Thematic Analysis of the Works on Philosophic Problems - Dissertation Example

A Thematic Analysis of the Works of Yvonne Vera, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Ama Ata Aidoo Regarding Philosophers and Theorists Like Foucault, Judith Butler, and Jean Baudrillard Introduction Philosophy plays a major role in the society where we live. It refers to a system of beliefs that explain life and behavior of individuals in the society. Through philosophy, one can be able to understand why people behave the way they do in the society. Literature also has been used by writers for a long time as a mirror that reflects the demeanor, and character of people in the society. Africa, for instance, has produced great women writers whom their literary work has helped in educating people as they mirror through literature the demeanor and character of people. The works of renowned African female writers including Yvone Vera, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Ama Ata Aidoo among others are associated with philosophers and theorists like Foucault, Judith Butler and Jean Baudrillard. Objective The objective of the study is to explore the works of Yvone Vera, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Ama Ata Aidoo in light of theories postulated by philosophers Foucault, Judith Butler, Jean Baudrillard and others in light of gender, discourse, media, nationalism, globalization, power, identity, migration, space, environment, race, color, and post-colonialism. Methodology/Approach This study will rely on secondary data including novels written by different authors, journals, books and reputable website. The data collected will be analyzed thematically in which case the main themes in the novels will be discussed in light of the thoughts of different philosophers. Preliminary Results and Discussion Michel Foucault’s theory is based on post-structuralism, synonymously used with postmodernism or deconstruction. His theory seeks to make sense of how different the contemporary society is structured from the society of the past. Foucault points out that “each modernization process has disturbing effects with regard to the power of the individual and the control of the government.” This is manifested through his publication, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, in which he paints out the picture of a contemporary society. He explores the transition from what he refers to as “culture of spectacle” to “carceral culture.” (Foucault 200). In the culture of spectacle as he calls it, punishment was effected on the body through torture, obliteration and dismemberment while under carceral culture, discipline and punishment became internalized and directed to the constitution and when necessary, rehabilitation of social justice (Felluga par.1). Throughout his work, Foucault aimed at criticizing society, history, culture and social relationship as a way of increasing the individual’s awareness of the evolution of power in which he is caught, and to increase his freedom as a result of such awareness. He later concluded that “knowledge is a power over others, the power to define others.” According to Foucault, knowledge at some point stops being liberation and becomes a mode of regulation, surveillance and discipline. His view underscores the importance of placing people under surveillance rather than to subject them to some sort of penalty. He argues that slavery is not a power relationship when man is in chains (221). He argues that a prisoner can never free himself unless he realizes that he is in fact incarcerated. This provides people with a powerful thinking on how to fight oppression when they see it. Tsitsi Dangarembga, a Zimbabwean scholar’s works seemed to be centered on Foucault philosophy in a number of ways. This is seen through most of her works which dealt with the oppressive nature of a patriarchal family structure and women coming of age. This is seen through her publications such as Nervous Conditions, and through the three plays, The Lost of the Soil, She No Longer Weeps and The Third One. However, the most astonishing publication is the Whispering Land in which she draws parallel between the broken family ties under apartheid era witnessed in South Africa, resulting into national disintegration (Dangarembga 216). In the Nervous Condition, Dangarembga uses Sartre to mutually reinforce attitudes between the colonized and the colonizers and basically condemns the colonized for what amounts to a psychological disorder. She feels that despite the colonizers having brought good things which never existed in her country before such as better education and infrastructure, nothing much changed with regard to human rights violence as she notes that her countrymen were being oppressed and disintegrated based on social class, race and color by the colonial powers (Dangarembga 220). Her concern is that no one seemed to see how much they were being oppressed by the colonizers at the expense of providing financial aids. She takes point with large chunks of land, which had been taken by colonizers for their own benefit. As such, she is of the view that her countrymen and women should stand up and fight for their rights, and stop post-colonialism that their former colonizers subject them to, just like Foucault noted that a prisoner can only free himself after noticing that he is imprisoned (Dangarembga 66). Just like Foucault pointed out that one should fight oppression whenever it is seen, Dangarembga also is of the same opinion and as such calling for her people to stand up and stop oppression and impunity in her country and the world at large. Dangarembga’s views also seem to concur with that of Foucault with regard to power and discourse, where Foucault argues that knowledge is a power over others, the power to define others (221). According to Dangarembga, without Africans becoming aware of how much they are being oppressed by the western powers, they will never come to liberate themselves (222). Dangarembga’s works are also seen to be based on the ideas of Jean Baudrillard a French philosopher who was seen to be very vocal and critical of contemporary society, thought and culture. In most of his works, Baudrillard tried to investigate how the contemporary society is dominated by the mass media, which has become very influential with globalization taking toll. He only argues at some point that there is no real world, only simulations which have changed what events mean, and that only violent symbolic exchange can prevent the world from becoming a total simulation (Baudrillard 17). According to Baudrillard, postmodern world is one in which critical boundaries and distinctions, such as those between genders, social class, political leanings and the once independent realms of culture and society lose power (63). In his view postmodern societies are characterized by differentiation, the collapse of power or implosion. Yvonne Vera, a Zimbabwean female scholar works are mainly based on gender issue and the situation of women in his country generating both praise and controversy (Namulondo 101). In her work, she is basically concerned with the trauma that the body of women suffer as a result of war witnessed in her country. She mainly focuses on the incidences of extreme violence that can only be understood on a wider cultural probing. Vera notes that the social world has broken down almost completely. She argues that community, “family and nation, all barely exist, and where they do, they are spots of unspeakable valance and betrayal” (Namulondo 103). Vera’s view makes use of ideas and information from several cultural critics of both Africa and Western philosophical orientations such as Homi K. Bhabha with his concept of the “Third Space” and Obioma Nnaemeka’s concept of “Nego Feminism.” According to Bhabha, the Third space is an intervening space that allows the creation of new identities. This concept offers an insight into the complexities of people whose identities and lived experiences make visible the hierarchical positions in the society (Moukhlis 12). Bhabha explains that the move away from singularities of gender or class as primary conceptual and organizational categories has created an awareness of the subject position of gender, generation, race institutional location, sexual orientation and geopolitical locale that hinder any claim of identity in the modern world (Needham 66). He goes ahead to explain that what is theoretically innovative and politically important is the need to think beyond narratives of origin and preliminary subjectivities and focus only on those moments that are produced in articulation of cultural differences. Vera’s view can also be looked at with regard to Judith Butler’s theory, which mainly focused on gender as seen through her publications, Gender Trouble and Bodies that Matter. In Gender Trouble, Butler assumes that “there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results’ (Butler 25). She continues to suggest that “gender is the repeated stylization of the body, a set of repeated acts within a highly rigid regulatory frame that congeal over time to produce appearance of substance, of a natural sort of being” (Butler 33). From this statement, Butler implies that the substance of gender results from copying of a gendered act that develops with time to appear natural, which concurs with Vera’s views of the status of women in her country. Vera also argues that the violation of human rights as an abuse of tradition and culture thereby creating a belief that those individuals who mistreat and exploits others should be shunned in the society, thereby indicating identity of post colonialism in such societies. Edward Said, a philosopher, on his part argues that the west is the potential power that controls the world (109). Said continues to argue that developing countries are subjects of the developed nations according to Prokosch (106). This implies that as a theorist, no underdeveloped country in the world would be able to enjoy its sovereignty and autonomy despite having gained independence; rather they will still continue to be manipulated by their colonizers and other wealthy nations (Samantrai 31). This is a clear reflection of the post colonialism of the former master whose agenda is to protect their interest. At this point, it is quite significant that there is a difference in though between Aidoo and Edward in advocating for the countries in the world to enjoy their freedom and autonomous power. It is worth pointing out that Aidoo’s opinion here means that he hates the western countries, rather it indicates the growth in literature, and the ideological approach scholars have gained over the years. Cheah (239) and Nagengast (354) argue that human rights groups should provide protection to citizens from race, gender, and religious violence because such activities demean the moral standards of the community. Most African countries have been seen to stand strong against the practice of gender bias, racism, tribalism, and nepotism in their land (Hove 23). Theorist also argues that oral traditions significant impact on building personalities, which “create cultural and social identities that people transmit, and wish to belong” (Handwerker 14). According to Aidoo a prominent African female scholar in recent times identified with the fight against social injustice after the colonial period. In her literary book, Our Sister Killjoy, she reveals how Sissie, the main character traveling to England and Germany to study. From her homeland in Ghana, she encounters a past of Europe’s historical abuse and colonial atrocious rape. Aidoo shows that looking at the river; ‘I could see virgin ladies who had been raped” (19). Aidoo suggests that Sissie failed to see the actual raping of virgin lands in the name of domination and expansion, rather, she was able to show that, ignorance, violence and lust were the social injustices in the entire Europe. In her view, Africa was a virgin land with abundant resources, which were being exploited by the Western countries to serve as raw materials in their industries after having depleted their own (Meltzer 13). In this case, the Western countries are seen to have robed Africa of her resources and sovereignty. This is true reflection of the post colonialism experienced by Bavarian women who is depicted as wearing a black cloak in the novel, which symbolizes slavery in a free land. Work Plan No. Activity Time in Months 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Preliminary preparations 2 Literature review 3 Collection of data 4 Data Analysis 5 Report Writing 6 Report Editing 7 Presentation Implication of the Research Several scholars have associated the works of artists in the Western world with the thoughts of philosophers. This study will bring to light the association between the issues affecting Africa and Africans in light of philosophical thought and literacy criticism. Works Cited Aidoo, Ama Ata. Our Sister Killjoy, New York: Longman. 1977. Print. Baudrillard, Jean. Jean Baudrillard: Live Theory. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004 Print. Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. London: Routledge, 1990 Print. Cheah, Pheng. ‘Positioning Human Rights in the Current Global Conjuncture’, Public Culture 9: 233–66. 1997. Print. Dangarembga, Tsitsi. Nervours Conditions: A Novel. Oxford: Oxford University Press.2002 Print. Felluga, Dino. “Modules on Foucault: On Panoptic and Carceral Society.” Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. July 17, 2002. Retrieved from: http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/newhistoricism/modules/foucaultcarceral.html Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012 Print. Goody, Jack. The Interface between the Written and the Oral. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Print. Handwerker, W. Penn. ‘Universal Human Rights and the Problem of Unbounded Cultural Meanings’: American Anthropologist 99(4): 799–809. Print. Hove, Chenjerai. Bones. Harare: Baobab. 1989. Independent (Harare). ‘Mugabe’s Address Calculated State Terrorism’, 12–18 February. 1999. Meltzer, Milton. The Human Rights Book. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1979. Moukhlis, Salah, "A History of Hopes Postponed: Women's Identity and The Postcolonial State in Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey toward Independence. Research in African Literatures, Fall2003, Vol. 34 Issue 3, 66-83. 2003. Print. Nagengast, Carole. ‘Women, Minorities, and Indigenous Peoples: Universalism and Cultural Relativity’, Journal of Anthropological Research 53(3):349–70. 1997. Print. Namulondo, Sarah. Imagined Realities, Defying Subjects: Voice, Sexuality and Subversion in African Women’s Writing. Graduate School Theses and Dissertations. University of South Florida (USF). March, 25, 2010, 1-186. Needham, Anuradha Dingway, Using the Master’s Tools, New York: St. Martin’s. 2000. Print. Prokosch, Eric. ‘Amnesty International’s Anti-Torture Campaigns’, in Duncan Forrest (ed.) A Glimpse of Hell: Reports on Torture Worldwide, pp. 26–35. New York: New York University Press. 1996. Print. Said, Edward. Orientalism, London: Rutledge and Kegan Paul. 1978. Print. Samantrai, Ranu, “Caught at the Confluence of History: Ama Aidoo’s Necessary nationalism”, in Research in African Literatures, Vol. 26, Issue 2, summer 95, 143, pp. 140-157. 1995. Print. Read More