This thesis explored the Afropessimism framework for examining the dynamics of race and racial inequality in the United States and Brazilian contexts and its potential for advancing racial justice...Show moreThis thesis explored the Afropessimism framework for examining the dynamics of race and racial inequality in the United States and Brazilian contexts and its potential for advancing racial justice efforts. It examined and answered the following questions: How does the critical perspective of Afropessimism impact the experiences and identities of individuals of African descent in the Americas, specifically in the U.S. and Brazil? How does Afropessimism critique the effectiveness of the human rights framework in securing racial justice for individuals within the African diaspora? To examine the translatability of Afropessimism to a different cultural context other than that of the U.S., I researched whether this theoretical framework could also accurately explain the historical and contemporary experiences of Black individuals in Brazil. These questions aimed to evaluate the extent to which Afropessimism, departing from other racial theories, such as intersectionality, questions the efficacy of the human rights framework in transforming society and its social institutions, as a means of irrevocably achieving racial justice.Show less
Young adults are continually confronted with instability and crises, as well as traumatic events at large. Considering that literature, and Young Adult literature specifically, can be seen as a...Show moreYoung adults are continually confronted with instability and crises, as well as traumatic events at large. Considering that literature, and Young Adult literature specifically, can be seen as a reflection of the lived experience, it is expected that the existence of such trauma influences the novels written. The ability of Young Adult literature to reflect the lived experience, and the necessity for it to do so, is also discussed by columnist and author Michael Cart in 2016, literature researcher Bruce Carrick in 2017 and literature studies researcher Amy Elliot in 2015. However, they do not specifically note on the place of trauma in this reflection. This thesis considers how trauma affects the narrator’s voice. To do so, Canadian author Sebastien de Castell’s fantasy Young Adult novels Way of the Argosi and Spellslinger were taken as a case study. Ferius and Kellen, the respective protagonists of the aforementioned novels, are confronted with traumatic experiences, such as torture and genocide. Due to perceived commonalities in the situations of the protagonists, and their communities, to that of Indigenous communities, knowledge of the latter is used to make sense of the former. Similarly, knowledge of the Holocaust was used to contemplate the fictional narrative. Knowledge on trauma in these real world communities was gained from articles by, among others, psychologists Sarah Panofsky et al. (2021) and social worker Elizabeth Fast and psychologist Delphine Collin-Vézina (2010). Due to the influence trauma can have on the lived experience, there was a need for discussing the reliability of the narrator of each novel. As a result, this thesis looked to the articles on unreliable and fallible narrators by religious studies professor Catherine Caufield, published in 2021, and cultural studies researcher Greta Olson, published in 2003. A close reading of the novels found trauma to affect not only the narratorial style, such as through narrative fragmentation, but also the narrator’s reliability and tone of voice. Though the narrators of Way of the Argosi and Spellslinger were not affected similarly in narratorial style, with the former’s narration being more fragmented as opposed to the linear narration of the latter, the tone of voice is comparable. In both cases, there is a clear influence of fear and resentment on the narrator’s voice. The reliability of the respective novels narrators is also similarly fallible, though due to different reasons. The insight provided by the novels to the readers allow for a fostering of understanding between different real-life cultures, histories and life-journeys.Show less
This thesis studies Patricia Lockwood's novel No One Is Talking About This and Maxime Garcia Diaz' poetry collection Het Is Warm In De Hivemind in search of an understanding of the forms of affect...Show moreThis thesis studies Patricia Lockwood's novel No One Is Talking About This and Maxime Garcia Diaz' poetry collection Het Is Warm In De Hivemind in search of an understanding of the forms of affect that arise in an online/offline dynamic. It brings this affect in conversation with theories of metamodernism and postdigitality. It puts forth a sensibility called the postdigital, metamodern sensibility in which the poles of postmodern irony and cynicism and modern enthusiasm and naivety exist in a fluid dualism with eachother, as opposed to in the oscillation proposed by the metamodern school.Show less
The era of Western colonialism and slavery has ended, but racism and discrimination still exist and the privileged position that White people still have in Western society makes it difficult for...Show moreThe era of Western colonialism and slavery has ended, but racism and discrimination still exist and the privileged position that White people still have in Western society makes it difficult for people of colour to trust them, no matter these White people’s often good intentions. Similarly, but also in a more visibly extreme way, the struggle against racism in South Africa did not end with the abolition of Apartheid. Scholars think differently about what the appropriate response would be of White South Africans to their dark history. Should they withdraw in silence and humility? Alternatively, should they play an active role in the future of the country? And how? From her position as a White Dutch woman, Zijlstra has explored the issues of race, identity and progressive change in South African literature. For White South African authors, silence was never an option, but they were nonetheless aware of their ambiguous position. With the analysis of three novels from such authors (Burger’s Daughter (1979) by Nadine Gordimer, The Rights of Desire (2000) by André Brink, and The Promise (2021) by Damon Galgut), this thesis aims to contribute to a nuanced view on both the controversy around the position of well-intentioned White people in a position of privilege, and their possibilities to take responsibility. The theorists who inform the analysis are Michael Rothberg (2019) with his concept of the implicated subject, Melissa Steyn (2001) with her research on the fragmentation of White identity in South Africa after Apartheid, Shannon Sullivan (2006) with her theory on unconscious racial habits, and Zoë Wicomb (2018) with her critical eye on myths of traditional culture and identity, as well as on the responsibility of literary authors.Show less
Recent developments in adaptation studies have found influence in poststructuralist studies, and prioritise a non-hierarchical, open approach to adaptations, rather than the previous comparative...Show moreRecent developments in adaptation studies have found influence in poststructuralist studies, and prioritise a non-hierarchical, open approach to adaptations, rather than the previous comparative approaches that determined the framework for adaptation studies. This new perspective, in line with the poststructuralist de-emphasis of the figure of the literary author, diminishes the role of the literary author in the meaning of a literary text. This allows the adaptation to be examined in relation to the adapted text. Which aids the acknowledgement of their interconnection, without discrediting the adaptation, and encourages the examination of the respective cultural and social contexts of the adapted text, and the adaptation. However, images of literary authors return throughout pop culture, even in cinematic adaptations. This thesis is concerned with the portrayal of literary authors in cinematic adaptations of their literary works. In relation to Barthes' 'The Death of the Author' and other theories on literary authorship, this thesis examines the potential function of a representation of the literary author in an adaptation of their literary text.Show less
