Traditional Narrative Research Articles

Dispatches from a body on fire: slow death at the intersections of race, gender, and disability

ABSTRACT While contemporary fascisms operate in ways both obvious and covert, this piece focuses on the gradual harms that remain unintelligible in everyday rhetorics. I join scholars such as E Cram, who have tracked how white supremacy erodes our energies and time. Considering inflammation as a record of such harm, I examine how many chronic diseases inscribe systemic abuse onto trans, disabled, and Black and brown bodyminds. Drawing from the narrative traditions of cultural rhetorics, critical race counterstory, and crip and trans of color critique, I story the injured body back into our profession, asking our disciplines to consider how our choices can enforce, expose, or resist the slow burn of colonial exploitation.

The Blood Brotherhood and Colonial Treaties and Alliances: Between Myth and Reality

Abstract This article examines the representation and use of the blood exchange between European expeditionary leaders, that worked in the service of king Leopold II, and African rulers in Central and East Africa during the late nineteenth century. While the blood brotherhood played a role in the appeasement of African rulers and the conclusion of treaties, the details and origins of the procedure are often unclear. Europeans believed that the blood brotherhood was an African legal custom, even though recent anthropological studies suggest it differed from the inter-African version of the blood brotherhood. Europeans styled the blood brotherhood as the African counterpart to the European treaty, which served to support the legality of the much-contested treaties that Leopold II’s representatives had concluded, often under dubious circumstances. While the blood brotherhood therefore functioned as a practical tool to establish European influence and sovereignty over African rulers, it was also as a means of glorifying the white European explorer as a pseudo-scientist and well-meaning broker of peace. This article complicates the traditional narrative of how treaties were concluded during the Scramble for Africa and highlights the need for a critical re-examination of the legal practices and representations of colonialism.

'Our machines are disturbingly lively, and we ourselves Mghteningly inert': Reconsidering ironic kinship in Neill Blomkamps science fiction film Chappie

Neill Blomkamp's 2015 science fiction film Chappie engages with the familiar narrative trope of robot sentience. Blomkamp confronts viewers with a naïve and vulnerable childlike robot protagonist that is more human and likeable than any of the stilted and stereotypical real human characters in the film. It is the mechanical creature with which the viewer readily identifies and sympathises. Blomkamp facilitates, not only between his characters, but also with the audience, a kinship of the sort that Donna Haraway in Staying with trouble calls affinity groups or assemblages of 'oddkin'. The immediately sympathetic response of the viewing audience to the mechanical robot is a key strategy in the way that Blomkamp applies irony in this film, which Haraway also identifies as central to her idea of the cyborg as an alternative and potentially liberatory myth. In this article, I engage in a close reading of the film, focusing on the broad network of speculative and science fiction narrative traditions within which this film operates. I consider possible reasons why the film was misread and met with criticism when it was first released. I also specifically investigate the strategies and techniques Blomkamp uses in his depiction of the robot character and how his use of its childlikeness and vulnerability and its engagement with violence and sacrifice are central to the film's ironic engagement with the central argument about the dangers of dehumanisation and the need to recuperate humaneness.

Honoring the Ancestors and Creator

Abstract Contemporary feminist scholars problematize the difficulties of creating meaningful political alliances between Indigenous and diasporic communities in settler states such as Canada and the United States. This essay uses a relational framework to trace how two feminist artists, one Indigenous and one diasporic, creatively resist the ongoing and uneven conditions of settler colonial capitalism. The essay examines artwork by Tannis Nielsen, a midcareer Indigenous artist with Métis, Anishnawbe, and Danish ancestry, and Rosa Sungjoo Park, an emerging diasporic Korean artist with landed status in Canada. Taken together, the artists’ works offer fruitful opportunities to think through difficult questions about power, history, and representation on Turtle Island. Both Nielsen and Park engage “pedagogies of the Sacred” to honor ancestral traditions and spiritual practices while disrupting binary narratives of tradition vs. modernity. I contend that their creative use of digital media draws on lived experience, embodied knowledge, and spirituality to refuse colonialism’s hyper-individualism and imagine alternative worlds.

“Patriarchy … Always Plays a Role”: Gender, Politics, and the Lewis Family

The story of the Lewis family is generally told from the perspective of men: David, Stephen, and Avi; this article reorients the traditional narrative to examine the often overlooked and undervalued contributions of the women to the institutional and extra-parliamentary left in Canada. It demonstrates that, despite the barriers imposed by a patriarchal system, Sophie Lewis helped develop both the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and New Democratic Party (NDP); daughter Janet (Solberg) organized much of the Ontario wing and numerous successful election campaigns; daughter-in-law Michele (Landsberg) forced social democrats (and many others) to grapple with gender inequality; and granddaughters Ilana (Landsberg-Lewis), Jenny, and Naomi (Klein) continue to fight publicly for social justice around the world. It argues that these women, and many others, deserve recognition for their important work in Canadian politics and society.

Veterinary clinicians prefer template-style reports with personal confidence estimates for cytologic sample evaluations.

To examine preferences of veterinary clinical pathologists, clinicians, and students for cytology report formats. 24 clinical pathologists, 1,014 veterinarians, and 93 veterinary students who were members of the Veterinary Information Network. Members of the Veterinary Information Network responded to an online survey invitation, made available between July 11, 2023, and July 24, 2023. Respondents were randomly directed to 1 of 4 sets of cytology reports, each containing a traditional narrative format, narrative format with terms expressing a degree of confidence and associated numerical ranges, and template format with similar estimates of confidence. Respondents ranked the reports in order of preference and then provided comments about their top-ranked choice. Responses were analyzed mostly with descriptive statistics or comparisons of proportions. 14 of 24 clinical pathologists preferred the traditional narrative format, whereas 449 of 1,042 veterinary clinicians and veterinary students preferred the template format. Respondents (460/1,131) ranked the template format as most preferred, but the narrative format with terms expressing a degree of confidence ranked highest overall. Many respondents appeared to misunderstand the degree of confidence estimates being expressed numerically. Respondents choosing each format often stated that their preferred choice was "easiest to understand" and "most comprehensive." Given the preferences of veterinary clinicians and veterinary students for a template format, clinical pathologists should consider modifying the way they report evaluations of cytologic specimens. Template formats should help standardize reporting of cytologic specimens, thereby improving communication between clinical pathologists and clinicians. However, both clinicians and clinical pathologists need to better understand the purpose of terminology expressing degrees of confidence in such reports.

“GOOD GIRLS AND BAD WOLVES?” - A READING OF BLURRED GENDER ROLES AND PARENTHOOD IN THE GRAPHIC NARRATIVES OF THE RED RIDING HOOD

Though not so iconised and popularized as the other fairy tales characters such as Cinderella, Snow White, or Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood has seen multifarious subversive revisions and adaptations in modern and postmodern art and literature. The role of motherhood is inextricable from the traditional narratives of the fairy tales; nonetheless, the recent retellings of the story in fiction, poetry, and notably in graphic narratives show a blurring of the gender archetypes. This paper analyzes the blurring of gender boundaries and parenthood in the graphic retelling of the popular fairy tale, Red Riding Hood, namely The Little Red Wolf by Amélie Fléchais, “Red” by Teloka And Pi, and Emily Carroll’s short comics “In Conclusion” and “His Face All Red”. These graphic narratives will be analyzed with the theoretical discourses of Julia Kristeva, Luce Irigaray, and Marina Warner.

From Harems to Thrones: The Ascendancy of Women in Mughal Royalty

This Article delves into the diverse roles of women in Mughal Civilization, highlighting their significant contributions in the cultural, political, and administrative arenas. Using historical documents, Mughal-era literature, and academic articles, this study examines not just how women in Central Asian culture were educated, but also the Mughal dynasty's socio-cultural effect. They also have a significant impact on the landscape. These results show Mughal women's important roles in government and cultural dissemination, contradicting traditional narratives and demonstrating their frequently underappreciated importance in history. The major goal of this article is to illustrate the status of women in the royal family during the Mughal era in India and to demonstrate how crucial Mughal women played in both day-to-day state administration and long-term political and economic activities of the state. Planning This article will also include a list of cultural domains that Mughal women helped to develop, cultivate, and promote.

Contributions of the Linguistic Documentation to the Strengthening of the Ikpeng Language at School

In this paper, we present the activities and products developed during the Ikpeng language documentation project that contributed to the strengthening of the teaching of mother language of this indigenous society at the school, a space in which the use and teaching of the Portuguese language predominates. The Ikpeng linguistic documentation process was set within the Projeto de Documentação de Línguas Indígenas (PRODOCLIN), promoted by Museu do Índio/FUNAI, in partnership with UNESCO, during the period from 2009 to 2012. Among the main contributions of the documentation project are a sociolinguistic diagnosis, the creation of a lexical database, the elaboration of a descriptive grammar of the Ikpeng language, the publication of a monolingual book of traditional narratives and training courses in linguistics for indigenous teachers. The products resulting from the documentation were developed based on the demands of the school context of the Ikpeng society, to preserve and value the language and ancestral memories of this indigenous society. The Ikpeng language is spoken by the homonymous people, who live in the Parque Indígena do Xingu – MT.

The Visions of a Visionary—Girish Karnard’s Play The Dreams of Tipu Sultan

Indian playwright Girish Karnad seeks to challenge the conventional historical portrayal of Tipu Sultan in his play Dreams of Tipu Sultan by emphasizing Tipu’s personal and psychological experiences. As a pioneering playwright known for blending diverse theatrical styles, Karnad integrates real historical events with creative storytelling to present Tipu Sultan as a complex figure deserving of both respect and empathy. The play begins not with the central character of Tipu Sultan, but with two historians, Mysorian Kirmani and the British Colin Mackenzie. These historians serve as a lens through which the audience can explore and question the traditional narratives surrounding Tipu Sultan’s life and reign. They raise important inquiries about the authenticity of historical accounts and traditional narratives and encourage a more nuanced understanding of Tipu Sultan’s motivations, relationships, and inner world. By delving into the personal and psychological experiences of Tipu Sultan, Karnad invites us to question and reevaluate our understanding of history, new historicism, and the human portrayal of the historical figure Tipu Sultan.

Looking for Lost Proficiency in East Polynesian Voyaging Traditions and Ethnology

ABSTRACT The lost proficiency hypothesis holds that ancient voyaging technology in East Polynesia was superior to that recorded historically. It provides an indispensable assumption for modern experimental voyaging and associated research, but its origins in traditional migration narratives and associated ethnology are uncertain. Inspection of Maori voyaging traditions, published between 1840 and 1970, implies lost proficiency in the supernatural abilities of ancestors but not in technological change, except by comparison with post-European contact evidence. Ethnological considerations extending to the late 18th century also indicate that no greater technical capability in ocean-going canoes existed before European arrival than was observed in the early decades afterwards. These results suggest that the early historical record of East Polynesian canoes might provide more useful information about ancient voyaging technology than the assumptions involved in current experimentation and simulation. They also underline the role of lost proficiency in the cultural politics of conjecture about ancient voyaging.

Integrating three theories of 21st-century capitalism

Purpose This study aims to help develop “business principles for stakeholder capitalism” in two steps. First, the study defines internal logic of three theories of capitalism and two variants within each theory. Second, it examines approaches to integration into modern democratic capitalism. Treating the three theories as substitutes identifies relative strengths and weaknesses; complementarity and partial overlap approaches to integration study the institutional settings within which stakeholder capitalism operates. Empirical outcomes reflect competition between market and stakeholder businesses for participants, with institutional conditions determining the scope of collective action. Design/methodology/approach The approach aligns three typologies in a unique conceptual arrangement defining the three theories of capitalism: forms of capitalism, potential failures of each form and associated types of goods. The first method examines the internal logic of each theory of capitalism. The second draws on traditional narrative review of references documenting each theory of capitalism and variants together with modern Marxist anti-capitalism. Findings Three typologies align uniquely with the theories of capitalism, each having two variants. Both variants of stakeholder capitalism are compatible with compassionate capitalism, constitutional government or polycentric governance but not with self-interest capitalism, dictatorship or Marxism. A theory of modern democratic capitalism allocates roles for private, club and social goods with empirically variable mixes occurring across countries. Competition among different types of enterprises provides an empirical test for comparative advantages of stakeholder capitalism. Future research should consider approaches for testing the proposed conceptual scheme in practice concerning capacity to deal with grand challenges, wicked problems and black swan events. Research limitations/implications Research approach is limited to logical examination of theories and literature documentation without direct empirical confirmation. The study does not address practical implications for managers and public officials or social implications concerning private incentives, stakeholder cooperation or collective action. Originality/value Originality lies in shifting terms of debate about stakeholder capitalism from advocacy of substitute theories to understanding of its relationship to market capitalism and collective action capitalism. Value lies in explaining desirability of theoretical integration of three types of capitalism into a comprehensive framework for modern democratic capitalism.

Revisiting the Phillips Curve: The Empirical Relationship Yet to be Validated*

AbstractThe Phillips curve began life in 1958 as a simple curve‐fitted relationship between the rates of wage inflation and unemployment and went on to play a crucial role in the broader development of macroeconomics, giving rise to several controversies about its interpretation and role in policy‐making. Recently, the traditional narrative about its theoretical underpinnings has been called into question as a sequence of ‘stories’ to provide support for particular theoretical perspectives on macroeconomics. The primary aim of this paper is to challenge the conventional wisdom relating to the Phillips curve being an attested empirical relationship, by showing that the empirical evidence of the most influential papers that helped to frame the traditional narrative is untrustworthy, in the sense that the probabilistic assumptions invoked by their inferences are invalid. That is, not only the traditional theory‐driven narrative is misleading, but the empirical evidence used to corroborate it is untrustworthy.

Jesus’s Puzzling Retort to the Royal Official (John 4:48) in Isodiegetic Perspective

Abstract When a “royal official” (βασιλικός) urges Jesus to help his dying son, Jesus surprisingly retorts (John 4:48): “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will never believe!” Researchers find this outburst out of place in response to a desperate father, but this article argues that it can be explained by use of an isodiegetic perspective, where the Johannine storyworld is informed by a larger narrative tradition in which the tetrarch Herod Antipas (ca. 4 BCE–39 CE) is a known adversary of Jesus, whose adherents strive to entrap him and get him killed. In view of the official’s expected patronal loyalty to “king” (βασιλεύς) Herod, his healing request can reasonably be presumed to be a trap until his appeal “Sir, come down before my child dies!” (John 4:49) clarifies that the man is not acting as a client, but as a father.

Love as narrative drive: Level 26: dark origins and transmedia storytelling

Throughout history, the discourse surrounding love has seen myriad interpretations since ancient Greek times. In the tapestry of European literature's evolution, the novel's intimate exploration of personal realms has elevated love as a pivotal driving force shaping characters' actions. This intrinsic link between the novel and love has become a focal point for examination. Our objective is to analyze the transmedia novel Level 26: Dark Origins (2009) by Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski. We aim to unravel how the merging of diverse media forms enriches the narrative's exploration of love within its broader thematic framework. This novel stands as an exemplar of transmedia storytelling, seamlessly integrating traditional print narrative with immersive online video content. Drawing insights from esteemed scholars like Henry Jenkins (2009), René Girard (1961), and Erich Fromm (1956), our analysis observes the layers of love portrayed in Level 26: Dark Origins from the romantic and familial to the more shadowy and obsessive aspects. By exploring the intricate complexities of human emotions, this multimedia extension, particularly the video series, accentuates the narrative's visual storytelling prowess, offering a nuanced portrayal of love.

Authoritarianism and civil society in Central Asia: Shifting boundaries

ABSTRACT The traditional narrative on state-civil society relations in the consolidated authoritarian regimes of Central Asia is one of coercion with little room for independent NGOs which challenge the states’ discourse. There is however emerging evidence of a gradual shift in relationships. First, the distinction between independent organizations (NGOs) and government organized bodies (GONGOs) is becoming blurred as the former struggle to remain financially buoyant and the latter find (limited) opportunities to influence the state. Second, the role played by international donors in authoritarian regimes is fraught with obstacles/resistance making internal civil society organizations more self-reliant and the state grants’ application process more competitive. Third, the context is changing with a younger more assertive generation willing to challenge the vestiges of the Soviet era. Using Kazakhstan as a Central Asian case study, this article finds there is an increasing role for civil society along an NGO-GONGO continuum aimed at ‘challenging existing realities’ even within the parameters of authoritarian states.

Unexamined Zen: Challenges from Dōgen’s Zen Buddhism

Abstract The traditional narrative of Zen Buddhism focuses on a religious experience that goes beyond words and concepts. I argue that Dōgen’s understanding of enlightenment is not limited to a religious experience, as it involves a creative process of Buddha-making that demands the flexibility to present a novel expression of the Buddha way with the transiency of the impermanent world. In arguing for the processual understanding of the Buddha way and enlightenment, I refer to the fluidity of dao in Chinese philosophy to shed light upon the significance of creativity in authentic practice. By doing so, I explain why an unexamined Zen is problematic for Dōgen.

The Wind Is Always Blowing: Generative Crosscurrents of Ethnographic Dialogue in Australia

ABSTRACTLive conversations and writing play an important role in ethnographic research that seeks to develop understanding across cultural differences. Both forms of communication need not remain distinct: written dialogue can develop critical thought while foregrounding the shared contexts and relational impetuses of communication across cultures. Set against the background of recent styles in ethnographic writing about and with Yolŋu people, this article extends from conversations about wata (wind), exploring collaborative practices (music performance and teaching) and approaches to writing ethnography that respond to a core quality of wind as a medium that connects. Wata is a significant theme within manikay (public ceremonial song) that connects Wägilak with their ancestral lands, even as it blows through the country of other groups, allowing new relationships and understandings to be formed. Giving rise to concerns of connection, difference, and movement, wata is a significant theme for considering the ways narrative traditions can shape relationality and give impetus to intellectual inquiry.

The Jeweled Castle of the Dragon

ABSTRACT Five analog narratives—from Apuleius’s Metamorphoses (“Cupid and Psyche,” second century AD), Philostratus’s Apollonius (ca. AD 220), Callimachus and Chrysorrhoe (early fourteenth century AD), Konrad’s Saga (fourteenth century AD) and The Theodore Tiron Miracle Story (fourteenth century AD)—prove to be underpinned by an ideal story type along the following lines. A dragon lives in a golden, jeweled castle, almost impossible of access. It is surrounded by and infested by lesser serpents. Within it he has a special raised platform, and he is served in it by automatic air-powered trays, tables, and vessels. He conceives a desire for a human girl, steals her and keeps her captive. The castle is penetrated by her lover-to-be, who kills the dragon and saves her, whereupon the marvelous castle melts away. The theme of erotic desire travels with the story type. Further support is provided for the long-held suspicion that the Cupid and Psyche tale builds upon a preexisting traditional dragon narrative.

From Ancient Zhiguai Tales to Contemporary Animation: A Study of Visual Rhetoric in ‘Yao-Chinese Folktales’ (2023)

This study delves into the use of visual rhetorical strategies in 中国奇谭 Zhongguo Qitan ‘Yao-Chinese Folktales’ (2023), particularly focusing on 鹅鹅鹅 E E E ‘Goose Mountain’ (henceforth ‘Goose’) directed by Hu Rui. We assert that ‘Goose’ transcodes and reinterprets the ancient Chinese zhiguai novella 阳羡书生 Yangxian Shusheng ‘The Scholar from Yangxian’ (henceforth ‘Scholar’) for a contemporary audience through the use of visual rhetoric, leading to a compelling contemporary rendition of this tale. As a silent animation, ‘Goose’ does so by adeptly incorporating visual depictions, especially animal-related imagery and ink painting aesthetics, drawn from the broader traditional zhiguai myths, or tales of the strange and traditional Chinese culture. The core argument hinges on visual rhetoric’s transformative potential. In ‘Goose’, the connection between tradition and contemporaneity is established through metaphor and metonymy. Initially a literary figure of speech, metaphor and metonymy now encompasses ‘visual rhetoric’, widely applied in interpreting visual arts. Visual rhetoric often employs various elements such as colour, shape, size, objects, composition and texture to convey information. This study highlights the role played by the inseparable link between traditional zhiguai narratives, the minzu/national style, and the contemporary animation technology in ‘Goose’, a transformative role that revitalizes ancient traditions to resonate with today’s viewership.