Trans*textuality in William Shakespeare’s Othello: Italian, West African, and English Encounters

2018 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-429
Author(s):  
Susan Arndt
Keyword(s):  
Research Group ◽  
West African ◽  
Oral Literature ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Romeo And Juliet ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Methodological Challenges ◽  
Phd Thesis

Abstract William Shakespeare’s Othello (1604) displays a critical agenda towards the emerging colonialist discourse of his time and may have encountered, or even been influenced by, African oral literature. This thesis will be probed in this article by comparing Othello with the folktale “The Handsome Stranger” and the Trickster character, well known all across Western Africa, touching lightly on Leo Africanus’s The History and Description of Africa (1550) in the process. In doing so, Othello’s most acknowledged source text, “Un Capitano Moro” by Giovanni Battista Giraldi (1565), will be involved, thus complementing earlier comparative readings of “Un Capitano Moro” and Othello. This postcolonial comparative reading will finally embrace Ahmed Yerima’s adaptation of Othello, entitled Otaelo (2002). In doing so, the article will discuss striking parallels among all four texts, as well as differences and diversions. The latter are, however, not read as counter arguments to the possibility of an encounter; rather, discursive diversions are contextualised historically and trans*textually. Before delving into this analysis, the article will explore both historical probabilities and methodological challenges of reading African oral literature as possible sources of Shakespeare’s Othello, as well as theorise trans*textuality (as related to and yet distinct from Kristeva’s intertextuality and Genette’s transtextuality).This article has developed from two papers, one held in 2015 at a symposium dedicated to Michael Steppat in Bayreuth, who, ever since, accompanied this project with most helpful critical input; I owe him my sincerest gratitude. A second workshop on this topic was held in 2016 in Berlin in the presence of Shankar Raman, Christopher Joseph Odhiambo, and a student research group from Bayreuth with Taghrid Elhanafy, Weeraya Donsomsakulkij, Samira Paraschiv, and Mingqing Yuan. Taghrid Elhanafy dedicates her MA and PhD thesis to comparing Romeo and Juliet with several Arabic and Farsi versions of Layla and Majnun (Cf. Elhanafy 2018). Moreover, this article owes sincere gratitude to a most challenging and expert editing by Shirin Assa, PhD candidate at Bayreuth University, as well as Omid Soltani. Moreover, I wish to thank Dilan Zoe Smida and especially Samira Paraschiv for supporting me while doing research and working on notes and bibliography.

scholarly journals Are we on track reaching SDG3 in 2030? Gap analyses for African & European countries including Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
U Laaser ◽  
V Bjegovic-Mikanovic
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
West African ◽  
Northern Africa ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Baltic

Abstract Background To reach the targets of SDG3 not more than a decade is left. How do the Low and Middle-Income Countries in Northern Africa - in the immediate neighborhood to Europe - compare to the 15 members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and well-developed European countries around the Baltic Sea (the “Northern Dimension”) incl. Russia? Methods We used quantifiable mortality indicators and targeted reductions until 2030, as published for SDG3.1/2/3 by the United Nations in 2015. To estimate progress or delay we used the methodology of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) based on the target year 2030, a year of observation, and a year at baseline. For the comparison between Northern Africa/Northern Europe we calculated for indicator 3.3 the Premature Years of Life Lost (PYLL) and for the comparison of Northern/Western Africa the more sensitive indicators 3.1 and 2, the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), the Neonatal Mortality Rate NMR, and the under-five Mortality Rate (<5MR). Results In Northern Africa, only Algerian and Morocco will achieve the 2030 target 3.4 in time i.e., 2.5 and 7 years in advance, whereas Egypt, Libya and Tunisia are in delay Mauretania even by 14.5 years. The countries around the Baltic Sea likely will achieve the targeted reduction before 2030, Estonia on top already 2025, followed by Latvia and Finland in 2026, and the Russian Federation in 2027. Among the 15 West African states, Capo Verde has reached the targets 3.1 and 2 already, followed by Senegal (e.g., 4.0 years in advance for <5MR) and Ghana, whereas Guinea Bissau is positioned at the end with a delay of 4,2 years for MMR. The countries of Northern Africa are on track except for Algeria, with 6.2 years in delay for MMR and Mauretania for all indicators. Conclusions Whereas the European countries are well in advance of the SDG targets, Northern Africa shows a mixed picture and the countries of Western Africa with a few exceptions are in delay. Key messages European countries around the Baltic Sea and Russia are well on track for SDG3, reducing their premature mortality by one third until 2030. Whereas the European countries are well in advance of the SDG targets, Northern Africa shows a mixed picture and the countries of Western Africa with a few exceptions are in delay.

Lactifluus foetens and Lf. albomembranaceus sp. nov. (Russulaceae): look-alike milkcaps from gallery forests in tropical Africa

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 277 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
ESKE DE CROP ◽  
KOBEKE VAN DE PUTTE ◽  
SERGE DE WILDE ◽  
ANDRÉ-LEDOUX NJOUONKOU ◽  
ANDRÉ DE KESEL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West African ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
Local Markets ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Edible Fungus ◽  
Personal Consumption ◽  
Gallery Forests ◽  
Morphological Research

The ectomycorrhizal milkcap genus Lactifluus is commonly found within Central and West African gallery forests. During field expeditions in Cameroon and Togo, several collections of white Lactifluus species were found, resembling Lactifluus foetens. Molecular and morphological research indicates that these collections belong to two unrelated species, i.e. Lactifluus foetens and an undescribed taxon. The latter is here described as Lactifluus albomembranaceus sp. nov. from the gallery forests in Central and Western Africa. In Cameroon, at least, Lactifluus albomembranaceus is a popular edible fungus that is harvested for personal consumption and offered for sale at local markets.

scholarly journals A breeding colony of the Near Threatened Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor in western Africa: a conservation story of threats and land management

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 426-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. MORENO-OPO ◽  
Z. E. OULD SIDATY ◽  
J. M. BALDÒ ◽  
F. GARCÌA ◽  
D. OULD SEHLA DAF ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Work ◽  
West African ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Breeding Colony ◽  
Lesser Flamingo ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Phacochoerus Africanus ◽  
Greater Flamingos

SummaryThe 2011 breeding results of the Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor at its only West African colony, in Aftout es Saheli, south-west Mauritania, are presented. Several breeding attempts have been documented since the second half of the 19th century although no successful breeding, in terms of fledged juveniles, was recorded until 2010. Adverse hydrological dynamics, easy access to the colony by predators, and disturbance and direct mortality caused by poachers led to the failure of all previous breeding attempts. In 2011 the breeding colony was monitored and a number of major threats were identified and averted. Management interventions consisted of deterring and trapping predators (jackals Canis adustus and C. aureus and warthog Phacochoerus africanus) around the colony and preventing the killing of flamingos by poachers. As a result, 4,800 Lesser Flamingos and 10,200 Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus incubating individuals, as well as about 14,000 chicks of both species, were recorded. It was not possible to prevent the death by predation or other natural causes of 4,672 juveniles of both species after the wetland dried up, so the final estimated number of fledged juveniles was 10,000. The field work allowed us to collect information on hydrological dynamics and to propose conservation measures matching Lesser Flamingo ecological requirements. Similarly, we identified the most sustainable measures for deterring predators, with the aim of including them in the management of the wetland.

scholarly journals Explaining Episodes of Growth Accelerations, Decelerations, and Collapses in Western Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 1550003
Author(s):  
Patrick Imam ◽  
Gonzalo Salinas
Keyword(s):  
Political Stability ◽  
West African ◽  
External Shocks ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Growth Regressions ◽  
Domestic Credit ◽  
Growth Accelerations ◽  
Sub Saharan

The growth literature has had problems explaining the "sub-Saharan African growth dummy" in cross-country regressions. Instead of taking the usual approach of focusing on long-run growth and assuming that sub-Saharan countries have homogenous parameters in growth regressions, we concentrate our analysis on episodes of growth turnarounds (identifying growth accelerations, decelerations, and collapses) and use only West African countries in our sample. Using probits for a group of 22 Western African economies for the period 1960–2006, we find that growth accelerations are most clearly associated with external shocks, economic liberalization, political stability, and closeness to the coast; decelerations occurred during short-lived regimes and when corruption indices weakened; and collapses are linked to external shocks, falling domestic credit, and proximity to the coast.

“Hildings and Harlots”

2019 ◽  
pp. 342-358
Author(s):  
Lynsey McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Full Length ◽  
Sergei Prokofiev ◽  
Source Text ◽  
Romeo And Juliet ◽  
The Real ◽  
Opera House ◽  
Insight Into

On February 9, 1965, the premiere of Kenneth MacMillan’s full-length dance adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to a score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. This chapter uses the figures of the three harlots in MacMillan’s ballet—characters that do not appear in Shakespeare’s play—to explore the real, practical, and pragmatic business of adaptation. The harlots, typically represented by soloists or first soloists within the ballet companies, appear prominently in the work’s ensemble scenes. As non-Shakespearean characters, they embody the gap between the source-text and MacMillan’s translation. This is a gap worth examining, offering an insight into the creative afterlife of a Shakespearean text and the infidelities that arguably constitute the success of any adaptation.

INTRODUCTION: POST-GADDAFI REPERCUSSIONS IN THE SAHEL AND WEST AFRICA

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Bøås ◽  
Mats Utas
Keyword(s):  
West African ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Rapid Social Change ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Trading Posts ◽  
Ocean Shipping ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
The World ◽  
Almost Open

The areas south of Libya have experienced more than their fair share of conflict and rapid social change. In earlier times, the main routes of trade, commerce and pilgrimage between West African and the Arab Peninsula passed through this region, also once inhabited by mighty warrior empires (see for example Bawuro 1972). However, as the empires along these routes faded away, and international ocean shipping opened up this part of Africa to the forces of global trade and capitalism, the centres of authority that once controlled this region also vanished. What remained was an almost open territory: unwelcoming and hard, but also a place of possibilities and the freedom to roam for those who had mastered the art of survival under such difficult conditions. This was the land of the Tuareg and other semi-nomadic groups who controlled cities and important trading posts such as Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal in contemporary Mali. This is the world of the Sahel and the parts of Western Africa that straddles Libya, and a region that currently includes Southern Algeria, Northern Mali, Niger, Chad, Mauritania and parts of Northern Nigeria. These are therefore also the countries and areas that have come to experience the full effect of what we define as post-Gaddafi repercussions.

Challenges of the African Voice: Autonomy, Commerce, and Resistance in Precolonial Western Africa

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOSÉ LINGNA NAFAFÉ
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Atlantic World ◽  
17Th Century ◽  
West African ◽  
Trade Policies ◽  
Hybrid Identities ◽  
Western Africa ◽  
Complex Hybrid ◽  
Second Wave

Many kings of Western Africa were strong allies in commerce and trade with the Portuguese crown. However, in the late 17th century, some of their successors adopted policies of free trade as a form of counter-resistance to the Portuguese. This challenged the monopoly of Western trade policies and constituted a call for recognition of their autonomy in the Atlantic world. This chapter examines these Negro-Atlantic challenges to trade and monopolistic views of the Atlantic market, focusing first on the Portuguese trade policies applied in the 17th century. Second, it examines the case of ‘free trade’ policies pursued by a second wave of West African rulers who challenged the monopolism of the Portuguese trade policies in the late 17th century after two centuries of relations. Third, the chapter critically examines the role of the Luso-Africans, and how they related to both side of their complex, hybrid identities.

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