Literary Criticism Research Articles

Teachers as street-level bureaucrats: Navigating language ideologies and restrictive language environments

ABSTRACT This critical literature review employs a novel combination of theoretical perspectives to examine the ways teachers navigate restrictive language policy. Specifically, we examine the documented effects of California’s Proposition 227 on pre-service and in-service teachers’ language ideologies and classroom practices. In our investigation, we explored the link between restrictive language policy and language ideologies by addressing an overarching question: How are language ideologies related to restrictive language policy? We also sought to answer the questions: How did teachers’ language ideologies impact the implementation of Proposition 227? And, how did Proposition 227 affect teachers’ language ideologies and practices? We discuss our findings and how pre-service and in-service teachers, as street-level bureaucrats, possess agency to resist harmful language policies in restrictive language environments. Finally, we conclude with implications for teacher education, highlighting the role teacher educators play in helping to foster educational equity.

Literary Criticism of China about F. M. Dostoevsky’s Novel “The Idiot”

This paper examines the literary criticism of China about F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot” (1868), which has been the focus of attention of various readership, as well as the issues of perception and study of the novel in modern Chinese theory of literary criticism. Hence, the purpose of this article is to trace the history of literary criticism of the “The Idiot” in China over the past almost ninety years since its first publication in Chinese in 1935. It is noted that during this period the novel was translated into Chinese at least seventeen times with millions of copies released, withstanding more than 50 editions. It also provides an overview of the studies of Chinese scientists in recent years devoted to the study of the novel, and attempts are made to identify trends in the study and commentary of the novel in China. Chinese readers were first introduced to Dostoevsky’s work by the famous novelist, literary critic and translator Zhou Zuozhen. The conducted research allows us to conclude that Chinese readers accept and interpret F. M. Dostoevsky’s novel “The Idiot” with great interest. The questions that the researchers raise in their writings confirm the hypothesis that the Chinese reader associates the main character Prince Myshkin with the Confucian category of Ren.

Intricateness of Adaptation of Literature to Film in Today’s Crisscrossed World

This paper investigates the realities of literature adaptation to film in today’s world of literary criticism. People enjoy motion pictures and compare them with its original textual Literature. By focusing on literary criticism theories, this article explains modern to postmodern aesthetic points, especially in the era of definitions in romanticism, reflectionism and its auto, empiricism until pragmatism, and the age of language beyond communication. Through those former points, the adaptation of Literature to film brings in a wider point: the world itself. The adaptation is shown to broaden concepts and interpretations among writers, directors, and also audiences. Every aspect is so active to interpret in today's crisscrossed world that meanings vary from critical and evaluation perspectives. The adaptation is not about merely fixed definitions or even market orientations but open meanings on dialogues among realities. Any measurement from Literature or film is never enough to compare adaptation to its original form since it is located between individualities and societies. In conclusion, the adaptation of Literature should indicate that dominations must be minimized by maximizing hospitality of differences.

Reception of A. Varlamov's Creativity in Chinese Literary Studies and Criticism

The subject of the research is the reception of A.N. Varlamov in Chinese literary criticism. The object of the study is critical articles, literary works devoted to the work of A. Varlamov, and an interview with the author. The novelty of the article is determined by the fact that the works of Chinese researchers are analyzed in order to characterize critical judgments about the work of a modern Russian author, taking into account national specifics. The article highlights the main aspects in the field of studying the work of A. N. Varlamov by Chinese criticism and literary criticism. It is determined that Chinese researchers pay attention to the consideration of religious themes in the writer's prose, and also analyze Varlamov's creative method, defining it as neo-release. The main conclusions of the study are the definition of aspects of the study of religious themes in Varlamov's novels, such as eschatology, the level of morality and religiosity in Russian society, the spiritual salvation and rebirth of man, sectarianism. According to critics, Varlamov's work shows sectarianism as a viral idea of the Russian people, poisoning the collective consciousness and historical memory. The creative method of A. Varlamov is assessed by critics as neo-releaseism, the features of which are marginal heroes, a combination of mysticism and realism, artistic time-space. Chinese literary scholars also note mythological prototypes and folklore elements that are important for Varlamov's works. The main contribution of the author to the study of the topic is that the points of view of Chinese literary scholars and critics are considered, which expand the reception of Varlamov's work in world art, complementing a single receptive field, organizing a dialogue of cultures.

“The American Dream” in Norman Mailer's novel and travelogue “O'key, an American Novel” by B. Pilnyak: Shattered Illusions and Rethought Dreams

The concept of "dreams" as the core of American literature is recognized by most literary critics. The affirmation and apologetics of the "American dream", which is associated with the traditions of critical realism, remains the subject of discussion by both foreign and Russian researchers. Literary studies of the concept of the "American dream" encourage us to critically analyze the beliefs, experiences and aspirations underlying it, as well as its broader implications for society. The subject of this article is the concept of the "American dream", analyzed on the basis of Norman Mailer's novel "The American Dream" and the travelogue “O'key, an American Novel” by Boris Pilnyak. Using descriptive, hermeneutical, comparative, historical-literary and historical-cultural methods, the author examines the details of this concept that were not affected in previously published scientific works. The sources and prerequisites for the emergence of the phenomenon of the “American dream” in American literature are presented and its complex quintessences presented in the works of Mailer and Pilniak through the prism of different cultural contexts are revealed. The study showed that the failure of the American Dream project leads to its restructuring, which confirms its self-stabilizing nature and fundamental role in the process of personal self-determination of the character. Mailer, deeply rooted in American culture, criticizes the American dream from the inside, emphasizing individualism, social pressure and the pursuit of success. On the contrary, Pilniak offers us a different view of the "American dream". This is the view of a Soviet writer who emphasizes the relationship of the American dream with capitalism, democracy and social transformation. Conclusions. Despite the revealed differences in views, both authors encourage readers to take a critical look at the promises and pitfalls of the American dream, enriching our understanding of its universal appeal and enduring relevance.

Parole, une parenthèse quotidienne au profit de l’individu dans Cher connard de Virginie Despentes

Virginie Despentes is the recipient of the 2010 Renaudot prize for her novel Apocalypse Bébé. Her most recent work, Cher connard (2022), top the sales charts for several weeks, and is praised by literary critics. This epistolary novel destabilizes and deconstructs patriarchy and the condition of women in France. It helps us better understand the abuse of power. Anchored in its time, it questions the daily relationship of three characters: Rebecca, Oscar and Zoé.

The rise in cross‐national marriages and the emergent inequalities in East and Southeast Asia

The rise in cross‐national marriages and the emergent inequalities in East and Southeast Asia

The Rituals of Mourning: Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s ‘The Coast of Wales’, or Why It Is Important to Perform Grief

This essay explores Éilís Ní Dhuibhne’s short story ‘The Coast of Wales’ (2015), which describes a widow’s visit to her husband’s grave in a cemetery near Dublin. Although taking the reader to the dark recesses of grief, the author infuses her characteristic humour in her narrator-protagonist, to the point that this becomes a story of hope and renewal as much as of pain and mourning. This essay will focus on the performativity and ritualisation of grief and on how the social conventions around death intersect with the personal experience of mourning. Understanding bereavement as both an individual and a collective process, rather than as a medical condition, I focus on the story’s inscription of colour, elements of the animal and natural world, and landscape to generate a glimpse of healing within the experience of emotional distress. Working within a Medical Humanities framework, the analysis is necessarily interdisciplinary, making use of literary criticism, memoir, medical, and psychological literature alike.

Shadows of the Empire/A New Hope

Online news outlets have published a fair amount of journalism concerning Isabel Fall's 2020 science fiction short story, “I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter,” later retitled “Helicopter Story.” Yet the highly polarized reception the story received has made up the bulk of the discourse. This is a tragic oversight, as the most interesting thing about “Helicopter Story” is not the online reaction to its original title but how the content of the story itself serves as an illustration of a dialectical history of gender in the United States. In Fall's story, gender is partially demystified by acknowledging the eradication of Indigenous cross-gender practices, racially imbricated plasticity, and the fusion of state and medical power that determines and shapes gender. Even so, some mystification remains. Gender is a reified social relation whose origins are an attempt to install binary biological sex. However, this reification does not result in the reinstallation of gender as ineluctable truth. Rather, it provides the opportunity for the expression of utopian desire, as theorized in the queer Marxism of Kevin Floyd or the dialectical literary criticism of Fredric Jameson, both of whom draw heavily from Frankfurt School theorist Herbert Marcuse when proposing that the only way out of reification is through. A proposed subgenre of science fiction, “speculative gender fiction,” is a literary form uniquely suited for exploring both the reification of gender and the utopian desire to escape from it.

Конструирование единомыслия: Незавершенный проект РАППа по утверждению нового языкового стандарта

The article examines the discursive practices of the Association of Proletarian Writers (VAPP/RAPP) as a form of breaking from the symbolic linguistic capital of pre-revolutionary Russia. Mass character, a fundamentally new feature of proletarian writers’ organizations, required the development of an institutional language – as a mechanism of control and suppression, as a language of ideological unanimity. The dictionary of literary criticism and the development of slogans that concentrated the language policy of the time (“Not a fellow traveler, but an ally or an enemy”) became the area of “rupture” and processing. This work began from the very first days of the existence of proletarian writers’ organizations and pushed aside all other issues, including aesthetic ones: any dispute, any discussion, ultimately, were disputes about words, for choosing the right nomination, the right referential apparatus. Later, the arsenal of mastered means of unification was replenished with the right taken by proletcritics to limit the “utterance function” – what can be said. The explanatory dictionary edited by Ushakov and Stalin’s work Marxism and Questions of Linguistics consolidated the destruction of the social and value discord of the word, and annihilated the people’s right to ideological disagreement.

Perspectives on Practice: Counter-Storytelling with Front Desk: Critical Literature Circles in the Elementary Classroom

Grounded in counter-storytelling and AsianCrit, this essay describes the authors’ experience hosting a teacher workshop on facilitating critical literature circles with elementary students.

The translation of childhood trauma—Taking the English and Chinese translation of Michikusa as an example

Michikusa (1915) is an autobiographical novel penned by the renowned Japanese writer, Natsume Sōseki. Researchers typically employ it to probe the intricate interplay between the author/protagonist's evolution and the historical milieu of Meiji-era Japan. Scholars such as Chiaki Ishihara have advocated for a new avenue of inquiry, advocating the application of psychoanalytic perspectives in exploring Natsume Sōseki's corpus. Surprisingly, this direction remains relatively uncharted, with the scholarly realm notably lacking discussions on its Chinese and English translations through the lens of literary criticism. This article undertakes an in-depth investigation into the translation of Michikusa's portrayal of childhood trauma into English and Chinese, facilitated by the construction of a comprehensive trilingual corpus. Employing a psychoanalytic framework for interpretation, it discerns that the childhood scenes play a foundational role in shaping the protagonist's post-traumatic personality facets, significantly influencing his relationships with his immediate and extended family. The findings underscore a critical gap: despite the pivotal nature of childhood trauma scenes, the conflict, sorrow, and torment within the source texts are often inadequately conveyed. Translations frequently involve undue omissions, adaptations, or distortions, thereby potentially obstructing the target audience's accurate comprehension and interpretation. Furthermore, this study establishes that a nuanced understanding of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) studies equips translators to convey trauma with greater fidelity. This contribution to literary criticism holds promise for enhancing existing translations, providing a nuanced perspective on the significance of accurately representing trauma in literary works.

Book Review: [R]evolusi Sastra di Era Komunikasi Digital: Perspektif Historis dan Teoretis

The digital era is a time when almost all areas of life have been assisted by digital technology. It is also interpreted as the emergence of digital technology, which replaces technologies previously used by humans, such as mechanics and electronics analogy. There has been a profusion of digital businesses under the tremendous effect of the internet and digital technology, including cloud computing, virtual reality, mobile devices, and IoTs. The digital age has profound implications for society and the economy since technology is more knowledge-based. In (R)evolusi Sastra di Era Komunikasi Digital: Perspektif Historis dan Teoretis, Ida Rochani Adi, the author, captures the lament of a scientific discipline facing the dilemma of technological change. From a theoretical and historical perspective, this book offers a framework for responding to developments in the digital world of literature, which causes the dynamic understanding of literary works depending on the angle from which the literary work is interpreted. Not only explaining views, thoughts, and theories that have previously developed regarding literary works and criticism, social sciences, humanities, cultural studies, and media, but this book also offers thought, reflection, and development of literary works' ideas in the digital world’s frenetic development.

ON BOYAN AS A MINSTREL AND HIS ROLE IN MEDIEVAL RUSSIAN CULTURE

The name “Boyan” first appears in the written works of Old East Slavic literature. Boyan is referenced in the prologue of one of these sources, The Tale of Igor’s Campaign (Slovo o polku Igoreve), which is presented in Russian-speaking countries as a groundbreaking example of literary criticism that was not recognized in the 12th century. The anonymous author does not comply with Boyan’s epic narrative tradition, stating that he will sing the song in his own way. Therefore, the narrator, who desires to surpass the obsolescent rite of oral narrative and appears keen to join the contemporary trends of the time or direct them himself, chooses to criticize his predecessor. In Old Russian culture, Boyan is considered to be a wandering minstrel, a bard, and a prophet. He is also referred to as the grandson of Veles, a member of the pantheon of pagan gods and protector of musicians. The fingers of Boyan, which are associated with an ancient stringed instrument called “gusli”, are believed to be sacred and magical. A type of accordion called the “bayan” also takes its name from Boyan. This study, which focuses on Boyan, an important figure in Old East Slavic literature and folklore, aims to reveal his role in medieval culture and explore whether he was a real or fictional character. For this purpose, the study includes an evaluation of the etymology of the word Boyan and an analysis of how Boyan is depicted in literary texts. In light of the data obtained, the probability of Slavic, Scandinavian, Bulgarian, or Turkic roots of the word is evaluated. The study then delves into a wide range of evidence to provide insight into whether Boyan was a minstrel or a court singer. In conclusion, this study reveals Boyan’s significance as a folk minstrel who served as a protector of national memory and a transmitter of cultural heritage.

Spatializing Poetry through Evaluation of Ecocritical Spaces in Tony Afejuku’s <i>A Spring of Sweets</i>

This essay explores the interplay between spatial literary criticism and ecocriticism and how they help present the poet’s representation of ecological destruction in the Niger Delta. It reads the poems of Tony Afejuku in the collection: A Spring of Sweets (henceforth abbreviated as ASOS). Through textual-analytic method, the poems are critically read to unveil the various connotations evident in the construction of ecocritical spaces. The spatial configuration of the poems reveals that two main ecocritical spaces are framed to underscore the poetic vision of the Niger Delta environment. The article concludes that Afejuku spatialises Warri River as well as oil companies as ecocritical spaces through which the reader can appreciate the depth of ecological hazard happening in the Nigerian coastal region, the Niger Delta.

Solitude and Exile in Roberto Bolaño

Profoundly original and deliberately shocking, innovative and puzzling at the same time, Roberto Bolaño (1953 – 2003) is now considered one of the most important Latin American writers of the 20th century. Born in Chile, he grew up in Mexico and then traveled across the South American continent, finally settling in Europe, in his steady attempt to establish his reputation of a poet and a novelist. His entire work represents a constant challenge to the literary critics, given the fact that he distinctively addressed some important universal issues (like human loneliness or the impossibility to establish an authentic connection and dialogue in the midst of an alienated society); but he is also famous for his particular way of meditating upon the often hidden meanings of exile in the contemporary world. His characters travel around the world as well as within themselves, in order to find their identity and to assert the truth of their own existence at the same time. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2024 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]

Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Development: A Critical Literature Review

Impact of Foreign Aid on Economic Development: A Critical Literature Review

Corporeal Conflict: Unmaking and Making the Self in Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman

The classical canons of literature create and consider the construction of women as objects of beauty and desire, who are motivated by no concern for themselves, inherently weak and impoverished. This study seeks an alternative narrative structure to such cultural constructions by exploring how Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman (1969) portrays and represents the female body in connection with female agency and power by writing against classical representations. Accordingly, this study employs recent theorists who blend feminist perspectives with theories based on the body including Elizabeth Grosz, Susan Bordo and Kim Chernin along with feminist literary critics including Simone de Beauvoir and Linda Hutcheon. By incorporating feminist theory and body politics together with literary criticism, this study presents a discourse of resistance and the potentiality of a new meeting point for shared experience and a common knowledge. In this regard, Atwood’s The Edible Woman suggests that there is agency and power to be attained through the knowledge of our bodies. As a counter-narrative, The Edible Woman promotes a resistance to dominant cultural and social constructions that proceed to objectify and undervalue the female body. Atwood’s novel attempts to bring a credibility and a value to knowledge to which we gain through our corporeal experience. What emerges from this perception is that corporeal knowledge appears to be essential to be able to acquire an understanding of our existence as well as to be read as a means to resistance.

The Images and Metaphors in Death Fugue

Paul Celan's Death Fugue is one of the most important poems of the 20th century. The obscure and profound metaphors and images in the Death Fugue have always attracted people's attention. In addition, his poetry is seen as the product of a world in transition. After the Holocaust, the myth of modernity was destroyed so that the past experience was considered questionable on a poetical level. The Death Fugue was written in a way that had never been written before. This paper analyzes the text from the perspective of metaphor and intention and explores the potential meaning of words. This paper selects three main images and interprets them in combination with history and philosophy. The author analyzes how metaphors and imagery in the poem reproduce the Holocaust scene and responds to literary criticism of poetry after the Holocaust. Through these rare metaphors and images, Paul Celan created a new paradigm of poetry and made readers read it in a new way.

Women's Representation in Hamidullah's and Chughtai's Selected Short Stories: A Psycho-feminist Study

Even though staunch feminist writers take up responsibilities to represent them, the question of identity remains unresolved because of insufficient understanding of women’s psyche and sensitivity. This study focuses on the psychoanalytical behavior of women in phallocentric society to investigate how gender discrimination depends on the social identities of interacting parties. This study examines women’s identities in the selected short stories by Ismat Chughtai and Zaib-Un-Nisa Hamidullah to explore how women’s gender and their inhibitions create difficulties in self-representations for them. This research takes into account the South Asian socio-cultural settings in which Chughtai and Hamidullah's works are placed. Both writers have addressed the core issues related to women’s life going deep into their psychology. Employing the theoretical underpinnings of Chandra Talpade Mohanty, this research would engage with the lived experiences of the women of the sub-continent and highlight the debates and remedies to resolve their issues. The study seeks to clarify how patriarchal systems, power dynamics, and psychoanalytic processes affect women's sense of self and agency through an analysis of the women’s experiences. The findings shed light on more general concerns of gender, identity, and empowerment as well as feminist literary criticism.