HELP! English Literature!

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   cupid51posted 13 years ago

   My daughter is doing her PG in English literature. She needs help on the topic  'imperialism and textuality'. It would be a great help if  anybody could provide me a link to any article on the above topic. 

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      alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      another place to look would be the 'other' side of the same coin,  Colonialism and Textuality 

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      vox vocisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So, first thing to do: type English literature + textuality into the google search engine box, and then read as many texts as you can (your, daughter, that is) and then English literature + imperialism. Take the most important texts and then write a good piece of work. Academic writing is about research and the ability to concise a ´´sea of information´´ into a narrow topic.
      Some links just by the look at the title:
      
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intertextuality
      
      http://www.cfkeep.org/html/stitch.php?s … 6644319796
      
      http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/cu … o=EJ359180
      
      http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&r … p;gs_rfai=

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      pburgerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I suggest you try Google Scholar
      http://scholar.google.com.au/schhp?hl=en&tab=ws

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   poetlorraineposted 13 years ago

   call me a dunce but what exactly is that, maybe i will research myself, when i am done hubbing

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      alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Imperialism - territorial supremacy with unequal relations for trade, culture etc - the Brits did it and now the Yanks are doing it, next the Chinese will get their turn maybe.
      
      It is about subordination and domination - put that in textuality and you can express a literary view of any text through the lens of sub and dom,  swings both ways of course

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         cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks poetlorraine & alternate poet for the response! But what actually I was searching for, is a ready made paper on the subject!

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            Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Your first post said "my daughter is doing her PG in English literature" so I think people gave advice based on the "daughter is doing" part, which is why they guided you towards sources to help find information on post-colonialism etc.  What I think you meant to say is your daughter is NOT doing her PG in English lit and needs to buy a paper so she can get credit for having done it anyway, am I getting it right?

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               cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for asking the clarification! My daughter is really doing her PG in English literature. She did not get a  good reference book and the time is nearing for the exam. She asked for my help but I am not an expert in literature! So I thought that I should ask for help from my friends in the forum. I hope I could explained  it  properly.

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         Sab Ohposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         "Imperialism - territorial supremacy with unequal relations for trade, culture etc - the Brits did it and now the Yanks are doing it, next the Chinese will get their turn maybe."
         
         
         NO, we did it over one hundred years ago and China did it long before either the US or the UK.

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            cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Sab Oh for the response!

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   Rod Marsdenposted 13 years ago

   1984, a novel by George Orwell might be a start. Orwell also had a lot to say in his essays concerning British Imperialism and what went wrong in the 19th and 20th Centuries. H.G. Wells didn't just write Science Fiction. He also wrote directly about the times he was living in. For an American source I would recommend Aldous Huxley and his novel Brave New World. I hope that is of some help.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Rod Marsden for the response, I hope it should be helpful for my daughter!

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   Audreveaposted 13 years ago

   Edward Said - Orientalism is one of the texts usually associated with this study area (can't remember them all) but as others said, it's about subjectivity and defining the 'other' (i.e. if I am an imperialist and position myself as the 'norm', everyone else who doesn't conform to that norm (I swear that wasn't supposed to be in rhyme) is 'other'.
   
   The literature shows attitudes and ideologies around both being the invader and the invaded.
   
   It's actually a really big topic. She's got some reading ahead of her.

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      Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The books I have mentioned deal with imperialism, lies told to the military and the civilians to keep a corrupt society functioning plus weird and wonderful belief systems.
      
      In the 19th Century China came under threat of invasion and total take over by the imperial forces of the Western countries plus Japan. You can look into the Boxer rebellion. One thing the Boxers were upset about was the influx of opium into their country by the British. Yes opium did not  originally come from China. Another form of attack was foisting your religion on somebody else though Christians may not agree with this point of view and see missionaries in a more noble light. But this is all history, not literature.

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         Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Read stuff by Chinua Achebe and Jamaica Kincaid, or even Leslie Marmon Silko and James Joyce... if you want some ideas in literature that represent what is sometimes called The Empire Writes Back.

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            Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            James Joyce is hard going but good.

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               alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               James Hoyce is hard for someone actually dong the work,  far too hard for someone who wants a ready made essay sent to her.

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                  Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I have had to write an essay on Ulysses so I know how hard James Joyce can be.

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               Shadesbreathposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Dubliners is a very approachable book and it gives the sense of "place" very well as seen from a native perspective.  And the writing is sublime.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I like to thanks you all Audrevea, Rod Marsden, Shadesbreath & Alternate Poet for your discussions on the topic. I am forwarding it to my daughter so that she could find  the guidance  from these discussions.

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   habeeposted 13 years ago

   I'm a retired Brit lit teacher. Read some of Rudyard Kipling. He wrote about the effect of British Imperialism on ancient cultures.

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      Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree habee Rudyard Kipling's poetry as well as his stories are easy going.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks habee for your help! I think it would definitely help my daughter!

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   premierkjposted 13 years ago

   The commentary of Edward Said is very useful for this subject. However when I was writing an essay in this area I used the example of a Joseph Conrad novel 'Heart of Darkness' combined with analysis of Chinua Achebe and Benita Parry. Conrad is broadly accused of being an imperialist himself so his writing is very controversial. Achebe has a lot to say about Conrad, so it is for the essayist to interpret the debate.

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      Paradise7posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      That "Heart of Darkness" was sort of shocking to me, for those very reasons.  Imperialism is against humanity.

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         Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Imperialism is humanity sometimes at its worst. The imperialists in "Heart of Darkness" are flawed humans out of their depth.
         
         The Belgium government of the day could have stopped the slaughter and mistreatment of the natives in the Congo if their thought processes were different.
         
         The potato famine caused by the potato blight  might not have been so harsh in the south of Ireland if those in the north had been given permission to send food south. They were not given permission by the English  authorities.
         
         In India in the 19th Century there was famine that might have been relieved if one part of the country could have come to the aid of the devastated part. British imperialism was such that this could not and did not happen.
         
         Sure imperialism can be seen as against humanity sometimes but lest we forget it comes from humanity.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Premjerkj, Paradise7 & Rod Marsden for sparing your valuable time and throwing some light on the topic.

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   Rod Marsdenposted 13 years ago

   For British/Australian imperialism you might check out The Cake Man by Bob Merritt. Its a play written by an Aboriginal writer and deals with the impact on the Aborigines of white invasion and white settlement. It isn't a very long play and it is easy to read.

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      alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Especially relevant to the underlying issues of the Iraq invasion - interesting to see that so little has changed, just the language of it.

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         cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks alternate poet for the information.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you again Rod Marsden for the valuable information!

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         Rod Marsdenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         you are welcome cupid51. I hope it does help.

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   torimariposted 13 years ago

   Most universities offer an online Library on their website for students. I went to PSU and it was absolutely huge and priceless for my papers, and I didn't have to waste time scouring a normal library.
   
   I didn't know about it till my sophmore year however, so maybe she doesn't know about hers.
   
   Ask if the school has one because they are handy and packed full of all information such as this I'm sure.

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      cupid51posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks torimari for the information. I would check that option also.

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