34 research outputs found
(Un)even Cultural Productions: (Re)theorising Silences in the Kenyan Political Life writing
No full textThis article examines how the Kenyan political self-writing (re)enacts silences while claiming to memorise the country’s past. The paper interrogates the self-writings as cultural productions ridden with interested (re)theorisings. The question to be answered in this article regards whether the Kenyan political self-writings, in the quest for nationhood in Kenya, silence particular strands of histories and other equally essential themes in the Kenyan political memory. To answer this question, the discussion was located within the post-colonial theory, with particular emphasis on the strand that articulates resistance as a form of strategic calculation and interrogates the interest that inhabits the production of specific knowledges. The article examined the political autobiography chosen here as located from a place of privilege, often silencing particular themes while amplifying others. The biographical method was used to analyse Not Yet Uhuru by Jaramogi Odinga and The Flame of Freedom by Raila Odinga. Revealing the dangers of a single story in autobiographical works, the article argues that Kenyan political self-writing is imbued with rhetorical performances determined by the need to tell a compelling story. Hiding behind the romantic concept of speaking truth to power and using grandeur themes like nationhood and subalternity as survival tropes, the leaders examined here deliberately and conveniently elbow out other themes that do not serve their interests. Uhuru and Freedom are, therefore, public performances of deference and loyalty so crucial in power relations, especially in maintaining dynastic life and constructing a flattering self-image of their writers. In the final analysis, Uhuru and Freedom become cultural constructions, remembering the past with a slant
Narrating Feminine Rebellion, Dynamism and Resilience in Meja Mwangi’s "The Last Plague"
No full textThe postcolonial literature that underscores feminist realization has used varied ways to engage and interrogate the many aspects of the fight against the enduring grip of patriarchy. However, as this paper shows, to defeat the plague, believable human effort laced with such enduring virtues as dynamism and resilience should be cultivated. This paper argues that Meja Mwangi’s The Last Plagueis an inspiring metaphor that, with a slant, narrates female rebellion, dynamism and resilience in taming HIV/AIDS in the context of cultural and patriarchal resistance. What Janet and right-minded people like Frank do to have people accept the plague is real and can be deduced through acceptance and change of people’s sexual behaviour. Thus, using Psychoanalytic and Feminism theories, this paper examines the apparent resistance to combating HIV/AIDS and the reasons why Janet rebels and, with evident dynamism and resilience, at first and second, take a bold step to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Using The Last Plague as the unit of analysis, the paper utilizes a close reading textual analysis methodology for data collection, analysis, discussion and presentation. This paper argues that ‘The Last Plague’ is a metaphor for HIV/AIDS, and in Mwangi’s thinking, this disease is wiping humanity to the bubonic plague level
Beyond the Savannah: A Feminist Reading of Chinua Achebe\u27s "Anthills of the Savannah"
No full textThis paper offers a feminist reading of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah. Employing a close reading and content analysis methodology, the study interrogates the novel through a feminist lens, particularly focusing on the portrayal of power dynamics, gender roles, and the silencing of dissent. The central research question guiding this analysis is: How does Achebe utilize feminist perspectives to expose the patriarchal structures that perpetuate political corruption and social injustice in post-colonial Africa? The study argues that Achebe’s narrative reveals the insidious nature of patriarchal power, which manifests in various forms, including political oppression, gender-based violence, and the suppression of women’s voices. By examining the characters of Beatrice and Chris, the novel highlights the limitations imposed on women and the dangers faced by those who challenge the status quo. Through a close reading of the text, this paper seeks to identify the specific ways in which patriarchal norms and values contribute to the downfall of the Kangan state. By analyzing the characters’ actions and motivations, the study explores the ways in which gender intersects with power and how these dynamics shape the political landscape of the novel
The Allegory of Colonisation: (Re) Theorizing Dehumanization in Achebe’s "Things Fall Apart"
No full textThis paper examines symbolism in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart to unravel the two faces of colonisation in Africa. In Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, colonisation, on the one hand, is a symbol of conquest, subjugation and marginalisation of Umuofia clan and Igbo society by West and arguably, on the other hand, a symbol of the similar process for Africa. Therefore, this paper uses Historicism as an ideological praxis to examine the Umuofia-Igbo’s colonial encounter with the West while drawing some parallelism to Africa’s colonisation by the West. Artistically, Achebe has delved into the history to present colonial encounter with Africa, especially the Umuofia-Igbo society, the latter’s reactions to this crippling process and the far-reaching consequences on its social, political and economic organisation. In Achebe’s thinking, reflections and presentation “Things Fell Apart” for Umuofia-Igbo in the aftermath of this encounter. This paper contends that Africa’s encounter with the West from the late 18th century to the early 20th century is a similar narrative. Thus, Achebe utilizes proverbs, allegorical forms and anecdotes among other stylistic devices to underline symbolism to advance the colonisation narrative in Umuofia-Igbo and Africa at large. Indeed, the focus of this paper in most part is on the allegory of colonialism: The Double Edged Symbolism of Colonisation in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Ultimately, the paper reiterates its central argument that colonisation in whatever form is racist, exploitative, impoverishing and dehumanizing to the colonized
Green Logistics Practices and Firm Performance: The Mediating Effect of Economic Performance Among Logistics Firms in Kenya
No full textEmissions from the logistics industry are rising at a greater concern than any other industry and the trend is expected to continue such that by 2030 these levels will be 80% higher than they were in 2007 unlessthere is a change. Many firms aim at reducing cost and they need to strike a balance between economic, social and ecological factors for sustainability. This study establishes mediating role of economic performance on the relationship between green logistics practices and the performance of logistics firms operating in Kenya. The study is guided by the philosophy of positivism research and it applied the cross-sectional survey research design. The population of interest consist of 892 logistics firms in Kenya from which a sample of 300 firms is drawn. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Validity and reliability measurement were done using three frequently used methods – construct reliability (CR), average variance extracted (AVE), Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed using covariancebased structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). The study established that there is a significant positive relationship between the implementation of green logistics practices and firm performance of logistics firms in Kenya (β=0.63, p<0.001). The mediating effect of economic performance on the relationship between green logistics practices and firm performance was found to be positive and significant (β = .020, p = .039) at 0.05 significance level. It is recommended that logistics firms in Kenya should implement environmentfriendly practices both within firms and in the wider supply chain
Re-examining Notions of Transnationalism, Cosmopolitanism and Xenophobia in Postcolonial Africa: A Textual Analysis of Teju Cole’s Open City
No full textThis article looks at how ideas of transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and xenophobia are dramatized in the postcolonial novel in the Teju Cole’s Open City. The article examined transnationalism and cosmopolitanism as the quest that compels characters in the novel to move out of their initial localities; interrogated how the selected novel attempts to re-read the transitional mode of subjectification occasioned by transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and xenophobic attacks on immigrants and established why the immigrants in the text face the xenophobic treatment and how they negotiate the cross-cultural complexities of their new worlds. This article leaned on Taiye Selasi’s Afropolitanism theory. The article used close reading of Open City, exploring themes and motifs in the text. Data was analysed using content and thematic analysis. The article found out that the notions of transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and xenophobia in postcolonial Africa have birthed new identities which have been engaged and interrogated by the Teju Cole in Open City. The paper concluded that the notion of Afropolitanism, with its focus on both rootedness and movement, must be understood as an effort to bring together two divergent frameworks for an understanding of African identity. This article will benefit scholars in the field of migrations, human rights, and globalisations by tackling and exposing the complex view of globalisation, a criticism that transcends national boundaries, colonial worldviews, and postcolonial geopolitics and is based on mutual informing assumptions. It benefits literary studies, especially identity studies and African studies, because it interrogates how migrations bring out new identities and how these new identities stretch the understanding of the new direction of African literature
Dramatization of Agency and Ecological Consciousness in How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue and Oil on Water by Hellon Habila
No full textThis paper interrogates how authors deploy characters to represent ecological consciousness. The paper draws illustrations from Imbolo Mbue’s How Beautiful We Were and Hellon Habila’s Oil on Water to examine how agency is dramatized through characterization. The paper explores character agency within the subversive space of Bakhtin’s carnival laughter to represent their ecological consciousness. To ground the paper into an analytical perspective, the discussion identifies and discusses the distinct characterizations the two texts' authors employ to represent the characters’ ecological consciousness. The article argues that the writers of the chosen texts effectively use characterisation to create compelling ecological narratives that teach about the need to address environmental degradation. Additionally, the discussion reveals how the two writers depict ecological awareness via the characteristics of carnival shown by the characters. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that characters have a crucial role in delivering sermons about the gruesome consequences of environmental degradation. As a result, the components of carnival, such as craziness, clowns, and heroic characterizations, are used to undermine and challenge the impact of environmental degradatio
The Commodification of the Female Body in the Akamba Pop Music
No full textThis paper interrogates the objectified and commodified images of women constructed in the Akamba pop songs, especially those selected for this study. It analyses how these construed femininities offer a gender imbalance between men and women. From this standpoint, the paper discusses the various representations of gender and the significance attached to the gendered implication. The paper interrogates the images of women and their underlying meanings. The key goal is to examine how pop artists use imagery as a linguistic resource to foreground representations of gender while using the female body as the point of reference. Guiding the discussion is Luce Irigaray’s postulation on the male gaze and how it psychologically oppresses women using language. The article uses qualitative methodology whereby Ten Akamba pop songs are purposively sampled and sourced from YouTube. Sampled songs were transcribed, translated, and analysed for language use. The songs were interpreted using intersectionality and Luce Irigaray's postulation on gendered language. The paper's premise is to map out areas of women's marginalisation in Akamba pop songs. The article, therefore, examines how gendered inscription delineates women as sexual objects and commodities of male powe
The Representation of the Journey Motif in Understanding Selfhood in Waris Dirie’s Autobiographies
No full textThe study examines the journey motif to understand the identities of Waris Dirie’s in Desert Flower and Desert Dawn. The study relies on autobiography theory as well as African feminism theory. Dirie’s two narratives which form the basis of this study: Desert Flower and Desert Dawn, help to define and place women’s contribution to literary and gender issues in the World. Using the autobiography theory, the study uses the tenet of intertextuality to examine how the narratives by Warris Dirie present the factors that problematize the author’s identity. The study employs close reading and interpretation of both the primary and secondary data sources on the rendition of identities in the two primary texts under study since it is qualitative. The study establishes that through the analysis of the journey motif, the study traces the transitions that Waris Dirie undergoes to get freed from the restrictions of traditional customs and patriarchy, enabling her to openly express her emotions and ideas
