scholarly journals “Scottish Question” and Its New Cultural Meanings in “Culture Capitalism” by Alasdair Gray

2021 ◽  
pp. 165-180
Author(s):  
E. A. Martynenko

An interpretation of the story “Culture Capitalism”, placed in the authoritative anthology “Every Short Story: from 1951 to 2012” of the classic of Scottish literature Alasdair Gray, in the context of the original interpretation by the patriotic writer of the “Scottish question «is offered in the article. It is noted that the problems of the story, written in 1990, are closely related to the establishment in the same year of the status of Glasgow as a cultural capital. Gray’s doubt about the declared cultural messages is analyzed through the prism of the concepts of P. Bourdieu and S. Žižek. It is proved that certain plots and images indicate the development in Gray’s work of ideas close to researchers of postcolonial literature, and in particular the idea of “internal colonization" of Scotland. An interpretation of a number of images that have an allegorical meaning in the light of criticism of English cultural, political and economic hegemony is offered in the article. In addition, based on the ideas of J. Homberg-Schramm about the nature of the nation’s ideas about its gender, class and linguistic identity, the author considers the representation of national auto-stereotypes and their consistent revision. The author concludes that Alasdair Gray sees the possible peaceful coexistence of England and Scotland beyond the boundaries of the model of exploitative colonialism.

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
Nicola Glaubitz

Abstract Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and field, developed in the 1970s and 1980s, still provide systematic reference points for studies interested in literary cultures under market conditions. These concepts have found resonance in studies observing the changing organisation, structure, and social positions involved in the writing, reading, and circulation of literature. While both the conceptual clarity and the historical results Bourdieu achieved (in particular in his study The Rules of Art, originally published in 1992) have come under attack, both his key concepts and his multi-method approach function as a theoretical toolbox for present studies. The article discusses three studies (Childress 2017; English 2005; Guillory 1993) which make use of Bourdieu’s concept of capital in order to describe contemporary US publishing, the role of literary canons in higher education, and the status of literary awards. I argue that Bourdieu’s framework is productive in these cases when it is used in a heuristic way, when the idea of cultural and social capital is considered as processes and practices of valuation, and when it points to the political aspects of economies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1197-1202
Author(s):  
Mohammed Abdullah Abduldaim Hizabr Alhusami

The aim of this paper is to investigate the issue of intertextuality in the novel Alfirdaws Alyabab (The Waste Paradise) by the female Saudi novelist and short story writer Laila al-Juhani. Intertextuality is a rhetoric and literary technique defined as a textual reference deliberate or subtle to some other texts with a view of drawing more significance to the core text; and hence it is employed by an author to communicate and discuss ideas in a critical style. The narrative structure of Alfirdaws Alyabab (The Waste Paradise) showcases references of religious, literary, historical, and folkloric intertextuality. In analyzing these references, the study follows the intertextual approach. In her novel The Waste Paradise, Laila al-Juhani portrays the suffering of Saudi women who are less tormented by social marginalization than by an inner conflict between openness to Western culture and conformity to cultural heritage. Intertextuality relates to words, texts, or discourses among each other. Moreover, the intertextual relations are subject to reader’s response to the text. The relation of one text with other texts or contexts never reduces the prestige of writing. Therefore, this study, does not diminish the status of the writer or the text; rather, it is in itself a kind of literary creativity. Finally, this paper aims to introduce Saudi writers in general and the female writers in particular to the world literature.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Barnali Talukder

The concepts of language and cultural identity of a speaker are entwined as they complement each other. However, translation poses a challenge to the identity language predominantly constructs. Therefore, translatable elements of language get the stage of universality while the untranslatable-s essentially bring forth the culture they are descended from. In this study, a short story collection from Bangladesh, Matijaner Meyera, where there is a celebration of diverse branches of Bengali language, has been brought to light to show how untranslatability of a number of culture-oriented vocabularies vibrantly tells about Bengali culture. The primary resource includes a lot many culture-oriented vocabularies as well as few phrases that English, as a language, cannot accommodate in it. Inability of other languages to penetrate such culture-rooted belongings of Bengali language showcases the power a language retains to protect itself from any invading force. This study has argued in favor of the untranslatable base of Bengali that English, due to cultural distance, cannot embrace linguistically. Therefore, such cultural difference eventually develops a distinct linguistic identity of Bengali through untranslatability that this study has attempted to divulge.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Elke D’hoker ◽  
Chris Mourant

This chapter provides an overview of the methodological and historical frames that inform the book’s analysis of the manifold interactions between the short story and British magazine culture, from 1880 to 1950. It discusses the material turn in short fiction studies which has led to a better understanding of the impact of publication contexts on the production, reception and development of the short story. This holds true in particular for the role magazines played in the emergence of the modern short story as a specific and successful literary form in the final decades of the nineteenth century. The chapter also presents an overview of recent developments in periodical studies, providing useful methodological tools for analysing the status, presentation and function of a particular genre within the heterogeneous, dialogic and time-bound format of the periodical.


LOGOS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 64-79
Author(s):  
Stevie Marsden

This paper considers the reactions to the announcement of the Kim Kardashian-West Book Klub and explores how this episode illustrated the perceived illegitimacy of celebrities like Kardashian-West, who are commonly associated with ‘lowbrow culture’, engaging with and discussing literature, an activity that has traditionally been seen as a middlebrow endeavour. The reactions to the Kardashian-West Book Klub not only reflect issues around the status of celebrities as cultural intermediaries but also bring to the fore historical principles that have questioned the intelligence and capabilities of women readers. This paper positions the Kim Kardashian-West Book Klub within the wider historical context of women readers and book clubs and considers the prestige, or lack thereof, of celebrities who try to be cultural and literary intermediaries. The paper also considers the Kardashian-West Book Klub in relation to other major celebrity book clubs and argues that such forays into literary culture are used by some celebrities to bolster their social and cultural capital, acting first and foremost as a branch of their personal brand identity, rather than as altruistic enterprises.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dewi Anggraeni

Although Japanese writers who experienced living in Indonesia in 1940-1945 witnessed the issue of racial disparity as the reality of a European colony, they were unable to depict it sufficiently because they were expected to portray a peaceful coexistence between Japanese and Southeast Asian peoples as the ideal picture of the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. This paper explores the possibility of evaluating literary works written under the notion of the Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere by analyzing Jun Takami`s short story “Shominzoku” (July 1941) using Marie Louise Pratt`s “contact zone” as analytical tool. “Shominzoku” poses the problem of Japanese positioning in European colony; of how the protagonist sees himself and others, and how he wants to be seen by other races. Examining the narrative technique of the story to view Japanese positioning in the Netherlands East Indies, this paper argues that although “Shominzoku” can be evaluated as a criticism towards the notion of Greater East-Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, it is actually an ambiguous work due to a reflection of the persisting idea that Japanese is, indeed, a superior race.


Author(s):  
Julie Gorlewski ◽  
Isabel Nuñez

Curriculum, while often conceived as a static entity delivered as a neutral set of facts arranged in disciplinary categories, is, in reality, a pedagogical artifact—a product generated as a result of decisions made by a range of stakeholders who represent different cultural imperatives linked to contested perspectives about the purposes of school. Students’ and teachers’ experiences of school, then, are dialogic performances of a curriculum that promotes various levels of power and privilege, as well as understandings of equity and diversity. Therefore, whether or not it is recognized, the curriculum delivered in schools serves to either maintain or interrupt the status quo. Given the number of students who participate in public education, curriculum contributes a great deal to shaping the national narrative. Curriculum contributes to social movements, and the nature of the curriculum determines the direction of the movement. Since curriculum development and implementation involves myriad decisions, influence is wielded by those with decision-making power. Social status and cultural capital, both of which are historically linked with political power, largely determine who makes curricular decisions, as well as how decisions are made. These conditions pose challenges for those who have been historically marginalized within educational institutions. Despite obstacles related to systemic inequities, different forms of curriculum can and do contribute to the creation and perpetuation of social movements. Moreover, educators who understand how educational institutions function, how curricular changes occur, and how curriculum can be a source of and vehicle for change can create conditions for transformative activist curricular movements.


Author(s):  
Anne Schröder ◽  
Frederic Zähres

This chapter presents a close analysis of the Namibian linguistic ecology and the role of Namibian English (NamE) in the multilingual make-up of the country. This includes the discussion of the status of English in comparison to Afrikaans, the country’s primary lingua franca, and to minority languages, such as German, as well as majority languages, such as Oshiwambo. Taking up and elaborating on observations on Namibian-specific phonetic realizations of vowels, identifying linguistic identity constructions, ethnolinguistic variation and discussing in detail the (historical) relationship between South Africa (as an epicentre) and Namibia, it shows that NamE cannot be seen as a monolithic whole but should rather be considered a bundle of local sub-varieties. The chapter further discusses the applicability of the EIF Model to the Namibian case and makes some suggestions on how to include additional extra-territorial forces, discussions of heterogeneity, norm development as well as a different approach to developmental stages in model making.


Author(s):  
Jacqueline Couti

Raphaël Tardon’s 1946 short story «La Rédemption de Barbaroux» was published in the wake of the French departmentalization law that changed the status of Martinique from a colony to a French overseas department. A (Black) feminist approach to ecocriticism used as a lens to study Tardon’s text manifests the twisted ways Plantation and rum production depend on the gendering of the land and the oppression of female bodies. Tardon brings to the fore an early discussion of the concept known nowadays as the plantationocene. He explores the effect of the colonial past and the impact of Plantation world and its logics, framework on the environment, the body, the economy, and social and human relationships. Thus, in 1946, Tardon also lays bare the foundation for what Malcom Ferdinand calls une écologie décoloniale (a decolonial ecology).


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