Sheikh F Shams | East West University (original) (raw)

Papers by Sheikh F Shams

East West Journal of Humanities, 2011

This paper investigates the representative characteristics of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, in an... more This paper investigates the representative characteristics of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, in an attempt to explore the problems of its representation of the marginal class, its exploitation of this class, and hence its misrepresentation. The purpose of this essay is to reclaim an alternative understanding of the marginal class or the cultural "other" from the heavy-handed clutch of Orientalism. In other words, it will engage itself in reclaiming an understanding of these less powerful groups of people, in order to reconstruct their identity constructed by Orientalism. For this purpose, it will use Franz Boas' anthropological analytical tools to understand the "other" from their local contexts rather than from outside.

This paper contends that although multicultural diversity is a much celebrated and encouraged phe... more This paper contends that although multicultural diversity is a much celebrated and encouraged phenomenon, it is rife with misunderstanding, miscommunication and misrepresentation, which emanate from the lacking of understanding and cultural orientation between groups. In order to address this problem of misunderstanding, miscommunication and consequent stereotypical misrepresentation an anthropological and interactional sociolinguistic approach is proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the cultural assumptions, values and perspectives underp... more The purpose of this paper is to identify the cultural assumptions, values and perspectives underpinning Eleanor Adamowski’s "Canadian Stories: A Cultural Reader for ESL Students." This paper critically analyzes the “Cultural Discussion” (p 50) questions that follow Himani Bannerji’s story, “The Other Family.” I argue that this set of questions, rather than educating the learners about cultural differences, gives a false sense of cultural “Other.” The questions are based on stereotypical rendering, and contrastive distinctions, as they attempt to construct a unifying notion of superficial identity. The effect of such discourse is that it places the students in conflicting and confusing position: they become subjects of generalization and unified rendering. At the same time, they also become the exoticized Other.

In order to understand Harriet Beecher Stowe’s political agenda it seems necessary to verify how,... more In order to understand Harriet Beecher Stowe’s political agenda it seems necessary to verify how, and to what extent the slaves characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin show a stable, social and familial life-style that establishes them as civilized human beings, capable to manage themselves to live in a civilized society. Based on such construction Stowe attempts to create a coherent sense of identity of these people, which although seemingly mistaken, yet can be part of her political tactic.

Brac University Journal, Jan 1, 2008

It is commonly assumed that medieval society is hostile to women’s power. Women are continuously ... more It is commonly assumed that medieval society is hostile to women’s power. Women are continuously contained and constrained by the patriarchal society of medieval Europe to strengthen the heroic ideals of masculinity, while maintaining the domestic private sphere. This study shows that even within the domestic private sphere, women exert considerable amount of power to influence men’s actions. In fact, what we see are models of powerful women capable of damaging the heroic ideals of men. Hence there is a tendency to control women’s power. This essay explores how far this tendency to control is actually successful. If not then we are witnessing a tension between dominant patriarchal ideology and the subversive images of women. The resistance that women characters in medieval literatures pose to the hegemonic ideology is a matter of particular interest of this paper. At the same time, the nature of their containment and appropriation is also something that this paper wishes to examine.

East West Journal of Humanities, 2011

This paper investigates the representative characteristics of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, in an... more This paper investigates the representative characteristics of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, in an attempt to explore the problems of its representation of the marginal class, its exploitation of this class, and hence its misrepresentation. The purpose of this essay is to reclaim an alternative understanding of the marginal class or the cultural "other" from the heavy-handed clutch of Orientalism. In other words, it will engage itself in reclaiming an understanding of these less powerful groups of people, in order to reconstruct their identity constructed by Orientalism. For this purpose, it will use Franz Boas' anthropological analytical tools to understand the "other" from their local contexts rather than from outside.

This paper contends that although multicultural diversity is a much celebrated and encouraged phe... more This paper contends that although multicultural diversity is a much celebrated and encouraged phenomenon, it is rife with misunderstanding, miscommunication and misrepresentation, which emanate from the lacking of understanding and cultural orientation between groups. In order to address this problem of misunderstanding, miscommunication and consequent stereotypical misrepresentation an anthropological and interactional sociolinguistic approach is proposed.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the cultural assumptions, values and perspectives underp... more The purpose of this paper is to identify the cultural assumptions, values and perspectives underpinning Eleanor Adamowski’s "Canadian Stories: A Cultural Reader for ESL Students." This paper critically analyzes the “Cultural Discussion” (p 50) questions that follow Himani Bannerji’s story, “The Other Family.” I argue that this set of questions, rather than educating the learners about cultural differences, gives a false sense of cultural “Other.” The questions are based on stereotypical rendering, and contrastive distinctions, as they attempt to construct a unifying notion of superficial identity. The effect of such discourse is that it places the students in conflicting and confusing position: they become subjects of generalization and unified rendering. At the same time, they also become the exoticized Other.

In order to understand Harriet Beecher Stowe’s political agenda it seems necessary to verify how,... more In order to understand Harriet Beecher Stowe’s political agenda it seems necessary to verify how, and to what extent the slaves characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin show a stable, social and familial life-style that establishes them as civilized human beings, capable to manage themselves to live in a civilized society. Based on such construction Stowe attempts to create a coherent sense of identity of these people, which although seemingly mistaken, yet can be part of her political tactic.

Brac University Journal, Jan 1, 2008

It is commonly assumed that medieval society is hostile to women’s power. Women are continuously ... more It is commonly assumed that medieval society is hostile to women’s power. Women are continuously contained and constrained by the patriarchal society of medieval Europe to strengthen the heroic ideals of masculinity, while maintaining the domestic private sphere. This study shows that even within the domestic private sphere, women exert considerable amount of power to influence men’s actions. In fact, what we see are models of powerful women capable of damaging the heroic ideals of men. Hence there is a tendency to control women’s power. This essay explores how far this tendency to control is actually successful. If not then we are witnessing a tension between dominant patriarchal ideology and the subversive images of women. The resistance that women characters in medieval literatures pose to the hegemonic ideology is a matter of particular interest of this paper. At the same time, the nature of their containment and appropriation is also something that this paper wishes to examine.