Cross-Cultural and Ideological Perceptions of the Other in: W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe and Assia Djebar

Doktorarbeit / Dissertation , 2009 , 399 Seiten , Note: P.H.D

Literaturwissenschaft - Vergleichende Literaturwissenschaft

This doctoral thesis investigates ‘Otherness’ through works which have thoroughly examined and questioned the creation of a “stable self” by putting it in dialogue with its others and to society as a whole, namely William Butler Yeats’s selected poems, James Joyce’s Dubliners, (1914) Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, (1899) Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), and Assia Djebar’s L’Amour, La Fantasia (1985).
By representing the results of English, Belgian and French oppression in tangible material terms as well as its spiritual bankruptcies, these writers mark their works as clearly critical of the colonial regime and opposed to colonial exploitation, positioning themselves as postcolonial through their representations. In this sense, their texts raise issues debated in current postcolonial discussions. Speaking in the voice of the oppressed, in the language of the oppressor, as a weapon to make cultural difference visible, these writers analyse the problem of identity crisis, displacement, disintegration and the effects of colonialism on the culture and psyche of the colonised subject.
Despite their differing conceptions of Irishness, both William Butler Yeats and James Joyce repudiated things English and helped to defend their history as well as regain pride in their race. The Other in these writers is presented not in terms of colour but conceived in relation to city/countryside, past/present, and Protestant/Catholic.
The theoretical questions that haunted Chinua Achebe’s career as a writer were also prompted by the desire to re-orientate cultural discourse and initiate a discourse of resistance. In his commitment to questions relating to identity and the relationship of the individual and history, Achebe like the above-mentioned Irish writers contributed to the analysis of colonisation and the natives’ resistance to oppression both at the level of the individual and that of the nation.
As another marginalised writer, Joseph Conrad anticipated Yeats’s prophecy in his 1921 poem, ‘The Second Coming,’ several years earlier with the publication of Heart of Darkness. Whereas Yeats saw the spiral shapes of history, Conrad saw the emptiness at the centre of civilisation and the atrocities at the margins. He showed the hollow morality at the centre of the imperialist enterprise, one that could not hold. He too wrote about the paralysis of modern society, the disruption of traditional society under the impact of intruding forces.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

• Acknowledgment
• Introduction
• PART I: Colonialism and its Legacies of Darkness
  • Chapter I: The Irish Colonial Experience
    • 1.1. Religious Tensions
    • 1.2. The Cromwellian Re-Conquest of Ireland
    • 1.3. The Penal Laws
    • 1.4. The Act of Union
    • 1.5. Catholic Emancipation
    • 1.6. The Great Famine
    • 1.7. Home Rule, Rome Rule
  • Chapter II: Nigeria's Falling Apart
    • 2.1. Indirect Rule
    • 2.2. Divide and Rule
    • 2.3. The Unification of Nigeria
  • Chapter III: Algeria's Long Road to Peace
    • 3.1. Opposition to Occupation
      • 3.1.1. The Sétif Massacres
      • 3.1.2. "La chasse à l'Arabe”
      • 3.1.3. The Algerian War of Independence
      • 3.1.4. The Massacres of October 1961
  • Chapter IV: Leopold II's Congo: a Negation of Humanity
    • 4.1. The Humanitarian Disaster
      • 4.1.1. Rubber Boom, Congo Doom
    • 4.2. The Outcry
    • 4.3. Post-Leopoldian Era
• PART II: At the Crossroads of Cultures
  • Chapter V: 'Barbaric' Others: Why are They not so Blest?
    • 5.1. Stereotyping/Othering as a Culture Disease
    • 5.2. Scientific Approach to Otherness
    • 5.3. The Ideology of English, Belgian and French Colonisations
      • 5.3.1. "The White Negroes"
      • 5.3.2. Victorian Ethnology
      • 5.3.3. The African Mind
• Conclusion (Fazit)
• Bibliography (Literaturverzeichnis)

Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte

This thesis explores the cross-cultural and ideological perceptions of the "Other" in the works of five prominent writers: W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe, and Assia Djebar. It examines how these authors, writing from diverse cultural backgrounds and historical contexts, engage with the complexities of colonialism, identity, and the construction of the "Other." The thesis aims to analyze the literary representations of colonial encounters and their lasting impact on the identities of both colonizers and colonized.

• Colonialism and its legacies of darkness
• The construction of the "Other" in literature
• Cross-cultural perspectives on identity and difference
• The role of language and literature in shaping perceptions of the "Other"
• The impact of colonialism on cultural and ideological formations

Zusammenfassung der Kapitel

The first part of the thesis, "Colonialism and its Legacies of Darkness," delves into the historical context of colonialism and its impact on the Irish, Nigerian, and Algerian experiences. Chapter I, "The Irish Colonial Experience," examines the long history of British colonialism in Ireland, focusing on the religious tensions, the Cromwellian conquest, the Penal Laws, the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation, the Great Famine, and the Home Rule movement. Chapter II, "Nigeria's Falling Apart," explores the British colonial experience in Nigeria, analyzing the implementation of indirect rule, the divide-and-rule strategy, and the eventual unification of Nigeria. Chapter III, "Algeria's Long Road to Peace," investigates the French colonial experience in Algeria, focusing on the Algerian resistance to occupation, the Sétif massacres, the Algerian War of Independence, and the October 1961 massacres. Chapter IV, "Leopold II's Congo: a Negation of Humanity," examines the Belgian colonization of the Congo under King Leopold II, highlighting the humanitarian disaster, the rubber boom, the international outcry, and the post-Leopoldian era.

The second part of the thesis, "At the Crossroads of Cultures," analyzes the literary representations of the "Other" in the works of the five chosen authors. Chapter V, "'Barbaric' Others: Why are They not so Blest?," explores the concept of stereotyping and othering as a cultural phenomenon, examining the scientific approach to otherness and the ideologies of English, Belgian, and French colonizations. This chapter also delves into the concept of "The White Negroes," Victorian ethnology, and the discourse on the "African Mind."

Schlüsselwörter

The keywords and focus themes of the text include colonialism, postcolonialism, identity, otherness, cross-cultural perspectives, literary representations, Irish literature, Nigerian literature, Algerian literature, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Chinua Achebe, Assia Djebar, and the construction of the "Other" in literature.

• Note: P.H.D
• Autor: Doctor Malika Rebai Maamri (Autor:in)
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2009
• Seiten: 399
• Katalognummer: V276186
• ISBN (eBook): 9783656692003
• ISBN (Buch): 9783656691990
• Sprache: Englisch
• Schlagworte: cross-cultural, ideological, perceptions, other, yeats, james, joyce, joseph, conrad, chinua, achebe, assia, djebar