51 research outputs found
SOCIO-DRAMATIC TRANSITION OF LANGUAGE USE IN THE PLAYS OF OLA ROTIMI
No full textAbstractLiterary language in African writing makes for interesting study because of the linguistic nuances and flavour of the indigenous African language of its author that finds creative expression in English. How language is used in dramatic communication is a subject of serious intellectual debate. This study, through the textual analysis of some play-texts, which are constructed on the didactic and eclectic nature of theatre and the society, is a reflection on the socio-dramatic transition of language use in the plays of Ola Rotimi. The discussion will identify, conceptualise and re-think some major forms, styles and patterns of language use in the plays of Ola Rotimi. Given the theatrical, dramatic, literary dividends and effectiveness of Rotimi’s works, this study concludes by calling on budding playwrights and dramatists in Africa to emulate/imitate/learn from re-thought language forms, styles and “linguistic possibilities” in the plays of Ola Rotimi as they experiment with language use in the African theatre.Keywords: African theatre, language use, Ola Rotimi, play directing, socio-dramatic, transitio
Socio-dramatic transition of language use in the plays of Ola Rotimi
No full textLiterary language in African writing makes for interesting study because of the linguistic nuances and flavour of the indigenous African language of its author that finds creative expression in English. How language is used in dramatic communication is a subject of serious intellectual debate. This study, through the textual analysis of some play-texts, which are constructed on the didactic and eclectic nature of theatre and the society, is a reflection on the socio-dramatic transition of language use in the plays of Ola Rotimi. The discussion will identify, conceptualise and re-think some major forms, styles and patterns of language use in the plays of Ola Rotimi. Given the theatrical, dramatic, literary dividends and effectiveness of Rotimi’s works, this study concludes by calling on budding playwrights and dramatists in Africa to emulate/imitate/learn from re-thought language forms, styles and “linguistic possibilities” in the plays of Ola Rotimi as they experiment with language use in the African theatre.Keywords: African theatre, language use, Ola Rotimi, play directing, socio-dramatic, transitio
La tragedia greca in Africa: l'Edipo re di Ola Rotimi
No full textLo studio esplora l'impatto della drammaturgia classica in Africa, attraverso un momento paradigmatico: The Gods are not to Blame (Gli dei non vanno maledetti, 1969) di Emmanuel Gladstone Rotimi, riscrittura dell'Edipo re sofocleo. Attraverso la reinterpretazione di un testo canonico della cultura occidentale, l'autore ha cercato di presentare, rappresentare, definire ed esplorare la storia e l'identità del proprio paese, la Nigeria, e della propria etnia, gli Yoruba. Il mito greco viene ridiscusso all'interno di una cornice dualistica, contemporaneamente postcoloniale e indigena, che ne permea gli stratagemmi, lo stile e i contenuti, fondendosi in una sintesi di protesta e imitazione, in una mescolanza di rivolta e conciliazione. D’altronde, la storia del rapporto tra l’Europa e l’Africa è tragicamente segnata da episodi di sofferenza, oppressione e razzismo. L’analisi condotta si dispiega attraversa una serrata comparazione, a tratti filologica, tra i due drammi, nel tentativo di evidenziarne e motivarne analogie e incongruenze. Il risultato di questa meticolosa ricognizione critica ci conduce verso un prodotto ibrido che non mistifica o neglige la sacralità classica, ma ne divelte le porte del tempio in modo tale che al suo interno si crei lo spazio per altre forme di esperienza e nuovi timbri di voce.The study explores the impact of classical dramaturgy in Africa, through a paradigmatic moment: The Gods are not to Blame (1969) by Emmanuel Gladstone Rotimi, a rewriting of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Through the reinterpretation of a canonical text of Western culture, the author sought to present, represent, define and explore the history and identity of his own country, Nigeria, and of his own ethnic group, the Yoruba. The Greek myth is rediscussed within a dualistic framework, simultaneously postcolonial and indigenous, which permeates its stratagems, style and contents, merging in a synthesis of protest and imitation, in a mixture of revolt and conciliation. On the other hand, the history of the relationship between Europe and Africa is tragically marked by episodes of suffering, oppression and racism. The analysis conducted unfolds through a close comparison, at times philological, between the two dramas, in an attempt to highlight and motivate analogies and inconsistencies. The result of this meticulous critical reconnaissance leads us towards a hybrid product that does not mystify or neglect classical sacredness, but demolishes the doors of the temple in such a way that space is created inside for other forms of experience and new timbres of voice
Persistence of acidosis in alloxan-induced diabetic rats treated with the juice of Asystasia gangetica leaves
No full textDiabetes mellitus is gradually becoming a global health burden leading to an increase
in the search for herbal hypoglycemic agents as alternatives to synthetic ones. Asystasia
gangetica is one of the herbs used in folklore system of medicine for managing hypoglycaemia
associated with diabetes. Materials and Methods: The influence of the juice of A. gangetica leaf
on alloxan-induced diabetic rats was assessed by treating diabetic rats with 25%, 50% and 75%
fresh juice and glibenclamide for 5 weeks. Afterwards, the plasma concentrations of glucose,
triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, thiobarbituric acid
reactive substances and bicarbonate were assayed spectrophotometrically. Results: Treatment
of the diabetic rats with the juice significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the elevated plasma levels
of glucose to a level not significantly (P > 0.05) different from that of glibenclamide. The juice
also significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the plasma lipid peroxidation and improved the lipid profile,
as indicated by a significant (P < 0.05) reduction in the total cholesterol: HDL cholesterol ratio.
However, there was a significant (P < 0.05) rise in the level of bicarbonate as result of the juice
treatment from 28.15 ± 2.82 mmol/l in normal control to 60.83 ± 17.46 mmol/l in diabetic
control and to 122.20 ± 34.68 mmol/l, 120.95 ± 35.09 mmol/l and 115.85 ± 11.79 mmol/l
in 25%, 50% and 75% juice, respectively. Conclusion: Therefore, this inability of A. gangetica
to prevent acidosis detracts from the potential of its usefulness in managing diabetes
Proceedings of the 7th New Zealand Built Environment Research Symposium
No full text(c) The Author/sFALSEAuckland, New Zealan
A comparative analysis of Andre Gide's Oedipe and Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame, 2000
No full textAlthough there have been numerous and varied treatments of Oedipus throughout the ages, there is to date no detailed analytical study of myth based on Andre Gides Oedine and Ola Rotimis The Gods Are Not to Blame. This study is a critical analysis of these two dramatic texts, which have been reworked from fifth century Greek tragedy. The principal aim is to compare these two plays taken from different cultures, in an effort to show that they both have a common originSophocles Oedipus the King. Through this comparison, the author wishes to show that each playwright presents Oedipus as a classic, which transcends cultural boundaries, thus making Sophocles drama a classic work in world literature. The study is presented in four chapters. The first chapter serves as an introduction, which deals with the origin of the Oedipus theme and some of the major writers who helped to popularize it. This chapter will also present references, theses and other critical works written on the plays in question. The second and third chapters deal with the plays of each playwright: Oedipe by Andre Gide and The Gods Are Not to Blame by Ola Rotimi. Each chapter will include a brief sketch of the authors life, a resume of the plays, and the development of major and minor characters. The fourth chapter will deal with the similarities and the contrasts in the plays and will also serve as the conclusion
Genetic ancestry tracing and the African identity: a double- edged sword?
No full textAs both a geneticist and a Nigerian living in the United States, the author responds to the prospect of African Americans using genetic science to trace their ancestry to the African continent. He articulates concerns about both the limitations of the science to offer satisfying, accurate, and meaningful results, and the ability of individuals to make real, life-altering sense of these results. However, he notes that given the history and impact of slavery on African Americans, the desire to trace roots to Africa is both real and understandable
Review: Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War: A Memoir
No full textThis book is very interesting, insightful, engaging, and hard to put down. It is also spicy, informative, and illuminating in all ramifications about the Liberian war, and her personal life and it unearths the hidden criminalities of war on vulnerable groups. The book is about the evolution of an individual and a nation at war; how a person, that is, the author fought her personal “wars” and translated the enormous strength she developed within the intervening years to confront the warlords bent on annihilating her nation and people. She dared the demons and prevailed but it was indeed not an easy assignment that life’s battles had equipped her for. The structure of the book is logical with a prologue and twenty-one-chapters, filled with gripping personal details and others stories related to the war of attrition that defined that epoch
Ethnic Minority Conflicts and Governance in Nigeria
No full textEthnic Minority Conflicts and Governance in Nigeria explores and analyses the underlying sources and salient features of recent ethnic minority conflicts in Nigeria, the largely controversial policies by which the Nigerian state has sought to contain these conflicts, and the prospects and preconditions for a more stable and equitable system of federal governance in the country. Through an insightful examination of two most recent minority conflicts in the country, the author probes the contemporary problems of ethnic minorities. He appraises the management of the conflicts by the State, and proffers appropriate policy responses for the resolution of the country's ethnic minority problems. The book is recommended to policy makers, students of history and political science, academicians and the general public
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