scholarly journals “Middle Ground,” “Duality,” and “Diversimilarity” as Responses to Postcolonial and Global Challenges in Chinua Achebe’s “The Education of a British-Protected Child” and “No Longer at Ease”

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (29) ◽  
pp. 151-161
Author(s):  
Mihaela Culea
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Theoretical Data ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
Literary Research ◽  
Igbo People ◽  
New Perspective

This paper discusses two literary works by Chinua Achebe—No Longer at Ease (1960) and The Education of a British-Protected Child (2011)—in the context of the issue of diversity in the postcolonial setting. It aims to approach Achebe’s work from a new perspective, by applying a theoretical paradigm employed in business to the study of literature and culture. The “diversimilarity” paradigm, used for managing cultural diversity in organisations, is applied and shown to be pertinent to the investigation of literature, too. The methodology employed combines theoretical data with the practical implications of the conceptual framework on Achebe’s work. The paper starts with a discussion of the diversity concept and then moves on to tackle the diversimilarity paradigm in business. Then the investigation focuses on Achebe’s “duality” and “middle ground” concepts as they assist diversimilarity, concepts which work together at the levels of mentality, ideology, and identity. Finally, the paper focuses on language and the methods proposed by Achebe to manage and solve the existing linguistic diversity problems in Nigeria. The findings show that in the works explored, the diversimilarity paradigm is assisted by other concepts as solutions for the Nigerian people to cope with diversity. Moreover, Achebe shows that the other conceptions that support diversimilarity are still effective, even though they are rooted in the ancestral values of his Igbo people. The originality of the paper results from placing Achebe’s literary work in the context of contemporary concerns related to human identity in the postcolonial globalized environment and from expanding the scope and methods of literary research by employing concepts from other areas of human activity. Thus, the intersection between the worlds of the economy and culture seems fruitful for the investigation of cultural diversity.

scholarly journals Cultural Diversity in Igbo Life: A Postcolonial Response to Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (23) ◽  
pp. 69-89
Author(s):  
Sazzad Hossain Zahid
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Cohesive Force ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Genocide ◽  
Igbo People ◽  
Western Imperialism ◽  
European Colonialism ◽  
Indigenous Society

In his book Chinua Achebe, David Caroll (1980) describes the novel Arrow of God as a fight for dominance both on the theological and political level, as well as in the framework of Igbo philosophy. In Critical Perspectives on Chinua Achebe (1990), famous Achebe critics C. L. Innes and Berth Lindforts consider Arrow of God as a novel with conflicting ideas and voices inside each community with the tensions and rivalries that make it alive and vital. Another profound scholar on Achebe Chinwe Christiana Okechukwu (2001) in Achebe the Orator: The Art of Persuasion in Chinua Achebe's Novels assesses Arrow of God, which depicts a community under imminent danger of cultural genocide unleashed by agents of Western imperialism who have recently arrived in the indigenous society. However, the author in this study attempts to see Arrow of God as a postcolonial response to cultural diversity that upholds its uniting and cohesive force in Nigerian Igbo life. The goal is to look at how Achebe, in response to misleading western discourses, develops a simplistic image and appreciation that persists in Igbo life and culture even as colonization takes hold. This paper also exhibits how the Igbo people share their hardships, uphold their age-old ideals, celebrate festivals, and even battle on disagreements. This study employs postcolonial theory to reconsider aspects of cultural diversity among the African Igbo people, which are threatened by the intervention of European colonialism in the name of religion, progress, and civilization.

Multilingualism and the Ideal of Unity in Diversity in the European Union. Key Concepts and Context

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-282
Author(s):  
Roxana-Maria Nistor-Gâz ◽  
Delia Pop-Flanja
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cultural And Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Tower Of Babel ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
The Ideal

"In a world challenged by cultural diversity, this article aims to look at the great diversity of languages and cultures that coexist within the European Union. Building on the story of the Tower of Babel that explains, from a religious point of view, the cultural and linguistic diversity existing in the European Union, the authors tried to contextualize EU’s motto of “unity in diversity”, interpreted as an ideal involving a lot of effort and sometimes even many conflicts, but one that we should all fight for and strive to maintain. Keywords: linguistic diversity, ethnicity, nation, minority, majority, communication, unity in diversity"

scholarly journals Contesting identities : Representing British South Asians in Damien O'Donnell's "East is East"

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Zapata
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
South Asians ◽  
British Society ◽  
Culture Clash ◽  
Two Cultures ◽  
Family Living ◽  
New Perspective

The presence of Asian in Great Britain has added a new perspective to debates about notions such as ‘identity’, ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘Englishness’. East is East (Damien O’Donnell, 1999) explores the culture clash that occurs in the context of a half Pakistani and half British family living in early 1970’s Salford. Through its representation of an atypical family the film’s emphasis lies most conspicuously on its portrayal of the beginnings of contemporary multi-ethnic and multicultural British society. This way, the film highlights issues of cultural diversity, difference and hybridity while also raising questions about identity, belonging and the concept of Englishness. The aim of this essay will therefore be to examine how Daniel O’Donnell’s film East is East explores the paradoxical nature of “identities” inevitably swaying in between two cultures by looking at the diverse discourses on identity and how they have been constructed.

Individual and Cultural Diversity Considerations

2010 ◽  
pp. 170-184
Author(s):  
Rosemary Flanagan ◽  
Jeff A. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
School Psychology ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Cultural Background ◽  
Considerable Variability ◽  
Gifted Youth

Chapter 11 discusses individual and cultural diversity considerations in school psychology, and addresses educational influences and limitations, including linguistic diversity, bilingual education, special education, and gifted youth, physical and other health limitations, ethnic/cultural background, sexual orientation, and spirituality/religion. It also discusses the considerable variability and some overlap among and within these groupings.

scholarly journals The Study of Literary Criticism on The Well of Loneliness from the Perspective of Toulmin’s Argumentation Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Min Liu
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Dynamic Process ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Argumentative Discourse ◽  
Important Method ◽  
Argumentation Analysis ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Pragmatic Strategies ◽  
Toulmin’S Model ◽  
The Well Of Loneliness

Literary criticism is a kind of commentary genre, with a certain color of argumentation. Toulmin’s model, as an important method of non-formal logic, has played an important role in the analysis of argumentative discourse (Yang, 2004). Therefore, it also provides a new perspective for the study of literary criticism. This paper, on the basis of consummating Toulmin’s model, analyzes different specific arguments of The Well of Loneliness, this controversial literary work whether can become a literary classic and widely recognized in different times, combined with literary criticism, and tries to characterize the internal structure of the argumentation, analysis of the dynamic process of argumentation and improvement of the pragmatic strategies of argumentation in a finer way. Thereby, it is more rational to verdict and to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the argumentation. Then suggestions of the construction and perfection of literary criticism can be provided.

Elusive, labile and constant in Patti Smith’s literary work

Tekstualia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (53) ◽  
pp. 115-146
Author(s):  
Dawid Maria Osiński
Keyword(s):  
Literary Work ◽  
Human Identity ◽  
Autobiographical Writing ◽  
Literary Traditions ◽  
Literary Forms ◽  
Religious Dialogue ◽  
The Face ◽  
Visual Artist ◽  
Individual Human ◽  
European Modernism

The article analyzes the literary work of Patti Smith, an American singer-songwriter, poet (but not poetess) and visual artist, with a focus on the issues of historical, sociological, political, cultural and religious dialogue in her poetry. Dialogism, in turn, is a key aspect of intertextual creativity. The article examines the intersections of Smith’s lyrical and autobiographical writing with art, culture, religion and philosophy, for example her references to literary traditions (European modernism), art (impressionism and pop-cultural vanguard), religion (mysticism) and architecture (artefacts). Smith’s poetry raises questions about human identity, the meaning of loneliness, individual human possibilities in the face of history and politics. Diverse literary forms to be found in Smith’s output are referred to so as to account for the psychological and literary relevance of her achievement.

Narrative in ‘societies of intimates’

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Stirling ◽  
Jennifer Green
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Oral Traditions ◽  
Linguistic Typology ◽  
Narrative Style ◽  
Rich Diversity ◽  
Social Features ◽  
High Degree

When the Australian writer Richard Flanagan accepted the 2014 Man Booker Prize for fiction, he said that “As a species it is story that distinguishes us”. While the prize was given for a literary work written in English, Australia and the surrounding regions are replete with a rich diversity of oral traditions, and with stories remembered and told over countless generations and in many languages. In this article we consider both the universality and the cross-cultural and cross-linguistic diversity of various forms of narrative. We explore the question of what a linguistic typology of narrative might look like, and survey some of the literature relevant to this issue. Most specifically, we ask whether some observed differences in narrative style, structure, or delivery could derive from social features of the communities which produce them: their social density, informational homogeneity, and the high degree of common ground they share.

scholarly journals Language Diversity in Syair Nasihat: An Alternative Effort to Strengthen National Identity through Literature Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Asep Yudha Wirajaya ◽  
Bani Sudardi ◽  
Istadiyantha Istadiyantha ◽  
Warto Warto
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Critical Edition ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Literary Work ◽  
Language Diversity ◽  
Literary Research ◽  
The World ◽  
Text Study ◽  
Literary Learning

Syair Nasihat (hereinafter abbreviated as SN) is an old literary work written in Arabic letters and utilizing the diversity of languages that exist in the archipelago. Therefore, a study of the SN manuscript needs to be carried out comprehensively and holistically so that the diversity of languages used to instill the values of local wisdom can be used as a source of inspiration for literary learning in the future. The method used in this study is the text editing method, namely the critical edition method. The use of this method is expected to provide good and correct SN text edits. The text study method used is a literary research method, especially semiotic studies. Thus, the use of language and its symbols contained in the SN text can be fully disclosed so that the results of the study can be useful for the world of education in welcoming the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Society 5.0. AbstrakSyair Nasihat (selanjutnya disingkat SN) merupakan karya sastra lama yang ditulis dengan huruf Arab dan memanfaatkan keragaman bahasa yang ada di Nusantara. Oleh karena itu, kajian terhadap naskah SN perlu dilakukan secara komprehensif dan holistik sehingga keragaman bahasa yang dimanfaatkan untuk menanamkan nilai-nilai kearifan lokal tersebut dapat dijadikan sumber inspirasi bagi pembelajaran sastra di masa yang akan datang. Adapun metode yang digunakan dalam kajian ini adalah metode penyuntingan teks, yaitu metode edisi kritis. Penggunaan metode ini diharapkan dapat menghadirkan suntingan teks SN yang baik dan benar. Adapun metode pengkajian teks yang digunakan adalah metode penelitian sastra, khususnya kajian semiotik. Dengan demikian, penggunaan bahasa beserta simbol-simbolnya yang terdapat dalam teks SN dapat diungkap secara tuntas sehingga hasil kajiannya dapat bermanfaat bagi dunia pendidikan dalam menyambut Revolusi Industri 4.0 dan Society 5.0.

scholarly journals Re-Reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart: A Postcolonial Perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.K.M. Aminur Rashid
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Chinua Achebe ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
The Past ◽  
Igbo People ◽  
Christian Culture ◽  
Things Fall Apart ◽  
The Individual ◽  
To Receive

Being a postcolonial narrative, Things Fall Apart experiences a wide critical acclaim. From the pen of Chinua Achebe, the Igbo cultural complexity has come into being a theme that opens up a historical account of the clash of two cultures. Okonkwo, a very well-known public figure in his community falls under the threat of a new culture brought by the white missionaries preaching the gospels of the Christianity. After the arrival of the Christian culture, the first collision that takes place is the division at the individual, and then at the societal levels. When a number of the Igbo people, including Okonkwo’s son, change their religion, it creates chaos and confusions throughout the community. Although the Igbo people have a well-established way of life, the Europeans do not understand. That is why they show no respect to the cultural practices of the Igbo people. What Achebe delivers in the novel is that Africans are not savages and their societies are not mindless. The things fall apart because Okonkwo fails at the end to take his people back to the culture they all shared once. The sentiments the whites show to the blacks regarding the Christianity clearly recap the slave treatment the blacks were used to receive from the whites in the past. Achebe shows that the picture of the Africans portrayed in literature and histories are not real, but the picture was seen through the eyes of the Europeans. Consequently, Okonkwo hangs himself when he finds his established rules and orders are completely exiled by his own people and when he sees Igbo looses its honor by falling apart.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document