The study of newspaper advertisements in the colonial territories helps to draw detailed conclusions about the lifestyle of women in the 18th century. The essential proclamation of the bourgeois revolution, adopted in 1776, did not include women among those who have unalienable rights as human beings, liberty, and the common good. Many years before the Declaration of Rights and Liberties, they were sentenced to complete disenfranchisement. Generations of mid-18th-century American women fought hard to secure their minimal civil liberties for decades to come. These events have had a dramatic impact on the life of the United States today. Women became full members of society and also organized several movements for the freedom of law. The au pair job postings offer an assessment of what basic criteria were essential and sufficient for hiring. Most of the advantages presented in advertising are discriminatory.
The first paragraph contains offers of the services of a young black girl. The main attributes presented in the ad are age, race, work experience, and place of residence. While the last two may be necessary to work, the reference to skin color and age is racist and anti-aging (Eliza Lucas Pinckney 80). The second advertisement offered the domestic services of a young Scottish girl. Critically analyzing the paragraph, it can be said with certainty that the authors considered it necessary to indicate age, race, and nationality, which is a manifestation of discrimination.
Nevertheless, the second letter mentions the personal qualities of a girl. The authors noted that she is a thoroughly honest girl (Eliza Lucas Pinckney 80). This indicates that the degree of stereotypical perception of the image of girls was different from European countries, as a set of character traits, independent of gender or race, became an important criterion. It is important to note that a similar phenomenon is also evident in the modern US. Society has not been completely freed from stereotypes, so in advertisements for domestic work, the nationality of the worker and their gender are still essential criteria.
To summarize, women have come a long way in overcoming inequality and gaining freedom, but gender inequality is still an issue. However, they had relatively greater economic freedom than European society and were perceived through the prism of essential social determinants of colonial times. Thus, an analysis of these ads in the North Carolina newspapers shows that women have gone through severe legal trials that helped them achieve equality.
Work Cited
Eliza Lucas Pinckney. Letters of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, 1739-1762. University The South Carolina Press, 1997. pp. 78-86.
The gender-based violations and crimes against female citizens may consist of emotional, physical, sensual, and sexual abuse. This problem is considered a severe obstacle towards the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by women internationally and is strongly condemned in developed countries. Femicide is the murder of women, usually following the violence solely on the basis of their gender. This particular criminal action against women is of remarkable importance because of its severity and spread (Liu and Fullerton 4261). Mexico takes first place among the countries by the number of criminal records recognized as femicides (Lopez 163). This is why the term was first introduced in this country, later extending to other nations with similar illegal tendencies. The reasons for these statistics could be historical prerequisites bringing the present social mindset and resulting in current circumstances. This paper will apply intersectional and feminist analysis to carefully consider the effects of colonialism on todays power structure in Mexico.
Main body
The history of colonialism directly affected the problem of equality in Mexico. In the era of New Spain, the racial hierarchy was assembled in the way that white people were considered superior, while Indian, African, and mixed individuals were discriminated against. Fortunately, this fact did not hinder the development of local artistic directions, which nowadays can be seen as evidence of past events. Katzew analyzed this social structuring in her work about casta painting (51). She also highlighted that the pieces of art could be considered as confirmation of racial segregation (Katzew 143). As a result, the women and sexual minorities of the victimized nations experienced more pressure than those of Europeans (Kempadoo 18). There are known instances of racial femicide when the enslaved women were treated as objects of sexual desires and killed afterward because of defiance (Ellman and Goodman 81). In the past, white women generally tended to be more accepted and protected because of the higher level of respect towards them due to their race. This tendency is conserved up until the present, making racial femicide a topical problem in Mexico.
Aside from that, there is strongly marked gender inequality evidence in Mexico, resulting in unfair distribution of social roles and violence against women solely because of their gender characteristics. It should be noted that until the 1990s, the female unemployment rate was incredibly high compared to those numbers for the male population (Liu and Fullerton 4265). The consideration of men as breadwinners for families has emerged into a lessening of the importance of woman imaging and dismissive treatment towards them (Lopez 167). Although today, females are employed more than in the past, they experience fewer rights compared to their male counterparts and severe violations of their labor powers (Liu and Fullerton 4270). Economic inequities demonstrate the diminishing of the role of females in the community flowing into the vast discrimination.
The gender inequality in the workplace can be observed in Maquiladora, which is the name for the factories inherent to Latin American countries. The women population of Mexico started working in these plants after the Mexican currency devaluation crisis at the end of the last century. Since then, the employees are discriminated against according to their gender characteristics. Men workers in this type of institution are often employed for management, supervision, and engineering positions (Maldonado-Macias et al. 210). At the same time, female representatives are given only low-skill jobs. They do not have the opportunity to earn the same salary as their male counterparts (Maldonado-Macias et al. 214). Moreover, feminine workers are also segregated according to their age, whereas young women are generally employed in factories with better working conditions (Liu and Fullerton 4267). Despite numerous injuries women acquire in the workplace, Maquiladora usually does not report the accidents, which helps the owners not to compensate. Besides unequal treatment, women experience sexual harassment from their employers (Lopez 164). It should be noted that the treatment of operators in these working places is very close to that in the colonial era. The nature of the violence can be attributed to the countrys historical features (Kempadoo 169). All of these factors contribute to the development of the situation with femicides in Mexico as Maquiladora is the tool of oppression female population.
The significant consequence of such financial oppression is the dependence of the female part of the society on the male members for a living. The economic pressure in the families is often the motive for males to feel dominancy and express their violent and despotic character, even though not the reason for it. The named situation is the case not only for marginalized communities but also for well-off families. There was evidence of gender violence and femicides when the subjects of the crimes were women from different social classes and income levels (Liu and Fullerton 4263). This fact attributes to the conclusion that women generally suffer from tyranny, which in turn emerges into the murder of women crimes.
Apart from that, inequality and unfair treatment of different gender representatives can be observed in other social constituents. Women are treated differently in the medical sphere, where officials considerably neglect instances of violent treatment and do not disclose them to law enforcement agencies. Moreover, the legislative institutions themselves ignore the reports of crimes against women or decide to accuse the victim herself. These factors indicate a dangerous level of discrimination not to take into account the usual persecution of sufferers in case of sharing their stories with the public. Chasing women is not followed by punishment, which makes the situation even worse and spread over time. Despite the adoption of protective laws, the lack of their practical implementation results in the fact that the problem persists to develop further, resulting from the abusive mentality of the society.
The past events that occurred in Mexico also significantly affected the development of sexuality in this region. The cultural legacies and traditions of different nations and races were combined, bringing new inherent and individual identity to the Mexican people. This tendency has impacted the reproductive arrangements changing the notions of the concept mentioned above. Consequently, the ideas are substantially different from Western ideals allowing diversity, polygamy, homosexual and bisexual practices. Although these instances are more applicable to disempowered and criminalized communities, their effect on the deterioration of the situation with femicides cannot be neglected. As Kempadoo (2004) has noted, the women resist the traditional oppressive and exploitative nature of masculine dominance by struggling against it in different social class structures, including marginal sexual spaces. There were also cases of lesbicide when women were killed based on their sexual orientation and gender (Ellman and Goodman 134). Frequently, victims are battered and discriminated against when trying to access the justice system. Henceforth, in regards to sexuality, there is evidence for the oppression of women and sexual minorities.
As mentioned above, Mexicos judiciary structure is positioned against the female part of the society, neglecting the criminal records against them. The legislative regulations which are directed at the protection of womens rights are not implemented thoroughly. Further, law-enforcement agencies do not exhibit the behavior of protecting women against their oppressors. The reason for that is the patriarchal social mindset, which states that women are accusable if they are the subject of violence because of their inappropriate actions and behavior. As a result, military structures do not support the victims, but on the contrary, they exhibit more pressure on them. Although there are initiatives to investigate the instances of femicides in detail or at least without bias and corruption, they are hardly achieved through international media coverage. Moreover, only numerous crime records are checked, which leaves many cases neglected.
Today the situation of femicide shows the deteriorating tendency in Mexico. The rates for femicide are considerably growing, making up 145 percent in 2019 compared to 2015. It should also be noted that the figures are undercounted because some states do not consider femicide an individual crime. It is hard to adequately assess the present situation as the institutions in Mexico do not provide fully reliable statistical information (Lopez 169). The absence of records of victims impedes knowing the real magnitude of the case.
Furthermore, given the pandemic circumstances, more women face domestic violence, which often has detrimental consequences in the form of female murder.
Since the society does not support the victims in Mexico, and governmental structures are positioned against women too, the situation does not seem to improve (Ellman and Goodman 45). The social structures accuse the women of their inappropriate style of clothing, behavior, and appearance, making the victims feel ashamed of what happened to them (Liu and Fullerton 4268). Ignorance of the people surrounding those women brings them closer to death because of a lack of support and care. As intimate partner femicide is the most common type of this crime, the victims tend to be too troubled with their feelings to report anything (Lopez 177). The impunity only contributes to the deterioration of the case as the murderers do not feel tremendous pressure caused by their deeds.
Conclusion
To conclude, femicide is an ongoing problem in Mexican society that has its roots in the countrys history, traditional mentality, and social structure. Colonialism left the discriminatory culture in the region, which resulted in inequality among the inhabitants, including women. Furthermore, gender inequality is the problem of not only the past but also the present as there are no effective measures for its prevention. In addition to that, the oppression of female constituents of the community is observed in the economic part of life too. A maquiladora is one of the institutions that have been using the feminine workforce in heavy physical labor. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies do not take responsibility for the implementation of protective laws, thus fostering impunity. Women are also prosecuted for their sexual orientation, which is called lesbicide. It indicates a dangerous level of non-inclusiveness and human rights violations in Mexican society.
References
Ellman, Paula, and Nancy Goodman, editors. The Courage to Fight Violence Against Women: Psychoanalytic and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Routledge, 2017.
Katzew, Ilona. Casta Painting: Images of Race in Eighteenth-Century Mexico. Yale University Press, 2004.
Kempadoo, Kamala. Sexing the Caribbean: Gender, Race, and Sexual Labor. Routledge, 2004.
Liu, Yu, and Thomas Jr. Fullerton. Evidence from Mexico on Social Status and Violence against Women. Applied Economics, vol. 47, no. 40, 2015, pp. 4260-4274.
Lopez, Angela. Femicide and Gender Violence in Mexico: Elements for a Systemic Approach. The Age of Human Rights Journal, vol. 12, 2019, pp. 158-183.
Maldonado-Macías, Aide, et al. Job Strain Index by Gender Among Middle and High Managers of the Maquiladora Industry in Ciudad Juarez Mexico. Advances in Manufacturing, Production Management and Process Control, edited by Waldemar Karwowski, Stefan Trzcielinski, and Beata Mrugalska, Springer, 2020, pp. 209-218.
It is important to note that with the recent advancements in astrophysics, aerospace engineering, and astronomy, the topic of human space colonization is no longer considered as far-fetched but rather a realistic goal. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is actively working on the project of Mars colonization. However, there are concerns about the benefits of space exploration and colonization in terms of NASAs purpose, the current state of the Earth, as well as habitability of the destinations.
In order to properly inform on the controversy surrounding the subject, it is critical to understand the purpose of NASA as an organization. It is stated that NASA is the United States government agency responsible for U.S. space exploration, space technology, Earth and space science, and aeronautics research & new frontiers, discovering new knowledge, and developing new technology (General Services Administration & the Office of Management and Budget, 2021, para. 2). The agency is the most competent organization is making an effort a possibility since it is highly aware of how to ensure long-term habitability due to years of running the International Space Station (NASA, 2021a). It is reported that NASA is seeking applicants for participation as a crew member during the first one-year analog mission in a habitat to simulate life on a distant world (NASA, 2021b, para. 1). In other words, it is not as evident whether or not space colonization falls within NASAs key objectives.
In conclusion, NASA is putting efforts into advancing space colonization by using its existing competencies. However, the controversy is whether it is possible to create habitability in timescales of colonization. In addition, a question might emerge if the endeavor is adherent to the agencys mission. Lastly, it is controversial whether humanity should pursue space colonization considering the destructive nature of the modern civilization on Earth.
Civil Society has increased its dominance in politics and academic debates. It is one of the concepts termed as complex and debatable for a very long time since pre-colonial Africa. Complexities regarding the concept have led to different definitions ranging from broad perspectives to more specific terms. An analysis of these definitions shows a typical pattern or relationship leading to one functional definition, which states that Civil Society is a broad field of organized groups and associations that practice democracy and citizens interests from the grassroots and presenting them to the State to counter any imbalances and create harmony. The organized groups may be informal or professional designed for public interest concerning religion, politics, businesses, culture, clubs, activist groups, political parties, environment, academia, and NGOs. Generally, civil Society is a non-profit association with voluntary members who have the same interests.
Since the establishment of the concept in the Post-colonial era, there has been a rapid increase in civil society Organisations which external interests have used as a tool for liberalization and development of developing states. Africa has experienced many challenges in eradicating poverty, dictatorship authorities, and state oppression. The Establishment of Civil Society presents a solution for combating these challenges by protecting civilian rights and resisting state dominance. Civil Society also creates a platform for public participation and voicing opinions regarding civil powers, civilians interests, state authority, economic policies, and political reforms. Due to the diversity of African nations, each country presents different concepts of Civil Society, which poses a challenge in generalizing the concept in Africa as a whole. The post-colonial period further intensified the difference of the concept as different countries adopted different forms of Civil Society. For example, Islamic communities are common in North Africa, Christian communities are seen more in the South and East Africa while West Africa adopted the more professional organizations. In this paper, discussions involve the rapid increase of Civil Society in Africa and its relationship with the State and how it affects politics focusing on select countries, that is, Uganda covering the Sub-Saharan region, and Egypt, for North Africa.
State and Civil Society in Uganda
Ugandas Civil Society consists of different influential organizations, each having different roles in their areas of interest. Some organizations include the media, social organizations, trade unions, political parties, NGOs, professional organizations, social movements, and religious institutions (EDA-Africa). Since the establishment of Civil Society in the post-colonial era, it has been at the forefront in supporting the States policies by effective service delivery from the grassroots. The Societys dominance in service delivery comes from the States policy for Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP), which led to; restructuring and privatizing parastatals, retrenchments, and cost-sharing to reduce government expenditure (EDA-Africa). Due to the SAP policy, the Civil Society receives more financial support from the State because of additional work, which was previously the governments responsibility. Other than supporting the policy and providing service delivery, another set of Civil Society Organisation has stuck on confronting the State leading to strenuous relationships.
Another source of the rift comes from the funding of donor communities where the funds go directly to the Civil Society instead of passing through the State, creating great rivalry. Limited funds mean less corruption and embezzlement, which strain the government officials and politicians who challenge the existence of Civil Society at every given opportunity. As an external interest, donors could stop or limit the funding if it endangers their relationship with the government and Civil Society. In taking charge of social service delivery, Civil Society enhances efficiency and support assisting donor communities in developing the country politically and in struggling for democracy. Strong actors of Civil Society in Uganda are Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) who provide structural adjustment programs from the grassroots. NGOs aid in providing social services that the State cannot offer through Civil Society, for example, programs for poverty eradication, constructing schools to promote education, and health programs that aim to reduce HIV/AIDS infection. The relationship between these NGOs and the State has been harmonious because they are not involved in politics.
Civil Society filled the gap of political parties during the period of its abolishment up to its re-introduction. Many organizations came up to voice the interests of the civil Society to the State since there was no opposition to the government to challenge its leadership. Interest groups included vulnerable members of the community, for example, women and youth organizations. Being marginalized and vulnerable, Civil Society enhanced the presentation of these members contributing to democracy and liberalization. After the re-introduction of multi-Partyism, Civil Society lost some of its power and influence on the State, leading to discord as they feared the loss of policy advocacy (EDA-Africa). The friction affects working together in harmony to have a sound political system for the good of the country and the citizens.
During elections in Uganda, the Civil Society helps in monitoring the election process to promote peace and fairness. Among organizations that participate in monitoring are; National Organization of Civic and Election Monitoring (NOCEM) and Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) (EDA-Africa). Civil Society keeps an eye on election malpractices that may lead to conflicts and possible clashes among opposing political parties, for example, the post-election violence in Kenya, in 2007 which resulted from election malpractices. As an international concern, international communities seek the help of the Civil Society in monitoring processes that involve politics and corruption in the African States to avoid repetition of such violence. Aside from tracking elections, the Civil Society also participates in the recruitment of political leaders (EDA-Africa). The target area of recruitment includes vulnerable members of society such as women and youth who are imparted with knowledge and skills to practice democracy. Women and youth in leadership is a significant achievement in Africa, where the political arena is primarily male-dominated.
State and Civil Society in North Africa (Egypt)
Civil Society in Egypt has a distinct difference from civil Society in other African countries and the Arabs. Since Egypt is among some countries to gain independence earlier, the first establishment of Civil Society was way back in 1821 (EDA-Africa). The concept then underwent various phases, through the pre-colonial period, the colonial period, and finally in the post-colonial era. The post-colonial phase saw the liberation of civil society, marked by adopting constitutional rights like the freedom of expression and a right to associate freely. From the post-colonial phase, civil Society in Egypt faced a lot of opposition from the State, which established and abolished some of its policies that shaped the current civil societys concept. Today, Egypt has more than 27,000 organizations for civil society, meaning each organization represents 2300 citizens. The total number of individuals who have joined one or more organizations amounts to 23million (EDA-Africa). It is impossible to demonstrate the relationship between the State and Civil Society using these figures because most organizations do not exist, with a lot of dual membership that gives estimated figures only.
In Egypt, the Civil Society has an increasing number of interest groups, such as Trade Unions, Women associations in business, and Civil Enterprises, representing the private sector. A clear relationship between the interest groups and the State is not established. The State relates more with Trade Unions as the State partly runs them in a client- patron relationship. Trade Unions are dominant in Egypt due to more economic organizations, official and unofficial, such as organized cartels, which deal with foreign exchange and criminal networks. Activities of these organizations drain the States power and financial resources as revenue collection is not accountable, which also negatively impacts politics. As a result, the State permits more free trade in exchange for political and financial support. Despite having a trade Union, the State is opposed to workers strikes, thus limiting the rights of Civil Society in expressing democracy (EDA-Africa). Civil Society in Egypt has minimal participation in politics as legislative laws exist to restrict any movement involving politics. Restrictions mean less opposition from the Society, which leaves the countries under dictatorship regimes and militarism.
Due to the rise of powerful Civil Society Professional syndicates like the Engineer and Lawyers professional syndicate, the Egyptian State felt the upcoming threat in power which gave rise to legislative laws to counter the Civil Society. Business association organizations relate harmoniously with the State of Egypt because they have the same views on factors including; both actors have the same political belief concerning democracy of the State and Civil Society; have similar interests built more cooperation than antagonism with the State. Ethnic communities of Egypt form a major group of Civil Society in the post-colonial era, and their influence in politics is just as significant. Organizations in these communities are made up of traditional authorities, for example, the council of elders who participate in political debates with local people and even decide the communitys political stand.
Most of the North African Civil Society does not follow the laid down democratic standards but acts independently in providing political support. Political parties approach Society to help achieve their political interests because they have connections from the grassroots and religious groups. For example, the ruling elite in Senegal relies on the Support of Sufi organizations who act as direct intermediaries with the people from rural areas to gain political support. Sufi organizations depend on their religious affluence for stability and loyalty in the State.
The rise of Civil Society in the post-colonial era has changed most African countries economic and political conditions. Cases of corruption grow less with the rise in anti-corruption organizations. Democracy and liberation are experienced in many countries, especially the Sub-Saharan region, where people have a voice on matters of the State. Vulnerable groups have had their share of benefits from civil Society. Women, people with disabilities, and the youth are in leadership positions and politics due to Civil Society (EDA-Africa). Economically, Civil Society has helped in poverty alleviation, distribution of essential services to marginalized communities, and better healthcare promoting a healthy population and economic growth. The contribution of external factors such as NGOs and international organizations has been viewed as an intrusion in most African States since independence, but without the funding, Africa cannot afford to maintain the States financial demands. Civil Society has struggled and still is struggling to bring positive change in Africa despite facing many challenges and threats from the States.
Work Cited
EDA-Africa. The Changing Relationship Between State, Civil Society And External Interests In The Post-Colonial Era. 2021.
History proves that storytelling is an efficient method of preserving, transmitting, and disseminating language and culture. The older generations teach the young ones their native history, traditions, and rituals by telling myths and actual events of their nations past. According to Justice, they give shape, substance, and purpose to our existence and help us understand how to uphold our responsibilities to one another and the rest of creation (2). Poetry is one of the written forms of storytelling that can provide not only cultural continuity but also convey the very way of speaking and thinking of ones ancestors. It is why poetry, especially those literary works written in their native languages, is so important to Native Americans nowadays. It helps them reclaim, preserve, and develop their culture and identity, as well as cleanse it of toxic post-colonial elements.
Surprisingly, an outside cultural perspective can also help Native Americans better understand and maintain their identity. Poems in colonial languages often tell the story of the first relationship between Indigenous peoples and colonists and show how Europeans perceived them. Reading them allows the first to analyze the society and culture in which they live, distinguish, and better understand the unique features of their identity. Moreover, it also teaches Native Americans to identify, emphasize, and remove colonial bias from indigenous poems rewritten in colonial languages. According to Smith, imperialism frames the indigenous experience (19). Both perspectives are relevant and crucial in cases where one culture is damaged by another. Today, the poems are history, language, and sometimes bitter medicine for Indigenous people and their unique identity.
Works Cited
Justice, Daniel Heath. Why Indigenous Literatures Matter. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018.
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Bloomsbury Academic, 2012.
Literature as a form of art scopes a wide array of topics that reflect personal struggles and social issues. The concepts of culture and traditions often get intertwined with the characters who are bound by various social and gender constructs. The post-colonial literature seeks to cover these topics more broadly to highlight the combat ones nation went through. The following controversy is explicitly described in the work Midnights Children by an Indian-born British writer Salman Rushdie who reflected on historical and philosophical considerations of the native populations. The novel aims to discover the themes of colonialism, nationalism, and magic realism in the scope of an allegorical novel that tells a story of a young Indian in a post-colonial society.
Plot Overview
The main character in Midnights Children, Saleem Sinai, is born at midnight on the same night when India gets independence from its imperial colonizer Great Britain. This occurrence gives him and 1001 other children born on the same night special magical powers, which is portrayed in the title of the novel. The plot revolves around Saleems life, as he discovers his gift and connects with other children born on the same day. The background for the story gets varied with wars and Saleems family migrations. These events create additional struggles for Salem as he becomes a political prisoner and fall apart with other midnight children. The Midnights children allegorically describe the events in India before and after its independence and the effect this separation had on the country. In the course of action, the novel also reflects the cultural, religious, political, and linguistic differences in a widely diverse nation through a reflective inner-monologue of the main hero. The works major themes encompass the issues of post-colonialism, nationalism, cultural assimilation, gender constructs, and magic realism.
Post-Colonialism
The setting for the story is India getting independence from British colonialism. Post-colonialism refers to the effect that colonization had on the culture and the country in general (Neumann and Rippl 91). The characters inborn magical abilities correspond with the time India separates from Great Britain. For the next three decades, there was to be no escape. Soothsayers had prophesied me, newspapers celebrated my arrival, politicos ratified my authenticity (Rushdie 3). The characters life gets tied to his nations destiny as a post-colonial country getting a stable ground. Born on the brink of a great change, he becomes the prophet of the revolution. As Saleem was born, there were outside the window, fireworks, and crowds, identifying the nations relief of breaking free from the colonizers after two hundred years (Rushdie 3). His magical abilities become the symbol of Indias gained power.
However, the problems do not disappear with the banishment of imperial troops. Colonial history follows a destabilized country in the new era with new traditions and potential conflicts. The colonial past never seems to completely leave the nation with political coup détat and social turmoils and upheavals. The following is noted not just in India but in other post-colonial countries such as Nicaragua in the novel, Charles Atlas Also Dies by Sergio Ramirez. The aftermath of Spanish colonization leads to social prejudices against the colonized country, as in the dialogue between Nicaraguan and the manager of Charles Atlas. The manager said that he is sorry not to be able to talk proper Spanish, but I only speak un poquito and burst out laughing, making fun of the characters colonial history (Ramírez 850). The following perception of his native culture did not impress the character who deeply appreciated the culture of the managers country he explored in an assimilation process.
Nationalism
The effects of colonization can be devastating, ruining the countrys culture, language, and, most importantly, unity. The wars, terrorism, and political infighting became the result of a diverse country with mixed beliefs. However, the spirit of the nation and the desire to overcome these challenges bring the country back together. The ideas of nationalism presented in the novel suggest the love of ones country and aspiration for national independence (Neumann and Rippl 102). At the exact moment Saleem was born, he had been mysteriously handcuffed to history, my destinies indissolubly chained to those of my country (Rushdie 170). The separation from the oppressor allowed the citizens of India to be united by ones nationalistic beliefs. See: you go to war and die for his country! is the typical rhetoric for the Indians aspiring to acquire national independence and stability again (Rushdie 303). The people of India struggle to protect ones homeland and deeply connect with its faultless: Then lets see what kind of country weve ended up in! (Rushdie 295). Patriotism leads the people to go to war just after getting independence to return ones virtue.
The nationalistic views are also noted in other works in post-colonial literature. In the Cutting of a Drink by Ama Ata Aidoo, the author covers the cultural problems in the post-colonial society where the white traditions overwhelm the locals. The main character possesses traditional rural morals and comes in contact with arising capitalist values in the city. The narrator experiences commodified women and culturally assimilated natives who speak English and drink beer. He wonders, have they no homes? because of the moral and cultural decay he witnessed(Aidoo 73). Since every country takes a different path after getting independence from colonizers, Ghana also followed the way of cultural assimilation and lost its nationalistic views, still living in rural areas.
Magical Realism
Magical realism becomes one of the core components of the novel that lies in the basis of the story about midnight children. Magical realism acknowledges the normality of magic in everyday life and conveys a magical view of the world that shifts the perceived idea of reality (Neumann and Rippl 91). It is crucial in providing a parallel with the countrys history through a magical line with the children that are united as the country gets independence. The self-referential tale-like narrative reflects the distinctive indigenous Indian culture with the magical journey. The telepathy that Saleem acquired as his magical power helped him connect with other newborn citizens and create a welcoming community in the recovering nation. Magical powers became the way for the children of different backgrounds, regions, and religions to find common ground. The magic unites the plot and the characters within it and encompasses Indian cultural history.
Literature is the window into the world of long-gone civilizations with their authentic cultures and social order. The colonized cultures of Ghana, Nicaragua, and India presented in the novels portray the nations struggles in figuring out the pathway towards national ideas. However, the post-colonial ideology often follows the country for centuries, leaving a long trace of violence and commodification. The literature allows the authors to bring attention to the problem and gives the readers a possibility to understand the nations ethical struggle.
Works Cited
Aidoo, Ama Ata. In the Cutting of a Drink. Pan-African Short Stories, 1965.
Neumann, Birgit, and Gabriele Rippl. Verbal-Visual Configurations in Postcolonial Literature: Intermedial Aesthetics. Routledge, 2020.
Ramírez, Sergio. Charles Atlas Also Dies. Aethlon, 1993.
Rushdie, Salman. Midnights Children. Jonathan Cape, 1981.
The post-colonial theory represents the tendency in the humanitarian sciences which has become urgent since the second half of the XX century. Its area of study encompasses the problems of the interaction between the colonizers and their colonies. It focuses on the social development of nations being under control of the large European empires.
After the proclamation of independence of many colonies, the scholars concentrated their attention on the issues of their societies and the hard way for their complete recovery from the foreign nations supremacy.
Moreover, the post-colonial theory uncovers the esthetic outlook, ethic views and perception of the reality of the colonial societies in light of such problems as national identity, self-realization, independence, freedom and others.
Reflection
Giglamesh: A Verse Narrative is the book published by Herbert Manson in 1971. The plot of the book is based on the ancient Babylonian legend telling about the king Giglamesh and his life struggle for friendship and the life values. Although the original story traces back to the ancient times, its interpretation by Manson allows relating it to the post-colonial theory.
In particular, the main character of the story overcomes the fixed notions about the life values of his society and puts all his efforts to bring his best friend back to life. As regards William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this work can also be characterized in light of post-colonial theory, though the play was written long before the theory formulation.
We know from the plot of the play that Prospero, one of its main characters, settled in the uninhibited island and started, actually, to control it. However, there was one inhabitant called Caliban. Caliban struggled against Prospero as he thought that he captured the island. He even tried to overthrow Prospero and expel him from the island.
Thing Fall Apart is the novel by Chinua Achebe, the outstanding Nigerian author. His work can be directly related to the post-colonial theory. Okonkwo, the main character of the novel, is the representative of the African ethnicity. Although the life of his nation had never been simple, the troubles had come when the colonizers arrived at their land.
The compulsory measures undertaken by the white people provoked the mass resentment of the local people. The conflict caused by the colonial intervention disrupted the traditional order in their community. Okonkwo becomes the victim of the colonialism. When the new government of his land initiated the court trial against him, he committed suicide.
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is also devoted to the life of the indigenous people under the rules and control of the colonial government. The plot of the novel is centered on the memories of the main character to the Central Africa.
The main character narrates about the mood and environment in the visited community. The social tension and distress is felt all over the village. The artificial spreading of the cultural norms and traditions which are extraneous to the aborigines makes harm to their life.
Analysis
Literature works contributed a lot to the development of the post-colonial theory. The art of word promoted the formulation and expression of the main ideas of the theory. The works of Herbert Manson and William Shakespeare represented the bright examples of the human relationships under certain social orders. These examples serve as a background for post-colonial ideas expression.
It can be stated that the literature has become the mediator for the post-colonial theory. For instance, the moral of Giglamesh: A Verse Narrative touches upon the problem of change in the realization of the highest life values as distinct from the social order and the format of relationships in the society.
In The Tempest, several episodes also relate to the post-colonial theory and make us think about the issues of social alienation and its consequences. In particular, the alienation of Prospero and its proscription from Milano are closely interconnected with his own authoritativeness in the island and the alienation of Caliban as well.
Probably, these episodes reflect the idea that the social alienation and expatriation of certain people give rise to the banishment of others. The social alienation is not only the problem of the outcasts because very often the roots of this problem are in the whole society which banished them. The unethical behavior of certain groups leads to the social fall of others.
Unfortunately, not all of them are able to recover their feet. Many deviate from the ethical norms to which they adhered earlier and begin to be led by example of those who banished them. However, these ideas became obvious in the post-colonial theory in the subsequent centuries. From the Shakespeare’s work, we can only find the social themes which will be explained at the time of the epoch of colonialism fall.
In Thing Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe shows the harmful influence of the external interference on the life of people. The relationships between the colonizers and the local people are the main theme of his novel. The use of force caused the social disorder in the community. The social protests and mutinies had been scotched hard.
The author gives us the occasion to think about whether such measures justify the proclaimed well-being and cultural development which the colonizers are believed to bring in the colonies. Thing Fall Apart can be described as the bright object of the post-colonial theory study. It is interesting to note that the novel has been prohibited in Malaysia due to its keen critique of the colonialism.
As regards Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, the plot of the novel clearly uncovers the dark side of the colonial interference. In addition, the novel is enriched with the literature art techniques making the readers involved in the colonial environment. While reading the novel, we are obtaining the vision of the way of life in the colony. Moreover, the author tries to make us feel the hard atmosphere in the village.
The emotional element of the novel’s plot characterizes it as the perfect source of gaining the understanding of what it likes to live under the strict control of others. In Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad put the important message to the public. In particular, he tells us that the force and compulsion can hardly be the tools of achieving prosperity.
Although the activity of the colonizers accelerated the technological and educational development in the colonies, the moral trauma which their activity caused to the local people overwhelmed the benefits. I support the idea that the real benefits of the social progress can be gained only if it is based on freedom and ethical principles.
That is why we can say that the literature serves as a mediator for the post-colonial theory as it helps to inform the public about its main ideas and moral. Besides, it gives the ideas for further discussions.
Recommendation
However, the analyzed works of Herbert Manson and William Shakespeare are not the representatives of the post-colonial theory as a whole. Only some of its pieces can be referred to the formulation of the theory ideas. The other parts do not directly relate to them. Rather, they are the results of the literature tendencies in the times of their writing.
For example, the presence of spirit as the character of the play characterizes The Temple as the bright example of the literature style of the play writers of the XVI-XVII centuries. The themes of love and marriage are also independent from the main ideas of the post-colonial theory.
They rather uncover the fundamental ethical and moral values of people and do not directly relate to the conflict between the colonizer and the colony which is the primary object of interest in the post-colonial theory.
In the work of Herbert Manson we only find the ideas of the post-colonial theory in the struggle of Giglamesh for the life of his best friend. However, we can barely state that the legend as a whole relates to the postulates of the theory.
Overall, only several pieces of the Manson and Shakespeare’s works are useful in the context of the post-colonial theory study.
The novels of Chinua Achebe and Joseph Conrad are the bright examples of the post-colonial field of study. They have been, undoubtedly, useful for the purposes of the research. The themes of both novels are relevant for the analysis of the post-colonial theory and its connections with literature.
Hannah Roberts writes that the white man’s colonization of Australia did not only involve taking away the native’s land, it also included the colonization of the Aboriginal woman’s body.
The white man often used the Aboriginal woman’s body for sexual satisfaction, yet tried to maintain pretence of separation between the colonizers and the colonized because of his obsession with racial purity and pride (Roberts, 2001, pp.188). The Aboriginal woman was considered to be inherently sexual and immoral, and in some cases, was characterized as ‘bond slaves of Satan’.
The colonizers used this line of thinking to justify their colonization of the Aboriginal woman’s body. These women were referred to using derogatory names such as ‘gin’, ‘stud’, ‘breeder’, and so on, to distinguish them from other women, mainly white.
Due to their labeling as sexual objects, aboriginal women’s consent was rarely sought whenever the white man desired to have sex with them. Consequently, the native women were supposed to submit themselves to the colonizers, failure of which would lead to violent acts, as Roberts points out, instances of frequent shootings, torture, capture and rape against such were common.
Roberts further points out that because of the colonizer’s labeling of the Aboriginal women as sexual materials, cases of white men raping these women were rarely brought to court and were likely to fail. Violence against the Aboriginal woman seemed natural and normal and rarely elicited the traumatic effect on her or her husband as it would on a white woman, or so the white colonizers thought. Indeed, the women’s resistance to the colonizers controlling mechanism was further taken as proof of their immorality and only worsened their situation.
Week 9
How does Marie Bonaparte represent the clitoris in relation to female sexuality? What is ‘Freudian’ about this?
Marie Bonaparte writes that the clitoris gives women their distinctive female sexuality, and knowingly or unknowingly, endears them to the males. Consequently, the males have become unconscious worshippers of the woman due to the clitoris.
The importance of the clitoris to the woman’s sexuality cannot be underestimated, as Bonaparte explains, the importance of this miniature object before or during sex may even outweigh the pleasures or benefits of the sex itself in some women (Bonaparte, 1958, pp. 148). She further explains that in the West, many women find more sexual satisfaction from activities that involve the clitoris rather than from the penetration (sex) itself.
As such, Bonaparte explains that clitoridial women find more appreciation of their sexuality from men who understand the importance of the clitoris to them. Such men share their pleasure and loving identification with the woman while paying attention to her wishes, and this only takes place when a man loves a woman enough to care about her. While the clitoris may lead to a gratification of sexuality among women, it may also lead to a tragedy in a similar fashion, particularly from men who are too masculine to adapt to their clitoridal desires.
Whenever a woman recognizes that the male she entrusts to fulfill her clitoridal wishes does not live up to the task, which could be due to the male being too fierce to adapt to the woman’s wishes, she eventually has to adapt to the new environment either auto or alloplastically, a concept that is consistent with the Freudian writings on human sexuality.
Week 11
How did Dennis Altman define the ‘gay liberation’ of the 1970s?
In this article, Altman writes that society has denied the natural bi-sexuality of all humans in two ways, and that it is time homosexuals came out (Altman, 1979, pp. 18). He writes on the persecution of homosexuals in a number of ways, including the labeling of homosexuality as a perversion, and discrimination.
The author defines two main forms of discrimination against homosexuals: denial and tolerance. The former is exemplified in the various media such as in newspaper columns where homosexuals are not allowed to report on their social activities openly.
Altman writes that gay liberation doest not merely entail the liberation of the homosexuals from the above-mentioned discriminatory and repressive acts, but is in fact a liberation of all of us. While many people have tended to ignore this fact, a few people have recognized the potential of a homosexual as a revolutionary in the American society.
He also describes how hard it is for homosexuals to lead outward, respectable lives. This is made difficult by society’s poor labeling of homosexuality that has left homosexuals out of the basic unit of the society, the nuclear family. They challenge the idea of homosexuality that sexuality can only be justified by procreation, and this has further led to the stigmatization of gays.
Liberation is a concept far much wider than even sexuality, and any vision of liberation is one that sees gays breaking out of the quite needless limits on the human potential that exists in the society, and society recognizing the significance and the rights of man to diversity. Besides, society should not be imprisoned by old-fashioned ideas of what is natural and what is normal.
Week 12
On what basis did Campbell argue, in 1980, that it is heterosexual women who feel the biggest outcasts within feminism?
While Campbell admits that lesbians, celibates, and heterosexual feminists have suffered as a result of the feminist movements, she contends that it is heterosexuals who have suffered more. This suffering began soon after the sexual revolution, which led to the divorce between sex and reproduction.
However, the reality of pregnancy could not be ignored and even as heterosexual relations soared. During this revolution, women were acknowledged to be sexual and men’s duty was to satisfy them, so it was all disappointment among some women who did not experience satisfaction, although this could have been caused by female conditions.
Some scholars attributed this problem to the divergence between the curve of sensual pleasure in the male and female, which caused the man to “reach the peak point of sexual excitement while the woman is still getting there” (Campbell, 1980, pp. 5).
Another problem arising from the revolution was the risk of pregnancy, as mentioned earlier. Although birth control was advocated alongside the positive declaration of women’s sexuality, there was no critique of the conventional heterosexual sex and its essentially (for women) procreative mode.
Consequently, it put women at risk of pregnancy, and led to the labeling of women as the source of problems in heterosexual sexual relations. Besides, sexually independent heterosexual women were criticized for thwarting parenthood and it was argued that sexual liberation could not be achieved at the expense of maternity and parenthood.
Week 7
How has Kinsey’s work been influential in regards the topic of male homosexuality?
In the Kinsey Report of 1948, the author made unbeknown findings about American’s sexual behaviors, particularly among homosexuals. Among these findings was that homosexuality was more common in the United States than anyone had realized, this encouraged more and more homosexuals to come out of their closets and demand for their rights.
He reported that 37 percent of his respondents had had at least one homosexual incident (Kinsey, 1953, pp. 56). He also wrote that 10 percent of American males had been practiced homosexuality for at least three years at the ages of between 16 and 55.
However, Kinsey cautioned his readers and indicated that these figures reported were not absolute, and he even evaded using terms such as homosexual or heterosexual in his report, avowing that sexuality is likely to change over time. He also wrote that sexual behavior can occur both physically and psychologically through desire, sexual attraction, or fantasy.
As a result of Kinsey’s work, many people, mainly homosexuals, slowly started coming out and openly declared their sexual orientation. Indeed, the report was significant in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and helped in the normalization of homosexuality in the American and other Western societies.
Homosexuals were now increasingly treated in a humane manner, a contrast from the previous harsh treatments where gays were persecuted and discriminated against and banned from other social places. However, the Kinsey Report cannot be single-handedly said to have brought about these changes, a number of factors were also at play.
References
Altman, D. (1979). ‘Forum on Sexual Liberation’, in Coming out in the Seventies. Sydney: Wild and Woolle.
Bonaparte, M. (1958). Female Sexuality. London: Imago Publishing
Campbell, B. (1980). A Feminist Sexual Politics: Now you see it, Now you don’t. Feminist Review, No. 5, 1980, 1-18
Kinsey, F. (1953). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Indiana: Indiana University
Roberts, H. (2001). Disciplining the female aboriginal body: inter racial sex and the pretence of separation. Australian Feminist Studies, Vol 16(34), pp. 186-195
This paper aims to illustrate the use of various research methods which can be employed in order to retrieve informational resources. The topic which I would like to study is post-colonialism in contemporary Australian society. In particular, I decided to examine cultural aspects of colonialism and its impacts on indigenous population of the country. Currently, the relations between Western-European and aboriginal people are still extremely tense and the origins of this problem lie mostly in the domain of culture. This is one of the reasons why this question is of great interest to me.
At the very beginning I entered such keywords as “Australia”, “culture” and “colonialism” and “post-colonialism” in various databases. I used Boolean operators like And, Or, Not, in order to narrow down the scope of the research. These logical algorithms offer a good opportunity refine the results of query and make them more specific. Of course, search hits were numerous; however, certain articles were appearing on the screen more often than others and attracted my attention. One of them was Rethinking Cultural Genocide: Aboriginal Child Removal and Settler-Colonial State Formation, written by Robert Krieken. The author examines removal of children from aboriginal people and evaluates the aftereffects of this policy. His thought-provoking and argumentative discussion explains a great number of difficulties, faced by the Indigenous Australians1 and one of them is cultural arrogance of the first colonizers and their descendants.
Afterwards, I tried to slightly modify my search requirements and added additional keywords such as “stolen generations” and “removal of children”. The search engine generated a great number of returns. Among them, I can single out such studies as The Best Interests of the Child? by Julie Cassidy2, who analyzes legal and ethical dimensions of the policies, pursued by the then Australian government for more than a century. The scholar strives to explain the logic and fallacies of the authorities who adhered to the belief that British colonizers were better prepared to raise aboriginal children. Her analysis enabled me to gain deeper insights into the nature of colonialism in Australia. Furthermore, it helped me to specify area of study. I realized that the knowledge of such concepts as assimilation and absorption would significantly contribute to my understanding of this topic.
This is why I began to look for the scholarly sources, which contained such words as “Australia”, “indigenous population”, “assimilation and/or absorption”. Several articles appeared to be of great use, for instance, Indigenous Assimilation and Absorption in the United States and Australia, by Katherine Ellinghaus. This work aims to make a comparative analysis of assimilation policies in Australia and the United States. This article turned to be very helpful in my research: examines the attitude of the state towards this ethnic group and described educators approach to the upbringing of the children taken from aboriginal families.
In addition to that, careful examination of references, mentioned in the above-mentioned sources pointed me to the article, Stories from the Aboriginal Women of the Yarning Circle: When Cultures Collide, which was written by a group of authors, headed by Boni Robertson. The scholars attempt to delve into the experience of indigenous women, who were once deprived of their children. This study threw an entirely new light on this problem and emphasized the whole atrocity of discrimination against indigenous population.
Furthermore, while examining cross-references, I encountered a review Myths, truths and arguments: some recent writings on Aboriginal History by David Ritter, who evaluates the works of modern historians, studying aboriginal history. Although this is primarily a secondary source, it was of great value to me. David Ritter argues that “modern scholars can continue to interpret Aboriginal history through the glass of what is or is not good for the Australian nation in the here-and-now” (Ritter, 149). His analysis convinced me that it would be rather difficult to find an objective evaluation of colonial policies.
However, at that point, it occurred to me that I was shifting the focus of my research. Certainly, all of these works were of great assistance to me but I needed to examine the situation in contemporary Australian community and bring the discussion up-do-date. This is why I had to compile a new list of keywords. I included some new notions like “cultural superiority and/or arrogance”, ”prejudice and or/bias”, “education” and so forth. Again, I would like to set stress on the idea that Boolean operators were of immense assistance to me. To some extent, they act like filters which sieve the data. On the whole, my attempt proved to be successful. I came across the monograph Contesting the curriculum in the schooling of indigenous children in Australia and the United States3, by Anne Hickling-Hudson and Roberta Ahlquist. This source eloquently demonstrates that even educational institutions can impose the idea of inferiority on aboriginal people by downgrading their cultural traditions. The major benefit of this source is that it describes the manifestations of colonial philosophy in the modern world.
Apart from that, my search query lead me the case study On the Discriminations of Postcolonialism in Australia and New Zealand, prepared by Mark Williams who explains the essence of colonialism within Australian context and shows this political and social philosophy affects indigenous population of the country. He illustrates an idea that supremacist or even racial sentiments are still very strong in Australian community, even despite the fact that they are very carefully disguised. Judging from the analysis of these works, I can argue that the study of post-colonialism in modern Australia should be based on the most objective historiography. The thing is that collective memory can be distorted or misrepresented in order to better suit the demands of contemporary society.
At the outset, my research focus was on the cultural aspects of post-colonialism in contemporary Australian community. Yet, in order to gain in-depth insights of this matter I had to examine the historical background of the relationships between Western-European and aboriginal people. Only afterwards I could modify my search requirements and get more relevant sources. Although I did not found too many articles, dedicated to this topic, I can argue that the research was not fruitless. The sources, which I managed to retrieve, were both informative and authoritative. On the whole, they lay the foundations for further study of this issue.
Annotated Bibliography
Ellinghaus Katherine. “Indigenous Assimilation and Absorption in the United States and Australia. ” Pacific Historical Review 75.4 (2006): 563. Academic Research Library, ProQuest. Web.
Katherine Ellinghaus intends to investigate the absorption of indigenous population in the United States and Australia. The author defines the policies of both governments as “whitewashing” of aboriginal people. However, she believes that the situation in Australia was much more complicated. The authorities of this country attempted to disrupt family ties of the natives, and virtually became legal guardians of children. Katherine Ellinghaus examines official documents of that period, and these sources eloquently prove that racism and the philosophy of white supremacy were instilled into the strategies of Australian state. The scholar says that the actions of Western-Europeans were largely based on the theory of “doomed race” or the belief that the native population had been on the brink of extinction. The authors discussion of the key facts gives a convincing evidence that indigenous people were immensely victimized by colonizers. This study is extremely valuable for this research due to the fact that it is based on primary sources: legal documents of that period, newspapers, scholarly articles and so forth.
Hickling-Hudson Anne & Ahlquist Roberta. “Contesting the curriculum in the schooling of indigenous children in Australia and the United States: From eurocentrism to culturally powerful pedagogies. ” Comparative Education Review 47.1 (2003): 64-90. Academic Research Library, ProQuest. Web.
In this article Anne Hickling-Hudson and Robery Ahlquist discuss education of aboriginal students within the context of post-colonialism. According to them, modern curriculum in Australia as well as in the United States is Eurocentric. In other words, it is based on the idea that Western-European culture occupies a superior position to the beliefs and values of the native population. In addition to that, the authors believe that the content of the curriculum is not connected with daily lives of children, for example such cinematographic or literary characters as Cinderella, Mickey Mouse or Humpty Dumpty are virtually meaningless to the children of indigenous people. The authors overarching thesis is that such approach is another manifestation of colonial and post-colonial discrimination because it downgrades cultural heritage of these people. In the scholars view, this strategy is primarily aimed at deculturalization of this ethic group. This source is immensely helpful for our research because it points out to the vestiges of colonial policies in modern Australia and identifies the problems faced by aboriginal people.
Krieken Robert. “Rethinking Cultural Genocide: Aboriginal Child Removal and Settler-Colonial State Formation. ” Oceania 75.2 (2004): 125-151. Academic Research Library, ProQuest. Web.
Robert Krieken examines such concept as cultural genocide; in particular, he focuses on the policy of removing aboriginal children from their parents. He acknowledges the fact such practices inflicted heavy psychological injuries on these people, but at the same time, Robert Krieken does not accept the term genocide. The author maintains that the policies of the state were not motivated by the desire to destroy this culture and this ethnicity. Furthermore, he emphasizes an idea that such phrasing is not quite appropriate in this context because this term mostly implies physical destruction. Finally, the exact number of removals has not been ascertained. Naturally, the writer admits the claim that continuation of these removals could have constituted a significant threat to the unity of aboriginal people but under some circumstances this strategy could be justified, especially in those cases when a child was neglected or lived far from school. The analysis, carried out by Robert Krieken modern history allows different interpretation of “stolen generators” and the action of Australian authorities may not necessarily be classified as genocide. The views of this scholar are not analogous to those ones of the majority and they cannot be disregarded.
Williams Mark. “On the Discriminations of Postcolonialism in Australia and New Zealand”. University of Toronto Quarterly, 2004 vol. 73, issue 2.: 739-753.
In his essay Mark Williams analyzes the relations between colonialism and post-colonialism, paying special attention to such countries as Australia and New Zealand. The major point which he makes is that a great number of chauvinistic and racist ideas and principles, popular at the end of the nineteenth century, have survived nowadays. The only difference is that they are not openly declared. Furthermore, the writer presumes that such concept as multiculturalism, which is extremely popular in scholarly and political circles, may just be an expansion or continuation of colonialism. His argument is based on the premise that aboriginal people will have to abandon their cultural roots in order to integrate themselves into the community and become successful. The thing is that such notions as assimilation or cultural genocide are currently substituted by more politically-correct terms, while their essence remains unchanged. On the wholes, this essay gives a good explanation of post-colonialism in modern Australian community. Although this work is more speculative in its nature, Mark Williams arguments are well substantiated.
Works Cited
Buty Toni. “The Systematic Removal of Indigenous Children From the Families in Australia and Canada: The History – Similarities and Differences” Lecture in law, Murdoch University (undated). Web.
Ritter David. “Myths, truths and arguments: some recent writings on Aboriginal History.” The Australian Journal of Politics and History 53.1 (2007): 138(11).
Robertson Boni, Demosthenous Catherine, & Demosthenous Hellene. “Stories from the Aboriginal Women of the Yarning Circle: When Cultures Collide. ” Hecate 31.2 (2005): 34-46. Academic Research Library, ProQuest. Web.
Wevers Lydia. “Globalising Indigenes: Postcolonial Fiction from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific” JASAL, 2006, pp 121, 132. Web.
Footnotes
Krieken Robert. “Rethinking Cultural Genocide: Aboriginal Child Removal and Settler-Colonial State Formation. ” Oceania 75.2 (2004): 125-151.
Cassidy, J.. “THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD? The Stolen Generations in Canada and Australia. ” Griffith Law Review 15.1 (2006): 111-152
Hickling-Hudson Anne & Ahlquist Roberta. “Contesting the curriculum in the schooling of indigenous children in Australia and the United States: From eurocentrism to culturally powerful pedagogies. ” Comparative Education Review 47.1 (2003): 64-90
Easter Island is the most remote and occupied island in the world. It is located in the southern Pacific Ocean more than 2000 miles west of South America, 1,400 miles from the closest habitable island, Pitcairn. This island has less population compared to other islands in the world. The issue of colonization and the founder of the island is conflicting. This has led to different researches being carried out to reveal this mystery (Marshall 2011).
Genetic evidence has been used to prove the theory that though the Europeans were the first inhabitants of this Island, South Americans assisted in the colonization. Marshall Michael in his article “Early Americans helped colonize Easter Island” stated that Polynesia is occupied by Asians and it is the most populated island worldwide.
Further evidence provided claims that people started migrating to the East about 5500 years ago, arrived at Polynesia 2500 years after and finally took over Easter Island after about 1500 years (Marshall 2011).
According to an exertion presented at the Royal Society discussion on human evolution, it was stated that Thor Heyerdahl, an adventurer from Norwegian was against the above evidence on migration.
He suggested that South Americans ought to have moved across the Pacific marine in the mid of the 20th century, since the statues at the Easter island were almost comparable to those found at Tiahuanaco of Lake Titicaca, Bolivia (Marshall 2011). He proved his argument by his Kon-Tiki expedition where he sailed from Peru to Tuomotu Islands of Polynesia.
After keen observation of the blood groups, Erick Thorsby found out that most of the HLA genes of the occupiers proved to be Polynesian, though few of them had HLA genes of the Americans (Marshall 2011).
In Erick Thorsby research, he further discovered that there was recombination, and mixed HLA genes among Polynesia and the Americans. He suggested that this is a rare case and it only proved that indeed Americans had been to Polynesia long before it was discovered in 1722 by the Europeans.
Many today believe Easter Island and its people are a microcosm of island Earth and humankind. However, rejecting the colonization notion means that Easter Island, and its colonists, are not a true representation of island Earth and present humankind.
I think, there is a relationship between Americans and the Polynesians due to the Polynesians voyage to America and back.
The latest upcoming Spanish ocean expedition is the Tara expedition which is expected to take place in May 2013, and it will be heading for the Great North. Tara will be going across the Arctic Ocean via the North East and West passages, but this will be highly determined by the ice.
Scientific institutions and researchers are currently working together with Tara researching mainly on the polar ocean ecosystem, analyzing and completing the research which was done in 2009. In this particular event, research programs concerning synthetic particles and pollution traces will be added to specific regions of the north.
Information on the findings of this event will be communicated by the researchers to the rest of the world giving people room to acquire knowledge, give suggestions, and even criticize the findings of the research. This event will be sponsored by the Tara organization, but other sponsors are welcomed to participate in this event. The event is hoped to be a great occasion of discovering changes in the ecosystem.