Browsing by Subject "Postcolonialism"
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Item After Umm Kulthūm : pop music, postcolonial modernity, and gendered national subjectivity in Cairo(2010-05) Gilman, Daniel Jason; Keeler, Ward; Ali, Kamran A.; Strong, Pauline T.; Walters, Keith; Shemer, YaronI argue that the ways in which members of the youth generation in Cairo, Egypt consume Arabic-language popular music, and the aesthetic criteria by which they evaluate the worth of various songs and singers, constitute a key component, along with corresponding criteria of political, racial, gendered, and cultural authenticity of Egyptian subjectivity, of a new form of Egyptian gendered national subjectivity in postcolonial modernity. These aesthetic and authenticating criteria are fundamentally interrelated, as one’s consumer preferences within genres of Egyptian popular music are often taken as indicative of the nature of one’s Egyptian subjectivity. For previous generations in postcolonial Egypt, discriminating taste for high modernist aesthetics in popular music, especially the singer Umm Kulthūm, comprised an aspect of desirable cultural modernity and authenticity. This aesthetic has been superseded among contemporary youth by an emphasis on direct emotional evocation as an index of authenticity. Correspondingly, youth in Cairo have come to judge the authenticity of their Egyptian subjectivity against the political subjectivity of their elders’ generations, and the authenticity of their gendered, racial, and cultural subjectivities against those of the West and those of other Arab countries, most particularly Lebanon.Item Games as cultural practice: postcolonial imaginations(Texas Tech University, 2008-08) Ortega, Francisco; Check, Ed; Fehr, Dennis; Tedeschi, Carla; Summers, Peter M.; Schneider, AndreasBy creating three board games based on the political frontier between México and the United States, I attempt to promote discourse and interest among 26 participating players about the reality of the border. I also present an alternative perception to that which has been created by sensationalist media, chismes, and indifference. Critical theories like postcolonialism (e.g., Fanon, 1963), feminism (e.g., Saldívar-Hull, 2000), play theory (e.g., Pellegrini, 1995), subaltern studies (e.g., Sandoval, 2000), and autobiographical memory (e.g., Bluck, 2003) play an important role in my exploration of this border, and are relevant to the design of the games employed as the medium for interpersonal interaction. Players answered questionnaires before their game experiences and participated in a group interview after playing the games. Games sessions were also videotaped. A follow up in the form of an e-mail questionnaire was sent to collaborating players. Ultimately, my analysis revealed that board games serve as effective tools to inform, promote discourse, and create interest among people in relation to the social topics presented.Item Skin Bleaching in Jamaica: A Colonial Legacy(2012-07-16) Robinson, Petra AlaineLight skin color sits within a space of privilege. While this has global significance and relevance, it is particularly true in Jamaica, a former British colony. The majority of the population is of African descent, yet there is an elevation of Eurocentric values and a denigration of Afrocentric values in many facets of life, specifically in the promotion of light skin as an indicator of beauty and social status. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological and socio-cultural factors that influence the practice of skin bleaching in the postcolonial society of Jamaica. Additionally, the study outlined the nation's efforts to combat the skin-bleaching phenomenon. The naturalistic paradigm of inquiry was used to frame the study and to collect and analyze data. The sample consisted of fifteen participants?twelve participants (six males and six females) with a history of skin bleaching; a retailer of skin lightening products; a local dermatologist who has written and published in local newspapers on the practice; and a representative from the Ministry of Health who was integrally involved in the national educational efforts to ban the practice. Data came from three sources: in-depth interviews with respondents; observation of participant's skin-bleaching practices; and a review of local cultural artifacts from popular culture and the media. Data from the audio recorded and transcribed interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis. Some of the findings reveal that there are multiple and inconsistent definitions of bleaching; skin bleaching enjoys mixed reviews?much attributed to economic and social class distinctions; bleachers demonstrate and boast of their expertise in managing the bleaching process suggesting, that because of this expertise, they are immune to any negative side-effects of the practice; the bleaching practice was found to be intermittent, time consuming and laborious, costly and addictive; there are several motivations for the skin-bleaching practice, and these are primarily connected to issues of fashion, beauty, popularity, self-image and acceptability; there is a certain level of defiance towards the government?s efforts to ban bleaching yet an expressed sense of responsibility among bleachers. The overall findings show that there is a bias in Jamaica for light skin over dark skin and these values are taught in non-formal and informal ways from very early in life. The practice of skin bleaching is of social and public health concern, and this study has implications for national policy, practice and theory.Item "Something more than fantasy": fathering postcolonial identities through Shakespeare(2005) Waddington, George Roland; Friedman, Alan Warren; Mallin, Eric Scott