Children as an Object of the Right-Wing Populist Politics and Discourse in Poland

In Central and Eastern Europe populist regimes are attracting attention as a result of the traumatic legacy of communism, the subsequent overburdening reforms and exhausting systemic transformation, resurgence of ever-lurking nationalism, regional conservatism, parochialism and cultural chauvinism, and/or as an example of the structural shortcomings of young democracies at the borders of civilization. The subject literature also indicates numerous and universal elements of populist governments, present as well in this part of Europe. Without prejudging the aptness and strength of these various concepts and arguments, this article is an attempt to include in these wideranging themes a particular issue that absorbs conservative populists, namely “childhood” and “children”. While the problem of children in politics has already received numerous interpretations, the importance of childhood in the right-wing populist discourse and politics has so far remained an issue discussed only occasionally. We put forward the thesis that children play an important and specifi c role in the right-wing populist superstructure – they constitute an illusory picture of the nation, an allegory of its renewal, as well as a convenient, though inconsistently used, instrument for achieving political, ideological and propaganda goals. Attitudes towards children can be an important characteristic of populism as such, and should be taken into account in research on the subject. We will illustrate these problems using the example of Poland and the populist Law and Justice (PiS) Party that is in power there now.

Analytic of the Exquisite

This introductory chapter presents a picture of the Victorian perspective of Japan, the so-called “Other Empire.” Accordingly, it highlights Japan as a precondition for the exquisite aesthetic structure implicit in Immanuel Kant's description of aesthetic judgment. In addition, the chapter shows how Japan is an Other Empire radically threatening the cultural chauvinism of late-Victorian Britain and an eccentric modernity populated by eccentric men. Therefore, it is a model for the subcultural socialities of British aestheticism and a material source of influential writers and artists shaping the emerging aesthetic discourses, usually away from the interests of the white avant-gardes whose achievements are all-too-frequently centered in cultural histories of the period. Japan is an influence, direct and indirect, on the post-structuralist historiographies of theory, and therefore embedded, invisibly, in many of the most cherished categories of cultural analysis.

Askari at Hitler’s Frontier:Racial-Cultural Chauvinism and Colonial Systems in Germany and the Territories of the Eastern Front, 1941-1945

This is a paper written for the University of Toronto and adheres to it's standards. It was written and formatted in Chicago 17th style and uses written and digital scholarly and published sources. One source is the author's own translation of a German text. Otherwise, widely accepted English translations are used (i.e. original English translation of "Mein Kampf"). This paper covers the interrelationship between German colonial thought and German / non-German relationships on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, particularly relations with collaborationist states and Slavic volunteers to the Waffen SS.

Askari at Hitler’s Frontier:Racial-Cultural Chauvinism and Colonial Systems in Germany and the Territories of the Eastern Front, 1941-1945

This is a paper written for the University of Toronto and adheres to it's standards. It was written and formatted in Chicago 17th style and uses written and digital scholarly and published sources. One source is the author's own translation of a German text. Otherwise, widely accepted English translations are used (i.e. original English translation of "Mein Kampf"). This paper covers the interrelationship between German colonial thought and German / non-German relationships on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, particularly relations with collaborationist states and Slavic volunteers to the Waffen SS.

ZULUNESS ON TRIAL: RE-READING JOHN W. COLENSO'S 1874 LANGALIBALELE AND THE AMAHLUBI TRIBE: BEING REMARKS UPON THE OFFICIAL RECORD

Although John W. Colenso thought that he was merely acting as amicus curiae — a friend of the court — in compiling evidence to explain Langalibalele's supposed rebellion in 1873, the Bishop of Natal ended up writing a damning anti-colonial tract. This paper will attempt to show how this report — written for the Queen and Colenso's House of Lord peers — is not just an achievement in legal refutation and forensic analysis but that it was a linguistic and cultural statement about the working and limits of Zulu law as Colenso understood it through his interactions with his Natal converts. Although it is obvious that Colenso's audience was not moved by his supplications on Langalibelele's behalf, it is less obvious why those who thought of Colenso as a maverick and heretic should have ignored his thorough repudiation of cultural chauvinism. The paper will suggest that Colenso's Remarks were ignored precisely because to take them seriously would have meant abandoning the authoritarian underpinnings of the late 19th century colonial project.

Theory of Knowledge without (Comparative) Linguistics

What is the relationship between the theory of knowledge and linguistics? Consider a familiar epistemological methodology, on which facts about how “knows” is ordinarily used provide evidence for and against particular views about the nature and scope of knowledge. Since “knows” is a word in English, which is one of many human languages, this methodology is problematic, akin to a species of cultural chauvinism. I suggest that we should reject the familiar linguistics-driven methodology, in favor of a picture on which theorizing about knowledge is driven by the stipulation of the value of knowledge, and is not beholden to linguistic intuitions.

Women Trauma and Stereotype Tradition in Tunde Kelani’s Film, Thunderbolt

Stereotype tradition and gender injustice constitute the trauma that majority of women face in the marital relationship in Yoruba cultural setting. These issues was explore in Tunde Kelani’s film, Thunderbolt (Magun). Employing the narrative content analysis technique the film reveals various issues relating to women trauma in Yoruba stereotype tradition which empowers men against women. Suspicion, cultural chauvinism, betrayal, ambition, poor communication, lack of trust, wrong accusation and dominance constitute conflicts between couples in the film. This shows that the issue of conflict and gender injustice against women is a common traits in Yoruba cultural setting. The film is a lesson on many unresolved conflicts in marriages relationships while proposing trust and open communication which will improve and contribute to positive conjugal relationship development.