period. However, only a decade after the Tito-Stalin split, modernist tendencies reappeared fullblown in the output of Yugoslav composers. It is therefore of the greatest interest to analyse and present the way in which modernist music managed to find its way back to Yugoslav composers, performers and audiences in such a short period of time (the 1950s). To do so, we have chosen three piano concertos, written at the very beginning, in the middle, and at the very end of this period. This overview would not have been possible if we had analysed works belonging to other genres, as most had already been established in the pre-war period. However, it is also safe to conclude that the limitations on the Yugoslav scene were not imposed only by political authorities, but also by the conservative tastes of its audience and society, which were already in place before WWII.

scholarly journals Janasozdik: codifying an inclusive Kazakh slang

2021 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-159
Author(s):  
L. Eisenberg ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Subject Analysis ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon ◽  
Do So

This article performs an interdisciplinary analysis of the contemporary issues of the Kazakh language, a Turkic language whose history extends to the ancient Turkic era. There are many factors affecting language development, among them socio-cultural, political, and economic ones. Today, however, social networks are of great importance as a medium of communication – as well as, of course, of language development and change. This paper seeks to illuminate the greater significance of the janasozdik Instagram page in its quest to both codify and create a body of Kazakh slang that reflects the bilingual reality of most of the country’s citizens. Rather than casting blame on those who mix Russian and Kazakh (and perhaps English) within a single Kazakh utterance, janasozdik encourages its followers – who are also its primary contributors – to do so. In this way, the page challenges notions of Kazakh linguistic purity and encourages greater participation in processes of Kazakhization, which have historically marginalized Russophones. Notably, I introduce the concepts of translanguaging and heteroglossia at the end of the article in order to posit that janasozdik occupies an important space in a bilingual country, i.e. providing vocabulary that its citizens do not yet have, but need both of the languages present in their daily lives to describe. In this work, I will take a decidedly multidisciplinary approach to my analysis of janasozdik: rather than examining it as a purely sociological or linguistic phenomenon, I will place the Instagram page in the context of Kazakhstan’s political situation, linguo-historical development, and uniquely Kazakh cultural context. Hopefully, this diverse analysis will shed greater light than a traditional single-subject analysis, allowing for a more nuanced discussion of janasozdik’s influence on Kazakhstan, Kazakhs, and Kazakh-speaking society.

scholarly journals Translating into Textual Genres

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel García Izquierdo ◽  
Vicent Montalt i Resurrecció
Keyword(s):  
Intercultural Communication ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Genre Theory ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Do So

When we translate, we do so for specific communicative situations and purposes; that is, we write translations that will fulfil the needs and conventions of specific textual genres in the target language and culture. The aim of this article, which draws on data and experience from the GENTT project, is to explore the relationship between translation and genre theory in order to understand better how translators are involved in interlinguistic and intercultural communication.Genre theory is attractive to Translation Studies because it links the micro level of writing and text to the macro level of discourse and context, unites process with product and integrates the cognitive, social and profes¬sional approaches to translation. Thus, the notion of genre brings together critical elements in translation such as the reader ’s profile, expectations and preferences; the communicative situation and purpose; and the socio-cultural context. In order to understand better how translators are involved in interlinguistic and intercultural communication, we suggest a remodelling of translation in which the target genre plays a central role.

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