Introduction. Out of Hidden India: Adivasi Histories, Stories, Visual Arts and Performances

This issue of Anglistica AION is dedicated to indigenous India and to some of its forms of emerging subjectivity. After having been studied by ethnoanthropologists as cultural exceptions or worse after having embodied the stereotype of the ‘born offender’ in colonial legislation, Indian tribals are claiming a new articulated visibility and an amplified political resonance. As Rashmi Varma remarks, in post-independence India, tribals are emerging as political protagonists in their own right asking, and in part obtaining, attention and recognition. Unfortunately even in the postcolonial state tribals continue to suffer from an easy mis-representation of their role and status, figuring very often as dangerous insurgents who threaten national security or as backward minorities whose survival hinders development

Reterritorialising literary studies: deconstructing the scripts of empire

In this article, I demonstrate the ways in which archival material can be gainfully employed within literary studies. Focusing on the figure of the Indian coolie of colonial Malaya, I argue that adopting such an interdisciplinary paradigm is a necessary bridge to aid the quest for the story of the pioneer Indian immigrant experience for its trail stretches across two terrains of narrativisation, one historical, the other literary. As I seek out the texts that have constructed the base of the sign-system that has in many ways locked the subject in question within its confining structures, I also propose to read them against the grain, to dislodge their deeply embedded discursive pillars. In other words, I will proceed with what is primarily a deconstructive reading of the colonialist sign-systems of the coolie. The article thus demonstrates the reterritorialising of literary studies as it excavates the scripts of empire buried within the terrain of history through the mechanisms of literary deconstruction, thus re-reading history as literatur

Slavery, Subversion and Subalternity: Gender and Violent Resistance in Nineteenth-Century Bahia

1999-01-01

The Urban-rural Dichotomy in the Indonesian Documentaries Nona Nyonya? and Untuk Apa?

The media play a pivotal role in the democratization process in Indonesia and this is among others apparent in the surge of films, both fiction and documentaries that have been produced after the end Suharto\u27s decades of control over the media. It is important to note, however, that compared with fiction films, the documentary genre remains rather unpopular in Indonesia. Indonesian documentary films struggle to depict stories of the subaltern and those living in the “periphery” in order for them to be seen and heard by the greater masses and by those in power – the ones in the “centre” or Jakarta. This paper discusses the connection between urban and rural voices and its impact in the documentary films Nona nyonya? (Miss mrs?, 2008) and Untuk apa? (What\u27s the point?, 2008) produced by Kalyana Shira Films, an organization well-known for its work on gender issues using film as medium. Departing from the notion that the film industry itself is still largely Jakarta-centred, this article focuses on the way urban settings and voices are used to create rhetoric, and the impact of the domination of these urban voices over the rural ones

"Open the Gates Mek We Repatriate": Caribbean slavery, constructivism, and hermeneutic tensions

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copy edit version of an article published in International Theory. The definitive publisher-authenticated version: Shilliam, Robbie. "“Open the Gates Mek We Repatriate”: Caribbean slavery, constructivism, and hermeneutic tensions." International Theory 6.02 (2014): 349-372 is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1752971914000165© 2015, Cambridge University Press

The Politics of \u27Giving Back\u27 and its Effects on the Autonomy of Women after Sex Trafficking

In the field of humanitarian service, advocates have the intentions of speaking on behalf of those they represent. Many activists and organizations seek to ‘give back’ to those in need of food, shelter and social services. But, does ‘giving back’ really help? This essay explores the politics and hierarchies of humanitarian aid to discover if independence and agency for aid recipients can be achieved. On the path to independence, what are the obstacles that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activists create for the underprivileged? Are there effective frameworks and methods for advocate organizations to approach the underprivileged? Authors such as Columbia University professor Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak questions whether any agency can be achieved while Bengali activists such as Samarajit Jana, Nandinnee Bandyapadhyay, Mrinal Kanti Dutta and Amitrajit Saha argue that agency is attainable by providing tools for the underprivileged to empower themselves. Using my own observations from working at All Bengal Women\u27s Union in Kolkata, India, I review and analyze the attempts of this organization to empower women and girls to determine whether the underprivileged can speak. My work in the All Bengal Women’s Union in Kolkata in Spring 2008 allowed me to spend personal time with young women who were sexually exploited. The women I met left such an indelible impression on me that I brought their voices and causes back with me. Every day I saw the pain of these girls, struggling to overcome their violent past. And every day, I saw their endless ability to continue to dance, to smile, and to love. Our sisterhood pushed me to promote awareness of sex trafficking and to identify the best methods of rehabilitation that value their voice. After reviewing previous literature and theory discussing if the underprivileged have a voice, I began my participant observation and field research at All Bengal Women Union during the months of January to April in 2008. Using my ethnographic data, I examine the programs and initiatives put forth by All Bengal Women’s Union as well as reviewing material published by the NGO. The approach of analyzing the organization’s efforts is significant; the concern is not the intentions and mission of the organization, but the process and outcomes it has on the women. Instead of looking at the organization as a whole, my approach is to view it’s effectiveness from the perspective of the female clients. This essay concludes there are good and bad approaches towards the path of victim empowerment, but ability of voice and agency can only be determined by the underprivileged. While a structure like All Bengal Women’s Union posses the ability to oppress its constituents, critically analyzing approaches and methods in dialogues with its privileged and underprivileged members can lead to more effective strategies. In order for women and girls after trafficking to have a voice in society, critical and opposition structures like All Bengal Women’s Union must exist to serve a space to achieve agency, a space where they can demand their choice. It is best to be critical of one\u27s intentions of \u27helping\u27 the subaltern, and to listen more often – perhaps the subaltern are speaking but we are not listening

Why is finance critical? A dialogue with a women's community in Sri Lanka

The busrt of the bubble has given momentum to the search of escape routes from the current transnational financial system and its underlying principles. For the past century, The transnational financial system has relied heavily on currency exchange, security backed loans, stocks and shares - all operated through banks, investment agencies, insurance brokers and stock markets. This global financial architecture centred on monetray values. It strived for financial wealth and achieved it for few out of many. This study shows that the practice of finance can create a wealth of a different - a scoial- nature. Applying an ethnographic approach to financial practices, this study tries to uncover how the sociocultural aspects of finance practiced among the poor rural women in Sri Lanka lead to the creation of social wealth beyond financial wealth. It discovers how finance is critical to such communities becauise it is creating wealth beyond financial measurement. Finance comes to Sinalhese women's everyday lives through traditional savings systems - seettu, household and group saving and it operates through frienships, kin relationships and social realtions. These community organisation develop social wealth through their thrifts, based on traditional practices of saving.Since transnational finance is driven by monetary values only, it overlays structures and that ignores local cultures, social networks and community identies necessary for the creation of social wealth. As a consequence, encounters with transnational finance inspire resistance in citizens of developing nations such as Sri Lanka. In an attempt to preserve their more tradional ways of exchange, communities find themselves workign agianst finance. Therefore in this paper I am interested in engaging in a dialogue with a rural community, to learn their ways of organising finance and the extent to which finance becomes critical to their everyday live