March'20
The IUP Journal of English Studies
Focus
Michel Foucault's Folie et d?raison: Histoire de la folie ? l'?ge classique (1961), somewhat inappropriately translated into English as Madness and Civilization, is probably the first serious attempt at tracing how society has viewed and treated insanity or the absence of reason-d?raison or Unreason-in people. Foucault's focus is on how the society resorts to creating institutions to manage individuals-in the present instance, the insane-who are in some way different from what is seen as the norm by the majority.
The definitions of what constitutes insanity, however, have always been problematic. Often, the vocabulary used to define insanity is at once offensive and stigmatizing. And the definitions invariably depend on the perception of society as to what is "normal" at that point of time.
Usually, those who have no control over their emotions and thought processes, those who are delirious, those who hallucinate and make claims that are considered unreal or delusionary by the majority, and those who speak and act in ways that are profoundly at variance with the standards and expectations of their immediate society are labeled insane. In other words, insanity, as viewed by psychiatrists and the society at large, is a perceptible and lasting disturbance of emotions, intellect, and reason.
American psychiatrist, Thomas S Szasz, in his seminal work The Myth of Mental Illness: Foundations of a Theory of Personal Conduct (1961), however, joins issue with fellow psychiatrists over their tendency to label people who simply face "problems in living" as mentally ill, for problems are not the same as diseases. To Szasz, the so-called mental illnesses are merely "indirect forms of communication" and cannot be legitimately categorized as diseases. Szasz, for instance, considers "hysteria" a "form of nonverbal communication" or "non-discursive language," i.e., a way of communicating that does not follow conventional rules of conversation.
Similarly, Foucault contends that the characteristics associated with the insane need not be seen as negative. Oftentimes, their not-so-normal way of looking at things yields some unusual insights into the nature of the society, the way it functions, and its deficiencies.
It is this nonconformity and the uncanonical ability of the insane to shed light on, and thus help sequester and critique, the fundamental flaws of the society-a trait that is often associated with the collective dissent of the counterculture against the dominant mainstream ideologies-that the Beat writers seek to achieve through their self-imposed and drug-induced insanity, bohemian delirium, and psychedelic transcendence. It is an inspired defiance against what is considered normative, a creative refusal to kowtow, and an artistic experiment to unlock the intuitive potential of Unreason with a view to reconstructing an alternative and inclusive Weltanschauung.
Rima Bhattacharya discusses, in her paper, how Allen Ginsberg, the authentic representative of the Beat Generation and its drug-oriented counterculture, seeks to, through self-induced "madness," purge inhibitions and provide a bridge between subversion and transcendence.
Ritushree Sengupta shows how both Kamala Das and Sylvia Plath, with their "confessional" mode of writing, turn their artistic gaze inward, providing, in the process, a new space for thinking unflinchingly outside the norm.
Jinka Jyotsna and R Srinivasan examine the quest motif-women's quest for identity, self, humanity, and empowerment-and the theme of gender justice in Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple.
Chandrama Swain and Jaya Dwivedi take a critical look at the gender-bending practice of "Bacha Posh"-where an Afghan family without a male child chooses a girl-child to dress and behave like a boy-and its psychosocial effect on the child thus chosen (bacha posh), with reference to selected works of Nadia Hashimi.
Averi Mukhopadhyay meditates, apropos of Amitabha Bagchi's campus novel Above Average, on the matrix of power relations in the academe and how the hierarchical position, class, caste, and gender inform such relations, and how eventually power produces counterpower.
Anu P and P Bhaskaran Nair argue that teachers should be given more freedom to intervene at various stages of the curriculum and such curricular interventions should be made an integral part of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs for active and performative participation from both teachers and learners.
Mohammed Taher Jasim concludes, based on his analysis of the presence and linguistic realizations of suggestion, apology, and complaint speech acts in course books, that pragmatics is given short shrift by course book writers and hence calls for greater inclusion of speech acts in the teaching-learning process to help learners develop pragmatic competence in the target language.
Subbu Nisha M and V Rajasekaran highlight the importance of presentation skill for employability and suggest, based on a pilot study, that Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques would help the students improve their presentation skill.
Salma Al-Humaidi and Mohamed Ismail Abu Rahmah recommend various components-exploring theory; microteaching and reflection; lesson planning and tutor feedback; real teaching and observation; and post-teaching, reflection, and feedback-for improving the teaching practice program offered to student teachers at the College of Education at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.
P L L Annapurna and Vickram Sahai suggest-based on their study of Aaker's Brand Identity Model, McQuarrie and Mick's Taxonomy Model, and Expanded Taxonomy Model-an extended model that incorporates all figures of speech under the category Brand as Symbol.
Consulting Editor
|
|
|||
| Article | Price (₹) | ||
| Subversion of "Madness" in Allen Ginsberg's Poetry |
100
|
||
| Of Conception and Confession: A Comparative Analysis of Kamala Das and Sylvia Plath |
100
|
||
| Alice Walker's The Color Purple: A Formidable Journey in Search of Self |
100
|
||
| Bacha Posh, the Female Sons of Afghanistan: A Critical Study with Reference to Selected Works of Nadia Hashimi |
100
|
||
| Mapping the Trajectory of Power Relations in Academia: A Close Reading of Amitabha Bagchi's Above Average |
100
|
||
| Teacher Intervention in the Curriculum: What? Why? How? - Redefining the Scope of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programs |
100
|
||
| Incorporating Pragmatics in English Language Teaching |
100
|
||
| Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Techniques: A Therapeutic Approach to Enhancing the Presentation Skill of Engineering Students |
100
|
||
| TEFL Practicum at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman: Review and Recommendations |
100
|
||
| Figures of Speech in Branding |
100
|
||
Subversion of "Madness" in Allen Ginsberg's Poetry
Allen Ginsberg's writings exhibit a deep interest in psychiatry and mental disorders. For generations, mental illness has been socially tabooed. Although society creates an easily identifiable figure of the "Other" by eliminating the insane from its premises, the Beats, being anti-mainstream, latch onto this identification to develop connections among themselves based on the common ground of psychosis. Ginsberg, who believes in the infinite capacity of human consciousness, is disappointed by the social restrictions imposed on the modern man. This paper discusses his attempts to exorcise shame, guilt, and fear-the inhibitions that Ginsberg believes, act as barriers to an individual's attainment of self-realization and an uninhibited existence. The paper underscores the factors that motivated Ginsberg to evolve spiritually in the direction of living a visionary life. Further, it draws attention to the various experimentations to which Ginsberg subjected himself while searching for divinity.
Of Conception and Confession: A Comparative Analysis of Kamala Das and Sylvia Plath
Sylvia Plath, one of the most brilliant American confessional poets, deals with her dreams and demons with a fiercely creative spirit in her poems. Kamala Das, regarded as the mother of modern Indian English poetry, is equally outstanding in her fearless expression of sensitive themes such as physical love, patriarchal domination, body of woman, and her trapped soul. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the two poets who are distinctively different from each other in terms of their social, religious, and cultural backgrounds and yet are so similar in various ways that a parallel reading of them opens up certain unexplored avenues as regards their poetical works.
Alice Walker's The Color Purple: A Formidable Journey in Search of Self
This paper attempts to comprehend and describe the pains of the alienated women characters in Alice Walker's The Color Purple, an epistolary novel that hinges on the trials, tribulations, and the final triumph of Celie, who represents the oppressed black women. Search for self and quest for identity is a dominant theme in African American women's literature. Against this backdrop, the novel poignantly delineates Celie's efforts at identifying and asserting her "self" in the midst of various tormenting experiences she encounters. Her experiences as a helpless daughter, a powerless wife, and a voiceless mother poignantly impact her outlook on life, and these experiences force her to evolve as a determined and responsible woman. Her character advances from stoical submission to personal responsibility and formidable assertiveness. She exploits the power of letter writing to look within and rightfully express her concerns. In the course of time, her letters become an instrument of self-realization and self-mastery, and she deftly uses the letters to define her life's mission and emerge as a holistic individual. Through Celie, Walker hints that oppression of black women can be conquered by introspection rather than searching for external solutions. The novel highlights the importance of discovering one's self and realizing one's identity in an alien soil and culture.
Bacha Posh, the Female Sons of Afghanistan: A Critical Study with Reference to Selected Works of Nadia Hashimi
Bacha Posh is a widespread and widely accepted Afghan tradition where a girl-child is made to transform into a boy and behave as one till she attains puberty. Non-voluntary in nature, this custom has been patronized by a misogynistic society for centuries now. This paper traces the psychological, social, biological, and cultural complexities involved in the practice with reference to selected works of Afghan American writer Nadia Hashimi. The paper analyzes the restrictive and repressive aspects as well as the protective and provocative aspects of the practice of bacha posh.
Mapping the Trajectory of Power Relations in Academia: A Close Reading of Amitabha Bagchi's Above Average
Academia represents society at its microcosmic level where students, teachers, administrators, and parents across diverse regions, religions, classes, races, castes, and genders interact with each other. Camaraderie between students and students, faculty and students, faculty and parents, faculty and faculty, and students and administrators develop. This paper argues that the bonhomie existing between the major participants in academia is marked by the interference of power, whereby the one wielding more power by virtue of one's `position, class, race, caste, or gender tries to dictate the terms of a particular relationship. A specific code of conduct regarding speech, behavior, dress, thought, writing, love, and life is laid down for all-from professors to students and administrators to parents. The paper calls attention to the fact that embracing fixed roles defined by ideological prejudices, hierarchical divisions, and oppression implies the birth of "power relations" as well as an acceptance of the same. The paper examines, in particular, the trajectory of "power relations" in the light of the course of action defined by power for everyone in academia. However, power in general serves not only to suppress the powerless but is also productive. The paper aims to show how in a specific location as academia as described in Amitabha Bagchi's Above Average, countering power with power creates a proper kind of resistance that blurs the difference between "power" and "resistance" in "power relations."
Teacher Intervention in the Curriculum: What? Why? How ? Redefining the Scope of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Programs
Availability of rich resources on the one side and high demand for them in the form of refined products on the other, still no intermediary agency to bring them together-this metaphor seems to represent Indian pedagogy in general. Teachers' resourcefulness and individual potentials go unexplored as they are forced to follow a prefabricated curriculum in a rigid administrative framework. On the other side, learners long for more humanistic approaches, diverse learning experience, and closer-to-life learning outcomes. This paper attempts to bridge this gap in classroom instruction with a special focus on English as a Second Language (ESL) by emphasizing the need for more freedom for teachers so that they can intervene in the curriculum at various stages. This curricular intervention, if made an integral part of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programs, by using action research as a tool, is expected to result in a twofold change: in the participant teacher's greater involvement in the CPD programs and the learner's more productive participation in the ESL classes.
Incorporating Pragmatics in English Language Teaching
Investigating the presence and presentation of speech acts in course books may be significant in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) environment since in most cases, students rely on them for pragmatic input. Though a large body of research has dealt with speech acts, relatively little research has been conducted to examine the speech acts in English course books. To fill this gap, this study aimed to investigate how complaints, apologies, and suggestions were presented in EFL course books. To this end, a content analysis of fourteen course books of different language proficiency levels (i.e., from beginner to advanced) was conducted to find out (i) whether the course books included the aforementioned speech acts, (ii) the range and frequencies of linguistic strategies used to perform these speech acts, and (iii) whether their frequency showed variation across all proficiency levels. The findings have clear implications for course book writers, publishers, and language teachers. The findings and implications are presented.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) Techniques: A Therapeutic Approach to Enhancing the Presentation Skill of Engineering Students
Presentation skill is an important employability skill that makes learners convey their ideas with confidence. It is a much required skill at workplaces, and employers look for it in employees during the interview process because presenting ideas with clarity and effectiveness is very much needed at workplaces. Developing presentation skill in classroom is important because it not only develops the communication skill of students but elevates their level of confidence. As presentation has become an indispensable part of tests pertinent to speaking, this study focuses on developing the presentation skill of students. It is believed that Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) techniques would help in achieving the task of making students present their ideas in English with confidence. A pilot study was carried out with a group of twenty students in order to assess the effectiveness of NLP techniques in developing the presentation skill of students. The study found a considerable difference in the presentation level of the students before and after implementing NLP techniques. Hence, the study affirms that NLP techniques are quite useful in improving the presentation skill of students.
TEFL Practicum at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman: Review and Recommendations
A very important component of the teacher education program at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Sultanate of Oman, is teaching practice. It reflects the practical and professional effect of the pedagogical and specialized courses offered to the student teachers enrolled at the College of Education. In order to maximize its effectiveness, its objectives, tools, and procedures should be revised and upgraded frequently, taking into consideration the current developments in the field of teacher education. Hence, this paper proposes a model for enhancing the teaching practice program offered to the student teachers of English at SQU. It also describes the stages of the model which include: exploring theory; microteaching and reflection; lesson planning and tutor feedback; real teaching and observation; and post-teaching, reflection, and feedback. Some recommendations have been given for maximizing the effectiveness of the teaching practice program at SQU.
Figures of Speech in Branding
In advertisements, the use of language creates appeal. For the creation of appeal, the copywriters make use of stylistic devices and visuals. They also deviate and make it an artful deviation. Artful deviations occur when an expression deviates from expectation but is still not seen as ludicrous. Copywriters with their persuasive and deviative language create the copy of the advertisement. They condense all that can be said about a product into a few appropriate and concise points. Copywriters play an important role in establishing the brands in the minds of the consumers using rhetorical devices. This paper discusses the integration of Figures of Speech with David Aaker's brand identity model and focuses on the role of figures of speech in building the image of brands as symbols.