Baseball Is The Same Way Of Life - 1212 Words

Merrian Webster’s definition of baseball is, â€Å"a ball game played between two teams of nine on a field with a diamond-shaped circuit of four bases.† In reality baseball is so much more than that. The movies Bull Durham, The Natural, and Field of Dreams exemplify the metaphysical meaning of sport. Baseball is a metaphor for the American way of life; it unites people. It can even bring back the dead. The lessons learned in baseball illuminate the core tenants of American society. The metaphysical meaning of baseball represents Americas pulse and has the ability to even bring back the dead. A defining factor of American Life has been how you handle failure. As Rocky Balboa once said, â€Å"It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how†¦show more content†¦He even sets the minor league record for career home runs. After all of this he still fights with all his energy to make the majors, he is one of the team’s leading hitters and mentors the team’s star pitcher, Nuke. Again, despite his efforts the team decides to send him down. At first, he is heartbroken, but then he bounces back on his feet and decides to become a manager. Even though he does not get to achieve his dream of being a major leaguer he adapts and makes the most of his situation. By all measures he fails in almost every aspect of becoming a major leaguer, but in the end he is happy and is doing what he loves. This is a key to the American lifestyle. Nowadays more than ever, people have to change their careers to pursue new found interests. Look at Hank Nichols for example, he wanted to play baseball, but ultimately became a world renowned basketball official. As he said when he talked to us, he did not put his head down and pout rather he learned from his failure and used it to help him in the future. This is analogous to what Crash ultimately decides to do. This ability to adapt is also exemplified by Roy Hobbs. He is a small town boy who has to strike out The Whammer on three pitches to even get a chance at the big leagues. After mounting the pressure he is shot by a conniving mistress wearing a black veil and is hospitalized for multiple years. While most would

Coca-Cola Company Free Essays

Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next year or more, how it’s going to get there and how it’ll know if it got there or not. The focus of a strategic plan is usually on the entire organization, while the focus of a business plan is usually on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspectives, models and approaches used in strategic planning. We will write a custom essay sample on Coca-Cola Company or any similar topic only for you Order Now The way that a strategic plan is developed depends on the nature of the organization’s leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organization’s environment, size of the organization and expertise of planners. Coca-Cola Company My organisation is ‘Coca-Cola’ and my organisation make strategic plans by their mission statement: ‘To refresh the world – in mind, body and spirit, To inspire moments of optimism – through our brands and actions, To create value and make a difference everywhere we engage’, their value statement: ‘Our shared values that we are guided by are: Leadership, Passion, Integrity, Accountability, Collaboration, Innovation and Quality’, their aims and objectives: The aim and objective of Coca-Cola Enterprises is ‘to be the best beverage sales and customer service company’. To them ‘best’ means being the number one or second brand in every category in which they compete, being their customers most valued supplier and establishing a winning and inclusive culture corporate values and aims – meeting stakeholders expectations. Their organisational structure ensures that all the people of the same skills are grouped together; the main advantage of this type of management is that it allows the members of the team to share any information more freely across boundaries which would otherwise have existed. This type of organisational structure is called a matrix structure and it primarily helps Coca Cola company to achieve their aims and objectives because they’re able to cross section information from different departments of the company, so for example if they’re not selling their beverages so well then they can communicate with the managers to either take them off stock or reduce the price for a bit whilst more customers are attracted to it. This can be attained by their structure. Today, the intelligent organisation recognises that its own future well-being is, to a certain extent, dependent on the well-being of the communities within which it operates at a local, national and global level. It is important that investments which take place in the community, in terms of education, the environment, training, art and cultural institutions and many other causes are carefully thought through throughout the company. Decisions related to corporate citizenship are rather more difficult than the traditional business decisions which managers are used to making. Clear aims and objectives need to be established which fit well with an organisation’s corporate values and aims. The intelligent organisation today takes these issues seriously and seeks to design careful, flexible, comprehensive strategies to guide their decisions. Organisations such as The Coca-Cola Company therefore have established strategies for corporate citizenship. Coca-Cola’s strategy recognises that the well-being of communities is inextricably linked to the well-being of the business environment. A healthy business climate cannot co-exist for long with an ailing social environment. Strengthening both is therefore a goal for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is planning to increase international distribution and target international consumers with Japanese customers by maintaining a consistent strategy overseas, this structure helps the business to achieve their overall purpose and aims by making them more popular throughout more countries and promote them. This then makes more people aware of them and so a lot of their products are sold out more recently. Their organisational structure also helps them to achieve their purpose and aims as the structure allows all the employees to communicate with each other and so allows them to come out with more ideas as a whole group. Marks and Spencer’s company Marks and Spencer’s is my other organisation and the structure of the organisation and the strategic planning helps each business including the Marks and Spencer’s business organisations achieve their overall purpose and aims. There are many ways in which the business organisations do to accomplish this: their vision statement- ‘Our Vision’: To be the standard against which all others are measured. Their mission statement- ‘Our Mission’: To make aspirational quality accessible to all. Their value’s statement- ‘Our Values’: Quality, value, service, innovation and trust. Whether we’re working at home or abroad, within our own stores or in partnership with our franchisees, our Vision, Mission and Values remain the same. Ensuring we meet our customers’ needs with appealing, superior quality products at attractive prices’ and their aim’s and objectives- ‘Our aims and objectives’: To make money for the shareholders, and improve profit margins wherever possible. They do this by- Designing appealing products for its customers, innovating products and selling at prices that their customers are prepared to pay. The organisational structure for Marks and Spencer’s displays the hierarchy design, which shows how the people included rank from most important to least important. This type of structure is a functional structure and is useful for relatively large companies. Employees within the functional structure are differentiated to perform a specialized set of tasks. This helps Marks and Spencer’s to achieve their aims and objectives as for instance the marketing department would only be staffed with marketers responsible for the marketing of the Masks and Spencer’s products. The structure also helps this company to achieve it’s aims and objectives because as a result it does end up making money for the shareholders and can improve profit margins wherever possible by knowing who’s in charge of who, and who are the most important people for the job, which can make the decisions if needed to either reduce stock or raise stock as they’d be experienced. They have a commitment called ‘Plan A’ which is all about environmental issues within the business. Things like, not sending waste to landfill and cutting carbon emissions. Although this is a good thing, it is mainly to improve its image and again, encourage people to shop with them. ‘We launched Plan A in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. We’ve now extended Plan A to 180 commitments to achieve by 2015, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer’. This is Marks and Spencer’s strategic planning and they will achieve this by working with their customers and suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically, and help their customers to lead healthier lifestyles Marks and Spencer’s are currently providing their customers with food and cloth services and they are aiming to continue investing in and grow with providing service to their retail business. They are now introducing new clothing items for all ages and gender. This will help them meet their long term objective of growing and investigating within the UK retails. The cascading of goals and objectives should be motiving the entire workforce. The employees have to work together to implement the strategy and objectives and this also includes supporting organisations and to achieve a greater cascading of goals and objectives the organisations must try to enforce balance among its customer relationship, financial aspect and having better objectives to focus on the growth outlook. How to cite Coca-Cola Company, Papers

Ethics Essay Example For Students

Ethics Essay Some people feel that ethics only has to do with the individual who does wrongdoing and has nothing to do with the organization beliefs of a company as a whole. This has been found to be completely false and these ethical wrongdoings reflect the core values of an organization and can be influenced strongly by management. Two specific examples of corporate wrongdoings involve Sears automotive and Beach-nut Nutrition. In both cases, the companies lacked a system that encouraged honesty and fair dealings. Management at these companies encouraged their employees to ignore their own moral attitudes and to adopt the attitudes the firm felt would best help their bottom line. This is why it is important not to place the blame on one persons actions but to focus on the companys philosophies of what is right and wrong. Sears, and Beach-Nut are just two examples of companies that instilled the values of unfair dealing in their employees but this is really a widespread problem in a very competitive capitalistic society. I have worked part-time in restaurants through college and I can reflect first hand why employees are often trained to do what is in the interest of the company and not necessarily to do what they believe would be best for the customer. The primary function of any business is to make money; this is the motivating force that drives many decisions. For example, if a cook drops a piece of filet mignon on the floor and continues to cook it and then serve it, he is not doing this because he feels it is fair to the customer. He is doing this because he knows that it is the profitable thing to do. Even though the cook acted alone with his decision not to throw it away, it wasnt a personal decision but a company decision. For this reason it is important for employees in a company to know where the firm stands morally. Often times these things arent discussed but transferred through leadership leading by example. If the company is comprised with leaders who have a strong moral and ethical make-up this will be reflected into their employees make-up. A company needs to have a shared belief in right action. The only way to have an organization with genetic characteristics of high moral standing is to start at the top. Managers have to let their beliefs be known and lead by example. Many benefits can be derived from an organization that instills high morality. A company operating morally also will have employees with high moral that can feel good about themselves with the work they are doing. This trade off between having employees do the right thing and saving a few dollars is easily offset by the increased productivity employees will have when they can feel good about what they do.

Social media effect on the purchase decision of the young generation in Saudi Arabia

Introduction Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have gained a lot of popularity in recent years among the young generation. Due to this popularity, social media has had a lot of influence on major decisions made by the young generation.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on Social media effect on the purchase decision of the young generation in Saudi Arabia specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An increasingly higher number of individuals are now relying on social media while deciding on the type of products to purchase based on the opinions and recommendations made by their friends. The views and opinions of friends on social media sites like Facebook help to push users into making certain purchases. The aim of this research proposal is to determine the effect of social media on the purchase decision of the young generation in Saudi Arabia. Objectives of the study The study shall endeavor to explo re the following objectives: To examine the effect of social media on the purchase decisions made by the young generation in Saudi Arabia To assess the level of use of social media sites by young people in Saudi Arabia in making purchase decisions To determine if the young generation in Saudi Arabia visit social media sites for help with their purchase decisions. To determine the level of satisfaction among the young generation in Saudi Arabia in the use of the social media as a tool in making purchase decisions To determine if the young generation who use social media in Saudi Arabia have abandoned certain products following negative comments about them from social media sites Study questions The current study shall endevour to answer the following research questions: Which media site is most popular with the young generation in Saudi Arabia? Do social media affect the purchase decisions of the young generation in Saudi Arabia? To what extent does the young generation in Saudi A rabia rely of social media in making purchase decisions? Are young people satisfied with the social media as a tool for making purchase decisions? Do the social media influence decisions made by the young generation in Saudi Arabia to abandon certain products in favor of others? Methodology The study shall adopt the methodology outlined below: Respondents The study shall target the young generation in Saudi Arabia. In this case, the young generation has been defined as young people of between 18 and 35 years of age. Research design The current research shall use descriptive research designAdvertising Looking for proposal on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Research instrument A semi-structured and close-ended interview questionnaire shall be the research instrument of choice. It shall be administered to the study’s respondents in order to capture research objectives. Contact method The studyâ€⠄¢s respondents shall be contacted in person either online or via the telephone. Data collection Use shall be made of both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Secondary data shall be used to provide an insight into the background of the study by reporting on the findings of other related studies. On the other hand, primary data shall be obtained by administering a survey interview to the study’s respondents. Data analysis Once the data has been collected and complied, it shall be analyzed using statistical tools of data analysis such as the MAXQDA software. Limitations of the study – The study is anticipated to have a limited timeframe, meaning that only a limited number of participants can be interviewed. – Financial constraints will also limit the number of respondents who can take part in the study. This proposal on Social media effect on the purchase decision of the young generation in Saudi Arabia was written and submitted by user Ibrahim V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

What Is the LaTeX System (An Overview) Proofed

What Is the LaTeX System (An Overview) Proofed What Is the LaTeX System? (An Overview) In the context of academic writing, the word â€Å"LaTeX† usually refers to the document preparation system.* This system is common in the sciences, computing, and engineering subjects. But what exactly is this system? And how does it work? Check out our guide to find out. What Is LaTeX? LaTeX (pronounced â€Å"lay-tech†) isn’t quite like Microsoft Word, where the formatted text you see on screen is what you get when you print out a document. Instead, LaTeX is a plain text system. Formatting a LaTeX document therefore involves using markup tags (i.e., commands in the text that control how the document will appear). These markup tags also control the structure of the document and provide a simple way to insert and format mathematical formulae. Once written, you can export the .tex file produced to create a pre-typeset document. Creating a LaTeX Document How, then, do you create a .tex file? Technically, since LaTeX uses plain text, you can do it in any text editor. However, most dedicated LaTeX editors come with a preview option so that you can see how your document will look while writing it. And we recommend using one of these editors. LaTeX Base, for example. Whichever editor you choose, you can simply type up your document as usual. However, you’ll also need to add markup tags to apply formatting and to structure your paper. For instance: This â€Å"section† tag tells the document to begin a new numbered section in a paper. The text in the curly brackets, meanwhile, will become the title of that section. We’d therefore need to apply this tag wherever we wanted to begin a new section in the document. Common Markup Tags There are many LaTeX tags and commands. Common examples include: Markup Tag Function Example \documentclass Defines document type (e.g., article, book) \documentclass{article} \title Sets the document title \title{How to Prepare a LaTeX Document} \author Sets the author name to be displayed \author{Barry Rushden} \date Sets the document date \date{November 2018) \begin Starts a new environment in the document (i.e., the style for a passage of text) \begin{document} \end Ends a document environment \end{document} \maketitle Adds a title page to the document \maketitle \section Begins and sets the title for a new numbered section \section{Structuring a Document} \subsection Begins and sets the title for a new numbered subsection \subsection{The Introduction} Some of these, such as the â€Å"documentclass† tag, are used in every LaTeX document. Other tags are optional. Try using some the tags above in a practice document to see how they work. * May not be true if you are studying the commercial use of Hevea brasiliensis.

Building Sentences With Adverb Clauses (Part Two)

Building Sentences With Adverb Clauses (Part Two) As discussed in part one, adverb clauses are subordinate structures that show the relationship and relative importance of ideas in sentences. They explain such things as when, where, and why about an action stated in the main clause. Here well consider ways of arranging, punctuating, and revising sentences with adverb clauses. Arranging Adverb Clauses An adverb clause, like an ordinary adverb, can be shifted to different positions in a sentence. It may be placed at the beginning, at the end, or occasionally even in the middle of a sentence. An adverb clause commonly appears after the main clause: Jill and I waited inside the Cup-A-Cabana Diner until the rain stopped. When Gus asked Merdine for a light, she set fire to his toupee. As I shuffled humbly out the door and down the front steps, my eyes to the ground, I felt that my pants were baggy, my shoes several sizes too large, and the tears were coursing down either side of a huge putty nose.(Peter DeVries, Let Me Count the Ways) When a bus skidded into a river just outside of New Delhi, all 78 passengers drowned because they belonged to two separate castes and refused to share the same rope to climb to safety. Punctuation Tips: When an adverb clause appears at the beginning of a sentence, it is usually separated from the main clause by a comma.A comma is usually not necessary when the adverb clause follows the main clause. An adverb clause can also be placed inside a main clause, usually between the subject and verb: The best thing to do, when youve got a dead body on the kitchen floor and you dont know what to do about it, is to make yourself a good strong cup of tea.(Anthony Burgess, One Hand Clapping) Punctuation Tip: An adverb clause that interrupts a main clause, as show in the example above, is usually set off by a pair of commas. Reducing Adverb Clauses Adverb clauses, like adjective clauses, can sometimes be shortened to phrases: If your luggage is lost or destroyed, it should be replaced by the airline. If lost or destroyed, your luggage should be replaced by the airline. subject verb is Editing Tip: To cut the clutter from your writing, try reducing adverb clauses to phrases when the subject of the adverb clause is the same as the subject of the main clause. Practice in Revising Sentences with Adverb Clauses Rewrite each set below according to the instructions in parentheses. When you are done, compare your revised sentences with those on page two. Keep in mind that more than one correct response is possible. (Shift the adverb clausein boldto the beginning of the sentence, and make it the subject of the adverb clause.)The forest supports incessant warfare, most of which is hidden and silent, although the forest looks peaceful.(Shift the adverb clause to a position between the subject and verb in the main clause and set it off with a pair of commas.)While he was on maneuvers in South Carolina, Billy Pilgrim played hymns he knew from childhood.(Reduce the adverb clause to a phrase by dropping the subject and verb from the adverb clause.)While he was on maneuvers in South Carolina, Billy Pilgrim played hymns he knew from childhood.(Turn the first main clause into an adverb clause beginning with the subordinating conjunction whenever.)The sea builds a new coast, and waves of living creatures surge against it.(Make this sentence more concise by dropping the subject and the verb was from the adverb clause.)Although she was exhausted after the long drive home, Pinky insisted on going to work.(Mo ve the adverb clause to the beginning of the sentence, and make the sentence more concise by reducing the adverb clause to a phrase.)Clutching his teddy bear, the boy hid under the bed because he was frightened by the lightning and thunder. (Emphasize the contrast in this sentence by converting the first main clause into an adverb clause beginning with although.)Teachers who contend with blank or hostile minds deserve our sympathy, and those who teach without sensitivity and imagination deserve our criticism.(Omit the semicolon and convert the first two main clauses into an adverb clause beginning with after.)The storm has passed, and the flash floods dump their loads of silt into the Colorado River; water still remains in certain places on rimrock, canyon beach, and mesa top. When you are done, compare your revised sentences with those on page two. NEXT:Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses (part three) Here are sample answers to the exercise on page one: Revising Sentences with Adverb Clauses. Although it looks peaceful, the forest supports incessant warfare, most of which is hidden and silent.Billy Pilgrim, while he was on maneuvers in South Carolina, played hymns he knew from childhood. While on maneuvers in South Carolina, Billy Pilgrim played hymns he knew from childhood. Whenever the sea builds a new coast, waves of living creatures surge against it. Although exhausted after the long drive home, Pinky insisted on going to work. Frightened by the lightning and thunder, the boy hid under the bed, clutching his teddy bear. Although teachers who contend with blank or hostile minds deserve our sympathy, those who teach without sensitivity and imagination deserve our criticism. After the storm has passed, and the flash floods dump their loads of silt into the Colorado River, water still remains in certain places on rimrock, canyon beach, and mesa top. NEXT:Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses (part three)

Nathaniel Bacon''s Declaration Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nathaniel Bacon''s Declaration - Coursework Example These is evidenced after he first ignored the interests presented by his majesty and later experienced unjust gains that were full of betrayal from the Indians who were seen taking control of the country after he sold it to them. He also led the Indians against their majesty loyal subjects. These brought out rebellion where the royals failed to make sound choices and caused their downfall because they were not contented with all these was happening around them. Also due to the fact of frequent invasions by robbers’ ad murders, the members became devastated ad dissatisfied with the ruling that William gave them. William tore his people apart when he made them to hate each other which in turn made it for the invaders to attack and tore them a part, these is evidenced by a statement made in consequence eight where it reads, â€Å"For the prevention of civil mischief and ruin amongst ourselves while the barbarous enemy in all places did invade, murder, and spoil us, his Majesty’s most faithful subjects.† These meant he gave them lots of murder even to the loyal people. In conclusion, it is evident that there was division was all over the land that devastated people’s lives and effects in both the social and economic aspects. William with his fear of rebellion, subjected his citizens to lots of debts that made them poorer each day and these weakened them to cause more hatred among each other. The people came to the rescue of Bacon who saw it wise to put the people in economic freedom of which he strived

Diabetes Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diabetes - Article Example Mukesh, B.N., Le, A., Dimitrov, P.N., Ahmed, S., Taylor, H.R., and McCarty, C.A., (2006). Development Of Cataract And Associated Risk Factors: The Visual Impairment Project. Archives of Ophthalmology; 124(1): pp. 79-85. 6. Dielemans, I., de Jong, P.T., Stolk, R., Vingerling, J.R., Grobbee, D.E., and Hofman, A., (1996). Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma, Intraocular Pressure, And Diabetes Mellitus In The General Elderly Population. The Rotterdam Study. Ophthalmology; 103(8): pp.1271-1275. 7. Hennis, A., Wu, S.Y., Nemesure, B., Leske, M.C., and Barbados Eye Studies Group, (2003). Hypertension, Diabetes, And Longitudinal Changes In Intraocular Pressure. Ophthalmology; 110(5): pp. 908-914. 9. Klein, R., Klein, B.E., Moss, S.E., and Meuer, S.M., (2000). The Epidemiology Of Retinal Vein Occlusion: The Beaver Dam Eye Study. Transactions Of The American Ophthalmological Society; 98:133-41; discussion 141-3. 11. Wong, T.Y., Larsen, E.K., and Klein, R, et al., (2005). Cardiovascular Risk Factors For Retinal Vein Occlusion And Arteriolar Emboli: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities & Cardiovascular Health Studies. Ophthalmology; 112(4): pp. 540-547.

Article Review LAW 421 Essay Example for Free

Article Review LAW 421 Essay The article was a proposal that tried to justify the reason that congress should repeal the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX Act) of 2002. The act is seen as a problem because individual felt that the act was only put in place so government official could feel better about addressing some issues of popular concern rather than resolving the issue. According to Niskanen the SOX act of 2002 is unnecessary, harmful, and inadequate (2006). Punishments under this act included jail time and loss of personal property. The act was viewed as unnecessary because the stock exchange has already addressed and implemented procedures to deal with most of the issues presented in the SOX act of 2002. Those implementations include accounting standards, prosecution for fraud, audits, and financial reporting procedures. Officials felt that both acts addressed the same issues therefore, congress should deem the SOX act of 2002 unnecessary. The SOX act of 2002 was viewed as harmful because it would â€Å"reduce the incentive of corporate executives and directors to seek legal advice† (Niskanen, 2006). It was also seen as harmful because it cause a ban on loans to corporate officer which would pose a problem for compensation. The act was viewed as inadequate because it â€Å"failed to identify and correct the major problems of accounting, auditing, taxation, and corporate  governance that have invited corporate malfeasance and increased the probability of bankruptcy† (Niskanen, 2006). Recommendation to make the act better included congress needed to state more clearly that criminal penalties under the SOX act of 2002 needed proof of personal involvement and criminal intent. Another recommendation was to reduce the cost it took to implement the act. LEGAL ISSUE The legal business issues raised in the article monopoly and unconstitutional. Monopoly because SOX act would have sole control over punishments. Unconstitutional because private businesses were not targeted therefore, public businesses felt that all businesses did not have the same right. MANAGERIAL PERSPECTIVE The legal issues of the SOX act of 2002 affect the way business operate. Businesses have to have certain measures of internal control with the act. The would also have to report financial accounts accurately and follow certain accounting procedure in their day to day business activities. The issued implemented in the SOX act of 2002 could have been avoided if business owners and executives would have exercised fairness and accuracy in the first place. Government would not have had to step in and make these implantations. Reference Niskanen, W. A. (2006). Congress Should Repeal the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Retrieved from http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6624

Welfare Blocks Single Parents Who Want An Education :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Welfare Blocks Single Parents Who Want An Education The welfare system and the financial aid system conflict. This conflict causes many single parents to have problems going to school. We want to be able to go to school but the new welfare reforms don't give us enough time. We need more time to finish an education. The only way the state will help at all is if we finish our education within two years. The two years may sound adequate enough to get an education. But during those two years, we are still required to work 20 hours a week. Then, in order to finish a two-year degree or certificate within the two-year allotment, we would have to take 12 credits or sometimes up to 18 credits each semester. Taking just 12 credits would work out to be around three hours a day, Monday through Friday. Some classes will require a lab. A lab is were we meet as a class one day a week outside of normal class requirements. During the lab time we usually work more hands on, or focus on main topics in the course. This usually requires an additional couple of hours one day a week. A lot of the college classes for a two-year certificate require a lab. By looking through the listings you'll see that with a 12 credit agenda for a semester we will most likely have an average of two labs. Two labs would add another four hours on to our week. Now we have about five hours a day, five days a week. Along with working our required 20 hours we have to find a job that is willing to work around our schedules. Then we have to schedule time for homework. With 12 credits we would need an average of two to three hours a night just to keep up with our regular work, that doesn't include studying for tests. So during the week we would have to go to school for around three hours, then would work for five hours, go home and do homework for three hours. That's already 11 hours a day. As a single mother myself I would like to spend at least a few hours a day with my son.

Rani lakshmibai Essay

L.K. Advanis suggestion to jointly celebrate the uprising of 1857 by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is utterly ill-advised. It betrays, apart from our misplaced understanding of history, an obsequious mentality towards Muslims. In independent India, we preserved the myth sedulously cultivated by Gandhi, that everything that was anti-British was patriotic. Adolf Hitler, by that logic, should be our greatest hero because he dealt the biggest blow to the British Empire. We adore a demonic Tipu Sultan, who claimed to have converted hundred thousand Hindus to Islam in a day, simply because he fought against the British. Advani should admit that, by extension of the same logic, RSS is an unpatriotic organization because it took no part in freedom movement. In reality, the RSS founder Dr. Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, who had brush with revolution and experience of Non-Cooperation Movement, was a sagacious man. He understood that the need of the hour was to strengthen and reorganize the Hindu society under British rule. Under Mughals, such organizations could not have been raised except under the shade of the sword like Khalsa by Guru Govind Singh. 1857, although it was more than army mutiny, was not the First War of Independence. This term was coined by a young Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who celebrated its 50th anniversary in London. 1857, in reality, was the last war of Islamic resistance. It was an attempt to overthrow the British East India Company and reestablish the Muslim rule. It is for this reason that Bengal, whose Hindus have been benefited by liberal British education, shunned the uprising completely. Sikhs, persecuted by Mughals throughout their history, had little sympathy towards Bahadur Shah Zafar. Some Hindus have created a myth that 1857 was a golden period of Hindu-Muslim amity. R.C. Mazumdar writes-There was communal tension even in Delhi, the centre of the great movement. But it was not confined to that city. We learn from an official report on the night of the Mutiny (June, 4) at Varanasi that news was received by some Mussalmans had determined to raise the Green Flag in the temple of Bisshessur. The communal hatred led ugly communal riots in many parts of U.P. Green Flag was hoisted and bloody wars were  fought between Hindus and Muslims in Bareilly, Bijnor, Mordabad and others places where Muslims the Muslims shouted for the revival of the Muslim kingdom. The communal discord was supplemented by racial animosity of long standing produced by historical causes. The Muslims in Hyderabad were excited by events of North India and developed strong anti-British feeling, but they were more hostile to the Marathas and would have gladly fought under the British under Holkar and Sindhia (British Paramountcy and Indian Renaissance-I p.618-History and Culture of the Indian People Vol. IX) Gandhi tried to rope in Muslims in Non Co-operation movement for Swaraj on quid pro quid basis with Khilafat movement. To ordinary Muslims, Swaraj became co-terminus with reestablishment of Muslim rule in India. Its most eminent example is the Mopla riots (1920) in Malabar. Not a single British life was lost in anti-British uprising by Moplas. But it led to death, rape, mutilation of thousands of Hindus in addition to plunder and desecration of temples. We saw, in recent past, how anti-Bush and anti-cartoon rallies by Muslims had turned into attacks upon Hindus. Today to remind Muslims of their glorious role in anti-British struggle is to encourage more suicide bombers to emerge against the Londoners. 0 MultiQuote Reply #82 ramana Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 3,265 Joined: 03-October 03 Posted 20 June 2006 – 10:17 PM More from Deccan Chronicle, 20 June 2006 Sunday Section. QUOTE Deciding on a title for 1857 Itihaas: By Akhilesh Mithal The year 2007 will mark the 150th anniversary of the greatest up-surge in nearly two centuries (1757-1947) of British rule in India. The memories of the episode are distorted because the British won and victors usually angle history to serve their own narrow, partisan ends. The Indians who collaborated and helped the British quell the uprising became the major beneficiaries and joined the rulers in erasing and distorting all positive memories of the revolt. Many of these toady families continue to be rich and close to power centers in the Congress and the BJP. Their views colour Indian perceptions along the lines that Britishers had laid down. It has come to such a pass that even the images of the most important leaders such as Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi and Nana Dhondho Pant Peshwa have got lost. The portraits that exist are mushkook or suspect and no schoolchild is familiar with the real appearance of these heroes and heroines. Although the rebel soldiers (nearly 1,00,000) were joined by the Emperor of India, the Peshwa of the Maratthas, the Begum of Awadh; numerous Nawabs, Rajas and Ranis besides peasants, traders and shopkeepers, the title mutiny continues to prevail. The emperors gardens, palaces, mosques and seminaries received special attention from the sappers and miners. The entire villages were burnt down and the ruined mud walls razed to the ground. The heart of Delhi and the center of Lucknow were gouged out. Shahjahanabad Delhi was depopulated and its status reduced to a lowly district headquarters in the Province of the Punjab. Lucknow lost its place as capital of Awadh. Allahabad was the new capital from which Lord Canning announced that Queen Victoria had assumed direct rule. Many leftist historians talk of the uprising as an attempt to re-establish feudalism while ignoring the fact that the British Raj was a military dictatorship displaying the worst aspects of racist Nazism and Fascism while operating under a thin civilian veneer. The British prevarication on the subject of sharing power with Indians is a matter of record. The 20th Century British attempt to pass off bogus and impotent legislatures in India as an experiment in democracy, was exposed by Bhagat Singh and his group when they threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly and followed it up with a shower of pamphlets spelling out the deception being practised. Independence saw an India with 10 per cent literacy, an average expectancy of age at 29, and a franchise covering less than 13 per cent of the population. The country was ruled by the British civil military junta from Shimla or Delhi with collaborators from amongst the Indians helping them justify every outrage and cover up the failures. The British-officered Indian army was posted at strategic bases and could be summoned out at short notice. The army shooting to kill unarmed civilians protesting slavery in Jallianwala Bagh in 1942 are amongst the darkest chapters of British rule. The British claim to have trained Indians in the practice of democracy. In point of fact, their rule in India spawned not Indian democracy but military dictatorship in Pakistan and Bangladesh. It should be remembered that the second most powerful person in India during British Rule was the Commander-in-Chief in India. His lakh rupee salary made him the highest paid man in uniform in the whole Empire including the sceptred Island. (For those born after the dissolution of the Empire sceptred were the title the British gave to their home.) The use of the epithet Great for Britain and sceptred for the island helped the British forget all the want, misery deprivation and suffering  they had caused in India during their rule. The revisit to 1857 should include inputs from what is now Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Nepal under the Ranas came to the help of the British, took its share of loot, established a foothold of Gurkhas in the army, which lasts and they should have interesting material in their records. Both Nana Saheb and Begum Hazrat Mahal died in Nepal and it would be interesting to know the fate of their treasure. Perhaps the Pakistanis should be asked to concentrate on the Bengal infantry regiment revolts in the Punjab and in the NWFP to bring these facts out of obscurity. There also is the story of the rebel leader Ahmad Shah of Nilibar. He exists in folklore and should come out into history texts. We shall talk about NWFP and 1857 in another column. 0 MultiQuote Reply #83 acharya Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 6,411 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 24 June 2006 – 11:44 PM Rising, Falling As we enter the 150th anniversary of 1857, William Dalrymple casts a new look at one of Indian history’s most enigmatic episodes, and its aftermath WILLIAM DALRYMPLE | e-mail | one page format | feedback: send – read | In June 1858, the Times correspondent William Howard Russella man now famous as the father of war journalismarrived in the ruins of Delhi, recently  recaptured by the British from the rebels after one of the bloodiest sieges in Indian history. Skeletons still littered the streets, and the domes and minars of the city were riddled with shell holes; but the walls of the Red Fort, the great palace of the Mughals, still looked magnificent: â€Å"I have seldom seen a nobler mural aspect,† wrote Russell in his diary, â€Å"and the great space of bright red walls put me in mind of (the) finest part of Windsor Castle.† Russell’s ultimate destination was, however, rather less imposing. Along a dark, dingy back passage of the fort, Russell was led to the cell of a frail 83-year-old man who was accused by the British of being one of the masterminds of the Great Rising, or Mutiny, of 1857, the most serious armed act of resistance to Western imperialism ever to be mounted anywhere in the world. â€Å"He was a dim, wandering-eyed, dreamy old man with a feeble hanging nether lip and toothless gums,† wrote a surprised Russell. â€Å"Not a word came from his lips; in silence he sat day and night with his eyes cast on the ground, and as though utterly oblivious of the conditions in which he was placed†¦. His eyes had the dull, filmy look of very old age†¦. Some heard him quoting verses of his own composition, writing poetry on a wall with a burned stick.† â€Å"He was a dim, wandering-eyed, dreamy old man with a feeble hanging nether lip and toothless gums,† the Times correspondent William Russell wrote of Bahadur Shah Zafar in 1858. The last emperor of the Mughals, a direct but all-too-remote descendant of Genghis Khan. The prisoner was Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal emperor, direct descendant of Genghis Khan and Tamburlane, of Akbar, Jehangir and Shah Jehan. As Russell himself observed, â€Å"He was called ungrateful for rising against his benefactors. He was no doubt a weak and cruel old man; but to talk of ingratitude on the part of one who saw that all the dominions of his ancestors had been gradually taken from him until he was left with an empty title, and more empty exchequer, and a palace full of penniless princesses, is perfectly preposterous.† Zafar was born in 1775, when the British were still a relatively insignificant coastal power clinging to three enclaves on the Indian shore. In his lifetime he saw his own dynasty reduced to humiliating insignificance, while the British transformed themselves from servile traders into an aggressively expansionist military force. British residents ride behind emperor Akbar II and his sons in 1815 Zafar came late to the throne, succeeding his father only in his mid-60s, when it was already impossible to reverse the political decline of the Mughals. But despite this he succeeded in creating around him in Delhi a court of great brilliance. Personally, he was one of the most talented, tolerant and likeable of his dynasty: a skilled calligrapher, a profound writer on Sufism, a discriminating patron of miniature painters and an inspired creator of gardens. Most importantly, he was a very serious mystical poet, who wrote not only in Urdu and Persian but Braj Bhasha and Punjabi, and partly through his patronage there took place arguably the greatest literary renaissance in modern Indian history.Himself a ghazal writer of great charm and accomplishment, Zafar’s court provided a showcase for the talents of India’s greatest love poet, Ghalib, and his rival Zauqthe Mughal poet laureate, and the Salieri to Ghalib’s Mozart. 0 MultiQuote Reply #84 acharya Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 6,411 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 24 June 2006 – 11:45 PM 0 MultiQuote Reply #85 acharya Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 6,411 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 24 June 2006 – 11:45 PM 0 MultiQuote Reply #86 acharya Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 6,411 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 24 June 2006 – 11:48 PM This fast emerging middle-class India is a country with its eyes firmly fixed on the coming century. Everywhere there is a profound hope that the country’s rapidly rising international status will somehow compensate for a past often perceived as a long succession of invasions and defeats at the hands of foreign powers.Whatever the reason, the result is a tragic neglect of Delhi’s magnificent past. Sometimes it seems as if no other great city of the world is less loved, or less cared foras the tone of the recent Outlook cover story highlighted. Occasionally there is an outcry as the tomb of the poet Zauq is discovered to have disappeared under a municipal urinal or the haveli courtyard house of his rival Ghalib is revealed to have been turned into a coal store; but by and large the losses go unrecorded. I find it heartbreaking: often when I revisit one of my favourite monuments it has either been overrun by some slum, unsympathetically restored by the asi or, more usually, simply demolished. Ninety-nine per cent of the delicate havelis or Mughal courtyard houses of Old Delhi have been  destroyed, and like the city walls, disappeared into memory. According to historian Pavan Verma, the majority of the buildings he recorded in his book Mansions at Dusk only 10 years ago no longer exist. Perhaps there is also a cultural factor here in the neglect of the past: as one conservationist told me recently: â€Å"You must understand,† he said, â€Å"that we Hindus burn our dead.† Either way, the loss of Delhi’s past is irreplaceable; and future generations will inevitably look back at the conservation failures of the early 21st century with a deep sadness.’ Rising, Falling Rising, Falling As we enter the 150th anniversary of 1857, William Dalrymple casts a new look at one of Indian history’s most enigmatic episodes, and its aftermath WILLIAM DALRYMPLE In June 1858, the Times correspondent William Howard Russella man now famous as the father of war journalismarrived in the ruins of Delhi, recently recaptured by the British from the rebels after one of the bloodiest sieges in Indian history. Skeletons still littered the streets, and the domes and minars of the city were riddled with shell holes; but the walls of the Red Fort, the great palace of the Mughals, still looked magnificent: â€Å"I have seldom seen a nobler mural aspect,† wrote Russell in his diary, â€Å"and the great space of bright red walls put me in mind of (the) finest part of Windsor Castle.† Russell’s ultimate destination was, however, rather less imposing. 0 MultiQuote Reply #87 Mudy Advanced Member Group: Administrators Posts: 19,601 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 27 June 2006 – 09:33 PM QUOTE Title A HISTORY OF THE SEPOY WAR IN INDIA 1857-1858. (VOL II) Author1 JOHN WILLIAM KAYE Author2 ` Subject HISTORY Language English Barcode 2020050020626 Year 1927 Online book are available on this site. http://dli.iiit.ac.in/ They have excellent collection of books. 0 MultiQuote Reply #88 acharya Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 6,411 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 15 July 2006 – 08:15 AM Chauhan sees a major flaw in textbook Staff Correspondent Referring 1857 War of Independence as mutiny a big mistake, Chief Minister tells Manmohan Singh BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has brought to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the social science textbook  for Class X prescribed by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) refers to the 1857 War of Independence as mutiny and said that this flaw should be rectified immediately. According to information received here, Mr. Chauhan raised the issue at a meeting called by the Prime Minister at his residence in New Delhi on Thursday to chalk out the plan for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the 1857 War of Independence. The meeting was attended by members of the Union Cabinet, senior members of political parties, Chief Ministers, Governors, historians and intellectuals. Drawing attention to the â€Å"fact† that it was Veer Sawarkar who had called it the First War of Independence, the Chief Minister regretted that the CBSE syllabus continues to describe the 1857 War of Independence as mutiny. The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to have this flaw corrected and requested that a stipend be sanctioned for the descendants of those who had fought the 1857 War. He asserted that textbooks should be used effectively to impart knowledge about the struggle for Independence. This he emphasised by recounting the sacrifice of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, Rani Avantibai of Ramgarh, Raja Bhaktbali of Shahgarh, Raja Shankar Shah of Jabalpur and Raghunath Shah in the 1857 War of Independence. He said his government had declared awards in memory of Shankar Shah and Raghunath Shah — two heroes of the 1857 War of Independence from Madhya Pradesh. A proposal to increase the pension of freedom fighters is under consideration in the State. Mr. Chauhan said many functions were being organised in the State to celebrate the centenary of Chandra Shekhar Azad. He also informed that every month, on the first working day, Vande Mataram is sung by the Chief Minister, Ministers and all State Government employees. The word â€Å"mataram† gets repeated four times in the Bangladesh national anthem but nobody in that country objects to it whereas the pseudo-secular elements in this country try to create unnecessary confusion about Vande-Mataram, he said. 0 MultiQuote Reply #89 Group: Guests Posted 15 July 2006 – 09:20 AM If I am right – – Mangal Pandey triggers the war in March, 1857 in Barrakpur Cantt near Kolkata. – Uprising began in Meerut on May 10, 1857. I would like to know about two things: – What went on between March and May of 1857. – What triggered the events at Meerut. I also would ike to know some more facts about Oudh (Awadh) Annexation. Awadh was not a total region controlled by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah from Lucknow. In the interiors of Oudh there were independent Hindu princes and independants as well. While Wajid Ali Shah was based in Lucknow (and Faizabad), there were Hidu princes in interiors like Gonda, Balrampur, Tulsipur, Naugarh, Manikapur and various other smaler areas on the borders of Nepal and today’s Uttar Pradesh. Having once lived in that region of UP I had heard some folklores which talked about some of these princes and even one queen having led their people into fighting bravely with British forces. Some other stories are about very active support from Nepal’s kingdm. I also heard stories of bravery of Begum Hazrat Mahal of Lucknow having led the resistance. Though I have not learnt what does â€Å"official† history say†¦anyone knows? Also king of Banaras and people of some towns in Bihar gave stiff resistance to British, which is not well registered? Regards 0 MultiQuote Reply #90 Mudy Advanced Member Group: Administrators Posts: 19,601 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 15 July 2006 – 10:33 AM QUOTE – What went on between March and May of 1857. – What triggered the events at Meerut. here is link- Link Read first page. 0 MultiQuote Reply #91 Group: Guests Posted 06 August 2006 – 01:38 AM QUOTE(pulikeshi @ Jul 11 2004, 10:45 AM) Interesting thread†¦ but should’nt we change the name or the thread to say something like: â€Å"Indian war for independence – 1857†. I think it is to fall victim of British propaganda to call 1857 as ‘Indian war of Independence’. If the warring parties would have won against the British, individual rulers would have got their own lands, there was no ‘independence of india’ at stake in 1857. this tag was given to nail in the fact that indians historically lack unity. when ever we talk of unity in present day India, inveriably 1857 war is brought up as an example of Indians historic lack of unity. that is most ridiculous. war of 1857 had nothing to do with Indian unity. simply because there was no notion of India. It was war of ‘moghal allies’ against ‘britis allies’. the major strength of british army was due to Sikhs and Gorkhas. which were at that time british allies, but in history they are seen as british subordinates. Sikhs had much greater scorn for moghals then for british, to support them in the 1857 war. British allies had no way to know at that time, that british would enslave whole of india and their own allies for 200 years. for them the atrocities of the Muslims were known. the British seemed to be a better choice. 0 MultiQuote Reply #92 ramana Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 3,265 Joined: 03-October 03 Posted 08 August 2006 – 08:56 PM x-posted Book review In Pioneer, 8 August 2006 QUOTE Rising for a lesser cause If one believes the account of Field Marshal Lord Roberts, the revolt of 1857 was nothing more than the last and desperate attempt by Muslims to reimpose their superiority over Indian politics, write Prafull Goradia and KR Phanda An Eye Witness Account of The Indian Mutiny, Field Marshall Lord Roberts of Kandahar; Mittal Publications, $60 This book, An Eye Witness Account of the Indian Mutiny, by Field Marshal Lord Frederick Roberts of Kandahar needs to be read for more than one reason. First, it proves that the 1857 uprising was a sepoy mutiny. Second, it was the last attempt by Muslims to recover their own rule from the British. The epicentre of the mutiny was the erstwhile kingdom of Oudh. The role of the Hindu princes was only peripheral. Third, the decision of the Government of India to celebrate now the Mutiny as the First War of Independence would amount to heaping insult on the sacrifices made by the Rajputs, the Marathas, the Jats and the Sikhs to throw out the Muslim invaders from India. Between Lord Roberts and his father Major General Sir Abraham Roberts, they had spent almost 90 years in India. Frederick was in India from 1852 to 1893. He participated in quelling the mutiny at several places including Delhi. In his own words: â€Å"The first threatening of coming trouble were heard in the early part of 1857. During the months of February, March and April rumours reached us at Peshwar of mysterious chapattis (unleavened cakes) being sent about the country with the object, it was alleged, of preparing the natives for some forthcoming event. We heard that the 19th Native Infantry at Berhampore, a military station about 100 miles from Calcutta, had broken open the bells-of-arms†¦ that a sepoy named Mangal Pandey at Barrackpore had wounded the Adjutant and Sergant Major of his regiment; and that Sepoys at the Schools of Musketry had objected to use the cartridges served out with new rifles† (p-34). As the news spread, the native regiments based in Peshwar, Naushera, Umbala, Mian Mir (Lahore), Multan, Ferozpore and other places were disarmed. The happenings at Meerut triggered the revolt elsewhere; and, it is from there that the sepoys marched to Delhi and declared Bahadur Shah as badshah. Soon, thereafter, some 85 soldiers refused to receive the rifle cartridges on the suspicion that these were greased with lard and cow fat. On enquiry, they  were found guilty and punished severely. In retaliation, the British officers, their wives and children and every European on the outskirts of the Meerut Cantonment were massacred. Meanwhile, Delhi fell into Muslim hands. It took three months before General Wilson established his headquarters at the Red Fort. â€Å"Every eye,† Lord Canning wrote, â€Å"is upon Oudh as it was on Delhi.† The Gurkhas and the Sikhs helped in the recapture of the Imambara in Lucknow. The city was recaptured on March 14, 1858. But for the sagacity of diplomacy and the cleverness of strategy, the British would not have been able to recapture north-west India. They received cooperation from the Amir of Afghanistan, the Sikhs and the Gurkhas of Nepal. Commissioner of Lahore Division Sir John Lawrence had strongly advocated the policy of trusting the Maharaja of Patiala and the Rajas of Jind and Nabha. Douglas Forsyth, the Deputy Commissioner of Ambala, met the Maharaja and addressed him thus: â€Å"Maharaja Sahib answer me one question: Are you for us or against us?† The Maharaja’s reply was: â€Å"As long as I live, I am yours.† To the question what brought about the cataclysm, Roberts says: â€Å"The causes which brought about the mutiny were so various and some of them of such long standing, that it is difficult to point them out as concisely as I could wish. Mahommedans looked back to the days of their empire in India but failed to remember how completely. Their maulvis taught them it was only lawful for true Mussalmans to submit to the rule of an infidel if there was no possibility of successful revolt, and they watched for the chance of again being able to make Islam supreme. The late Sir George Campbell says that the mutiny was a sepoy revolt, not a Hindu rebellion† (p-231-24). The annexation of Oudh by the British was considered unjust by Muslims. Their other grievance was the treatment meted out to Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal emperor. In this context, it needs to be pointed out that when Lord Lake captured Delhi in 1803, it was made clear to him that his place of residence would be shifted out of the Red Fort; and his successors would not be called badshah. Thus, the Muslims were aggrieved on several counts and the Meerut  mutineers marched to Delhi and proclaimed him as the badshah of India. Indian historical episodes have seldom been looked upon from the Hindu, as distinct from the Muslim, view point. Most of the time studies have been as if the communities were incidental and they were actually one people with a common heritage. If anything, it is the British who did not hesitate to make distinction. For example, Roberts quotes Sir John Campbell summing up that the mutiny was not a Hindu rebellion. On the other hand, the author himself has highlighted that other than the sepoys, the two great political causes were Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah and the Nawab of Oudh, both Muslim and both perceived to have been deprived of their hereditary thrones. Although it was not the soldier’s business to analyse politics, a professional historian should not miss the point that the primary losers at the hands of the British were Muslims and not Hindus. Most of north India, except Rajasthan, was ruled by a badshah or a nawab who, in turn, had gifted large tracts of lands to his allies and satellites who were also mostly Muslim. The Hindu, on the other hand, had benefited from the advent of the East India Company, which demonstrated since the Battle of Plassey, 1757, that it had the military capability to defeat nawabs. True, the sepoys must have had their grievances such as the new Enfield cartridges, but the substantive economic interests that were lost had belonged to Muslims. Due to the permanent land settlement of Lord Cornwallis, most of the zamindaris that were auctioned were taken up by Hindus, although earlier most of the land had been the jagirs of Muslims. The book is, in any case, a ready diary on he basis of which those decades of Indian history can be interpreted by students of history. It is in this context that W.W. Hunter’s book on the â€Å"Indian Mussalman† and Edmund Blunt’s book and the Pakistan project have to be understood. 0 MultiQuote Reply #93 Group: Guests Posted 09 August 2006 – 03:32 AM QUOTE(ramana @ Aug 8 2006, 08:48 PM) Indian historical episodes have seldom been looked upon from the Hindu, as distinct from the Muslim, view point. Most of the time studies have been as if the communities were incidental and they were actually one people with a common heritage. If anything, it is the British who did not hesitate to make distinction. For example, Roberts quotes Sir John Campbell summing up that the mutiny was not a Hindu rebellion. On the other hand, the author himself has highlighted that other than the sepoys, the two great political causes were Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah and the Nawab of Oudh, both Muslim and both perceived to have been deprived of their hereditary thrones. Bravo my friend. for years we hindus have suffered in guilt and incapabiity of mughals. it is very nessasary that indian history be seen separatly through hindu point of view. Hindus’ weekness is not the lack of unity but readiness to befriend unworthy foes. This is virtue while dealing among hindus, it is a weekness when dealing with other cultures. 0 MultiQuote Reply #94 ramana Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 3,265 Joined: 03-October 03 Posted 10 August 2006 – 02:30 AM BTW, The above is a quote from a book review and not my ideas. While at it if one studies the colonial period by confining to geographical India only then it doesnt make sense. The key to understand it is that it is a chronicle of British Imperialism and the rest(French, Dutch, Danes(Tranquebar) etc) followed to keep pace in Europe or else they would become beggars. Ever wonder where the Russian colonies were? Central Asia!!! What about the Swedes? None they were Johnny come latelies and the French already took them over by then. 0 MultiQuote Reply #95 ramana Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 3,265 Joined: 03-October 03 Posted 14 August 2006 – 12:47 AM Deccan Chronicle, 13 August 2006 QUOTE 1857 Ghadar & Madan Lal Itihaas: By Akhilesh Mithal How significant 1857 was for the Indians and the British in pre-independence India can be judged from the following facts. May 10, the anniversary of the Uprising, saw all adult British males carrying personal arms and forts were kept ready as the rallying point for British women and children in case of necessity. Half a century ago, in this very week, we bravely defended our empire.The Daily Telegraph of May 7, 1907 stated. The Indian perception was just as clear. At the beginning of May 1909, a circular invited Indian students to a meeting in the India House to observe the 51st anniversary of the Ghadar on May 10, which, propitiously, was also a Sunday as had been May 10 in 1857. The circular, titled Bande Mataram stated: To commemorate the Indian National Rising of 1857, a meeting of Indians in England will be held at India House on sunday 10th may 1908, at 4 pm precisely. You and your friends are cordially invited to attend. The purpose of the meeting, printed at the back of the notice, was stated as being one of holding up to admiration, martyrs and the principal leaders of the rebellion including Nana Saheb. According to the folklore of the Indian Freedom Struggle, the founder of the India House in London, Shyamaji Krishna Verma had met Nana Saheb in his hideout in the Nepat Terai, thus forging a link between 1857 and the nascent freedom movement of India. Thus readers can see for themselves that for freedom fighters of the 19th century and also for the British the 1857 uprising was something of abiding significance. For Indians, it gave something to look back upon for inspiration while for the British, it was something to fill the mind with alarm fear and trepidation.The story of an Indian living in England in 1909 will illustrate the tension between Indians and the British. Madan Lal Dhingra was the son of a prominent medical practitioner of Punjab. His elder brother had been called to the Bar and was practising law in Lahore. Madan Lal was drawn to the freedom struggle by exposure to firebrands like Har Dayal. He appeared in class at the University College wearing a badge inscribed with names of the martyrs and leaders of 1857 supplied by the organisers of the May 10, 1909 meeting. In the class, he was ordered to remove the badge, to which he refused. This led to him being ragged by the British students and Madan Lal was so incensed by the leader of the raggers that he offered to cut his throat. When news of this incident reached home, his father requested Curzon Wylie, an official appointed for counselling Indian students and keeping an eye on them, to help recover Madan Lal to the cause of loyalty to the Empire. Curzon Wylie had retired from the Indian Army to become political A.D.C. to the Secretary of State for India in 1901. Madan Lal was infuriated and wrote home to say that he deplored an attitude which asked Anglo-Indians like Curzon Wylie to interfere in what were essentially Indias private affairs. Madan Lal bought a Colt revolver and also a Belgian weapon and started  practising shooting at a private range. The National Indian Association had its annual general meeting on July 1, 1909. After dining at the Savoy, Curzon Wylie proceeded to the Associations At Home in Jahangir Hall of the Imperial institute. When the programme concluded, Wylie was seen descending from the staircase. Madan Lal engaged him in conversation and, then, suddenly, pulled out the revolver and fired five shots into his face at point blank range. As Wylie fell down, a Parsi, Cowas Lalkaka tried to shield the victim. The sixth bullet killed him. When overpowered by the crowd Madan Lal tried to shoot himself but there were no more bullets left. In his statement, Madan Lal said, I am a patriot working for the emancipation of the motherland from the foreign yoke. I object to the term murderer to me because I am fully justified in what I have done. The English would have done the same thing had the Germans been in occupation of England. Madan Lal was tried and sentenced to death. He was hanged on August 17, 1909. Thus the link between the Ghadar of 1857 and the freedom movement of the 19th century was clear in the mind of many who took part and risked their all for the freedom of their beloved motherland. This shows link between 1857 and the revolutionary part of the Indian freedom struggle. I think through Tilak and Gandhi the link to the tradtional freedom movement has to be documented so that it clears any persistent cobwebs in the minds. 0 MultiQuote Reply #96 Group: Guests Posted 14 August 2006 – 01:33 AM QUOTE(ramana @ Aug 14 2006, 12:39 AM) I think through Tilak and Gandhi the link to the tradtional freedom movement has to be documented so that it clears any persistent cobwebs in the minds. There cannot be any doubt that the failed 1857 revolt had nothing to do with indian independence. it was only later on when the british crimes became worst than the memories of the mughal crimes that 1857 revolt was seen as inspiring event for indian freedom fighters. 0 MultiQuote Reply #97 Bharatvarsh Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 2,397 Joined: 13-April 05 Posted 14 August 2006 – 11:36 PM QUOTE the indian war of independence 1857 vinayak damodar savarkor http://dli.iiit.ac.i†¦e=2020050057563 I have to agree with jayashastri, the 1857 rebellion was by no means a war for independence, obviously when Savarkar wrote this he was in his younger days of militant nationalism and wanted these events to serve as an inspiration for future freedom fighters (and they did so) but back then he wasn’t so aware of Islam either and thought that Hindus and Muslims could forge a common bond (which was rejected by him later on if we take his later day speeches and writings as evidence), the 1857 rebellion had a lot of vested interests (jihadis) that had no other motive than to establish Mughal empire again and there were even Hindu-Muslim riots in places where the rebellion succeeded so it can’t really be described as a movement for independence but it served as a catalyst for the beginnings of Indian nationalism and doubtless there were many noble souls who were genuine freedom fighters (they may not have had the conception of a Pan Indian nationhood yet) but they may have fou ght for local independence from the British. Sita Ram Goel also does not consider it as a movement for independence, here are his comments regarding 1857: QUOTE This jihd which was joined by Hindu rebellions on the fringes was named as The Indian War of Independence, 1857 (London, 1909) by V.D. Savarkar. He had yet to learn the history of Islam in India. It is significant that secularists and Muslim who hate Savarkar, hail the book as well as its name. http://www.voiceofdh†¦/tfst/appi1.htm 0 MultiQuote Reply #98 Hauma Hamiddha Advanced Member Group: Moderators Posts: 816 Joined: 13-August 03 Posted 15 August 2006 – 05:35 AM QUOTE There cannot be any doubt that the failed 1857 revolt had nothing to do with indian independence. I believe this is simply too extreme a characterization. It was definitely a widespread movement expressedly aimed at driving out the White man from India. However, in India then as now the heathen interests where not strongly aligned, and then there were the Musalmans. -The Hindus across a wide swath of society from backward classes to the brahmins fought in this war. -Many saw the danger possed by Christianity in damaging the Hindu ethos, however many of the Hindu elite were in the fight due to their personal situation. Many like Nana, Rani Lakshmibai etc led the revolt because of personal interests. Nevertheless others like Tatya Tope, Kunwar Singh were fired by Hindu nationalism. Nevertheless, I agree that the Hindus foolishly thought they could make a common cause with the Islamic elite that had independently called Jihad because Christianity and the British overbearance were intruding into their religious as well as personal sphere. Thus Nana sent a letter calling for the Moslem Jihad to make common cause with the Hindu struggle. It is not some miracle that he succeeded, but merely that the two happened to align due to a common enemy. This did not happen earlier in the Karnatic where Tipu Sultan and Hyder with very ambiguous attitudes towards the Hindus were not aligned in their interest with the Hindu elite. Tipu saw the Maharattas as much or more an Enemy than Christian White men. All said, we must keep in mind the following: 1) Prior to 1857 and immediately after it there were a string of anti-British rebellions throughout the country. The Balwant Phadke rebellion, the Vellore rebellion, the tribal revolt, the Velu Thampi rebellion are all examples. 1857 was merely one of the largest of those. In these rebellions there was disconnect in the firing between the North and South of India. South fired before North and each was quiet when the other was firing. South was no very well-knit in terms of Hindu military leadership so it lacked the coordination seen in the North mainly directed by Maharatta leaders was lacking. In light of this the BJP idea of celebrating 1857 in common with the TSPians and BDs is ridiculous. 0 MultiQuote Reply #99 mitradena Advanced Member Group: Senior Members Posts: 258 Joined: 22-November 03 Posted 15 August 2006 – 10:19 AM Hauma, What is your opinion about Mangal Pandey’s role in this? Was he fired by Hindu nationalism or just an emotional guy reacting to an insult (Beef laced cartridges)? 0 MultiQuote Reply #100 Group: Guests Posted 15 August 2006 – 06:04 PM QUOTE(Hauma Hamiddha @ Aug 15 2006, 05:27 AM) QUOTE There cannot be any doubt that the failed 1857 revolt had nothing to do with indian independence. I believe this is simply too extreme a characterization. No. I think it is very simple and obvious point. Those who were fighting the revolt were not fighting for Indian independence. The 1857 revolt and the ‘(gandhian) fight for Indian independence’ were fought for 2 totally different objectives. and thus could not be considered as one being the precursor to another. yes inspirations were drawn from individual valor of the 1857 revolt, simply because the enemy was the same, not because the cause was the same. The danger of believing so will lead us to false conclusions that Indians were not united in 1857 but became united later. The unity, of mainly Hindu kings, should not come into question because there was no call for their unity. No one single obvious cause under which they needed to unite, other than Hinduism. and Hindus unlike other religions are taught to act according to their own Dharma/role/job. where the dharma of Hindus who were Brits allies was to stay loyal to their words the Dharma of those fighting against Brits was to fight for injustice done to their people. It is only in Islam and then later in Christianity (during crusades, only 1000 year after conception of christianity) that there exist a clause  to fight in the name of religion. This in fact is main cause why there is so much, unending Islamic terrorism. According to Muslim scriptures it is paramount that every Muslim take on himself for fight for the injustice don’t to other Muslims. it does not matter if the other Muslims was right or wrong, as long as he is threatened by a non Muslim he must be supported. 0

Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: a Bibliography

Feminist and Womanist Criticism of African Literature: A Bibliography By Sharon Verba July 20, 1997 Those women who struggle without giving up hope, herald the impending change†¦ : change in attitude for both men and women as they evaluate and re-evaluate their social roles†¦. -Rosemary Moyana, â€Å"Men & Women† Rereading, willful misreading, and de- and re-coding are tools used in African literature and womanist or feminist discourse to challenge â€Å"canonized ‘literature'† that tends to black out Black and blanch out Woman. -Kofi Owusu, â€Å"Canons Under Siege† T]he collective effort has to emerge from the ranks of those whose life is theorized. -Sisi Maqagi, â€Å"Who Theorizes† Feminist criticism of African literatures is a steadily growing field. The following bibliography includes articles and essays in English and French which examine African literatures (fiction, poetry, drama and oral literature) from a feminist or womanist per spective. It does not include, unfortunately, criticism in other languages — such as Wolof, Xhosa, Zulu, Portuguese, German, or Arabic — due to my own inability to read those languages.Also, authors whose works are originally written in languages other than French or English, such as Ngugi wa Thiongo's plays and the novel, Devil on the Cross, and Nawal al Sa'dawi's works, may be under-represented in this bibliography, as criticism often tends to be written in the language of the work being addressed. The first sections of this essay will present overviews on two key issues for those interested in both feminism and African literatures: the current ebate over the role of feminist criticisms in addressing African literatures, and an examination of the changes which have developed over the past decade in the ways feminist criticism approaches African literatures. This examination will trace these changes from 1985-1996 by considering articles which represent the ongoing ev olution of feminist criticism in this field. Finally, this essay also includes a section which explains my methodology and sources in compiling the bibliography, and a section offering hints for future searches, especially of online indexes. Feminist Criticism and African LiteratureMany issues of concern to feminist/womanist thought are raised and addressed in these articles. (1) Among the issues taken up in the state of feminist theory and criticism are the importance of feminism as a literary critical method; the representation and mis-representation of women in literary texts; the education of women; the access of women to the economic means of survival; motherhood; women in the domestic sphere; women as part of their communities; women's role in politics and revolution; sexuality; and the direct treatment of women by men, and men by women.Underlying this array of specific interests are questions of gender in representation and of the reality or realities of life for women in Afr ica–past, present, and future. The arguments found in the articles in this bibliography present a multiplicity of views, a few of which may even be anti-feminist, but all of which make gender a basis of discussion, and all of which offer much for the consideration of feminist thought with respect to African literatures.The state of feminist literary criticism/thought in Africa â€Å"now† is the direct focus of several of the articles, although all of the articles could be said in some degree or another to be a part of this particular debate. I put â€Å"now† in quotations, because these articles cover a broad range of time–1980-1996– and those which focus on this particular topic present an evolving discourse. Two collections of essays in particular are noteworthy for their presentation of a range of ideas on feminism and literary criticism in Africa: Ngambika: Studies of Women in African Literature (1986) and South African Feminisms: Writing, Theo ry and Criticism 990-1994 (1995). Ngambika includes twenty articles which focus on the representation of women in African literature. Taken together the articles provide an invaluable overview of the types of feminist criticism being applied to African literatures in the mid 1980s, although most do not focus on the issue of feminism as a critical method. One essay in this collection proves a notable exception. In the collection's introductory essay Carole Boyce Davies(2) does write of the tension found in the works of many critics of African literatures, especially female critics.These critics, she says, work out of a growing awareness of the requirement to balance both â€Å"the need to liberate African peoples from neo-colonialism and other forms of race and class oppression, coupled with a respect for certain features of traditional African cultures,† and â€Å"the recognition that a feminist consciousness is necessary in examining the position of women in African societi es† (1).Davies then outlines the issues of women writers in Africa (including the relatively small number of women writers) and the presentation of women in fiction written by African men, as well as the development of an African feminist criticism. In her treatment of the latter concern, she lists four major areas which African feminist critics tend to address: the development of the canon of African women writers, the examination of stereotyped images of women in African literature, the study of African women writers and the development of an African female aesthetic, and the examination of women and the oral tradition (13-14).While Davies acknowledges the objections African women writers and critics have to the term â€Å"feminist† and discusses womanist theory, she focuses on the idea of a developing African feminist theory which will not only perform the balancing act mentioned at the beginning, but continue to address the major issues she has outlined. Seven years later, in the 1993 publication A History of Twentieth-Century African Literatures, Davies and Elaine Savory Fido contributed a chapter entitled â€Å"African Women Writers: A Literary History. In it, they examine African women writers and their writings, focusing especially on the styles and genres used by these writers. Included is a brief segment on â€Å"Feminism and African Women Writers† as well as a separate section on â€Å"Criticism and African Women's Writing. † In the section on feminism, they note the continued reluctance of many African women writers and critics to be labeled as feminists because of the overtones of westernization the term carries, but they also point out that most African women writers are committed, in the words of Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, â€Å"as a writer, as a woman and as a third world person† (339).This triple commitment encompasses much of the politics of African feminism, as well as womanism, whether the labels are accepte d or not. Fido and Davies conclude: â€Å"The role and history of feminist politics or activism on women's rights in Africa is a discourse which African women are studying and clarifying for themselves† (339). One of the places in which this discourse can be seen is South African Feminisms: Writing, Theory and Criticism 1990-1994.South African Feminisms presents a collection of articles on feminist literature and criticism, including and expanding the debate on feminist criticism of African literatures which was part of the special issue Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa 2 (1990). M. J. Daymond's introduction gives a good overview of the issues raised in the collection, including the debate over feminist criticism and the development of an African feminist theory.The section â€Å"Theory and Context† includes eight articles originally published from 1990-1993. Taken together, these articles constitute an excellent sampling of some of the issues and trends in African feminist criticism, including Sisi Maqagi's â€Å"Who Theorizes? † in which she questions the ability of white critics, African or non-African, female or male, to develop a theory which will adequately address the issues of black African women, rather than appropriating those issues, and the voices which raise them.Jill Arnott, in an article entitled â€Å"French Feminism in a South Africa? Gayatri Spivak and the Problem of Representation in South African Feminism,† contends that difference, which can often lead to misrepresentation, can also at times lead to accurate and insightful work: â€Å"to power a genuinely dialectical interaction between two vigilantly foregrounded subject-positions,† but only with an awareness of the position of ifference and a consciousness of the act of representation (87). Desiree Lewis, in â€Å"The Politics of Feminism in South Africa,† counters that such a conscious and effective use of difference may we ll be impossible, as long as there is a political climate in which white female academics are attempting to hold on to their power within the academy, at the expense of black women.In the same article she also points out that unless black working class women can make their statements about the current â€Å"oppressive orthodoxies† and do so without creating, as she argues Western feminism has, another oppressive orthodoxy, there may be no way out of the current impasse. Changes in Feminist Criticism of African Literature Although some of the articles included in this bibliography, like those above, examine feminist literary criticism as a topic, most focus on literary concerns: texts, authors, or issues.In the seventeen years this bibliography spans there are shifts in the coverage these concerns are given. Critical analyses of individual authors naturally both broaden and deepen over the years, especially as an individual author's body of work grows or is reclaimed from obsc urity. In general, in the 1990s there are fewer works of criticism that examine several authors and more which focus on individuals and their work than there were in the 1980s. Also, the topics focused upon subtly shift over the years. Images of women in the works of†¦. † could be the subtitle for many of the articles written in the 1980s as feminist critics examined representations, or misrepresentations, of African women in literary texts. At the same time these critics raised the question of the role of African authors, male and female, in expanding and/or correcting such representations. These concerns are still addressed; indeed, the feminist criticism on these topics is, like the criticism of specific authors, expanding and deepening.To highlight these changes, I shall examine here some of the collections and representative individual articles which have been produced over the years, beginning with the landmark collection Ngambika, which was published in 1986, follo wed by Women in African Literature Today in 1987, articles by Kofi Owusu and Elleke Boehmer in 1990, the 1990 issue of Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, Essays on African Writing 2: Contemporary Literature published in 1995 and The Marabout and the Muse: New Approaches to Islam in African Literature in 1996.All of the articles in the first section of Ngambika overtly tackle the issue of the representations of women in the works of African authors. Carole Boyce Davies writes one of these articles: â€Å"Maidens, Mistresses, and Matrons: Feminine Images in Selected Soyinka Works. † In it, she argues that Soyinka often offers only stereotyped images of women which fall into one of three categories: the foolish virgin in rural settings, the femme fatale in urban settings, and the masculinized matron.Those characters which fall in the latter category, in Davies' opinion, come closest to being non-stereotypes, but even they are drawn with â€Å"no depth† (81). The â€Å"foolish virgins† and the â€Å"femme fatales,† Davies argues, fill only the roles of stereotypes and symbols, possessions or trophies to be won away from Western influences by African traditions, or, more threateningly, these women are seen as dangers which can distract and destroy.Davies acknowledges that Soyinka sometimes shows women briefly in a positive light but notes that â€Å"throughout Soyinka's works one finds the kernel of positive portrayal of the female image which is never fully realized† (85). Davies concludes with the argument â€Å"that the artist has the power to create new realities;†¦ women as neither victors nor victims but partners in struggle† (86). Davies' article is representative of the criticism which examines the image of women in African literatures. That is, she carefully addresses the concerns of the author (i. e. he need for recognizable symbols) as she argues against the relegation of women solely to symbolic roles, asking for characterizations which do not â€Å"[reinforce] a negative perception of self to the female viewer/reader and, concomitantly, a condescension in the appraisal of women on the part of the male† (78). In the years following the publishing of Ngambika, several journals and monograph series devoted to African literatures published issues on women as authors of or characters in African literatures. One of the first was the Women in African Literature Today issue of African Literature Today (Vol. 5). Like Ngambika, this issue contains many excellent articles, almost all of which are written from a feminist perspective. I would like to discuss two of these articles as representative not merely of this particular collection, but of the feminist criticism on African literatures being published at this time. In â€Å"Feminist Issues in the Fiction of Kenya's Women Writers† Jean F. O'Barr list three main categories of feminist concerns in the fiction of Kenyan woman writers: â€Å"how female children become women; †¦ what marriage means for women;†¦ here women's work fits into their lives† (57). O'Barr notes that the women authors she analyzes â€Å"all write from the woman's point of view, sharply underscoring the idea that the female perspective †¦. may be different from the male perspective on the same topic† (58). O'Barr analyzes the works of Kenya's female authors from a sociological approach, hoping to establish a stronger image of the social lives of Kenya's women than is possible from the works of male authors. She concludes that Kenya's women find themselves in a quadruple bind: â€Å"they see themselves performing traditional roles†¦ ithout traditional resources†¦ while at the same time they are undertaking modern activities†¦ while being denied access to modern support systems† (69). While O'Barr looks at the fiction of Kenyan women in order to locate the reality of w omen's lives, Katherine Frank attempts in the controversial article â€Å"Women without Men: The Feminist Novel in Africa† to find a radically feminist future for African women. Frank endeavors to place African women writers into the Western feminist mold by speaking of their work as a more radical extension of the Western feminist tradition.In speaking of â€Å"the contemporary British or American novel† she claims â€Å"our heroine slams the door on her domestic prison, journeys out into the great world, slays the dragon of her patriarchal society, and triumphantly discovers the grail of feminism by ‘finding herself,'† (14). She argues that in comparison African novels by women go far beyond their Western counterparts, refusing to â€Å"dabble in daydreaming about enlightened heroes or reformed, non-sexist societies,† (15). Frank finds that the â€Å"feminist† writers of Africa portray women not only as taking on active and shared roles wit h men, but as finding â€Å"a destiny of their own. †¦ destiny with a vengeance,† (15). Frank contends that Mariama Ba, Flora Nwapa, Buchi Emecheta and Ama Ata Aidoo's novels are, in their feminisms, â€Å"more radical, even more militant, than [their] Western counterpart[s]† (15). But Frank's interpretations place African heroines on a path which is not different, but rather the same, if more intense, than the one taken by the British and American heroines she notes above. Frank stresses that in these novels women find only pain and degradation in their relationships with men, but on their own and in their relationships with other women they find â€Å"female solidarity, power, independence† (33).In her interpretation, Barr neglects to note examples in which the future is shared by men and women. For example, when she speaks of Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter, she focuses on Ramatoulaye and Aissatou's friendship and the â€Å"world they create apart from me n,† (20). While this in itself glosses over the complex (and by no means completely negative) relationships these women have with the men in their lives, she also does not speak of Ramatoulaye's daughter and son-in-law, and the hope Ramatoulaye finds in their relationship.In this article, Frank does not acknowledge a difference between demonstrating that a woman's worth is not inextricable from her relationship with men, that a woman can take care of herself, as Ramatoulaye discovers, and an actual desire to live a life without men. However, controversial as some of her interpretations are, her essay effectively outlines the some of the subtle feminisms of African women novelists.Katherine Frank's stance is one which falls into the category of â€Å"radical, feminist-separatist ideology† which Kofi Owusu defines and rejects in his article in Callaloo entitled â€Å"Canons Under Siege: Blackness, Femaleness, and Ama Ata Aidoo's Our Sister Killjoy†(1990). While Fra nk sees Aidoo's character Sissie as moving towards an autonomous, self-determining life without men (Frank 32), Owusu finds Aidoo to be â€Å"in tune with the ‘old' (Achebe's ‘vast corpus of African traditional stories') and the ‘new' (‘modern feminist theory') (357).Owusu sees Aidoo, and other female writers, not as bridging a gap between Western and African thought but creating something new out of both and challenging the canons that would ignore either black or female concerns. Much of Owusu's article analyzes â€Å"the discontinuities as well as continuities between womanist-feminist perspectives, on the one hand, and African literature, on the other† (342), allowing Owusu to regard Aidoo's work as one which â€Å"give[s] a sense of structural and linguistic irony which is functional. †¦ signify[ing] a couple of things: the need for, and very process of, revamping† (361).Here, the canons need to be reformed in recognition of both race and gender, not one or the other, or one without the other. While Kofi Owusu focused on Aidoo's linguistic and textual manipulations, the question of the image of women in African literature continues to be a highly examined topic. Elleke Boehmer explores the construction of women as mothers, whores, representations of national pride, or finally, as spiritual advisors and supporters, but not as individuals actively and crucially involved in political activity.In â€Å"Of Goddesses and Stories: Gender and a New Politics in Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah,† Boehmer analyzes Chinua Achebe's efforts to include women in his re-vision of the future and questions whether women remain a â€Å"vehicle† of transformation rather than actual women with an active role in the future of the country, that is, whether â€Å"woman is the ground of change or discursive displacement but not the subject of transformation† (102).She concludes that Achebe has still idealized women but that his creation of a female character with an important yet undefined role for the future has opened up space for women to have active and involved roles, side by side with men, in the building of the future. Like Davies' article on Soyinka from Ngambika discussed earlier, Boehmer's work recognizes Achebe's literary prowess and commends his willingness to make women positive symbols, but in the end laments the lack of depth in his female characters.Although South African Feminisms was published in 1996, many of the articles in it come from the 1990 issue of Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, which was dedicated to â€Å"Feminism and Writing. † This issue continued the trend of publishing articles debating not only the appropriateness of feminism in an African context but also the challenges of applying it to African literatures, as well as articles focusing on women writers or women's images in literature.In â€Å"A Correspondence Without Theory: T sitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions,† Brenda Bosman addresses the psychological dislocation forced upon the women of the heroine's family by â€Å"Englishness,† the term used by her mother to describe the process of assimilation which various members of the family undergo. However, one of the most interesting aspects of the article is Bosman's explicit attempt to find a position from which to speak, as a white South African woman, to –not for, or of– Dangarembga.She writes her article in the form of a letter to Dangarembga, and acknowledges that she might not have succeeded in finding a legitimate position: â€Å"you may find†¦ despite all my conscious efforts, I have nonetheless submitted to the voice of my education†(311). Considering the problematics of education in Nervous Conditions, this could be seen as a double entendre, but her article shows a conscious attempt to find a place from which to speak comfortably, an increasingly difficu lt matter for some African feminists.The last two articles I will discuss reveal change in the field of feminist criticism of Africa on two levels: both are located in collections of essays on African literature which can be considered â€Å"general,† and both are examples of the further increase in variety in the forms of feminist criticism of African literature. Although very good collections of critical essays focusing exclusively on women and African literature are published, it is important to note that few, if any â€Å"general† collections are now being published without the inclusion of at least one, if not several essays which address feminist concerns.In Essays on African Writing 2: Contemporary Literature (1995), there are three articles which are written from a feminist perspective. One of these is Belinda Jack's â€Å"Strategies of Transgression in the Writings of Assia Djebar. † In it she explores the means by which Djebar writes for Arabic women o f Algeria in the language of the colonizer.Jack distinguishes Djebar's writings by arguing that her â€Å"texts are not written in the French language but a French language† a language which no longer belongs to the colonizers because of the deliberate shifts Djebar makes (23). Jack also notes that Djebar also transgresses against Islam in her choices of subject matter, especially sexuality, again firm in the knowledge that while such speech may be a transgression, it is only a transgression because with speech (or writing) comes power.The last article I wish to discuss also focuses on Assia Djebar and her concerns with Islam. The Marabout and the Muse: New Approaches to Islam in African Literature (1996) contains four articles which approach literature from a distinctly feminist perspective: one on Somali women's Sittaat (songs sung for and to notable women in Islamic history), one on the tradition of female Islamic writers in Nigeria, and two which examine Djebar's Loin de Medine.In â€Å"Daughters of Hagar: Daughters of Muhammad† Sonia Lee argues that through her early fictional exploration of women in Islam, Djebar is attempting to make a space for Islamic women â€Å"to reclaim the true law of God† (60). Lee finds that Djebar's historical training combined with her literary skills allow her to â€Å"[oscillate] between the actual and the probable, thus underlying the real subject matter of the novel, †¦. the problematic of Islamic collective memory with regard to women† (51). The above articles typify the growing expansion of feminist approaches to African literatures.While feminist criticisms continue to broaden the literary canon by bringing literature by African women to critical attention and continue to address the representation of African women in literatures, the methods used by such criticism in relation to African literatures continue to evolve. As feminist critics, both African and non-African, use sociological, linguistic, psychoanalytic, historical and other approaches to broaden the examination of African literatures, at least some Western feminist critics are also trying to incorporate a heightened awareness of their own positions with regards to the authors and literatures they discuss.Methodology This bibliography is, in every sense of the word, selective. African authors were included if an article (in English or French) could be located which discussed him or her from the angle of feminism, womanism, or the treatment of gender. Authors were not excluded or included on any other basis, including race and gender. Interviews were included for many of the female writers because such interviews often are a main source of feminist thought (their own) on their works.The sources I used to find these articles were the bibliographies of African literature located in the journal Callaloo (1987-89 and 1990-93), the MLA Bibliography, the African studies bibliographies for the years 1995-96, the CD-Rom resource Women's Resources International, 1972-August 1996, as well as various library catalogs for monographs, whether collections or single-authored. In addition, I scanned the bibliographies of articles and books to find other relevant citations.There are several good bibliographies which focus, at least in part, on feminist criticism of African literatures from the 1970s through the mid 1980s. Brenda Berrian's Bibliography of African Women Writers and Journalists, Carole Boyce Davies' â€Å"A Bibliography of Criticism and Related Works† in Ngambika, and Barbara Fister's bibliography on criticism in Third World Women's Literature in combination cover this earlier period very thoroughly.I did not use these bibliographies to compile this one; to avoid excess duplication, I have focused on criticism published from 1980 on and simply cite these earlier bibliographies at the end of this one, although I am sure some duplication has occurred. This bibliography is organize d by authors and also includes a section on general works, which is organized first by those which cover African literatures without focusing on a specific country, region or author, then by region, and then individual countries.Works of criticism are placed in this section if they refer to several authors/works from the continent, a particular region, or country. If an article focuses on four or fewer authors, it is included under the name of each author. The bibliography includes articles on eighty-seven individual authors, as well as general articles on Africa, East Africa, North Africa, West Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Somali, South Africa, and Zimbabwe; it cites more than four hundred articles and monographs.It is interesting to compare the authors found in this bibliography with the ninety-five authors found in the biography section of Hans Zell's A New Reader's Guide to African Fiction (1st ed. , 1971; 2nd rev. ed. ,1983). The authors in Zell's work are o ften considered the early canon of African literatures. Only twenty-five authors appear in both the current bibliography and Hans Zell's Guide. There may be several reasons for this difference. Many of the authors included in my bibliography were not then considered a part of the canon of African literature; and a few had not even published at the time Zell's work appeared.Carole Boyce Davies also offers an insight which may explain the lack of overlap. She notes in her introduction to Ngambika that one of the priorities of African feminist literary criticism is â€Å"the development of a canon of African women writers and a parallel canon of critical works with the final aim of expanding the African literary canon† (14). The Guides were compiled in the early years of this expansion, and it is quite possible that today the lists would be more reflective of each other.At the same time, many African women writers actively rebuke attempts to place African men on the defensive, a rguing that a critical approach to literature (as well as other social, political, and cultural expressions) must explore the strengths of both African women and African men. While feminist criticism does focus on male authors, it more often strives to bring to the forefront of literary discussions the works of female African authors and the strong, individualistic portrayals of women they offer.Future Search Hints The issues discussed above make feminist criticism of African fiction an exciting and dynamic field. They also make it a very complex field to research. There are several issues to keep in mind when beginning research in this area. One of the most difficult to overcome is the lack of coverage of this area in mainstream indexing sources, such as the MLA, especially when one looks for early works, which were often carried in journals not then indexed by the MLA.Other sources which do cover these journals, such as the excellent bibliographies periodically offered by Callaloo on studies of African literature, do not offer separate sections for feminist criticism, and it is necessary to assess which ones are relevant by the titles or, at times, the authors, of the articles. For my own part it should be noted that it is entirely possible that I have missed articles which should appear in this bibliography.Many of the best sources are only available in print, such as International African Bibliography, Current Bibliography of African Affairs, and Cahiers d'etudes africaines, which are more time-consuming to search, but well worth the effort. As the discussion above indicates, the term â€Å"feminism† can be extremely limiting when it is being used as a descriptor in either online or print indexes. For this reason, it is advisable to keep other terms in mind when searching for articles, whether in print or electronic resources, such as the keywords/descriptors â€Å"Gender† and â€Å"Womanism/Womanist†.It is important, as well, not to l imit searches to the term â€Å"African. † While some articles are indexed with this descriptor, those articles which deal with a specific author may be listed under that author's country instead, as of course are those which deal with the literatures of a specific region or country. Finally, especially when searching for articles in online indexes, it is useful to keep in mind specific topics, such as â€Å"sexuality,† â€Å"motherhood,† and â€Å"politics† combined with â€Å"women† or â€Å"female. â€Å"