The mother’s picong: A discursive approach to gender, identity and political leadership in Trinidad and Tobago

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
New Era ◽  
East Indian ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Discourse Historical Approach ◽  
Political Scene

The Caribbean twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago entered a new era on 24 May 2010 by electing its first woman Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Breaking out of the country’s rigid bipolar political mold, the East Indian Persad-Bissessar won a landslide victory as the leader of the People’s Partnership, a new coalition party that comprised both East Indian and African political forces and movements. Adopting a Discourse-Historical Approach, this study sets to analyze how Persad-Bissessar discursively constructed her claim to leadership in the election speeches of the 2010 We Will Rise Campaign. Both the processes of bonding with her electorate and demontage of her opponent Patrick Manning are achieved by Persad-Bissessar with careful linguistic choices, encompassing the use of the ritual picong satire and strategic switching to Trinidadian English Creole. This article investigates complexities, struggles and contradictions of the Trinbagonian political scene by integrating a detailed analysis of political discourse and the investigation of the social and political environment within which discourse as social practice is embedded.

Interpreting at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal

Interpreting ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kayoko Takeda
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
War Crimes ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Cultural Contexts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Court Interpreting ◽  
Set Up ◽  
And Behavior

This paper gives an overview of the interpreting arrangements at the Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal (1946–1948), focusing on some sociopolitical aspects of the interpreting phenomena, and discusses the behavior of the interpreters and monitors during the testimony of Hideki Tojo, Japan’s wartime Prime Minister. It provides a contextualized examination of court interpreting rather than a microlinguistic analysis of interpreted texts. The study demonstrates how political and social aspects of the trial and wartime world affairs affected the interpreting arrangements, especially the hierarchical set-up in which three ethnically and socially different groups of “linguists” (language specialists) performed three different functions in the interpreting process. An examination of the linguists’ behavior during Tojo’s testimony points to a link between their relative positions in the power constellation of the trial and their choices, strategies and behavior in interpreting and monitoring. These findings reinforce the view that interpreting is a social practice conditioned by the social, political and cultural contexts of the setting in which interpreters operate.

Partisans and Nationalists

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-196
Author(s):  
Patrick Hossay
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Change ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
The Political ◽  
Critical Response ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Popular Appeal ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Political Scene

The author provides a critical response to the social scientific literature that cast political interest and cleavages as the projection of sociocultural dynamics onto the political scene. Sociopolitical cleavages in general, and nationalism in particular, are thus viewed as having taken form outside the partisan arena, and only subsequent to their societal formation do they take on political importance. Through a comparison of the development of political nationalism in interwar Scotland and Flanders, the author argues for the importance of political forces in defining and shaping the political and social meaning and significance of nationalism. In Scotland, despite the potential popular appeal of nationalism, it does not emerge as a significant and autonomous political cleavage, principally due to configurations of partisan programs and alliances, and a politically unfavorable “demographic geometry.” In Flanders, on the other hand, markedly different political conditions fostered the development and societal significance of nationalism. Hence, political nationalism did not emerge as a necessary concomitant to societal and cultural change; it was in part the result of political conditions and institutions that could foster or constrain the sociopolitical significance and meaning of nationalism.

scholarly journals The mental health policies of Trinidad and Tobago

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 13-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari D. Maharajh ◽  
Akleema Ali
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
East Indian ◽  
Island States ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Statistical ◽  
San Fernando ◽  
Central Statistical Office ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Mental Health Policies

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the most southerly of the Caribbean island states. Trinidad is just 14 km from the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad covers an area of 4828 km2 while Tobago, the sister isle, has an area of 300 km2. The total population is approximately 1.3 million; 40.3% of the population is of East Indian descent, 39.6% of African descent, 18.4% mixed and 1.7% belong to other ethnic groups (Central Statistical Office, 2001). St Ann's Hospital in Port of Spain, the capital, was established in 1900 and is the country's only psychiatric hospital. There are two general hospitals, one in the north, at Port of Spain, and the other in the south, at San Fernando.

Personalization of Power in an Elected Government: Eric Williams and Trinidad and Tobago, 1973-1981

1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl D. Parris
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Political System ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Business Community ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
The Public ◽  
East Indian ◽  
Forthcoming Book ◽  
Full Circle

An article written for my forthcoming book on Trinidad and Tobago argues that the events of 1969-1970 in Trinidad should be seen as a result of a process of delegitimization—both personal and systematic—and that the public declaration by Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister of his intention to resign as political leader of the governing party was an attempt to arrest that process. My argument is that the attempt failed, and that by December 1973,The leader of the People's National Movement and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago had come full circle. In 1956 the business community, the established churches and some elements of the East Indian community were opposed to his ascendency in the political system. By 1973, it was these elements that were urging him to stay [Parris, forthcoming].

Prototypicity and Textual Analysis

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 31-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalice Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Social Practice ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Family Resemblance ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
The Social ◽  
Epistemological Framework ◽  
Singular Characteristics

Abstract: This paper, based on the Socio-Discursive Interactionism theoretical epistemological framework, aims at showing the importance of the notion of prototypicity to analyse texts that circulate in society. Regarding theoretical concepts, we consider, firstly, that texts are global communicative units that always interact with the social practice where they are integrated; consequently their textual linguistic materialisation depends on the language activity in which they are situated. Secondly, texts are obviously linked to a textual genre which has unique and generic aspects constantly interacting with each other. By considering these aspects, we can see how the notion of family resemblance or family airs related to that of prototypicity can give us leads to define a textual analysis methodology that takes into account the complexity of the text as our object of analysis. In order to prove the importance of the prototypicity to analyse texts we have chosen two representative texts of two textual persuasive genres: one editorial and one political poster that were circulated in Portugal in March 2002, at the time of the elections for the Portuguese Prime Minister. Our study provides evidence that a text has singular characteristics, but it also has generic ones related to genre aspects.


scholarly journals ELECTION OF THE NEW PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 132-138
Author(s):  
Natalia Plevako ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Global Events ◽  
The Right

The article examines the situation in Sweden around the election of a new Prime minister of the country. Describing it as a political crisis, the author points to the causes that gave rise to it, the course of the crisis itself and the interim results. The reasons are seen in the self-destruction of the former two-block party-political mechanism, which turned out to be unable to find adequate answers to new challenges, the appearance of which is predetermined by both internal political processes and global events and phenomena. The restructuring of this mechanism proceeds in complex contradictory forms, which was shown by the election of the chief executive. The weakening of the old traditional rivals in the struggle for power, which also affects their internal unity, is accompanied by the activation of forces on the extreme flanks, especially the right part of it, where nationalists are strengthening from year to year. The election of a new leader of the SAP as the new prime minister with the changed, and probably not for the last time, configuration of political forces has become a fragile compromise, for which the Social Democrats will have to pay dearly – they will have to fulfill the budget of the right-wing parties. There was a temporary reconnaissance before the new battles, the main of which will be the election of a new composition of the Riksdag in 2022.

From Trinidad and Tobago to the World: Determining the role of Calypso in a new Era

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 7-11
Author(s):  
Malek Abdel-Shehid
Keyword(s):  
Trinidad And Tobago ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
West African ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
New Era ◽  
Transatlantic Slave Trade ◽  
Cultural Sovereignty ◽  
Caribbean Culture ◽  
Musical Cultures

Calypso is a popular Caribbean musical genre that originated in the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The genre was developed primarily by enslaved West Africans brought to the region via the transatlantic slave trade during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Although West-African Kaiso music was a major influence, the genre has also been shaped by other African genres, and by Indian, British, French, and Spanish musical cultures. Emerging in the early twentieth century, Calypso became a tool of resistance by Afro-Caribbean working-class Trinbagonians. Calypso flourished in Trinidad due to a combination of factors—namely, the migration of Afro-Caribbean people from across the region in search of upward social mobility. These people sought to expose the injustices perpetrated by a foreign European and a domestic elite against labourers in industries such as petroleum extraction. The genre is heavily anti-colonial, anti-imperial, and anti-elitist, and it advocated for regional integration. Although this did not occur immediately, Calypsonians sought to establish unity across the region regardless of race, nationality, and class through their songwriting and performing. Today, Calypso remains a unifying force and an important part of Caribbean culture. Considering Calypso's history and purpose, as well as its ever-changing creators and audiences, this essay will demonstrate that the goal of regional integration is not possible without cultural sovereignty.

Cinematic Search for Identity in the Shade of Turkey’s 1960 Coup: The Social Realism Debate and The Hope

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-168
Author(s):  
Celal Hayir ◽  
Ayman Kole
Keyword(s):  
Party System ◽  
Social Realism ◽  
New Era ◽  
Cultural Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Turkish Cinema ◽  
To Come ◽  
First Time ◽  
Democratic Constitution ◽  
Realism Debate

When the Turkish army seized power on May 27th, 1960, a new democratic constitution was carried into effect. The positive atmosphere created by the 1961 constitution quickly showed its effects on political balances in the parliament and it became difficult for one single party to come into power, which strengthened the multi-party-system. The freedom initiative created by 1961’s constitution had a direct effect on the rise of public opposition. Filmmakers, who generally steered clear from the discussion of social problems and conflicts until 1960, started to produce movies questioning conflicts in political, social and cultural life for the first time and discussions about the “Social Realism” movement in the ensuing films arose in cinematic circles in Turkey. At the same time, the “regional managers” emerged, and movies in line with demands of this system started to be produced. The Hope (Umut), produced by Yılmaz Güney in 1970, rang in a new era in Turkish cinema, because it differed from other movies previously made in its cinematic language, expression, and use of actors and settings. The aim of this study is to mention the reality discussions in Turkish cinema and outline the political facts which initiated this expression leading up to the film Umut (The Hope, directed by Yılmaz Güney), which has been accepted as the most distinctive social realist movie in Turkey. 

Local Histories/Global Designs

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter D. Mignolo
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Central America ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Philosophy Of History ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Border Thinking ◽  
East West

This book is an extended argument about the “coloniality” of power. In a shrinking world where sharp dichotomies, such as East/West and developing/developed, blur and shift, this book points to the inadequacy of current practices in the social sciences and area studies. It explores the crucial notion of “colonial difference” in the study of the modern colonial world and traces the emergence of an epistemic shift, which the book calls “border thinking.” Further, the book expands the horizons of those debates already under way in postcolonial studies of Asia and Africa by dwelling on the genealogy of thoughts of South/Central America, the Caribbean, and Latino/as in the United States. The book's concept of “border gnosis,” or sensing and knowing by dwelling in imperial/colonial borderlands, counters the tendency of occidentalist perspectives to manage, and thus limit, understanding. A new preface discusses this book as a dialogue with Hegel's Philosophy of History.

The Ideology of Socialism and the Armenian Political Parties

wisdom ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-113
Author(s):  
Gegham HOVHANNISYAN
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Time Period ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Given

The article covers the manifestations and peculiarities of the ideology of socialism in the social-political life of Armenia at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. General characteristics, aims and directions of activity of the political organizations functioning in the Armenian reality within the given time-period, whose program documents feature the ideology of socialism to one degree or another, are given (Hunchakian Party, Dashnaktsutyun, Armenian Social-democrats, Specifics, Socialists-revolutionaries). The specific peculiarities of the national-political life of Armenia in the given time-period and their impact on the ideology of political forces are introduced.

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