Using Old Photographs in Interviews: Some Cautionary Notes About Silences in Fieldwork

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 327-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Bravman

In September 1987, early in my research at the Kenya National Archives, I came across a collection of photographs taken by a British missionary during the 1920s and early 1930s. The collection contained nearly 250 photos of the terrain and people of Kenya's Taita Hills, where I would soon be going for my fieldwork. I pored over the photo collection for a long time, and had reproductions made of twenty-five shots. The names of those pictured had been recorded in the photo album's captions. Many of the names were new to me, though a few WaTaita of the day who had figured prominently in the archival records were also captured on film. When I moved on to Taita in early 1988,1 took the photographs with me. Since I would be interviewing men and women old enough either to remember or be contemporaries of the people in the pictures, I planned to show the photos during the interviews. At first I was simply curious about who some of the people pictured were, but my curiosity quickly evolved into a more ambitious plan. I decided to try using the photographs as visual prompts to get people to speak more expansively than they otherwise might about their lives and their experiences.In the event, I learned that using the photographs in interviews involved many more complexities than I had envisaged in my initial enthusiasm. I found that I had to alter the expectations and techniques I took to Taita, and feel out some of the limitations of working with the photographic medium. I had to recognize the power relations embedded in my presence as a researcher in Taita, in my position as bearer of images from peoples' pasts, and in the photos themselves. I found, too, that I needed to come to grips with a number of issues about the politics of image production, and the historical product of those politics: the bounded, selected images that are photographs. Finally, I had to address some of my own cultural assumptions about photography and how people respond to pictures, assumptions that my informants did not necessarily share.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (I) ◽  
pp. 164-186

The formal colonial rule of Britain ended seven decades ago but the experience deeply influenced the minds of the masses and altered their lives and psyche for a long time to come. Post-colonial issues such as loss of identity, hybridity, otherness, appropriation, etc are frequently highlighted by the Anglophone writers of the sub-continent. The authors of Pakistani descent have contributed remarkably to post-colonial literature. The present research aims to analyze Nafisa Haji’s novel The Writing on My Forehead (2009) to investigate the Western influence on the minds and behaviors of the people of the subcontinent. Homi K. Bhabha's analytical lens (1994) is the primary guide for this research. Three elements of hybridity, namely mimicry, ambivalence, and unhomeliness, as proposed by Bhabha are explored. The concepts of diaspora and othering in the work under discussion are also briefly touched. This research is qualitative and descriptive in nature. The results of the detailed textual analysis indicate that various characters are hybrids of East and West. The phenomena of ambivalence and mimicry can be clearly observed in their conduct and thinking. The most important characters in this regard are Saira, Adeeba (also known as Big Nanima), and Kasim who openly mimic the Western culture. Minor characters like Adeeba’s parents and Shabana, though averse to Western culture at the surface level, are unconsciously influenced by it. The phenomena of othering, diaspora, and unhomeliness are also briefly touched. In this way, the present study sheds light on the impact of colonialism on the lives of colonial subjects and links it with the continued hegemony of the West over the Easterners. It will be helpful for students, teachers and researchers who wish to study Haji’s fiction and the impact of the phenomenon of colonialism.


Author(s):  
Bernard Okoampah OTU ◽  
Edward ASANTE

The study examined the awareness and use of the Volta and Eastern regional archives of Ghana. Archives play a pivotal role in documenting the historical memory of humans. Archives as institution and records as documents are generally seen by academics and other users as a passive resource to be exploited for various historical and cultural purposes. The study employed the survey design with data obtained analysed using descriptive statistics. The population of the study included inhabitants of the defined geographical area who where 18years and above with some level of education from secondary to tertiary level. Findings revealed the lack of awareness of the Volta and Eastern regional archives by the inhabitants within that geographical area. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the archives should create more awareness through outreach programmes during festive occasions thus breaking the traditional pattern of waiting for users to come and patronise them to ‘marketing’ their services to the people to achieve better results


Author(s):  
Remigio I. Jarin

By HOW he is remembered --- and by how much he is missed: this, I submit, is the ultimate measure by which we can gauge the impact of a man’s labor on his world and the import of his life on the people he left behind. That Dr. Abelardo B. Perez will be remembered, there is no question. The fact alone that he had been in practice for close to four decades guarantees the grateful remembrance of at least a thousand patients whose afflictions he has healed, whose pains he has eased. Likewise, he will be remembered wistfully by hundreds of what were once clear-eyed, smart talking young men and women who considered him at that time a terror to be avoided at all cost, but who-now older, thinner of hair and thicker around the waist – cannot praise him enough for providing them with the instruction and the discipline to become themselves, Doctors of Medicine, hopefully in the same mold, of the same class as Dr. Abelardo B. Perez. But nowhere will the memory of Dr. Abelardo B. Perez be held in deeper reverence and in greater love than in the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology which he conceptualized, organized and institutionalized to elevate the specialization to the eminence it deserves. I should think that as the PBO was the passion of Dr. Perez’s life, in his death we should dedicate it as a monument to this gifted Head and Neck Surgeon. Thus, will Dr. Abelardo B. Perez be remembered – as a long-time medical practitioner, an expert ENT specialist. A stern and no-nonsense professor, a dauntless champion of the crusade to keep inviolate the quality and the integrity of the Diplomate, the founding father and the moving spirit of the PBO and an indefatigable worker in the unending task of healing the wounds and easing the pains of Man and his world. Yet the warranty of remembrance does not really assuage the sense of loss. It is well and good that the world remembers Dr. Abelardo B. Perez; but the knowledge that it does in no way mitigates the ache in Martha’s heart for the warmth of Abe’s touch or renders less difficult for us the task of administering PBO affairs without his counsel and guidance. Indeed, the name of Dr. Abelardo B. Perez will long be remembered; but we will still sorely miss the man who looked eternally youthful, who loved good music, fine dining, pleasant company, who took such great joy in beholding the wonders of creation, in confronting the challenges of the world, in living life fully, with a song in his heart, in recognition of its preciousness and in gratitude for its gift… the world will remember the physician named Dr. Perez; we will miss the man we called Abe….


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Tinggal Purwanto

<p><em>Tafsir Al-Qur’an Tematik</em><em> is a product of mufassir creative dialectic with the text of the Qur'an which contains interrelated elements among various interests as produced by involving the Government. This engagement raises the question of the supposedly dialectical interpretation, while raising questions about the product of tafsir, especially regarding the interpretation of gender equality which indicates a power-knowledge relations built for a particular interest. This study aims to explain how power-knowledge relations operate in the book, especially in constructing gender equality. With that purpose, the theory of gender equality and the theory of power-knowledge relations is used to achieve the intended purpose. </em></p><p><em>The this study finds that power-knowledge relations flow in the Tafsir Al-Qur’an Tematik. Power relations operate in a dialectical and productive manner through initiation, election, accommodation, contestation, controversy, negotiation and compromise of the exegeteers in compiling the tafsir. The mufassir not only try to explain the book of the Qur'an alone, but also attempt to construct the life of the people to be in line with the Government agenda. The mufassir does attempt to construct an equal relationship between men and women, but the construction is not wholly objective and neutral as it still leaves a more discriminatory effect prioritizing men in the public domain and women in the domestic sphere. These power-knowledge relations operate systematically by controlling power relations with truth so as to give rise to more equitable constructions directed to regulate the lives of people on behalf of increased productivity. By its mechanism, power-knowledge normalizes the lives of people with a construction of gender equality that is essentially loaded with power politics.</em></p><p> </p><em>Keywords: tafsir, gender equality, and power relations.</em><p><em>Tafsir Al-Qur’an Tematik</em><em> is a product of mufassir creative dialectic with the text of the Qur'an which contains interrelated elements among various interests as produced by involving the Government. This engagement raises the question of the supposedly dialectical interpretation, while raising questions about the product of tafsir, especially regarding the interpretation of gender equality which indicates a power-knowledge relations built for a particular interest. This study aims to explain how power-knowledge relations operate in the book, especially in constructing gender equality. With that purpose, the theory of gender equality and the theory of power-knowledge relations is used to achieve the intended purpose. </em></p><p><em>The this study finds that power-knowledge relations flow in the Tafsir Al-Qur’an Tematik. Power relations operate in a dialectical and productive manner through initiation, election, accommodation, contestation, controversy, negotiation and compromise of the exegeteers in compiling the tafsir. The mufassir not only try to explain the book of the Qur'an alone, but also attempt to construct the life of the people to be in line with the Government agenda. The mufassir does attempt to construct an equal relationship between men and women, but the construction is not wholly objective and neutral as it still leaves a more discriminatory effect prioritizing men in the public domain and women in the domestic sphere. These power-knowledge relations operate systematically by controlling power relations with truth so as to give rise to more equitable constructions directed to regulate the lives of people on behalf of increased productivity. By its mechanism, power-knowledge normalizes the lives of people with a construction of gender equality that is essentially loaded with power politics.</em></p><p> </p>


Crisis ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lourens Schlebusch ◽  
Naseema B.M. Vawda ◽  
Brenda A. Bosch

Summary: In the past suicidal behavior among Black South Africans has been largely underresearched. Earlier studies among the other main ethnic groups in the country showed suicidal behavior in those groups to be a serious problem. This article briefly reviews some of the more recent research on suicidal behavior in Black South Africans. The results indicate an apparent increase in suicidal behavior in this group. Several explanations are offered for the change in suicidal behavior in the reported clinical populations. This includes past difficulties for all South Africans to access health care facilities in the Apartheid (legal racial separation) era, and present difficulties of post-Apartheid transformation the South African society is undergoing, as the people struggle to come to terms with the deleterious effects of the former South African racial policies, related socio-cultural, socio-economic, and other pressures.


Author(s):  
Nicholas B. TORRETTA ◽  
Lizette REITSMA

Our contemporary world is organized in a modern/colonial structure. As people, professions and practices engage in cross-country Design for Sustainability (DfS), projects have the potential of sustaining or changing modern/colonial power structures. In such project relations, good intentions in working for sustainability do not directly result in liberation from modern/colonial power structures. In this paper we introduce three approaches in DfS that deal with power relations. Using a Freirean (1970) decolonial perspective, we analyse these approaches to see how they can inform DfS towards being decolonial and anti-oppressive. We conclude that steering DfS to become decolonial or colonizing is a relational issue based on the interplay between the designers’ position in the modern/colonial structure, the design approach chosen, the place and the people involved in DfS. Hence, a continuous critical reflexive practice is needed in order to prevent DfS from becoming yet another colonial tool.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Baugh

In Bergsonism, Deleuze refers to Bergson's concept of an ‘open society’, which would be a ‘society of creators’ who gain access to the ‘open creative totality’ through acting and creating. Deleuze and Guattari's political philosophy is oriented toward the goal of such an open society. This would be a democracy, but not in the sense of the rule of the actually existing people, but the rule of ‘the people to come,’ for in the actually existing situation, such a people is ‘lacking’. When the people becomes a society of creators, the result is a society open to the future, creativity and the new. Their openness and creative freedom is the polar opposite of the conformism and ‘herd mentality’ condemned by Deleuze and Nietzsche, a mentality which is the basis of all narrow nationalisms (of ethnicity, race, religion and creed). It is the freedom of creating and commanding, not the Kantian freedom to obey Reason and the State. This paper uses Bergson's The Two Sources of Morality and Religion, and Deleuze and Guattari's Kafka: For a Minor Literature, A Thousand Plateaus and What is Philosophy? to sketch Deleuze and Guattari's conception of the open society and of a democracy that remains ‘to come’.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Nomensen Freddy Siahaan

After a long time was not heard to the public area, lately death penalty toward the criminal cases that classified as extraordinary crime are appear. The author discovers electronic article about the execution of the death penalty which is the prosecutor prepares to execute death penalty toward the drugs dealer. The president of Republic of Indonesia stated that it is necessary to give a deterrent effect to the convicted  criminal and keep the morality of Indonesian teenagers. According to my opinion, the author argues that it will be better and wiser if we discuss about renovating all of the Penitentiary in Indonesia than debating whether death penalty could be done in Indonesia or not, because it will be displeasure many parties, death penalty infringed the human rights of the convicted criminals and cause psychological burden to them, families, the executor of the death penalty, and other parties. Because if we have to improve the quality of the Penitentiary, if the function of Penitentiary for fostering moralily has been optimal or properly enough to the convicted criminals, Indonesia will be no longer need the death penalty option as sanction to the convicted crimanals including for the extraordinary crime (especially for drugs trafficking in our country). Penitentiary is one of the public services which aims for fostering the people that initially have bad habits (commited to the crime), so that they will have the awareness to change their bad attitude into the be better ones, will not harm others, and positively contributed to the society. Already Penitentiary’s conditions should be designed in such a way and as good as possible, so that the inmates feels like at their own home (like having a second home after his own home), and feel humaner to spend their days in the Penitentiary. The author believes that if the Penitentiary has been improved and optimized its function well, then the real purpose of Penitentiary will definitely achieved. As stated in Law Number 12 Year 1995 regarding to Penitentiary Article 2 which states "sanction system are organized in order to fostering the convicted criminals in order to be the real man, aware of their fault, improve themselves, and not to repeat the criminal act so that they can be friendly received by the community, can actively participated in the development of our country, and can socialize themselves as good citizen."Article 3 on this regulation also intensifies the function of Penitentiary "the function of Penitentiary is to prepare convicted criminals to be able to properly integrated to the society, so they can be accepted again as members of the public who are free and responsible ones." 


Author(s):  
مها بنت منصور الصائغ

شهد تاريخ الأمة الإسلامية حضارة ونهضة عالمية في جميع مجالات الحياة الإنسانية، ومما كان له كبير الأثر في ذلك هو الأوقاف التي بدأت مع سيد البشرية محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم واستمرت بتنوع وشمولية إلى عصرنا الحالي؛ ولكن ما تعرضت إليه الأوقاف من إهمال وإقصاء وضياع يرجع لأسباب عديدة من أهمها غياب التوثيق الوقفي. تقوم الدراسة على تتبع مفهوم الوقف والتوثيق، والوقف في الإمارات العربية المتحدة ول سيما في إمارة الشارقة. توصلت الدراسة إلى نتائج منها: أن الأوقاف قائمة منذ زمن بعيد، وأن رغبة الواقف بالوقف وإقدامه عليها لم ينقصها سوى وثيقة، وأنه لا وثائق لها ولا مستندات، كما أن العرض الموجز لنشأة دائرة الأوقاف بالشارقة وسعيها لإحياء سنة الوقف ونشر ثقافته نراه يتضح شيئاً فشيئاً من خلال تفعيل مواد القانون والبحث حول الأنسب والأصح لحماية الأوقاف، ولم يكن هذا الاهتمام بالوقف إلا انعكاساً لتوجه الواقفين وتماشياً لرؤية الحكام وامتثالاً لنهج خير الأنام ورغبة في تكافل الأرواح وحباً للسلام. الكلمات المفتاحيّة: الوقف، التوثيق، المقارنة، الشارقة. Abstract The history of Islamic nation has witnessed a global civilization and it has had a great impact in all areas of human life, including the endowments that began with the master of humankind; Muhammad S.A.W. and it was continuing in diversity and comprehensively until our epoch. However, there are some problems related to endowment management such as negligence, exclusion and loss that due to many reasons. Among the most important reasons is the absence of endowment documentations. Therefore, the study aims to discuss the concept of endowment and documentation, as well as the endowment in United Arabic Emirates, especially in the Emirate of Sharjah. The study concluded that the practice of endowment has been existed for a long time, yet there are in need of endowment documentations. This study also found that the information related to the establishment of institution of endowment in Sharjah and its role has   spread widely to the people through the enforcement of the law and the implementation of the research related to the practice of endowment in order to sustain them in a good way. This documentation system was only a reflection of what has  stated in Shariah laws regarding the practice of endowment among the donors, so that it will be in line with the approach of good intentions and love of peace. Keywords: Endowment, Documentation, Comparison, Sharjah.   


Author(s):  
Akil Ibrahim Al-Zuhari

The article defines the features of the process of forming the research tradition of studying the institute of parliamentarism as a mechanism for the formation of democracy. It is established that parliamentarism acts as one of the varieties of the regime of functioning of the state, to which the independence of the representative body from the people is inherent, its actual primacy in the state mechanism, the division of functions between the legislative and executive branches of government, the responsibility and accountability of the government to the parliament. It is justified that, in addition to the regime that fully meets the stated requirements of classical parliamentarism, there are regimes that can be characterized as limited parliamentary regimes. The conclusions point out that parliamentarism does not necessarily lead to a democracy regime. At the first stage of development of statehood, it functions for a long time in the absence of many attributes of democracy, but at the present stage, without parliamentarism, democracy will be substantially limited. Modern researchers of parliamentarism recognize that this institution is undergoing changes with the development of the processes of democracy and democratization. This is what produces different approaches to its definition. However, most scientists under classical parliamentarianism understand such a system, which is based on the balance of power. This approach seeks to justify limiting the rights of parliament and strengthening executive power. Keywords: Parliamentarism, research strategy, theory of parliamentarism, types of parliamentarism


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